Everyone has to practice something.

[Curmudgeoness]

That is what I was heard in a conversation about religion at work today. Surprisingly, I was not involved in this conversation. One of the bosses is an ex-Catholic who has been doing a lot of exploring into the teachings of Jesus in the Bible as opposed to what he was taught in the church....and has apparently got a lot of disgust for the Catholic church these days. He was discussing his distain with a Catholic who was defending the church. The boss has turned his back on all churches, but not Christian beliefs.....he will not go to a church anymore.

The defender of the church made the comment "everyone has to practice something". I am not sure what the hell that even meant, but when the boss said that wasn't true for him and questioned his meaning, he walked out. I was laughing about that attitude, but laughed even harder when he just walked out instead of defending his ridiculous assertion.

I am not going to let this go. Although I rarely talk to the Catholic, I intend to ask him more about this.....because I don't practice anything (although he probably thinks that I practice witchcraft or something). At least I have not been able come up with anything that I "practice" yet.

So, fellow atheists, what do you "practice"?

[AtheistCrusader]

1. Layups.

Also, the breast stroke. My time is abysmal.

[Curmudgeoness]

3. I hate the breast stroke.

Well, if you are talking about swimming, I mean.

[AtheistCrusader]

7. Well, only one of them is done 'for time' methinks.

[Warpy]

2. Fiber arts

That means getting wool right off the critter and doing everything necessary to turn it into some sort of wearable item, floor covering or cloth.

[Curmudgeoness]

5. Sounds interesting.

I know a woman who has a yarn/accessories shop who does this. I am always amazed at how easy she makes spinning wool look. I have tried it....it isn't easy.

[Warpy]

6. It's something you can learn in five minutes

but it can take a lifetime to get really good at it.

[Curmudgeoness]

9. Ah, practice! I get it.

It is easy to learn, but not easy to make a decent thread.....I know this for a fact. Too fat, too thin, just right for a fraction of an inch.

[Heddi]

4. I've heard this before "Oh, well you *have* to believe in SOMETHING" (don't you??)

And I usually reply with something like "I believe it's time for this conversation to come to an end" or, if I'm feeling particularly snappy, I'll say "So you doubt my beliefs because they don't align with yours? Well I don't really think you're a Christian. I think you are a Satanist. Prove me wrong."

then the conversation will go to "but what gives you a moral guide if you don't believe in JEEEEEEZUUUUSSSS" and I answer "so you're telling me that if God didn't prohibit it, you'd go out raping anything with 2 legs and a hole, and murdering everyone you didn't like?" Oh no. No way. That's not how it is.....Oh, so YOU don't go murdering people because you know it's wrong, but because I don't read the bible or the Koran or whatever then I have no idea that murder and rape are bad things?

Religious people can be such fuckwits. No, not everyone believes in something. Yes, even Atheists have a moral code they follow that has no basis on religion. Unless you keep asking these questions, then maybe I'll start my murder rampage with you....

[Curmudgeoness]

8. Oh, I don't want the conversation to end.

I have too much fun watching them trip over themselves trying to rationalize their views.

Like I said, he just walked out when confronted about it, so he didn't seem to get his head wrapped around it. He is definitely a true believer in the "truth" taught by the Catholic church, and I am curious to know what he thinks my beliefs are and what I "practice".

You are right, it would probably devolve into the old "how can you be moral" argument. But I love that one because I use the same points that you do....so "you would be evil if it were not for your fear of your god".

[Gore1FL]

10. I don't practice anything

I'm already awesome at it.

[Curmudgeoness]

11. So you do have deluded beliefs after all!

I knew it!

[LostOne4Ever]

12. I practice procrastination

I love setting lofty goals for myself and then never getting around to doing them because I fucked off all my time on FB and DU.

Beyond that drawing and japanese.

I got a bit disgusted with my lack of progress with my inability to draw a convincing person from imagination as opposed from a reference (my ultimate goal), so I am taking a break and trying to learn Japanese currently...but instead of hitting the books here I am on DU instead

[Curmudgeoness]

13. After my own heart.

Well, if you leave out the drawing and the Japanese. You have so much more ambition than I have, I guess.

[Arugula Latte]

14. Cat worship. The ancient Egyptians got it right, in my book.

All Hail Bastet!

[Curmudgeoness]

19. And all hail Sammy!

He is my furry overlord. I bow to him all the time.

[stone space]

15. I'm a practicing mathematician.

Although I tend not to think of it so much as practice.

I do it more for fun.

[Curmudgeoness]

20. Oh yeah,

math is a riot!

But good for you. Now I know who to come to when I have two trains 300 miles apart, one train traveling east at 50 mph, and a train traveling west at 70 mph, and I really need to know when they will collide.

On edit: Welcome to DU!

[defacto7]

16. Piano?

OK... I practice being honest. Really. I goof up, I face it, learn from it and move on. If I'm wrong, I change. If the facts evolve, I evolve with it. That's being honest. I try not to make up stuff simply to support my point of view only for the purpose of not being wrong. Read my signature.

So I guess I do practice something and it ain't easy.

..and also piano.

[Curmudgeoness]

21. That really does take practice.

And practice makes perfect.

You make a good point that "honest" today may not be honest tomorrow with new knowledge. Better information can change the facts. Even the Catholic church has changed their facts over the years if I think about it----but very grudgingly.

[TxDemChem]

17. So glad to get a follow up on that boss.

Glad to hear he is moving away from dogma. Sounds like he may give of faith completely in the future.

I practice logic and reason. And skeptical inquiry. And the scientific method. Whew, I guess the catholic boss was right. I do practice something. Many things in fact.

Hope this helps!

[Curmudgeoness]

22. You mentioned the one thing that came to my mind,

and actually the only thing when I first heard this comment....the scientific method. But it seemed like such a trite thing to mention to a true believer who probably couldn't name one step in the scientific method.

The boss is not moving away from dogma, he is just moving away from the dogma of the Catholic church. Which is a huge step. I often wonder if he will burn out on this Bible reading and come to the same conclusion as many other ex-Catholics here. Time will tell. I do not engage him in religious conversations (it is always started by him), but he loves to have discussions with me because of the point of view that he can't get from anyone else.

[TxDemChem]

24. Because of his convos with you, I have faith (please don't laugh at my wording choice )

that he may lose all faith. I have recently discovered that quite a few of my relatives have gone atheist in the past decade. I had no idea . Maybe my sister and I have rubbed off on them; maybe not. But it is definitely suspicious.

Hubby and I were talking about the scientific method tonight. We want to raise our next child as a skeptic. So if he/she asks about the tooth fairy or Santa, we will not lie. We will encourage their inquiry because we believe it will serve our next child well on their journey into life. Lol not even pregnant yet, but we have learned a lot from my almost 17-year old. We want to encourage questions and free thought.
Anyway, I have thought that what you are doing with said boss is the best approach. It may take a while to sink in , but I think he may give all of the dogma up. You are a great resource and very encouraging to us DU members.

[Curmudgeoness]

25. I have faith too.

He recommended a documentary, and I looked at the trailer and other info about it, and he is definitely on the way to realizing how much bullshit there is in the church. I started with that myself. Then realized how unbelievable the cornerstone of religion, the Bible, was. He is halfway there. Not that I am trying to "convert" him. I don't care if he believes, I just want him to think. And we have had great discussions for years, so I will always participate.

[TxDemChem]

30. I wonder how often a deconversion starts with

doubts about church. It seems as if for the past decade, churches have gotten more stringent about social issues. I haven't gone to church in more than 20 years, but I don't know that there was so much vitriol and what I would deem as hatred back then.

Mind sharing the documentary name?

[Curmudgeoness]

32. Churches have become political mouthpieces these days,

but it was over 40 years ago that I turned my back on established religions and church. It was not political vitriol at the time, but it was indoctrination. It was also an attitude of "we are right and all the other religions on earth are wrong, so they will all go to hell". WTF.

The documentary he recommended is called "Mea Maxima Culpa" and was an HBO special from what he remembered. I didn't watch it yet and don't even know if I will be able to find it, but since I really don't need any motivation to be disgusted with the Catholic church, it isn't a priority for me. But I would like to see it so I can discuss it.

[TxDemChem]

33. May I just say that I love your spunk!

It's fabulous. Okay, had to get that comment out of my system.

I'll have to look for that film. Hubby was raised semi-catholic (they got him confirmed, but didn't go to church regularly afterward) and he knows I just despise the Catholic Church. Wow. Auto-correct just capitalized those two words for me (damn!). I've always despised the made-up rituals and rules of the church. I also hate other churches, but the Catholic Church is my biggest foe because of their stances against condoms and birth control (although every catholic woman I know was/is on birth control).

The times are a-changing. They are going to mess around and help more people deconvert. Too bad; their loss.

[Curmudgeoness]

37. Actually, the fundamentalist churches make me more nervous.

Even the practicing, church-going Catholics are not a problem at all in comparison....and as you said, they all just ignore the things that they don't like about the teachings in the Catholic church (birth control) and carry on. A few Hail Mary's and all is good. They are no threat, at least in my mind. Don't get me wrong, I do not accept these stances as beneficial. Just not serious concerns.

[TxDemChem]

39. You have a point there.

I've been reading posts on No Linger Quivering recently and those people scare the hell out of me. The patriarchy is bad enough, but their parishioners believe that crap! I've got some more fundamentalist research to do, but it has definitely put a shiver in my bones. Westboro was just the tip of the iceberg; while other churches may not sound as extreme, I can only imagine what their leaders say behind closed doors.

[nil desperandum]

18. Youth Sports

I am not a rich man so I work with a youth sports program in western massachusetts that has 6,000 children involved as a way to practice giving back to my community. I worked with a local police chief to raise $45,000 to construct two soccer fields and create a parking facility.

I like to think I am practicing to be a better human where possible and at least a semi-humble one when I'm being a jack ass...

It would be nice if some of these ultra religious cretins would practice being a better human from time to time, instead of telling everyone else what to do perhaps accepting that others are not like you would be a good first start. I don't believe these religious types can do that though because telling heathens what to believe is the baseline activity for religion.

[Curmudgeoness]

23. That is just a wonderful thing to do!

I agree that the ones who shout the loudest and longest are the ones who should stop with the "holier than thou" attitude and just work at being better human beings.

[Iggo]

26. Patience.

[Curmudgeoness]

27. That's a hard one.

I have zero patience for some things. Will take a lifetime of practice.

[Iggo]

28. Damn right it's hard.

That's why I gotta practice.

[WillParkinson]

29. Self-pleasure....

And I'm gonna keep practicing until I get it right.

[Curmudgeoness]

36. There are worse things you could practice.

But if this included dancing naked in the moonlight, you may want to rethink it.

[AlbertCat]

31. Daniel Dennett has a name for it.

He calles it "Belief in belief:....

[Curmudgeoness]

34. "But did you sacrifice a goat."

I love that line, and may use it one day.

Very interesting speech, and I think that this is exactly what that defender of the church was talking about. You have to have a belief, whether it is a belief in god, or a belief in the belief of god. I do wish that I knew how many people actually fit into which category...but we will never know.

Thanks for posting this.

And BTW, your cat was making me crazy---I had to move it off my screen.

[Warren Stupidity]

35. We all do practice things, the things we are good at and do all the time.

But I think the religionist meant that atheism is a faith, and that we go around worshipping Dawkins or some shit.

[Curmudgeoness]

38. I don't think that was his point.

The conversation was not about atheism, it was about the Catholic church vs. studying and following Jesus's teachings without affiliation to any church. I was not involved, I just was listening to it. I think that his point was more aimed at the practice of the rituals of the church and how important they were. But I could be mistaken.

[Arugula Latte]

40. My neighbor told me that I "have to believe in something."

I believe I'll have another drink.

Thank you WC Fields.

[Curmudgeoness]

41. I think that was the point.

You have to believe in "something". If it isn't god, I am not sure what he thought it had to be.