Atheist 'mega-churches' take root across US, world

Gordian Knot

Gordian Knot

Being Deviant IS My Art.
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LOS ANGELES (AP) — It looked like a typical Sunday morning at any mega-church. Several hundred people, including families with small children, packed in for more than an hour of rousing music, an inspirational talk and some quiet reflection. The only thing missing was God.

Several hundred! Katy bar the church door. Is it the end of religion as we know it?

Inconceivable!!!!!

Or that word - Mega. "I do not think it means what you think it means", Inigo Montoya.

Atheist 'mega-churches' take root across US, world

Sigh. Does anyone remember when the news media simply reported the news without the spin......
 
People want the spin, not the news, right?
Thanks for the quote, I always get fuzzy on the inside when I hear something from that movie.
 
There seems to be no real difference between atheists and theists! Both love satisfying their social identity in the name of God (debate on existence is irrelevant here).

Just a curiosity... What would happen if God suddenly appears in the mega-church? The chances are perhaps same as theists meeting God!
 
Yeah, Tea, the media gives the people what it is they want. You are so right.

And good to know I am not the only one with the most fond memories of that movie!

Nothing, I agree both groups enjoy satisfaction from the socializing that a group event engenders. Simply cannot agree with you that No-God is the atheist's god. In my opinion you really do that group a disservice in this regard.
 
People should be confident enough with their own beliefs to not feel like they have to talk others out of theirs. And not too confident, to the point where they're SO SURE they're beliefs are right that they would try to convert another person. That goes for Atheists and Theists. The harder someone tries to convince me that something is true/untrue, the more I doubt their faith (or lack thereof) and intentions.

Things like this make me think SOME Atheists have grown truly desperate to assert their doubt/disbelief. Rather than get caught in the cross-fire, I prefer to stick to what I know is right and true for me. I hope they have fun.
 
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Ceearewhy, you are right, it is a lack of self-confidence and having too many insecurities that cause people to become zealots. This happens to both atheists as well as well as religious people. For these people, the real issues are not religious beliefs, they are self-confidence and insecurities.
 
Ceearewhy said:
People should be confident enough with their own beliefs to not feel like they have to talk others out of theirs. And not too confident, to the point where they're SO SURE they're beliefs are right that they would try to convert another person. That goes for Atheists and Theists. The harder someone tries to convince me that something is true/untrue, the more I doubt their faith (or lack thereof) and intentions.

Things like this make me think SOME Atheists have grown truly desperate to assert their doubt/disbelief. Rather than get caught in the cross-fire, I prefer to stick to what I know is right and true for me. I hope they have fun.
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Agreed, but I can sympathies with those who so strongly believe that they are saving other by converting them. I don't agree with them on how or why, but many of us do the wrong thing (according to me) for the right reasons.

I point this out because I think Nicks point of view is rather negative and destructive here.
 
My perception of Nick's statements is that they are factual rather than negative. But then I do not have much sympathy for people who self delude themselves into believing they are doing the wrong thing for the right reasons.

But then you probably knew I was going to say that…..
 
Gordian Knot said:
My perception of Nick's statements is that they are factual rather than negative. But then I do not have much sympathy for people who self delude themselves into believing they are doing the wrong thing for the right reasons.

But then you probably knew I was going to say that…..
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How did you know they were factual?
 
I did say "my perception" so I guess that means Nick's POV, in my opinion, is more aligned with fact than that of negativity that Tea suggested.
 
I don't understand the discussion, are we saying that it is a fact that all zealots are thus because they are insecure? But they are only facts from a certain perspective?
 
A Cup Of Tea said:
I don't understand the discussion, are we saying that it is a fact that all zealots are thus because they are insecure? But they are only facts from a certain perspective?
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Now you're starting to see my point. Thinking there is a linear cause for a behavior is usually a mistake. The fact is, that behavior of any kind is usually mulit-causal and involves biological, sociological as well as psychological elements. It is the drive for certainty that moves people to think like this, and usually indicates a persons comfort or discomfort with ambiguity and their need for closure, so to speak.

Notice that in individualistic cultures like ours in the west, we tend to attribute behavior to the person, while in other cultures especially collectivistic cultures, behavior is usually attributed to context or circumstance. This is what is known as False Attribution Error, or attributing something to a person without really understanding the causes and conditions motivating the behavior.
 
Paladin,

I agree. But I would add that deep-seated emotional issues must also be factored in.

It's fascinating that you mention culture. I live in China, which has an eastern culture that is hugely different from western culture. But I find Chinese people have the exact same deep-seated emotional issues that we westerners do. I have also lived in Japan. (As it turns out, Japanese culture is completely different than Chinese culture, there is NO similarity between the two cultures.) But between American, Chinese, and Japanese cultures, people in all three cultures suffer from the exact same types of deep-seated emotional issues. (It is how they handle them that is quite different.)
 
Why should it be an emotional issue? I follow my line, the others follow theirs. Why should anyone try to save me if I do not want to be saved? What is this psychological behavior known as? Compulsive behavior? Hindus do not suffer from it. :D
 
Nick the Pilot said:
Paladin,

I agree. But I would add that deep-seated emotional issues must also be factored in.

It's fascinating that you mention culture. I live in China, which has an eastern culture that is hugely different from western culture. But I find Chinese people have the exact same deep-seated emotional issues that we westerners do. I have also lived in Japan. (As it turns out, Japanese culture is completely different than Chinese culture, there is NO similarity between the two cultures.) But between American, Chinese, and Japanese cultures, people in all three cultures suffer from the exact same types of deep-seated emotional issues. (It is how they handle them that is quite different.)
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Yes, absolutely, deep seated emotional issues describe a very wide range of causes and expression as you mention. I'm always interested in hearing bout how different cultures deal with things. In my cross cultural psych courses they mentioned that somatic complaints rather than psychological complaints are quite common, is that so?
 
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