Another Bucket list item (experience, atheists, bible, attending)

[LargeKingCat]

I was just making reservations for something to cross off of a personal bucket list

Nothing that would interest anyone here, but I started thinking (like A Jimmy Buffet song) Of all of the places I've been...all of the experiences I have had.... All of the fun things I have done...I could write stories that might make many people envious...and religious people angry.


And they have ALL without exception happened AFTER I left religion

For one, family interference (even as an adult) stopped a few. By Family Interference, I mean a dysfunctional religious family, who was bound by the idea that "If you are happy, then you are sinning"
I keep them at a great distance geographically and an even further distance socially and emotionally

There was an incident, I think I mentioned it once before, when we were kids, that my brother also seems to remember

There was a very fat slob, a deacon in my parents church, who used to appear quite regularly posing as a friend and seeming to exert some religious control over my parents. I remember a few times, waking up on Sunday morning, and walking into the dining room of our very small house and seeing him sitting at the table, drinking coffee, reading the paper (which in a small town, was only edited for morning delivery on Sundays, all other days being evening)
There as a fear my parents, especially my dad, had of the outside world, and this was manifest from everything to not wanting to take vacations to sitting inside 6 nights a week with the door locked....

Anyway, my parents decided one summer on a 4 day family vacation. My dad announced it a week ahead, and we were excites, We talked about it for a week, excited about it, but in the course of a one hour visit with the fat SOB in question and his wife, the vacation was cancelled for no reason.

At least no reason that we as kids were given.

I remember once a year later, my dad had been given some free tickets to a local racing event, my brother quipped "Well don't tell fat Pete or his wife or they will talk you out of it"

See. religious people cannot have bucket lists. The only thing on their Bucket List is something that happen after death....something we Atheists think of as absurd.
All the times I mentioned casually "I want to do that some day" only to be met immediately with discouragement from one or both parents.....

As an atheist, I have the freedom to pursue my happiness and life without the bondage of religious superstition. I can cross items off of my "bucket list" when I want, because there are no religious restrictions or dogma. I can have a Bucket List too.....


And the Excitement is not ONLY for the fun things I have done but for the Fun things STILL on the list,,,,,,and those that have not even been added yet! because as an Atheist, I can be excited about my ENJOYMENT of LIFE and not living in sadness or limitation while hoping for a better life after death. Which, BTW... there is NO evidence of whatsoever, but much evidence that there is no such thing.

[mordant]

I'm glad you managed to break free of that operant conditioning and have an actual life!

[MysticPhD]

Originally Posted by LargeKingCat

I was just making reservations for something to cross off of a personal bucket list

Nothing that would interest anyone here, but I started thinking (like A Jimmy Buffet song) Of all of the places I've been...all of the experiences I have had.... All of the fun things I have done...I could write stories that might make many people envious...and religious people angry.


And they have ALL without exception happened AFTER I left religion

For one, family interference (even as an adult) stopped a few. By Family Interference, I mean a dysfunctional religious family, who was bound by the idea that "If you are happy, then you are sinning"
I keep them at a great distance geographically and an even further distance socially and emotionally

There was an incident, I think I mentioned it once before, when we were kids, that my brother also seems to remember

There was a very fat slob, a deacon in my parents church, who used to appear quite regularly posing as a friend and seeming to exert some religious control over my parents. I remember a few times, waking up on Sunday morning, and walking into the dining room of our very small house and seeing him sitting at the table, drinking coffee, reading the paper (which in a small town, was only edited for morning delivery on Sundays, all other days being evening)
There as a fear my parents, especially my dad, had of the outside world, and this was manifest from everything to not wanting to take vacations to sitting inside 6 nights a week with the door locked....

Anyway, my parents decided one summer on a 4 day family vacation. My dad announced it a week ahead, and we were excites, We talked about it for a week, excited about it, but in the course of a one hour visit with the fat SOB in question and his wife, the vacation was cancelled for no reason.

At least no reason that we as kids were given.

I remember once a year later, my dad had been given some free tickets to a local racing event, my brother quipped "Well don't tell fat Pete or his wife or they will talk you out of it"

See. religious people cannot have bucket lists. The only thing on their Bucket List is something that happen after death....something we Atheists think of as absurd.
All the times I mentioned casually "I want to do that some day" only to be met immediately with discouragement from one or both parents.....

As an atheist, I have the freedom to pursue my happiness and life without the bondage of religious superstition. I can cross items off of my "bucket list" when I want, because there are no religious restrictions or dogma. I can have a Bucket List too.....


And the Excitement is not ONLY for the fun things I have done but for the Fun things STILL on the list,,,,,,and those that have not even been added yet! because as an Atheist, I can be excited about my ENJOYMENT of LIFE and not living in sadness or limitation while hoping for a better life after death. Which, BTW... there is NO evidence of whatsoever, but much evidence that there is no such thing.

The truly sad thing about your family and those with similar attitudes is that they have already corrupted their states of mind ensuring misery. As a result, there is likely to be very little they can look forward to after death.

[LargeKingCat]

Originally Posted by MysticPhD

The truly sad thing about your family and those with similar attitudes is that they have already corrupted their states of mind ensuring misery. As a result, there is likely to be very little they can look forward to after death.

Sad but very true.

Back in the 70s and 80s, in the USSR and other restrictive societies, travel was highly restricted. TO take a weekend trip to the beach even REQUIRED advanced, written permission from the government. And some areas were off limits. It is still that way in China today, as well as North Korea and a few other countries.

But not in the United States. Here, if one has the ways and means, one can go just about anywhere without restriction.
UNLESS someone belongs to a restrictive religious organization, like the one referenced above. As I often heard, anything that brought happiness or contentment was a sin. Exploring was unneccesary, because the Bible had all answers in it, and anything else was not allowed or needed. My parents hated travel, I can count family vacations we took growing up on two hands and have fingers left over. I once heard my mom say that we could not go anywhere if it would mean missing church. And remember the 1990 s ban by the Baptist church towards attending any Disney park? (I noticed no difference in the crowd sizes then either)


I am a person who loves travel, and I make it a priority. I like to explore and see and do things. My house is full of items collected as reminders of travel, of PHOTOS, photo books and such. Each one has a story. A good story.

Growing up, I got tired of sharing dreams and ideas with parents and church people and constantly being met with negativity and discouragement as a result. So, I quit telling any of them anything, just going off and doing it.

Oddly enough, my son shares my passion for travel. I have always wanted to go to AN NFL game in December in a northern city, and outdoors. I am making that happen this year. Crossing that off the bucket list. Which is a long list still.