A Year Without God: A Former Pastor's Journey Into Atheism

[rug]

Posted: 12/31/2013 12:53 pm
Ryan J. Bell.
Writer, Teacher, Speaker, Activist

What difference does God make?

About a year ago a friend and Episcopal priest, told me her atheist friend asked her this question. She found it harder to answer than she expected. He had batted away her first few attempts and she was now running it by me. We didn't end up discussing it for very long but the question has stayed with me. Recently I decided I would find out, by living for a year without God.

*******

I was more or less raised in the Seventh-day Adventist Church. My parents were United Methodists when I was born in 1971 in Parma, Ohio -- a suburb on the west side of Cleveland. When I was six years old my parents' marriage started to come apart and in an effort to save it, we all ended up with my mom's parents in Southern California. Part of the effort to save their marriage must have been a renewed commitment to their Christian faith, this time in the Seventh-day Adventist dialect of my grandparents.

From that time until early 2013, I lived within the family of the church. My relationship with God and the church has taken many turns -- a story for another time -- but I always managed to maintain the tension between the relatively unchanging demands of the church, my growing understanding of God, and my own personal experience of the world. I realize now that this tension was always there. These relationships were never easy for me. Whether during my fundamentalist phase, during college, or my growing progressive convictions in recent years, I always had a nagging sense that I didn't fit. So, naturally, I became a pastor. Since 1991 I have either been a pastor or in school developing my skills to be a better pastor. When I felt that I couldn't do it anymore I was convinced, by myself and others, that I could make my best contribution from inside rather than outside the church. So I stayed.

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/ryan-j-bell/a-year-without-god_b_4512842.html

http://yearwithoutgod.com/

[longship]

1. This guy needs to contact the Clergy Project.

Dan Barker and his associates can help him, possibly immensely.

Interesting read, but I am confused by his professed intention to "try on atheism for a year". The question is, does he believe in gods or not? I do not think that atheism is like a coat that you can put on and take off. Either your belief includes gods or not.

I think what is happening here is that the guy is losing his faith, or has already lost it, and has chosen a convenient framing. He is undoubtedly a bit stressed by all this. That's why he should get in touch with Barker's group.

R&K
A good post, rug.

[rug]

2. I had the same reaction.

I suspect he's grappling more with social aspects than the theological aspects. At least he's posting a log, so we'll see.

He reminds me a bit of this guy:

Man spends 12 months practicing 12 different religions, and finds peace at year’s end

Amanda Greene | Apr 13, 2012

LUMBERTON, N.C. (RNS) Andrew Bowen isn't Muslim, or Hindu, or Baha'i, or Mormon. In fact, he's none of the 12 faiths he practiced for a month at a time during 2011. Finding faith in God again was not Bowen's aim; he was looking for faith in humanity. By Amanda Greene.

I don't subscribe so I can't get the whole article.

Happy New Year to you, longship!



Edit: I see he wrote a book and set up a website about his experiences.

http://projectconversion.com/

[longship]

3. I wonder how much of a problem this is.

It would be interesting to find out if pastors giving up their faith for non-belief is becoming more common. Robert M. Price, the Bible Geek, claims that it was the studying of scripture that led him to atheism. He could no longer preach to his flock knowing that there was a sort of deception going on (my words, not his). It would be interesting to know how common this is, too.

And...
Happy New Year to you and yours, too, rug.

[cbayer]

4. Well, it's an interesting approach and might be interesting to follow.

But can one really just pretend to be something they are not?

It sounds to me like he is a believer who has found himself in an incompatible denomination.

[rug]

5. That might be it.

I plan to check in on his log now and then to see what he finds out.

[Manifestor_of_Light]

7. The Christians here have said they can pretend.

I've been told here at DU that Christians say pledges that they don't believe in, like The Apostles' Creed. I've been told that you can believe in just about anything and still be a Christian. That is impossible for me to believe. I think it's intellectual dishonesty. I've also been told that "all belief systems have contradictions" (wrong) and that "Haven't you ever gone along with something you didn't believe in church?"

Apparently it's just fine to be a phony hypocritical Christian and say things you don't believe in, just to fit into the group, according to some at DU.

I have never seen a Christian church that did not have some kind of creed they recited that they believed in.

[cbayer]

8. No, the christians here have told you that they don't

fit your exceedingly narrow definition of a christian and you have had a great deal of trouble accepting this as true.

You can call them phony hypocritical christians and that appears to suit your narrative. But others see them as thinking, questioning, progressive people of faith who embrace, but do not swallow whole, christianity.

But i doubt you are ever going to see it any differently than you currently do. It seems deeply etched in stone for you.

[Manifestor_of_Light]

11. Have you told your minister this?

What do you not accept? Have you discussed "I accept A,B,C,D but not E,F,G,H" with your minister?

So do you stay silent during the recitation of whatever creed you use, if there are parts you disagree with?

I have yet to see any scriptural or doctrinal specifics.

[cbayer]

13. I don't have a minister, well

except maybe for my father. But he doesn't really count.

And he doesn't particularly care whether I adhere to any specific doctrine or not.

He is much more interested in how I live my life and relate to others.

The rigid doctrine you speak of is a narrow view that you have decided is "truth".

I doesn't really apply to people in the real world.

[Brettongarcia]

14. But if one rejects many traditional beliefs, doesn't one have much common ground with atheists?

Would it be right for such a person to put down, or act superior or patronizing to, atheists? Lecturing them?

[cbayer]

15. As I have been told many, many times in this group

the only thing atheists have in common is the lack of a belief in a god. So rejecting traditional beliefs but still believing in a god or gods would clearly not make one an atheist.

OTOH, it is my belief that atheists and liberal/progressive people of faith have much more in common than they do differences and that it is in the best interest of both groups to work together in a way that puts judgements about belief aside.

I'm not sure who you are referring to when you talk about people who put down, act superior or patronizing or lecturing atheists.

[Brettongarcia]

16. I like your statement here

Thanx

[Silent3]

6. While reading this, the biggest question I came away wondering about was a practical concern.

How will this guy make a living?

Perhaps he has had a second career all along apart from being a pastor. If not, just writing about his experiment with atheism would, I think, be an iffy source of income. Supportive spouse? Family money? Limited savings from past work as a pastor?

From what I've heard before it's not unusual for clergy to lose faith, but keep up the appearance of faith, simply because they don't have any other income-generating skills.

[rug]

9. He's also an adjuct professor but I don't know how long that will last.

http://www.ryanjbell.net/about/

BTW, here's Mehta's take on it:

http://www.patheos.com/blogs/friendlyatheist/2014/01/02/to-the-pastor-giving-atheism-a-shot-for-a-year-youre-doing-it-wrong/

[cbayer]

10. Mehta's take on this is really interesting.

I agree with him that exploring the beliefs or lack of beliefs of others can be a very positive thing, but one can no more pretend to be an atheist or theists any more than one can pretend to be gay or straight.

[dimbear]

12. Mehta has a nice grip on it......

Just visiting.

BTW, running through that assigned book list would yield up a pretty fair education.