Please pray with me eugman,.. to Saint E. T. Jaynes:
Saint Edwin,
I pray for rationality as I begin this day, for I understand there is uncertainty in probability models to be reduced, priors to be corrected, superstitions to be squelched and suckers to be Dutch booked. Grant me the courage to be alert so that that I may correctly hear P(B|A). Thy voice; to persevere, that I may share Thy victory; and to remember, lest I forget the way by which Thou has led me. And when this day is done, Saint Edwin, may I have the courage to see Thy guiding hand in the laws of conditional probability, in the significant features of subjectivist position that have been healed, and in the foundations of statistical inference that have been given.
Sometimes I wish there was a sincere, non-theistic rationalist religion I could join. The ritual, poetry and community without the false beliefs. Sermons on philosophy and science. Donuts afterward.
Somebody told me that my equanimity thoughts post looked like the beginning of a new religion, and that it reminded them “of Buddhism in a postmodern context”.
You may want to check out a chapter of the Ethical Society. It’s humanist in doctrine but appears to be based organizationally on Christendom. I don’t know what the sermons are about, though.
You might enjoy a church affiliated with United Centers for Spiritual Living. These come out of the tradition of Emerson and Thoreau (and yes, Mary Baker Eddy). While these churches don’t think of themselves as atheistic, they refer to god as “it” and it is difficult to distinguish their god from a universe with consciousness in it. You might also enjoy some Yoga centers, and I think there are other choices.
I was active in Seaside Church in Encinitas CA for a while, and if I were to get active in a church again it would be either that or Soul of Yoga in Encinitas CA.
I was partly raised Unitarian Universalist—but thats not what I mean really. On aesthetics these churches fall far short of the pomp and mystery of, say, Catholicism. On beliefs—I want a place that replaces reverence for God with reverence for truth not “whatever it is you happen to revere as long as you’re tolerant of what everyone else reveres”.
I was partly raised Unitarian Universalist—but thats not what I mean really. On aesthetics these churches fall far short of the pomp and mystery of, say, Catholicism.
lukeprog would know more (since he’s interviewed a couple of people running these sorts of organizations for his old blog) but the impression I get is that atheists have varied taste in pomp and mystery and that most atheists would be interested in a weekly philosophy meetup but not a weekly philosophy meetup with rituals attached. There’s still a chance someone has made such an organization in your area, but it is unlikely to be large enough to be self-sustaining or contain sufficient good company.
Please pray with me eugman,.. to Saint E. T. Jaynes:
Saint Edwin, I pray for rationality as I begin this day, for I understand there is uncertainty in probability models to be reduced, priors to be corrected, superstitions to be squelched and suckers to be Dutch booked. Grant me the courage to be alert so that that I may correctly hear P(B|A). Thy voice; to persevere, that I may share Thy victory; and to remember, lest I forget the way by which Thou has led me. And when this day is done, Saint Edwin, may I have the courage to see Thy guiding hand in the laws of conditional probability, in the significant features of subjectivist position that have been healed, and in the foundations of statistical inference that have been given.
Amen.
Sometimes I wish there was a sincere, non-theistic rationalist religion I could join. The ritual, poetry and community without the false beliefs. Sermons on philosophy and science. Donuts afterward.
This is something I’m looking for. Rituals can be comforting whether they have any objective significance.
Chulent. I want chulent and kishke back, with some single malt.
Somebody told me that my equanimity thoughts post looked like the beginning of a new religion, and that it reminded them “of Buddhism in a postmodern context”.
You may want to check out a chapter of the Ethical Society. It’s humanist in doctrine but appears to be based organizationally on Christendom. I don’t know what the sermons are about, though.
You might enjoy a church affiliated with United Centers for Spiritual Living. These come out of the tradition of Emerson and Thoreau (and yes, Mary Baker Eddy). While these churches don’t think of themselves as atheistic, they refer to god as “it” and it is difficult to distinguish their god from a universe with consciousness in it. You might also enjoy some Yoga centers, and I think there are other choices.
I was active in Seaside Church in Encinitas CA for a while, and if I were to get active in a church again it would be either that or Soul of Yoga in Encinitas CA.
These exist. Most of them tend to be atheist-friendly rather than explicitly atheist, but odds are high if you live in a major city there’s one.
I was partly raised Unitarian Universalist—but thats not what I mean really. On aesthetics these churches fall far short of the pomp and mystery of, say, Catholicism. On beliefs—I want a place that replaces reverence for God with reverence for truth not “whatever it is you happen to revere as long as you’re tolerant of what everyone else reveres”.
lukeprog would know more (since he’s interviewed a couple of people running these sorts of organizations for his old blog) but the impression I get is that atheists have varied taste in pomp and mystery and that most atheists would be interested in a weekly philosophy meetup but not a weekly philosophy meetup with rituals attached. There’s still a chance someone has made such an organization in your area, but it is unlikely to be large enough to be self-sustaining or contain sufficient good company.