The saying is bunk.
Agreed rebel. But it seems to sooth the smug believers to think that everyone believes in invisible friends. Even though the believers in foxholes get killed all the same.
No atheist in A fox hole.
by jam 55 Replies latest watchtower child-abuse
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rebel8
I will say that once when I was in a scary situation (not life-threatening by any definition), I said the Hail Mary prayer. ONLY because I wanted to calm down fast and that's the first mantra that came to mind. I did not in any way think the dead or imaginary mother of Jesus would hear or help me. A mantra is a meditation technique.
Again, when my actual life was jeopardized, I did not pray or think about praying.
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jamesmahon
I often go into a fox hole when it is christian hunting season. The critters always crawl deeper and deeper into the hole they have dug themselves into though.
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cofty
I can speak from personal experience: it is total bunk.
I am still very hopeful for a cure but I can say that a lack of superstition has made dealing with my illness far easier.
We came from oblivion and we will return to oblivion - what is there to fear?
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Glander
cofty -
It took me awhile to find that peace of mind but I am now content with my view of reality.
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talesin
I've been in a coma - nothing there! For some reason, I'm still here, in spite of the fact that I have faced life-and-death situations several times. lol, my MD used to say "you're survival is a miracle". Death doesn't scare me at all, and comfort from a Divine source? Well, I just . don't . get it.
The pain of living (both physical and emotional) can be much more daunting than the peaceful release of death.
A thoughtful and insightful question, jam. You have 'been there', in those situations, and I like your honesty about your agnosticism. I also greatly admire those who have been in combat, survived, and did not lose their humanity.
xo
tal
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NewChapter
Since it appears that the OP would like for atheists to engage, I will risk the wrath of FHN and tell it from my perspective.
If I were in a foxhole, and I were praying that a mortar round didn't land near my tents, and it did, then I would have a much bigger burden to carry. My time there would have morphed into miserable to 'why didn't god take care of me? why did he let this happen? what have I done wrong?"
Or, if my area was spared, but a nearby tent got hit, and people died, then I would have the added burdeon of 'why didn't god protect them...." etc.
In other words, it would be harder for me. I would look around and think if there is a loving and wise god in charge of this all, how could he let this happen? Where is his love and wisdom? Where is ours, since we are in his image. It would make the situation so much harder for me, that it would be unbearable. How do I know this? I've had my own struggles, and they have been life and death. When I believed in this kind of god, the weight was too much to handle. The unanswered prayers, the injustice of some things, the fact that no matter what we do, how righteous we are, how faithful, we are here now, and we are no different than anyone else, so what was the use of appealing to a god?
Once I let that go, the weight was lifted. These things became easier, because they just are. This is how it is, and none of us escape it, no matter what stories we make up. I am linked to my ancestors, and I will go the way of my ancestors, it is inevitable, and trying to make myself believe I could escape it is what gave me unreachable expectations. Death is not an easy thing to deal with. But it will happen. And then it will be over. I won't be capable of caring after that, so why concern myself? And I won't be sitting ina foxhole comtemplating this loving god who never seems to do one thing to make anything better, and the worrying even more about possibly having to face this brutal god. Instead I can think about things that matter---and that is what I hold on to.
The odds that I was conceived, implanted, born, and lived are so phenomenal, that what I have is a huge gift that most cells will never even be aware of. And the odds that this earth was here for me is also stunning. I really don't need more than that. I won't get it. So why make up stories?
NC
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talesin
arrgh, I used "you're"!
but, but, I just got up, and was sleepy
*confessions of a grammar nazi*
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NomadSoul
You live with the same mundane coincedence as the rest of the world. If you pray you'll get a 50/50 chance of a yes/no. If you don't, you still have the same probability.
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King Solomon
The saying about foxholes is the same reason xians start urban legends about Darwin recanting evolution on his deathbed: it's their own wish fulfillment, projecting their own fears onto others (see above), hoping it to be so as to make themselves feel better about their own faith. They also will try to attack his character, an equally odd strategy: Darwin could've been worse than Pol Pot or Hitler, but that wouldn't effect the FACT of evolution. Why not? A truth is a truth, no matter who says it. The truth is not determined by a public opinion or popularity poll.
Contrast that to God, where character matters. Why? God is the moral law-giver; Darwin is not.
Btw, I spent 10 yrs in military, both enlisted and officer. I know theres many atheists who serve, although there is an alliance formed between religion and the military, based on both sharing a common goal and filling a need that the other cannot provide. Hence it's always smarter not to get into belief systems with fellow members (although that rarely goes both ways, ie Xians are the worst offenders at forcing their religion on other soldiers, even though it's against policy to do so).