http://www.atheistjourney.com One man's attempt to understand God Thu, 09 Jul 2009 20:46:02 +0000 http://backend.userland.com/rss092 en Why does someone stick his neck out and take a risk? What is risk anyway? One saying that I hear once in a while is: "It is better to have loved and lost than never to have loved at all." As someone who has loved and lost, I'm not ... http://www.atheistjourney.com/?p=146 I'm thinking about "Jacob's Ladder", a movie starring Tim Robbins about one man's fear of death. In the movie is a wonderful quote, which I often return to for inspiration. It's a piece of dialogue from Jacob's chiropractor, Louie, to Jacob when Jacob is particularly troubled: Eckhart saw hell too. He ... http://www.atheistjourney.com/?p=140 Jesus was a nomad. We romanticize the term "nomadic", but today we have a less romantic name for it: Homeless. It's hard to make a home in the desert. Building materials in the desert are hard to come by. There is no wood, so you must construct your ... http://www.atheistjourney.com/?p=137 Before bible study today, a friend sat with me for a moment holding a paper bag. She said, "I brought these for you." I took the bag and looked inside. There were three beautiful, succulent, red, inviting tomatoes in her bag. But I knew that if ... http://www.atheistjourney.com/?p=133 Fireworks are exploding over my neighborhood this July 4th as I write this. Today was probably the hardest day of my fast so far. I went shopping for a new car with a friend. I didn't buy today but I test drove five cars, and it was hot, very ... http://www.atheistjourney.com/?p=127 One probably shouldn't write a blog post when one is angry, especially on a religion blog. But I want to publish my blog post before the end of the day, and the deadline is coming up. The only reason I mention my anger is that it might have ... http://www.atheistjourney.com/?p=123 Our Fred group met tonight. Ice cream with all the fixin's was served, and I declined. Someone from the group had been reading my blog, so I became the center of attention for a while as I tried to explain why I was doing a 40-day fast. ... http://www.atheistjourney.com/?p=118 I've decided to just avoid the Barnes and Noble Cafe, avoid the temptation of the chocolate chip cookie. I'll be more productive by studying at home than there anyway, especially in my state of mind, one of impatience. So far, everything is going well. No headaches, no ... http://www.atheistjourney.com/?p=113 I guess I should be very clear about my ground rules for this fast. First, it is not a water-only fast. As I wrote in a previous post, I'm also consuming several ounces of a high quality nutrient drink filled with minerals and vitamins. But after the ... http://www.atheistjourney.com/?p=110 As an atheist, I have sometimes argued that Jesus didn't really fast for 40 days and nights in the desert, that the bible exaggerates. But now I believe that Jesus did in fact fast for 40 days and 40 nights. I don't know why He did it, but ... http://www.atheistjourney.com/?p=107