Wednesday July 4, 2012, 10:54 am
What happens when a clergy person -- a minister, a priest, a rabbi, an imam -- realizes he doesn't believe in God?
And what happens when he says it out loud? What happens when they find each other; when they support each other in coping with their crises, when they help each other with resources and job counseling and other practical assistance? What happens when they encourage each other to come out?

Could this affect more than just these clergy people and their followers? Could it change how society as a whole thinks and feels about religion?

That's what the Clergy Project is finding out. In recent months and years, atheists have been all over the news. But over the last few weeks, a burst of media attention has been focused on atheists of an unexpected stripe: clergy members. And in particular, attention is going to the Clergy Project, an online meeting place and support group that exists specifically for these unexpected additions to the ranks of the godless.
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Several good REFERENCES and LINKS are given in this article.
In case you know of anyone who has this "problem"!

I think a MAJOR REVOLUTION could be brewing here.....!!!
[Clergy can use the pronoun "she", as well.... as the article establishes!]

Wednesday July 4, 2012, 11:01 am
These people are an inspiration. Regardless of what you think of religion or atheism, they are an inspiration. And there is clearly a place in our society for them. Listen to Lawrence Hunter: "If I were a pastor, who had complete control over my church, I would take the title of 'church' [and change it] to 'community center.' I wouldn't preach from the bible, I would quote from numerous sources of literature and wisdom. As an African American I would focus on neighborhood issues, such as poverty, lack of education and a host of other ills. Gone would be silly rituals of baptism and communion. There's so much that churches can and should do to help their communities, but choose to ignore them."
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PLEASE NOTE AND PASS AROUND THIS ARTICLE TO YOUR FRIENDS.
There is A LOT WE CAN DO to help this "benign revolution" along! A LOT!

We can thru the Internet and our friends and contacts, help these "ATHEIST CLERGY", and the many, many Doubters and Questioners and, yes, EVEN THE HYPOCRITES WHO KNOW THEY ARE HYPOCRITES AND FEEL UNCOMFORTABLE WITH IT -- help them "COME OUT OF THE CLOSET", even as, not so very long ago, it was IMPORTANT for GAY PEOPLE TO COME OUT OF THE CLOSET -- and with social approval and backing and help from the Progressive people in society-at-large!

Wednesday July 4, 2012, 11:08 am
Another good source/link, not mentioned in this article, is ExChristian.net.

If there are professional atheist-slammers reading this thread, and wanting to post pro-religion junk and nonsense on it --
I CHALLENGE YOU TO GO TO THE SITES MENTIONED; AND STOP TRYING TO SILENCE YOUR *OWN* DOUBTS YOU HAVE, BY BLATHERING ON {and on! and on!}; BLATHERING ABOUT WHAT IS SIMPLY INSUPPORTABLE IN THE MODERN WORLD WITH MODERN SCIENCE, AND SECRETLY, WAY WAY DEEP DOWN INSIDE -- *YOU* *KNOW* *IT*!!!!!!!!!!!!
way way deep down inside where you're scared to look at it........

Wednesday July 4, 2012, 11:19 am
And, professional atheist-slammers,
THERE IS GOOD EVIDENCE, LOTS AND LOTS AND LOTS OF GOOD EVIDENCE,
that whoever you look up to as your "religious adviser" and go to in times of doubt,
HE OR SHE IS PROBABLY A HYPOCRITE AND DOESN'T BELIEVE IN THAT GARBAGE EITHER,
not REALLY REALLY REALLY BELIEVE....
they are JUST MAKING MONEY OFF OF THE BELIEVERS.
So it's a HUGE, HUGE *SCAM*.

So we who have seen thru this, HAVE NO RESPECT FOR IT.....

Just read about ANOTHER Mega-church famous Preacher, who recently FATHERED A CHILD WITH ANOTHER MAN'S WIFE......
Hey, they don't REALLY believe in "Hell", that's just A PART OF THE SCAM TO SCARE PEOPLE WHO DON'T KNOW ANY BETTER....
[Where IS "hell", by the way? or "heaven" -- where IS it actually? another galaxy? the Milky Way? farther out in Space? where? or "purgatory" or "limbo", for that matter? WHERE? or are the gods/god REALLY on top of Mt. Olympus? or Mt. Sinai? etc.]

Wednesday July 4, 2012, 11:35 am
ty

Wednesday July 4, 2012, 6:43 pm
Hehe, they're waking up!

Wednesday July 4, 2012, 7:45 pm
Talking With people instead of AT them might help religion..:)

Wednesday July 4, 2012, 7:51 pm

How I Left My Evangelical Christian Faith

Lots of people have successfully left their religious faith behind. Here's what the path out looks like.

Wednesday July 4, 2012, 8:00 pm
Woman Sues Disgraced Priest Thomas Euteneuer for Molesting Her During Exorcism

Another fine example of the clergy at work.

Wednesday July 4, 2012, 8:46 pm
The clergy , while not exactly embracing Atheism in droves, are doing what anyone that aligns themselves with any organized religion should do from time to time...question it and decide if there are changes you feel need to be made whether it is reasonable to make those changes from within the church to the best of your ability, or to move on to something that more suits who you are now in whatever direction you feel you want to go with your life,
Those of us that are hopefully always evolving, need to add enlightenment of our religious choices as important as the impact of the food we eat

I myself choose to believe in a higher power simply because it gives me some comfort in knowing that there is something better the human race as stewards of themselves and the planet can strive for, some ideal that while it may always seem to be out of reach, makes us better people just by trying to achieve it.
If we had no apprehension with the prospect of an eternity, i think many would run themeselves deeper amuck than they already have...1love

Wednesday July 4, 2012, 9:59 pm
I think it's sad that anyone needs a religion to guide their morals and principles. Surely these can't be rationalized and figured out? As far as I know, most people who are religious don't really dwell on any "God" per se, but instead embrace the community they find and any semblence of guidance. For good or ill

Thursday July 5, 2012, 2:34 am
As an Atheist, a non-believer in a God or Gods, I choose to define what I mean by "God", as a "personality" you can appeal to, sortof like a powerful family member or ruler, for favors -- one having the power to grant or deny favors, to make things happen, like diseases, earthquakes, rain, bountiful harvests, etc., both good stuff and bad stuff -- like Zeus, Odin, Jupiter, Thor, Allah, Jehovah, Jaweh, the Holy Ghost, Isis, Astarte, Cybele, etc.
If you choose to say things like "god is in everything"; "god is the Universe"; "god exists inside of everybody"; "god is Nature"; "god is everything that exists"; or even, "god is a higher power" or "god is The Good", or whatever like that -- these are non-traditional definitions of god or gods, called in some other languages by some other word than god; to me, it seems -- this is just my personal opinion, mind you -- it seems like this is in the nature of a "cop-out", a way of being rational and modern and not having to say straight out you don't believe old myths, a way in other words, of being "respectable" and not offending your "god-fearing" neighbors and still being intelligent!
I think if we revised the definitions we all accepted of the word "god", and it lost its cachet, then there would be tons more Atheists coming out, than those that presently say they are not!
However, if you in conversation got me to agree on some language mutually agreeable to us about Higher Powers {or States of Being} and the Universe and Spiritual Matters -- if we agreed on some mutual vocabulary, we would agree on a LOT of other things -- as would many Atheists, indeed!
Some Atheists -- but not all -- believe in a totally materialistic "explanation" of things. I am not one of those! To deny Spirituality or Spiritual Experience, is actually very un-Scientific -- as it is a denial of something for which there is tons of EVIDENCE!
I believe that Ethics has to come from a "place in the heart" and can't come from pure rationality. Rationality can teach you how to make an Atomic Bomb; but it can't tell you whether or not you should USE it. It's possible to believe in something that might be called in some sense a "soul", without believing in gods or an afterlife in heaven, purgatory or Valhalla! Not all Atheists agree with me; but we have our differences that we like to argue over too!

Thursday July 5, 2012, 7:49 am
spiritual, yes
religious - never been