Day 5: Hanging with my Ancestors: The Real Stars

It's Sunday morning and I overnighted at my Mom's farm.  I'm a town dweller, and my only real opportunity to catch the magnificence of the night sky is at the farm.  I told my Mom that when I'm at my home, I can see the stars, but when I am at her home, I can see the galaxy.  

This Lent Season has me on a journey through all the influences and voices that have inspired and educated me in the last few years of my deconversion.  Those voices have brought some sense to the strange experiences I had no words for.  I will continue to share those influences and even discover new voices as I journey through Lent.  Today, I want to share the strongest voice, the greatest influence in my journey away from the mythology of my past.  It's the stars (and the occasional planet that I can't identify in the vast cosmic ocean of the galaxy). 

I don't know all their names, I am somewhat familiar with a few of the groupings of stars that show themselves in my Northern Hemisphere home.  Today, I want to learn some names.  

One of the more common groupings, is the Big Dipper.  I have seen these stars off and on for the last fifty five years of my life.  I never knew their names until this morning. 

Alkaid, Mizar, Alioth, Megrez, Phecda, Dubhe and Merak all make up the asterism "The Big Dipper".  My ignorance of cosmology had me thinking that the Big Dipper was a constellation, but it is actually called an asterism.  The constellation is Ursa Major which includes the Big Dipper.  Don't get me started on how confusing that was for me.  But I will leave it up to a cosmologist to explain that one.  

The seven names of the stars of the Big Dipper are of Arabic origin.  I find that fascinating.  The cosmos has no political boundaries.  I like that.  

Another factoid that amazes me is just how far away the stars are from my vantage point on earth.  The data suggests that they are about 80 light years away.  That means the light shining off those stars takes 80 years to get to me.  I am seeing light that existed and started it's journey towards me decades before I was born.   Wow!

Let's do some math and see how that looks in actual distance.  So one light year is about 6 trillion miles.  So those stars are 480,000,000,000,000 (480 quadrillion) miles from me.  Now that is for my American neighbours.  Let's make that number a bit bigger by translating it into kilometres - 768 quadrillion km.   Compare that to the circumference of the earth which is 40,075 km.  That is equivalent 19,164,067,373 trips around the equator of the earth to reach the stars of the Big Dipper.  

I just shared that bit of information with my mother and told her that it's very humbling to understand how insignificant humans are when we look at the massiveness of the cosmos.  We are not the centre of the universe.  She had a smile on her face.  She understands that we live in a very big universe.  I am grateful for that.  Religion has narrowed a lot of people's view down to the ground they walk on.  I am thankful that my mom can see past her world to the magnificence of the cosmos beyond.  

I tried to capture with my Iphone 14 some of the magnificence I saw this morning around 6:00 am Alberta time.  They were okay images,  but didn't do the real thing justice.  I would recommend anyone to find a dark place away from city lights and experience the beauty that the night sky has to offer.  It just might humble you, too.  

Day 5: 2022 - "Finding Courage in Jean Meslier" 

Day 5: 2023 - "No one ever asked me... other than Darwin."  

Day 4: "Openly Secular" with John De Lancie

 

John De Lancie:  Openly Secular 

"Mostly what I was struck with, the whole notion of being religious, was that I felt manipulated.  And I don't know why I picked that up at eight years old.   But I did."  JDL

This video clip of John De Lancie has been a big inspiration for me for a few years now.  I admired him because of his confidence in himself which was something I lacked and still lack for the most part.  Being authentic matters to him.  Being authentic matters to me, I just struggle with expressing it like JDL.  

The first time I was aware of John De Lancie was when he played a character by the name of Eugene on Days of our Lives.  When he resurfaced on my radar during his time on Star Trek: The Next Generation, I was even more amazed at his confident acting ability.  I figure it takes a secular actor to pull off an omnipotent character like Q with a comedic ironic twist.  

One of my favourite scenes from the show, is a scene where he takes Picard back into Earth's past, three and half billion years.  I figure only someone "openly secular" can pull off this scene.  

Earth 3.5 Billion Years ago (Star Trek TNG final Season 7)

Most creationists would have a hard time imagining humanity emerging from a "goo" pit, (dirt maybe, but not "goo") but it's humbling to imagine it.  I think it is strangely honourable to imagine that some molecules in me can be traced back to the Big Bang.  That goes back farther than the "goo" pit.  That little tidbit is what connects me to the cosmos and how I can confidently say that I don't feel alone in the Universe without a "God" expression in my life.  I am part of a bigger whole.  How can I feel alone?  

John De Lancie ends this clip with a goal and a hope.  It sums up what I hope to do in my world, and hope to see done in return.  

"As somebody who is secular, I will fight for the person who's religious to be religious.  But I would like the people who are religious to fight for me to be secular." JDL

Day 4: 2022 - "May God die in all of us one day."

Day 4: 2023 - "In the valley is where you will find the Poet." 

Day 3; Abraham Piper: Inspiration doesn't need a lot of time.

 What I replace Christianity with:  Abraham Piper 

"I don't have to be anything" AP

I think these words from Abraham Piper are the sweetest breath of fresh air for me.  I have indicated before that I struggle with a label to define who I am, so I currently am okay with what I'm not... until I figure out who I am.  AP is okay with not having to be labeled anything.  I like that.  

Is god necessary for morality? : Abraham Piper

What I appreciate about AP's videos is they are short and too the point.  He doesn't waste words.  Sometimes all one needs is a swift kick in the pants.  AP provides that.  He takes common misunderstandings and in one minute deflates them.  I would hope they don't reach deaf ears.  

You can leave Christianity without taking it seriously : Abraham Piper

My biggest struggle with my departure from Christianity has been my people and their responses or my imagined responses.  I want to believe that it's not my responsibility to convince anyone that I am okay the way I am processing life.  Maybe I have bought into the lie that I am on trial now.  Maybe I'm not.  Thank you AP.  

Almost nobody believes in a literal hell. : Abraham Piper

"Their core humanity won't allow them"  AP

I am thankful for that.  I am thankful that my people are human at their core.  It's why I haven't got the hell speech from the people that know I've left Christianity.  What AP says makes sense.  There are a lot of things that doctrine and dogma say, but the humans have something doctrine and dogma don't have... compassion and a heart.  

I would invite you, if you need something quick and thought provoking to check out Abraham Piper's Youtube Channel.  It doesn't take a lot of words to activate one's thinking muscle.  He's real good at getting a brain to think.  

A creator God and A.I. : Abraham Piper

Day 3: 2022 - The Gift from Prometheus

Day 3: 2023 - The Honoured Rocks

Day 2: Neil DeGrasse Tyson teaches me about the Cosmos

Neil Degrasse Tyson: Atheism is taking over

 If this Lent Season had me sharing about forty-five self proclaimed atheists influencers, I wonder how narrow my perspective would be.  So I will open up this season of Authentic Lent by highlighting an amazing scientist who doesn't willingly claim "Atheist" as his identity.    Listen to the following Youtube video of an interview with Neil Degrasse Tyson where he talks about "Why he doesn't believe in God."  

Neil Degrasse Tyson on Why he doesn't believe in God: Which God? There's 18,000. (Part 4) 

I am enamoured by what I have listened to so far by Neil Degrasse Tyson.  He is a new discovery for me, but he's been around for a long time.  He is an Astro-Physicist  He is a lover of the cosmos.  He knows things I wish I had access to.  He understands the stars, where as I can only gaze up at them with my eyes and wonder.  He has glanced at galaxies close up, where as I have never looked through a telescope in my life.  

With such an extensive understanding of the Universe, I can understand why "God" isn't something he sees through his telescope.  He doesn't need to reduce the amazing vastness of the cosmos to an ancient mythology.  It's so much more magnificent for him. 

What drives me to learn more is that I've learned that the stars are my ancestors.  I want to learn more about them and my place in the cosmos.   

“The nitrogen in our DNA, the calcium in our teeth, the iron in our blood, the carbon in our apple pies were made in the interiors of collapsing stars. We are made of star stuff” Carl Sagan

I've said before that believing in science requires as much a stretch for me as believing in a creator.  I personally don't have access to the evidence that would convince me to enough certainty.  It makes sense that the universe is a whole lot older than the Bible says it is.  I am okay to understand most of the Bible as mythology and all of it man written.  I would vote for the scientist before I'd vote for the theologian, but I still would be voting on faith, and not knowledge.  I'm not saying the knowledge is not accessible to humanity, I just haven't ventured far enough away from my ant hill to discover it first hand.  

This is why Neil Degrasse Tyson is a great voice to listen to.  The evidence mattered to him, so he went after it.  He did the digging required to discover what really is out in the Cosmos.  He climbed out of his ant hill and went in search of ... dare I say it... truth.  

* * * 

This early morning I had a dream.  My mother and I were at a funeral in a big Lutheran church.  We were cuddling up in a pew in a quilt to keep warm.  (must have been cold).  There was a little girl who sang a song I have become very fond of, but I would never expect to hear it in a Lutheran funeral service.  The song was written by Tim Minchin.   I felt for a moment in that church service a little less like an outsider because of Tim's song.  I even found myself singing along with it.  I will end this post with the song and Day 2 blog posts which I found timely and encouraging this morning. 

The Aeroplane: Tim Minchin and Asmara Feik

 (Stay tuned to hear about more about Tim Minchin later during 2024's Authentic Lent journey)

Day 2: 2022 - "Just longing for a place to fly

Day 2: 2023 - "Not everyone calls this "God" 

Day 1: Authentic Lent 2024 - From VaLENTine's Day to my Birthday

Today... Is it Valentines Day, the day of Love or Ash Wednesday,  the beginning of a season of grief known as Lent?  Love or Lent? It's both.  VaLENTines Day!  

This will be my third year of my Authentic Lent blog.  For the first two years I joined Pete Rollins and the "Atheism for Lent" course and spent the forty-five days of Lent hearing the voices the past  (for the most part).  Voices that are long gone, but that offered the people of their time a different take on life than had been offered through the conventional religious channels of the day.  Voices like Frederich Nietsche, Jean Meslier, Marguerite Porete and Robert Ingersoll.  Scattered through out my thoughts of the "Atheism for Lent" reading assignments are my own journey notes, not always about the AFL homework subjects.  I spent the forty five days of Lent just purging my soul of its contents.  

This year, Lent ends on Good Friday again, and on my 56th  birthday.  I decided to forgo Peter Rollins "Atheism for Lent" course and do somewhat of my own "Atheism for Lent".  This time, I want to bring to my blog,  the voices of today.  The great thinkers that still share the Earth's atmosphere with me:  Philosophers, Scientists, Authors, Podcasters and Youtubers that have been guides for me along the journey.  

Most of the voices that I will share here in the next month and a half are well known to the deconversion community.  Our little band of apostates have been encouraged by so many of these pilgrims that have gone before us.  We all feel less alone because of them.  So during Lent this year, I want to share the wisdom and insight I have gathered from each of them with the hope to pass along some of that gold to others who have found themselves outside of their Christian communities.  We don't have to be alone.  We are not alone.  

I am not as organized as Pete Rollins is, so I have no schedule.  But each day, I'll see what inspires me and who crosses my path.  I also want to go back to the archives and read each corresponding day from the last two years.  I will add links to those entries at the end of each post.  

I invite you to journey along with me during this season of Lent.  Like I said... we don't have to be alone... we are not alone.  

Day 1: 2022 -The Dance of the Dark and the Light

Day 1: 2023 - "Exist or Dwell" 

SACRED SATURDAY

Today will be my last post here for this season.  I am not even adding today in the count down.  My Lenten season countdown ended yesterday.  But today is something I still want to write about.  Today is where I live.  

I grew up going to church at least four times over the the Easter weekend.  Once on Thursday, once on Friday and twice on Sunday. Five times if one included the Lenten Wednesday service.  Needless to say... for a youth, it was harrowing.  But one day stood out in that week.  It was Saturday.  We had a reprieve from church.  It was breathing space for a girl who went to church because it was required of her, but she rarely if ever voiced her inner discontent with it.  

I never spent much time wondering what Saturday was all about.  Why didn't that day deserve a service of some kind? Why didn't the people gather and reflect on what that space in between death and life meant.  We never talked about it.  We just saw "death" and then waited for "life" because it came every year.  There was no sadness because "death" was not permanent.  

This religious event in my life didn't teach me about the reality of death.  When death came in my life, there wasn't life in two days.  There was sadness and sorrow and pain and heartache and Saturday existed where Sunday did not.  

Now I have the freedom to sit in Saturday.  I will let Sunday go as if it were another day of the week.  I let the loss permeate my being and I find meaning in what is now Sacred to me.  

I do want to send out a special thank you to all my AFL sojourners.  Your words and companionship have been a great part of this journey.  Thank you for your wisdom and vulnerability.  Thank you for being available to listen and love.  Thank you!

Day 45: Bad Friday

 

Like Poplar Sunday, I have a strong desire to rename today to "Bad Friday".  I could do some added research to discover the reason that today was labeled "Good", and I would probably find out that it has something to do with the atonement theory.  

I've seen over time that it is human nature for most people to want to colour over the pain, loss and sadness.  We as humans wouldn't survive long as a species if we dwelled in the pits of life for too long.  So we take our sadness and try to spin it for something beneficial.  We look for character building moments in our tragedies.  We look for a rainbow after a storm.  We look for some way (to use a phrase from a common worship song) to  "trade our sorrows".  Maybe that is why today is called "Good" 

But what if we just had the opportunity to sit in the gravity of the the story of that Friday (if it even was a Friday).  Every year, millions of people gather for a traditional service to "remember" the events of the crucifixion of Jesus of Nazareth.  How often in those services can someone remove themselves from the repetitive liturgy and traditional practices to sit in the sadness.  I don't think we can.  It's not in us to leave the picture and it's lines without what a crayon provides.  We need to colour in the picture.  It is incomplete without it.  Or maybe it isn't. 

Today is Bad Friday because it was really was a bad day.