This thread is inspired by another: view original post
It's true, I do.
I've always been a romanticist, always believed in the powers of love and perseverance self-belief and other such mush. Maybe it's because I never got out much and I was always more influenced by fiction than reality.
I only became a rationalist atheist, or at least rationalist in the face of baseless superstition, as I became a humanist after a youth of conservatism. But I still love the art and feeling, I guess, of religion. The sense of belonging, and the sense of pure joy and delight. I -blam!-ing adore BioShock Infinite's opening sequence (after the lighthouse :P ), and would love to see such a place IRL (to be fair, that's an appreciation of pure aesthetic). DE Human Revolution's scifi heaven enraptures me. And, when watching documentaries about the Amish in America, I actually want to live with them. As I said, the sense of belonging, and the focus on people rather than things, is something I'd love to experience.
Does this fly in the face of my rationalist atheism? Considering how I explained why I love that other stuff, the art and the joy it all brings, rather than the actual beliefs and doctrines (although, I'm pretty sure I'd love a life of eternal bliss with all my loved ones after everything passes), I would say no. 'Cos then I watch a video like this, and feel reassuringly disgusted. :D
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qzVxHF8T0Hk
Discuss, uhh, me. And/or any similar feelings you have. *awkward smile, then prompting hand gestures*
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Religion =/= spirituality. For those who can't fathom it.