Child of TV...Atheist....

[catwixen]

Hey there....
I was brought up Catholic by a very strict devout Catholic father. My mother was moderate christian but not in the picture very much. Church every Sunday,Easter,Christmas,Sunday school, was a chore...midnight mass was a bloody bore. I never got any teachings there that made any sense. I never got any teachings from my father that made any sense, in fact the teachings from my father were highly contradictory and nonsensical.
I was a child of TV. TV was my babysitter...in a way. Strange to say, yet I am not embarrassed by it because what I learnt from what I decided to watch, were the things that shaped who I am today.
The main one that influenced my spiritual journey was "Cosmos". Everything that Carl Sagan said made sense to me. This was important, I was a logical child and needed things to make sense. I would watch fantasy shows or silly stuff, but the main home on TV for me was "Cosmos".
I learned very early on...on my own, what made sense to me and what didn't, not through the influence of parents...but through my own discerning tastes.
So I think my testimonial may sound strange to some, or even not a positive tale of maturing?...To me I wouldn't have it any other way...I feel totally unencumbered by my parents hang-ups....
To quote one of the Mythbusters guys...."I reject your reality and substitute my own".
This is my little story..
Hope you enjoyed it. :)

[StPatrick]

I did enjoy it, cat.

BTW: that was Adam Savage who said "I reject your reality and substitute my own!"

[catwixen]

A-ha thankyou StPatrick, couldn't think of his name at the time of posting. How surprising someone in this forum would know it. ;)

[hideousmonster]

It very closely resembles my own story.  Conservative Catholic father, liberal christian mother, church every week, church school once per week... scientific documentaries on my own time. I liked my mother's methods of parenting much more than my father's. However, late in high school, the tides began to change. I began to notice that my mother had been spoiling me, and that I was beginning to respect the wisdom of a lot of Catholic principals. Even though I too lost faith and haven't yet regained it, by some fluke I actually ended up far more conservative than my father ever was, finding sociological justifications to conservatism, rather than theological ones.

[cmarie]

Good story Cat. :)

My family was not religious at all. My favorite thing on tv was the scary movies, which came on every Friday and Saturday night after midnight. I believed in supernatural power, or wanted to. If I heard something go bump in the night, I went to investigate. I wanted to see something. I had seances when I got older, played with a ouija board and probably other silly things to summon forth something - and I have always been disappointed. I have found no evidence of ghosts of any kind. And I have watched those ghosthunter shows, and again, NOTHING! Just a lot of spooky atmosphere, LOL. Which is kind of how it is with God for me. I want to actually experience this God who loves me, I want to see him, or touch him and so far I have been disappointed. He is nowhere to be found. And my feelings are not God. There is nothing supernatural there, only natural.

[catwixen]

Thanks hideousmonster and cmarie. it's good to know I don't come across as some kind of "hideousmonster" lol ;), by saying my ideals came from TV.
Cmarie, I was quite open to any unusual phenomena that may occur when I was young too, and sort of disappointed it seemed to be happening to everyone else but me...til I figured out their psychological need for "something more" was shaping their perceptions on experiences that were probably quite common.
I ended up liking being a more rational thinker. I was the odd one out and that suited me fine. :)

[hypsell]

I agree completely about Sagan.Most eloquent and intelligent atheist on tv.Another good athiest to read up on is Isaac Asimov.He was very intelligent even if a bit hard headed.I'll miss both of them.Also all the laughter from Douglas Adams,funny stuff!!

[catwixen]

Lol I saw Dawkins on Dr Who last night....I think someone has mentioned it in the forum before. It was so cool! 

[Diogenes]