DJ'EVER NOTICE . . .

Could be a similar dish. The way my family did it was flour, eggs, milk mixed then fried (rather like a very thin pancake), cut into bits, salted and gobbled. Some non-Mennonite types will add syrup of jam. Personally, I consider additives of any sort impure. But, yes, it's a plateful and when I eat that after 12 or so, that will mean I'm likely to skip dinner but one meal per day is not unusual for me.

I would happily trade the last week of my life in exchange for another summer afternoon up in a cherry tree. Mind you, that last week is not likely to be much fun, but it's my thought that counts.

You could regain it. How would it hurt?

It seems to me that atheism is one of if not the easiest way to demonstrate one can remain true to one's principles.

You miss the sense of personal gratitude with respect to creation. If you slip, who will know, unless you tell them?

What is the personal cost of not believing in God?

Unlike being a member of one of the major religions, being an atheist doesn't require one to do or say anything that might reveal to the world one's lack of faith, and if some religious fanatic threatened you with death if you didn't swear allegiance to and worship of his or her particular god, who would you betray if you complied? Certainly not the Great Void Wherein No God Dwells.

If you allowed yourself to be slaughtered for refusing to voice fealty to a being in which you don't believe, I would call you a fool. Devout Christians, Muslims and Jews won't convert at the tip of a sword because they believe they are betraying some one or some thing, and that there may be a price to pay for so doing. Again, The Void won't punish you if you deny it.

Being an atheist, from a practical standpoint, means nothing other than declaring yourself, and that can easily be confined to yourself. There are no rituals you are required to follow, and certainly, in this day and age, your failure to participate in the rituals of some of your believing neighbors wouldn't even be noticed.

Before any thin-skinned atheists launch an attack, this is in no way a criticism of atheists, merely a recognition of the fact that there is virtually no consequence materially or metaphysically to not believing in God, and isn't that one of the favorite arguments of many atheists? That you are a fool if you think your belief in God will reward you in some way?

On second thought, it might be a criticism of atheists who believe their non-belief is in some way courageous.

If you feel like your atheism is a way to rail against an unjust God who might smite you for it, you're not brave, you're a phony, and certainly not an atheist.

When I describe myself as an "atheist" it is definitely the "weak" or "implicit" kind. I don't walk around self-identifying as a non-believer but when people ask, I feel I have to say something! I don't feel that my lack of belief is "courageous" or "edgy" — it's a lack of belief, it's like not missing something which isn't there. If I were ever in a position to do something truly courageous it wouldn't have anything to do with the presence or absence of a personal god in my life. Like when I braved three lanes of traffic on a busy artery in NJ to rescue a big female snapping turtle — who then pissed on me.

I think I know what you're saying here but there have been heroic instances where religious authorities imprisoned or killed non-believers who could have easily recanted their atheism and saved their lives. Giordano Bruno comes to mind. I think it has to do with believing in the truth of one's life work and not giving idiots the power to erase your ideas even if they can snuff out your life. I'm not sure I would call that behavior foolish. And at least one won't live the rest of his life berated by his own conscience for having takien the cowardly way out and agreeing with one's accusers.