I have a question for anyone who wished to respond.
Do you feel obligated sometimes to defend your beliefs? By this I mean, do you ever feel self-conscious or defensive? Has anyone out there never felt that way? Perhaps some feel as if they've moved past the need or desire to explain, articulate, maybe even justify not believing in the generally accepted version of God.
My brother and his extended family are Seventh Day Adventists. There have never been any problems with my being agnostic, either when I was a very busy Buddhist, or now, fifteen years later. Mostly I find nature in all its formats and iterations, the physical world and the universe more than enough to appreciate, study, worship, explore, understand, be in awe of...... Just existing in this way is pretty darn inspring.
I am not sure that I have very many 'beliefs' I think I am pretty much tuned in to my minute by minute life - before I retired I was a practising person centered therapist and grounded in that approach. I like to stay 'here and now' when I am washing plates I find it pretty easy to keep washing them without tuning out so I probably don't have room for beliefs and the more I say that 'b' -word the less sense it seems to make - Life just is.
Defensive? I’d say that I’ve probably quietly felt defensive for years as I went through life trying to live in sync with common values and ethics because I wasn’t out inviting people to come in to our church or singing loudly during the hymns (and this was at the mainstream church). Never mind trying not to roll my eyes at any sermon that started to mention the words of Paul.
Obligated, No.
But I often engage with theists, and will always engage with science deniers/my faith is greater then facts. (Such levels of stupidity can not go unchallenged.)
Sometimes I will bring them to tears when they discover how void of facts the foundation of their belief structure rests.
but it does depends on the situation. Lately I will just roll my eyes as I am so surrounded by so many delusional superstitionalists.