Ouch! Three visits to my last post. What's up with that? Coincidence maybe?
I haven't had numbers that low since the other day when I posted about
fleeces.
I pretty much just posted Downey's picture because I thought it was pretty.
I love symbolism of all kinds and the fact that we humans can look at the same
thing and interpret that thing in so many different ways.
Roma Downey is a Catholic Christian, so no wonder she posted
on Facebook about her picture:
It certainly energized a tired, hardworking crew for the rest of
the day and reminded everyone that we were being watched over as we are working
hard to bring the Book of Acts to the screen.
I enjoy studying coincidences. Some of us see cosmic implications in them.
As I suggested in that last post, some think of these things as Godwinks. I have
seen the word Godincidences used. Also have seen Cosmic Winks employed. Then
there is that old concept Carl Jung popularized, known as Synchronicity.
And I am very well aware that many of the hyper-rational folks think some
of us are nutcases.
For my part, I can only write that I find life in the cosmos too
extraordinary for me to think of it as ordinary.
Oh well Doug, I read the post, but don't remember if I was one of the select three, because sometimes I just read in my feed reader, and I think that may not record on your stats. So maybe more than you think.
ReplyDeleteI didn't comment because I didn't have anything to say - though that doesn't always stop me! :)
I think most people bring to these coincidences a viewpoint and find it confirmed. It takes a lot of this sort of evidence to shift anyone even a little I think.
Hi unkleE. Thanks for stopping in. I fear some people might be thinking that I'm "losing it." But really I'm just trying to take a broader look at life. And I agree about how people confirm their worldview when looking at coincidences. But the more I studied the phenomenon and noticed how many of us have tales to tell about the amazing coincidences in our lives, the more I started to really pay attention.
DeleteI have only been following your blog relatively recently, but I gather you were once a harder core atheist and had a reasonable following then. But changing your worldview will inevitably mean some people drop away, and it takes time to gain new readers.
DeleteOne way to get readers, I think, is to be controversial so you provoke people to respond out of anger or strong disagreement. I try to avoid that approach myself, though it still sometimes happens. Otherwise, we just have to be patient. There are a lot of blogs out there and it takes perseverance.
I try to avoid that approach, too. Although, back when I was a nontheist, I did post some very negative things about religion. I think my current position will please relatively few: too believing for unbelievers, to unbelieving for believers.
DeleteTo me anything that smacks of Christian gives me the shudders, but then again that's just me. I don't have a whole lot of nice to say about THAT, but as coincidences on the whole, I like.
ReplyDeleteYesterday, I spent about an hour and a half on the phone with my mom who is having a very hard time with some things. She mentioned the old saying about happiness not depending on the storm passing, but being able to dance in the rain. Later, I opened an email from my son's school and that very phrase was the teacher's signature....??
Hi Alice. I suspected that some of my readers feel those same "shudders" when the subject of Christianity comes up. I think it's easy when the subject of religion comes up to focus on the extremism of the many and ignore the better aspects exemplified by the majority of religious folk. I believe that is especially so with those who have had bad experiences with it.
DeleteWhat an interesting synchronicity you had. Great saying, too! Not too long ago I bought a book online and when I received it and cracked it open for the first time, I noticed on the opening page a little inscription from the person who gifted the previous owner with the book which began: "For Douglas..." How cool is that?
Hi Doug. Just wanted you to know that I am still a faithful reader of your post. Hope you had good thanksgiving. How is your mom and your new cat?
ReplyDeleteHi Syliva. So glad to know you're still out there reading. Mom is hanging there, tough as always. Thanks for asking. I took her Thanksgiving dinner yesterday and spent the afternoon just hanging out with her. Toonces is, well, Toonces. She can be kind and then later a bit testy. She still hisses, swats and bites me occasionally, usually just because I handle her the wrong way or pet her some place she doesn't want to be petted. She has finally begun to play with her toys ... mostly at night while I'm trying to sleep.
DeleteI read it. I didn't see a cross. I saw a pterodactyl. *big grin*
ReplyDeleteI'm lucky to get 3 readers a post. I'm not open to search engines anymore. Back in the day, when the dinosaurs roamed the earth I could get 1000 hits a day. I was a Christian blogger back then. Atheism sucks the life out of your stats. *giggle*
A pterodactyl? Oh, lordy! LOL. I do better stat-wise when I post regularly. I actually seem to have gotten more readers when I was posting as a non-theist. Oh,well, it's just a thing I do as an outlet
DeleteI was speaking about my own blog. Going atheist killed the writer. :)
DeleteNow work with me. Surely you see a pterodactyl too? *grin*
I suppose your regular readers felt betrayed, to say the least. But you have to be true to yourself. I'm sure I alienated some of my readers when I took a softer view of religion. I have friends in both camps - believers and unbelievers - and feel that as humans we ought to at least try to understand each other and to allow for differences of opinion. Kindhearted people - whether believers or not - will not purposely hurt others.
DeleteBetrayed yes. Threatened, also. It's a scary thing when one of the sheep is actually one of the wolves. Satan's spawn, darkness disguised as an angel of light, blah blah blah.
DeleteYes, I think your softer view probably would drop the skeptic readers. It just is what it is. If we want lots of readers we could reconvert? *grin*
How I wish we could get away from the stereotypes of atheists being evil and religious believers being childishly naive. There was one reader in particular that I lost and miss, because he always added something to the mix. He just couldn't take my softer stance. I hate it, but what can I do? I suppose having quality readers is more important than just having the numbers. Maybe I should spend more time recruiting. But I wouldn't know where to go looking for like-minded people. I like religion and spirituality, I just don't care for a lot of the baggage.
Delete