From "
News of the Weird"
An atheist "church" in Lake Charles, La., run by lapsed Pentecostal
Jerry DeWitt, conducts periodic services with many of the trappings
expected by the pious -- except for the need to believe in a supreme
being.
Such "churches" (reported The New York Times and Washington
Post in coincidental stories the same day in June) can help soothe the
"biological" needs for survival and avoidance of loneliness by
congregational rituals (such as celebrating a sabbath) and in helping
find meaning "in something other than (oneself)."
For example,
atheist Sigfried Gold praised a "rigorous prayer routine" (beseeching a
"vivid goddess he created") in overcoming his weight problem. [New York
Times, 6-24-2013; Washington Post, 6-24-2013]
It's difficult to imagine the personal pain or trauma that would cause
somebody to reject God, and then make up a new god to fill the void
that's left. You picture mothers who abandon their babies and then
start playing with rag dolls.
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