Pagan in a Catholic Hospital...

Nurses Spirituality

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So I am a bit nervous. I was just offered a job that sounds very exciting in a place that is on my bucket list. My only real concern is that it is the ONLY place there to work, and it's a Catholic hospital. I grew up Catholic. They don't generally bother me. I am pagan however. I feel no need to flaunt it or push it. That is not who I am. I am just hoping that if someone asks and I am honest or if someone in the community finds out that I am pagan, it doesn't cause a problem. Has anyone ever encountered this sort of thing?

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Well it's a lot more involved than that.

Yes I know. Does not make it correct, or science.

How would you answer the question of how the universe began?

The big bang. I don't know enough about physics and other science to answer further. However people with far better minds and understanding than me are searching for exactly that.

Just because we don't know the answer does not mean that people get to say "god did it."

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You don't have to know a lot about physics and science to see that something can't come from nothing.

But on the idea that there is no evidence for God, I'll leave this quote from Christian philosopher and theologan, J. P. Moreland:

"God maintains a delicate balance between keeping his existence sufficiently evident so people will know he's there and yet hiding his presence enough so that people who want to choose to ignore him can do it. This way, their choice of destiny is really free."

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Specializes in Psychiatry, Community, Nurse Manager, hospice.
Well, Christians regardless of denominations tend to take pride that they worship the true god. The rest of the world are worshiping the devil's spawns. With that attitude, I don't think a Catholic would have any issue working in a pagan hospital. I bet they think they work there not only to help patients but to save pagans as well.

You must be from the South. Catholics don't give a rat's ass about saving you.

Get over yourself.

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You must be from the South. Catholics don't give a rat's ass about saving you.

Get over yourself.

I am not from the South. Not all Catholics are live and let live people.

I will get over myself whenever I want to, not when a religious nut or a militant atheist tells me so.

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Yes I know. Does not make it correct, or science.

The big bang. I don't know enough about physics and other science to answer further. However people with far better minds and understanding than me are searching for exactly that.

Just because we don't know the answer does not mean that people get to say "god did it."

Be careful not to indulge Christians with their apologetic crap, GrumpyRN

There are many William Lane Craig's fanatics in Nursing and Spirituality forum. They cannot even leave a pagan nurse in peace when the title she post had nothing to do with cosmology. First a Catholic. And then 2 more Christians jump in. I am waiting for a beehive.

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Specializes in Emergency Department.
You don't have to know a lot about physics and science to see that something can't come from nothing.

Yes you do need to know a lot. Read A Universe From Nothing by Lawrence M Krauss.

But on the idea that there is no evidence for God, I'll leave this quote from Christian philosopher and theologan, J. P. Moreland:

"God maintains a delicate balance between keeping his existence sufficiently evident so people will know he's there and yet hiding his presence enough so that people who want to choose to ignore him can do it. This way, their choice of destiny is really free."

That is Pascal's Wager rewritten.

Philosophy is not science, it is art.

Edited to add;

But on the idea that there is no evidence for God, I'll leave this quote from Christian philosopher and theologan, J. P. Moreland:

"God maintains a delicate balance between keeping his existence sufficiently evident so people will know he's there...

Where is this evidence you speak of? Show me and I will immediately become religious. It would also be good if god tells me which of the roughly 42,000 present religions is the correct one. Or which one of the 320,000,000 gods he is.

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Specializes in Emergency Department.

I want to make it clear, I am not hijacking this thread, I wanted to hear the scientific proof that was postulated by a previous poster.

I would also point out that Pagan and Atheist are not synonyms as previous posters have indicated. They are two totally different things.

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Yes you do need to know a lot. Read A Universe From Nothing by Lawrence M Krauss.

That is Pascal's Wager rewritten.

Philosophy is not science, it is art.

Edited to add;

Where is this evidence you speak of? Show me and I will immediately become religious. It would also be good if god tells me which of the roughly 42,000 present religions is the correct one. Or which one of the 320,000,000 gods he is.

The quote was not intended as a scientific claim.

If you brush aside philosophy as not scientific then you really shouldn't look to Lawrence Krauss for any answers. His book is pure philosophical speculation. He redefines "nothing" into something that still needs an explanation... quantum fields, which beg the question... where did the quantum fields come from?

His ideas are as unconvincingly convincing as saying that if you can survive on less and less food each day, you can eventually survive on no food at all.

While there is bad science from religiously oriented people, the bigger problem we have is bad science from the anti-religious - those scientists bent on discovering the origins, developing faulty theories... endlessly searching in futility for other explanations, any explanations while arrogantly claiming that the BEST explanation is a fairy tale not even worthy of investigation.

What I cannot ignore:

The historical record of the Bible - textual evidence, historical authenticity

The existence of Jesus, His death and the empty tomb

The response of His followers to the good news of the Gospel of Christ

The spread of Christianity

The changed lives of those who encounter the living Jesus

Investigate any one of the 42,000 religions and the 320,000,000 gods you speak of, none of them come close to the truth of the Gospel of Christ.

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You don't have to know a lot about physics and science to see that something can't come from nothing.

"

Agree, but would add, not only can something not come from nothing but (especially) something living cannot come from nothing.

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Specializes in Emergency Department.
The quote was not intended as a scientific claim.

If you brush aside philosophy as not scientific then you really shouldn't look to Lawrence Krauss for any answers. His book is pure philosophical speculation. He redefines "nothing" into something that still needs an explanation... quantum fields, which beg the question... where did the quantum fields come from?

His ideas are as unconvincingly convincing as saying that if you can survive on less and less food each day, you can eventually survive on no food at all.

Where did you get your qualification in quantum physics from? Serious question as you are setting yourself as an expert in this.

If you know more than Albert Einstein, Stephen Hawking, Peter Higgs, Francois Englert et al then please tell me. I am aware that I don't know, but as I stated - god did not do it without proof.

You have talked in post #33 about scientific evidence and I asked for scientific evidence.

While there is bad science from religiously oriented people, the bigger problem we have is bad science from the anti-religious - those scientists bent on discovering the origins, developing faulty theories... endlessly searching in futility for other explanations, any explanations while arrogantly claiming that the BEST explanation is a fairy tale not even worthy of investigation.

The thing about science is, if it knew everything then it would stop. The fairy tale has been investigated for thousands of years. Which creation myth are we talking about? List of creation myths - Wikipedia

What I cannot ignore:

The historical record of the Bible - textual evidence, historical authenticity

The existence of Jesus, His death and the empty tomb

The response of His followers to the good news of the Gospel of Christ

The spread of Christianity

The changed lives of those who encounter the living Jesus

Bible is not proof of itself. It was written well after the time of Jesus and not by anyone who was present at the time. Historical reliability of the Gospels - Wikipedia

All mention of Jesus is after his death.

Which followers? Modern day? Roman times? Crusades?

Spread because it was a new and improving form of Judaism.

Because you have a god shaped hole in your heart does not equal proof.

Investigate any one of the 42,000 religions and the 320,000,000 gods you speak of, none of them come close to the truth of the Gospel of Christ.

Says who? I'm pretty sure the ancient Egyptians, the Norse, Romans all thought they were worshipping the real deal.

Jesus is a prophet in Islam and Mohammed is a prophet in the Baha'i faith both of which post date Christianity. And before you say it... The Christian god and the Islamic god and the Baha'i god are all the same one.

I think we need to stop this as all we are going to do is go round and round in circles. You keep giving me philosophy or religious answers when what I have asked for is science.

Feel free to continue this but if it is the same old tired answers then I will ignore it.

This post is supposed to be about a Pagan nurse working in a catholic hospital.

Stay well.

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Specializes in Psychiatry, Community, Nurse Manager, hospice.
I am not from the South. Not all Catholics are live and let live people.

I will get over myself whenever I want to, not when a religious nut or a militant atheist tells me so.

Catholics do not proselytize. That's a protestant thing.

I was baptized a Catholic. Which means by the church's standards, I'm a Catholic. Even though I am all "Meh." about it. If you were not baptized Catholic by your parents, no offense, but we don't want you. It isn't a live or let live thing. We just don't care. We make it hard to get in. There's a long process to become a Catholic, and none of it involves being saved. Or fellowship. We're like that elusive clique in high school... except no one wants in. And we don't care.

In fact I don't even know what the process involves because no one does it. And the priests never tell us because they don't want us running around trying to make Catholics-- unless it means having babies. Then yeah-- do that. That's how we make Catholics. We have sex and don't use birth control.

Obviously you don't know Catholicism. And you are so ironic with all your Judgy-McJudging.

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Catholics do not proselytize. That's a protestant thing.

I was baptized a Catholic. Which means by the church's standards, I'm a Catholic. Even though I am all "Meh." about it. If you were not baptized Catholic by your parents, no offense, but we don't want you. It isn't a live or let live thing. We just don't care. We make it hard to get in. There's a long process to become a Catholic, and none of it involves being saved. Or fellowship. We're like that elusive clique in high school... except no one wants in. And we don't care.

In fact I don't even know what the process involves because no one does it. And the priests never tell us because they don't want us running around trying to make Catholics-- unless it means having babies. Then yeah-- do that. That's how we make Catholics. We have sex and don't use birth control.

Obviously you don't know Catholicism. And you are so ironic with all your Judgy-McJudging.

Of course I judge people based on my experience. I'm not a Christian. I don't live under their religious ethos.

I dealt with Catholics who proselytize. They called themselves Catholics and I took their words as face value. Maybe you are correct. That behavior is Protestant's, not Catholic's. However, I am not in Christianity. It's not my place to decide who is or is not a true Catholic.

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