Why a Va. atheist regularly drives to church in Baltimore

[rug]

January 13, 2015, 11:19 AM
By Eric A. Green

As a practicing atheist, I've been accompanying my wife to church services in Baltimore on the last Sunday morning of every month for the last few years. My wife likes to make the one-hour drive from our home in Arlington, Va., because this church, close to Lexington Market, feels to her more welcoming and homey than what she experiences back at her local place of worship. Also, she says what the priest in Baltimore preaches during the Mass often sounds more relevant to her life experiences. The church is named for St. Jude, patron saint for hopeless cases, which some of my acquaintances might believe makes me the ideal candidate for services there.

I'm never thrilled about schlepping to Baltimore since I'm the one doing the driving on the racetrack that is the Baltimore-Washington Parkway, where on early Sunday mornings everyone apparently believes they can drive 100 miles an hour without being ticketed by the highway police. Not to sound sacrilegious, but maybe the reason everyone drives so fast is because they're late for church.

What seems ironic is that on our way up to the St. Jude Shrine, we pass near the Maryland Live casino at Arundel Mills Mall and the new Baltimore City Horseshoe Casino, which I suppose for many people is another cathedral where one can pray.

But I agreed to drive my wife to Baltimore in the spirit that it's better to give than to receive, which my wife tells me is what attending Mass at St. Jude is all about.

http://www.baltimoresun.com/news/opinion/oped/bs-ed-atheist-in-church-20150113-story.html

[CurtEastPoint]

1. Good read, very thoughtful, for believer, non believer, whatever...

[rug]

2. And he loves his wife.

[CurtEastPoint]

4. He does, and she likewise him, for doing that. Nice folks.

[cbayer]

7. Agree. When you do something because the person you loves wants to do it,

even though it's not your thing, that is a gift.

[immoderate]

3. What a wimp!

--imm

[rug]

5. I'll assume that's sarcasm.

I'm not about to shred my atheist identity, but now even I sometimes look forward to going to St. Jude on Sundays for the simple reason that being there makes my wife feel happy that she's able to pray for her extended family and for other people who might be in need, which makes me feel good too. And that can't be bad because it serves as a constant reminder that I don't have to be religious to see what's most important in life.

[cbayer]

6. Sadly, I don't think it is sarcasm at all.

You know, doing things for the people you love because it makes them feel good is just a sign of weakness. Only cowards would involve themselves in such despicable behavior.

[immoderate]

8. Yep.

--imm

[rug]

9. Yay!

[cbayer]

10. I am relieved…. and embarrassed.

[immoderate]

11. Sorry about that. This guy just sounded SOOO nice...

--imm

[cbayer]

12. Kind of like you.

[immoderate]

13. Eh, I just call them like I see them. (Except when I'm being sarcastic, of course.)

--imm

[brooklynite]

14. I love my wife, and I would NOT go to Church with her...

She loves me and would not expect me to.

[cbayer]

15. My husband won't go to Disneyland with me.

I love him and don't expect him to, but I think it would be lots of fun.