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Should I come out?
March 10, 2013 at 6:36 pm
So I recently read a thread about a certain air traffic control atheist coming out to his friends and family. I am thinking about doing the same. I just want to hear some second opinions here. FYI I'm 14, live in the U.S. with reasonably religious parents. I don't think they would like kick me out or anything though. My family has a history of Atheists. I have a grandfather and an uncle who are both non-believers.
"I trust my own reason and my own capacities to think and educate myself and to reach greater levels of knowlege and status through learning and work. To me, wishing for a god is like wishing to be a slave, it is like declaring that one is too incompetent to handle one's own affairs." - the germans are coming
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RE: Should I come out?
March 10, 2013 at 6:46 pm
Such decisions for someone so young must be based on the amount of blowback it would generate.
For example, I cannot guess what you mean by "reasonably religious." I've never met a religious person who was reasonable at any measurable level.
Do you live in the heart of New York City or in the middle of the bible belt? It does make a difference. Even if your parents are "reasonable" you could have a whole bunch of acquaintances who are anything but.
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RE: Should I come out?
March 10, 2013 at 6:49 pm
Are your parents fundies? Like do they believe earth is 6000 years old?
My ignore list
"The lord doesn't work in mysterious ways, but in ways that are indistinguishable from his nonexistence."
-- George Yorgo Veenhuyzen quoted by John W. Loftus in The End of Christianity (p. 103).
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RE: Should I come out?
March 10, 2013 at 6:52 pm
If you don't think it will be an issue but you're not sure you could just slowly drop hints and gauge their reactions.
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RE: Should I come out?
March 10, 2013 at 6:53 pm
(This post was last modified: March 10, 2013 at 6:56 pm by Mystic.)
My parents are very religious but they are also very loving and tolerant. I told them.
Telling rest of society - I planned too - but my family convinced me not to do it for their sake as well as feed back from members here.
I have the urge to come out all the time. It's hard. I know. But if it will bring shame to your family, perhaps your family should come first.
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RE: Should I come out?
March 10, 2013 at 7:47 pm
Haha good one Min. Like, they go to church weekly, but don't really do much else. Also, I live in East Tennessee. So obviously in the bible belt. As far as my friends go, the ones who aren't assholes will still support me. I don't care about the ones who don't respect my decisions. My parents don't believe the Earth is 6000 years, and are definitely not fundamentalists haha.
"I trust my own reason and my own capacities to think and educate myself and to reach greater levels of knowlege and status through learning and work. To me, wishing for a god is like wishing to be a slave, it is like declaring that one is too incompetent to handle one's own affairs." - the germans are coming
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RE: Should I come out?
March 10, 2013 at 10:03 pm
(This post was last modified: March 10, 2013 at 10:10 pm by jstrodel.)
You are only 14? How do you know that you are a homosexual? When I was in my teenage years, it was cool to be gay at the school that I was at. I had a brief flirtation with homosexuality. I tried to hook up with a guy once.
I am 27 now. Honestly, I havn't had a single thought about homosexuality in probably 7 or 8 or 9 years.
I would say grow up a little bit before you make rash decisions. Do you really need to define your sexuality at age 14?
To commit to the homosexual lifestyle is a very serious choice that will affect you your whole life. You don't need to decide that you are gay or figure everything out immediately.
If you accept the homosexual lifestyle, it will severely impair your ability to make good judgements about theology and God and bias you towards the assumptions of a culture that is virulently anti-Christian. It is possible that you could be separated from God eternally because of it, though God does not consider homosexuality to be worst than other serious sins and will lovingly accept anyone who repents, whether heterosexual or homosexual. God loves everyone, God doesn't dislike people because of their personality or their mannerism or anything like that. God loves everyone.
God loves you a lot. My heart goes out to you and I hope that you make a wise decision. Life is a dangerous place. Be careful. I have seen young boys taken advantage of in my life, women pimped out, a friend of mine had a gay pimp approach him. I know others who sold themselves for money to get drugs.
Life is a hard place. People are evil. I love you and I hope that you make wise decisions.
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