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Personal Victory
#1
Personal Victory
Hello everyone!

I have been an Atheist for quite some time (closet and then open).  I have never had an issue discussing my views with other people and have had very few negative reactions when asked what I think to be the truth.

That being said, I grew up in a fairly religious family.  My parents weren't overly strict when it came to going to church or praying (I realize the irony when I say I was blessed to have them as parents), but the rest of my family is one of the most overzealous groups of people you will ever meet.  However, I never have told them that I had deviated from the path of Christianity…until now.

I just spent the last 3 hours in a deep conversation with my parents over Skype about my current views.  The entire time was spent in moderate tones with not a single insult thrown in either direction.  That is a feat in and of itself.  But it is even more amazing to me that, at the conclusion of the call, my parents said their opinion of me hadn't changed, that they still loved me, and that they both said that I was becoming more of an adult for being able to intellectually make my own decisions.

My father openly told me he was an absolute Christian, but he told me that he was proud that I made my own deductions rather than "following everyone else blindly just because that is what you learned as a kid."

I am amazed that this interaction with my parents, both Christians their entire lives, has gone so well.  I want to thank everyone on this forum for helping to provide me with the information that I needed to expand my knowledge.  I also hope that a lot of you receive the same acceptance that I did when confronting your loved ones.

Thanks for reading!
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#2
RE: Personal Victory
Holy shit, man, that's awesome.
Congratulations. Sounds like you have yourself a good family.
I can't remember where this verse is from, I think it got removed from canon:

"I don't hang around with mostly men because I'm gay. It's because men are better than women. Better trained, better equipped...better. Just better! I'm not gay."

For context, this is the previous verse:

"Hi Jesus" -robvalue
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#3
RE: Personal Victory
That's really great, J. Your parents sound terrific Smile
Nolite te bastardes carborundorum.
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#4
RE: Personal Victory
That is absolutely brilliant! I'm sure that took a lot of guts.

That has to be one of the best reactions I have ever heard of from parents, they sound really awesome Smile So often I hear of people disowning their kids or at least making it clear they think less of them.

Sounds like a flawless victory! Congratulations Smile
Feel free to send me a private message.
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#5
RE: Personal Victory
I attribute this supposed victory to the sound knowledge that I obtained from reading the various threads and resources on this forum. Without the information that I found here, I would have had almost no way of defending my position to my parents. So thanks again to everyone who contributed!
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#6
RE: Personal Victory
So they are not the kind of Christians who worry that you will now be burning in hell?
The fool hath said in his heart, There is a God. They are corrupt, they have done abominable works, there is none that doeth good.
Psalm 14, KJV revised edition

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#7
RE: Personal Victory
I'm sure that they doubt my views and wish I believed what they do. However, they aren't the type of parents to disown me just because I disagree with their religion.
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#8
RE: Personal Victory
(April 28, 2015 at 3:18 am)Jericho Wrote: I'm sure that doubt my views and wish I believed what they do.  However, they aren't the type of parents to disown me just because I disagree with their religion.

Congrats, that's a great step for you relationship with them! I'm just saying, if they believed that unbelievers go to hell, they should freak out over you leaving the faith, so they don't really believe that. I wonder what else they might not believe, who knows, maybe they come a bit closer to your view over the years.
The fool hath said in his heart, There is a God. They are corrupt, they have done abominable works, there is none that doeth good.
Psalm 14, KJV revised edition

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#9
RE: Personal Victory
It's a possibility. I am actually starting to think that they themselves don't really believe, since they reacted that way and didn't condemn me for it. It is logical to assume that if they did agree with my views, that they kept it secret all this time due to the rest of my family being extremely religious. I'm not even sure if I am ready to tell the rest of my family.
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#10
RE: Personal Victory
Interesting times ahead! Smile
The fool hath said in his heart, There is a God. They are corrupt, they have done abominable works, there is none that doeth good.
Psalm 14, KJV revised edition

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