Well, i did it. I "came out" to my mother and father. They reacted not negatively, but instead passive-aggresively. Basically, my dad told me that i wasn't an atheist, but instead a christian sceptic. That i have to say the prayer at dinner now, and that i have to go church whenever they go. I'm basically back at square with, with the added resentment of my idiot brothers. I'm looking into finding a youth atheist group, but so far i can't find any. I'm depressed, resented, and either musunderstood or ignored by my father. But i guess it could be worse.

They didn't respect your decision, so fuck them. And move out as soon as you can.

Your father sounds like a controlling twit. You can't change him. He's been poisoned by jesus shit for too long.

I'm sure you can up with a suitable enough 'prayer' to put that shit to rest in short order.

Your prayer at dinner should be:

"Dear God. Please make my parents understand that I am an atheist, I am serious about it, and I am talking to myself."

If they comply you are in the clear.
If they don't then you were right and you were talking to yourself so there is no God.

Tough shit dude...
And this, people, is one of the many why religion as a whole sucks ass. Even moderates have problems accepting that someone they knew as "one of their own" has changed his mind.

OP, I don't really know what to say, but you should be more radical in what you do and whatever the circumstances DO NOT act condescendingly! They must accept your personality and they must respect your freedom of thought.

Hang in there bro

I give you kudos for 'coming out' and not being afraid to say who you are and what you (don't) believe.

I said in the other thread that what's done is done, and that you shouldn't live with regret about your decision. And I stand by that.

You've taken the leap, and there's no looking back now. But as annoying, and depressing, as it might be when the people you love don't accept you for who you are and what you stand for, know that time is a great healer. Their acceptance of your lack/disbelief of their version of god may grow as time goes on. I'm not in your situation so I can't say for certain, but it's probably a big shock for them, especially (I presume) living in a place where being religious is the norm and atheists are stigmatised for being wrong-uns.

Look at this as an opportunity to prove that stereotype wrong. Be the bigger person.

In the immortal words of Sting, "A gentleman suffers ignorance and smiles, and should always be himself no matter what others might say."

Again, I wish you all the luck friend. You sound like a decent chap, and I honestly think that regardless of what else happens, that is probably what will win over in the end.

(May 27, 2014 at 10:20 pm)Sludgeman101 Wrote: Well, i did it. I "came out" to my mother and father. They reacted not negatively, but instead passive-aggresively. Basically, my dad told me that i wasn't an atheist, but instead a christian sceptic. That i have to say the prayer at dinner now, and that i have to go church whenever they go. I'm basically back at square with, with the added resentment of my idiot brothers. I'm looking into finding a youth atheist group, but so far i can't find any. I'm depressed, resented, and either musunderstood or ignored by my father. But i guess it could be worse.

Just have fun with it. I know it sounds like a weird thing to say but you have a great opportunity to fuck with them. Be silly about everything they make you do. Eventually they will get tired of it and leave you alone. Plus it can be hilarious.

(May 28, 2014 at 12:45 am)max-greece Wrote: Your prayer at dinner should be:

"Dear God. Please make my parents understand that I am an atheist, I am serious about it, and I am talking to myself."

If they comply you are in the clear.
If they don't then you were right and you were talking to yourself so there is no God.

Or better still "Allah oh Akbar" or however its spelt.

Dinner prayer: Insanity mentioned having fun with it. Be creative, but respectful (presumably they're feeding you). In the event that you have to say grace and don't have anything unique prepared I recommend the short and simple standard Catholic grace: "Bless us, O Lord, and these, Thy gifts, which we are about to receive from Thy bounty. Through Christ, our Lord. Amen." I've used it several times when placed in an unavoidable grace situation. Although any Catholic worth his/her salt has this memorized by age 4, it impresses the shit out of most Protestants who are accustomed to watching their food get cold while some codger mumbles aimlessly for fifteen minutes. In fact, at large gatherings I will volunteer to say grace just to save myself some pain. Don't ever give a thumper the opportunity to show everyone else how much he loves the lord before a meal.

It's funny how neither the farmer, nor the person buying the food from the farmer gets mentioned when saying grace. They seem more appropriate people to thank for food, not some invisible man in the sky that decided to create a world where billions would go hungry.

If I were forced to say grace I'd just thank the people I knew actually existed and contributed to the food getting onto my plate.