I need major help with my Christian Family

[Whateverist]

I have no other advise to give you and the decisions your's and no one else's.

¡¡Run Forrest, Run!!

Well, once you're old enough to make your own way that is. Then get away from there fast. Until then, lie low, take notes and write your expose once you're safely on your own.

[Norman Humann]

Ditto. I volunteer as exhibit A.

I was thinking of our friend GC here, but I don't want to leave you out by any means

Yeah, him too. Not to mention the altar boys.

[Mister Agenda]

@coolfunkDJ,
- What kind of church do you attend?
- What was expected of you before you hinted at disbelief?
- What is expected of you now?

-Pentecostal
-To pray before every meal (which I thought was stupid when I was religious), To go to church every sunday and attend week long conventions, which is as tiresome as it sounds
-The exact same, which is killing me!

Ah. I've been there, though I was an adult before I realized I had become an atheist, I first read the Bible through when I was in my teens-as an act of devotion, and it was impossible to remain a Pentecostal in my heart after that.

That affects my advice. It doesn't matter what you tell them, anything but Pentecostal is unacceptable. Their tactics wouldn't change much if you told them you had become an atheist, a Buddhist, or a Lutheran. In their eyes, you're damned to hell if you're anything but a Pentecostal.

I wouldn't test them. It CAN get worse. I know four more years is like a quarter of your life to you, but it's not so much in the long run. Graduate HS, if they're footing the bill for college, try to make it not a Bible college (but not too hard, or they'll be on to you), and resign yourself to them trying to make a better Pentecostal out of you their whole lives.

I hate to recommend any sort of dishonesty, but your parents have created a climate where it is hazardous to be honest with them about what you think, and that's not your fault. Personally I think Pentecostal rigidity is like a machine for making new atheists, but the last thing a Pentecostal wants to do is change their approach just because it would be a more effective way to keep their children Pentecostals in the modern world. Not changing is what Pentecostalism is really all about.

They said they wont kick me out or anything, but I know that it will cause earthquakes within the house, so im probably going to keep my head down! Thanks so much for the advice, just so you know im going to be following your blog, might be some help

That's something, at least: it's sad that there are any parents who would kick their child out on the street for not believing the same things they do, but it's thankfully rare, even among fundamentalists. I don't think there is any doubt that they love you, that's why they're being such a pain: they're trying to save you.

You know there must be an advice book for Christian parents with atheist kids. Yours aren't the only ones struggling to deal with the situation. At least there are defintitely articles about it on the internet. I bet most of them don't advise doubling down on the religion stuff in an attempt to pressure their child into conforming. Maybe you could suggest they check out what resources there are for parents in their situation.

[robvalue]

I think forcing religion on your kids is the very worst way to deal with the situation, from every point of view. It makes religion look unreasonable and totalitarian, it highlights the stupidity of religion and the lack of rationality, and it damages the bond with the children. The more shitty you treat them while you can get away with it, the more they are going to dislike you for it later.

[Spooky]

I think forcing religion on your kids is the very worst way to deal with the situation, from every point of view. It makes religion look unreasonable and totalitarian, it highlights the stupidity of religion and the lack of rationality, and it damages the bond with the children. The more shitty you treat them while you can get away with it, the more they are going to dislike you for it later.

Except religion is exactly as it appears. Otherwise I agree completely.

[Mister Agenda]

What if you're wrong and the God of the Bible is exactly who He says He is.

What if you're wrong and the Krishna of the Bhagavad Gita is exactly who he says he is? In the ranks of terrible logic, this stands out as a combination of argument from ignorance with implied appeal to force.

You then come here and ask for advice from these people, don't you know that doing so will deepen their troubles with God if they respond to you.

Appeal to emotion: shame and guilt, with implied argument from ignorance.

Do you really want that responsibility, do you want to meet God with that against you.

Combined appeal to emotion and appeal to force.

You will never be able to prove the God of the Bible doesn't exist, none of the people here have been able to, I've been here 5 years and no one scrap of evidence, let lone proof.

Argument from ignorance.

Your entire post contained nothing but fallacies. You know what kind of people rely on fallacies heavily? People with nothing else in their toolbox.

If your own arguments are the sort that convinced you and you actually turn out to have been right, it would be completely by coincidence as none of them are valid.

[JesusHChrist]

The sub current here, which I am quite fond of, is one more data point of the youth falling away from religion.

As theists of all stripes have known for years, get 'em while they are young and vulnerable. Just like smoking....

Now, the secular side has the power of the internet and the young do like their internets. Religion folk make outlandish claims? Well, let's just fact check that there claim. With sufficient information, religious bullshit is a tough sell.

The internet is killing religious George! Killing him!

[coolfunkDJ]

As theists of all stripes have known for years, get 'em while they are young and vulnerable. Just like smoking....

Ahaha, have to agree with that one, they always say to me "You should be glad you was brought into a Christian household", I am honestly sad my parents have been brainwashed like this.

[JesusHChrist]

Ahaha, have to agree with that one, they always say to me "You should be glad you was brought into a Christian household", I am honestly sad my parents have been brainwashed like this.

Right, which is just what a Muslim or Hindu would say. I would think the best type of household is one where critical thinking and evidence for claims is encouraged.

In my house and frequently at the dinner table, someone will make a claim about any topic. If in question, our policy is to look it up right then and there, and see.

Better to research and know, than rely on what some authority says, regardless of who it is, me (as the know-it-all Dad) included. Once in a while, I even learn something.

[Esquilax]

As theists of all stripes have known for years, get 'em while they are young and vulnerable. Just like smoking....

Ahaha, have to agree with that one, they always say to me "You should be glad you was brought into a Christian household", I am honestly sad my parents have been brainwashed like this.

Which of course, leads to the obvious reply question: why do they think that you wouldn't be able to come to what they no doubt characterize as an obvious conclusion yourself, if you hadn't been forced into it at a young age?

This is the contradiction at the heart of christianity: they claim their god is obvious from the clear creation he has made, and yet they scrabble so desperately to get as many children as possible, and to plaster their gods name and commandments everywhere they can.Their rhetoric is so self assured, and yet their actions are so wheedling and nervous.