(May 1, 2016 at 2:30 pm)Excited Penguin Wrote:(May 1, 2016 at 1:58 pm)Brian37 Wrote: You live in a free society. My position is that you don't need a church, or a holy book to live your life. But even if you stay a believer, you are under absolutely NO obligation to stay in a church by force of law. You might like some of those who attend, but you can still be friends outside that setting, and if they ditch you for leaving, they were not your friends to begin with.Ugh.
I used to attend for a few years as an atheist, a Unitarian church. I simply outgrew it, but nobody hunted me down or disowned me or questioned me if I didn't show up on Sunday. I am no fan of blind loyalty, to any one group, not even my fellow atheists.
You do have a right to be yourself, if that particular church bothers you that much, you are only torturing yourself by continuing. Nobody has a right to emotionally blackmail you into staying. Not telling you to stay or go, just simply saying it is up to you, not anyone else. The people who love you wont care if you leave.
What do you mean "ugg"....
I spent too much of my childhood, teens and early adulthood, not just on religion, but merely trying to be what everyone thought I should be. Wasted too much of my life listening to others try to tell me what to do and how to live. The friends I still have today, and especially my mom, take me as I am. Nothing wrong with compromise in life, but you don't have to be a doormat or torture yourself just to fit in.
And I think you missed the part of my post were I was not telling him to stay or go. But only basing my reaction on his description that it is hell on him trying to keep it up. It is still up to him what he thinks he can handle and what his own comfort level is. My mom is still a Catholic but we also have a good relationship too. If she ever got verbally abusive about my non belief, as much as I love her, nobody should ever make themselves a doormat for anyone. She's always loved me as I am, when I was a believer and now, even as an atheist. The people who love you, at best will agree to leave that subject alone, but wont abandon you regardless.
