Being an Atheist parent in a Christian land

[salty]

Children trust their parents to give them an accurate view of things religious and moral. You say you explain things in a way that your children can understand and help them choose for themselves, then you show them a verse in the bible about dashing the heads of children on stones. If you were truly being fair, perhaps you would share the verses that you exposed your children to with their father and he would counter with something like this: "Love does not delight in evil but rejoices with truth. It always protects, always trusts, always hopes, always perserveres." 1Corinthians 6-7.

What is the reason for encouraging a 4 year old to demand proof? Does your 4 year old have the ability to define proof? Won't the child come and ask you what proof means and see if the answer that was given to them, would satisfy you? Adults know that children are easily impressionable, they copy our speech without knowing what it means before they can choose between right and wrong. Wouldn't it be fair to ask that your children not be taken to church until they are old enough to decide if they wanted to attend church? My mother never planted any religion in my mind as the best, as I discovered the religions she allowed me to ask questions, then she gave me her reasons for her belief. I admired my mother therefore I wanted to become more like her. Will your children admire you when they learn from someone else they love and respect that you scared them away from the bible, for the sake of your own beliefs and not because you actually wanted them to choose?

What is fair for the children? What is the best way to make sure they are not forced to believe if they don't want to? And shouldn't you let them believe if they do want to?

Yes, my daughter knows what it means to prove something. I conducted a crude, but simple lesson for them about evidence earlier this year. I told them to turn around, and when they were turned, I place an old treasure troll doll on the table and took a picture with my phone, then quickly hid the doll out of sight. When they turned around, I told them that there had just been a pink haired troll on the table, and being taught to be skeptical, they didn't believe me. So I showed them the picture and then had a discussion about evidence.

Children are not incapable of being taught such concepts, but it requires teaching them. The reason for encouraging them to demand proof is so they're not just willing to accept whatever load of crap they're given by anyone.

I didn't scare them away from the bible, the bible itself repels them. Until I was 19, I never knew there were such atrocities in the bible, and I will never forget how sick I felt after reading Deuteronomy. I was pissed that I had been raised to believe that the bible was a guide for life, when in fact, it is a book of blood in the name of god. How could my mother lie to me?

Why does teaching of morals, love, and respect have to come from that book? I am a moral person, as are many atheists, and we are moral because we want to be moral. I would never lead in the massacre of towns full of women and children, but Moses did- in the name of God. I think it's safe to say we're all better people without morals like that.

I do not insist that they are to believe one way or another. By instilling in them skepticism, and nurturing their critical thinking skills, they will one day be able to find their own path, based upon questioning and a gathering of facts. Do I think they will be atheists? Probably. Is that bad? Hell no.

They're very kind, very loving children, just not eaters of bull.

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The last thing Christian parents want is for their children to be critical thinkers.

A critical thinker can conclude that there is more to God than what is written in the book of Dueteronomy, therefore it's probably best to say that some Christians want their children to believe without understanding their own reasons for believing. Many people who are raised in the church follow without respectfully questioning the pastor, the staff, or the doctrines. I discourage thoughtless devotion and challenge every believer to deepen their relationship. I'd prefer if the so-called Christians would drop the title of Christian because their bad behavior is used against the rest of us, which goes the same for atheists.

Think on this, Blacks were here for hundreds of years under slavery. They never turned to God and blamed him for the evil happening to them, actaully God gave them hope since the Whites were convinced they were less than human. When a Black child today opens their history book that talks about the lynchings, the murder, the hate, the rape, do they grab a white person and say "Explain this! Why have you done this"? Do they decide that they were blinded from the truth about the united states and become sickened? No. Blacks realize that those times are over and the people then are not the same people now, they realize that they are given choices now and that they have the ability to move into a new future. God is telling you the history of the world and his people the Jews, land can't be taken without a fight, people are going to die, and some nations were to be wiped out completely for their crimes against the Lord. God is not asking for your approval, besides your approval wouldn't change anything anyway, just as my approval of Nazism doesn't change the holocaust. If you read the NT you will see that we're not under the law and that the bloodshed happened for a reason, like salvery, like the holocaust. I'm not happy about the bloodshed of the Bible, nor am I happy for slavery, nor am I happy for the holocaust but there are hundreds of people, places, inventions, laws and ideals that we wouldn't have if history did not follow the course it did. As a Christian I trust that there was a reason for the people to be killed because I believe that God is fully just and pure. Amen.