Father Disowned Me Because I'm Still Atheist

[Bad Writer]

I get it. I'm from a Mormon background as well, and my parents and friends certainly tried to tell me that my falling away was because I wasn't faithful enough. They never really bothered to find out if I had really tried, but assumed I was simply being sinful. It's emotional and psychological abuse, and your reaction to your father's words are completely justified. Instead of reacting harshly to your anger, he should've tried to understand why you are so upset in the first place; of course, this did not happen.

Heywood is wrong; your father's beliefs deserve no respect. Perhaps you shouldn't have called him a coward or goaded him, but the beliefs being pure bullshit always need to be called out.