(June 6, 2014 at 12:51 pm)SteelCurtain Wrote: So long as Sherry didn't actually overstep her bounds by trying to influence Spencer to be an atheist, I think the sister is way out of line. Even if she did overstep those bounds, writing her off forever is an extreme over-reaction. Whether there is a boundary there as far as teaching the kid about atheism or not is the sister's call, but the idea that even talking about atheism to a 12 year old being a mortal sin is past ridonkulous.
The only thing you can do is support Sherry through this time, and encourage dialogue between the two that is as far removed from high emotion as possible. Email is a great medium for that. You can spend a lot of time formulating what you want to say to a person while keeping their emotions and possible reactions in mind, so as to come to some sort of understanding and compromise rather than having a bare-knuckle brawl.
Yeah it was definitely not pushed and if he was uncomfortable he could have said so at any time, they talked for about an hour. I definitely want the sisters to work things out at least for the sake of Sherry's nephew. Sherry's very even keeled so I think it should work out, but who knows what goes on in the mind of believers sometimes. Sherry will probably just avoid bringing up the topic anymore. Thanks for your input and advice.
If the hypothetical idea of an afterlife means more to you than the objectively true reality we all share, then you deserve no respect.
