(August 30, 2015 at 1:18 pm)Minimalist Wrote: So why bother with him? This honor thy father and mother shit is bible-based too. If the guy is as big an asshole as you say then you'll never change him. People who shut out their families because of the invisible sky-daddy do not deserve to be treated with respect. If you can't talk about mundane stuff ( the weather, sports, etc.) then avoid him. Don't let his problems be your problems.
If I could shut him out, I would. If he found out we weren't believers, he'd come to our house every day to try to convert us. That's just the kind of person he is. He doesn't leave when asked. Luckily there are times when he can avoid the topic of religion (though often he'll try to bring it up). Anytime he brings up religion, I just nod my head, and hope someone changes the subject.
(August 30, 2015 at 1:20 pm)Exian Wrote: Hey Cecelia!Welcome to AF.
I've been here a year or so, and it has helped me with exactly the thing you're looking for. I hope it does the se for you.
Did being a history teacher have something to do with your atheism? Or would you say it was something else about you that drew you to both history and atheism?
I was drawn to History mostly because my husband was good at it, and it was something we could share. He planned on becoming a History teacher himself before we had kids. Then only one of us could afford to go to college. And he gave it up for me. I was drawn to Atheism because I saw just how many people were hurt by religion. My husband for a long time felt guilt about a lot of things that he shouldn't have felt guilty about. Such as us living together before being married. I've seen so many other friends who were hurt by religion. I guess in a way the study of history furthered my Atheism. Both by realizing just how much harm religion does (Sure it does good things, but as the inaccurate saying goes: Mussolini made the trains run on time), and realizing that a lot of the historical facts of the bible aren't so much facts at all. I mean reading the bible... why would anyone WANT this god to be real? The Abrahamic God is not all that different from (and I hate invoking the Godwin Rule) Hitler. He slaughtered people for all kinds of reasons. From a feminist standpoint, he's a misogynist. A friend of mine put it very well once: The Abrhamaic God reflects the values of the people of the time, not the values of a timeless deity.
