Jesus is Dead

[robvalue]

Jeez. Protecting your kid from people talking absolute gibberish is not indoctrination. You are protecting their mind from dangerous lies when they are vulnerable. It's sad that you think christians have the right to force their beliefs on other people's children as well as their own, and if the parent sticks up for their kid they are "indoctrinating" them. While this is just another tu quoque, you're not denying christians indoctrinate but just deflecting onto atheists. More dishonesty.

[Esquilax]

In other words, you do indoctrinate your children and do not allow anybody with differing ideas to relate those ideas to your children.

I don't think you're qualified to comment on Cin's entire parenting strategy on the basis of a single anecdote related over a year ago. In fact, I find it incredibly presumptuous and opportunistic that you would even attempt to do so; you don't have enough information to formulate a proper conclusion, if it were any other sort of parenting issue you wouldn't so brazenly shout your opinion as though it were some kind of fact, which makes this a transparently ideological attack, just like the others. It's about the fact that someone disagreed with you on something, not that you actually have a basis from which to comment.

Edit: The other thing is this: religious parents rarely offer up the ideas of other religious in a context in which they would be considered equal alternatives to christianity. No, with christian parents it's more often than not a presentation that christianity is the truth, and you're going to hell if you believe otherwise, without any education into other religions at all. They send their kids to bible camps, churches and so on, get them while they're young... we all know the strategies. The only time we ever hear this idea that religions should be taught equally, and to quash another belief is a bad thing, is when we're discussing parents of a religious position that the interlocutor doesn't already agree with. For some reason, it's only atheists that are expected to be completely neutral on the subject of religion and allow whatever ideas that float by to attach to their children. Christian parent? Look at you, being a good christian and bringing your children into the fold! Take them to church, make them pray at meal times, it's all good! Atheist parent? How dare you relate your beliefs to your child! You're just indoctrinating them and keeping out other ideas!

Yet another example of the extreme hypocrisy through which christianity operates.

[Silver]

My rhetoric? Give me a break. Plenty of people are unaware of the Jesus story, especially young kids with atheists parents, who call Christians "christards", and assert that Jesus is dead, all the while claiming not to " force any of my own spiritual beliefs on my 5 year old son". Puleeease. How about you tone down the hypocrisy.

You mad, brah?

Mad that not everyone is afforded the same equal attention to a silly myth that has no value whatsoever?

[pocaracas]

One wonders what a typical christian would think of a muslim imam telling their kids all about the prophet, or a Rabbi telling them about hos Jesus was nothing but a prophet...

[robvalue]

Yeah, they'd tell them to listen closely while their faith was demolished. Hypocrites.

[dyresand]

One wonders what a typical christian would think of a muslim imam telling their kids all about the prophet, or a Rabbi telling them about hos Jesus was nothing but a prophet...

I already know and it begins with them saying "that's all ____" begins with l and ends with a s. Its a typical response when it comes to christians talking about other religions.

[Brakeman]

You are indoctrinating your son, to be an atheist with your unfettered hate for religion. You demonstrated your indoctrination by failing to tell both sides of the story, that Jesus is said to have risen again, and is not dead.

Your ignorance of Atheism must know no bounds.

Atheism is the disbelief in the Gods proposed by the religious. It is a form of skepticism. Teaching children to be skeptical of unsupported claims is not in any way a form of brainwashing.
We do tell "both sides" of christianity to our children. We tell them the religious claims and we tell them of the lack of evidence and contrary evidence to those claims. The idea that we would hide a religious claim for any reason other than disinterest is laughable. What Crazy god notion do you think we atheists are hiding from our kid? That atheists are really believers that want to go to hell?

[robvalue]

Right. There's a difference between educating someone and indoctrinating them. Forcing irrational beliefs as truths onto children is not education, and if you think it is, you have a severe problem. It's bad enough to do it to your own kid, but to think you have the right to do it to other people's is astonishing.

If a christian actually educated their child about christianity, they wouldn't very likely become a christian.

[JesusHChrist]

You know what Christianity needs?

Some kind of symbol to rally around....so people are always reminded of it. Reminded every fucking time they go the grocery store, or on a jog, or turn on the radio, or watch football, or really anything at all.

But what? WHAT?!? What WOULD that symbol be?!?

Then we can be assured the MASSAGE of JEEBUS is heard throughout the land! Praise JEEBUS! /sarcasm

What kind of a doofus thinks children, even in atheist families, are unaware of the MASSAGE of JEEBUS?

[robvalue]

They'll think of something. Something tasteful I'm sure.

Deliciously ironic that refusing to let your kid get indoctrinated by others is seen as indoctrination.