Trouble "Coming Out"

[RachelSkates]

Hi all-

I am finding a tremendous amount of trouble coming out. Even when I do , I am not believed.

My sister came out before I did. We have many religious family members still. An aunt of ours who is also a missionary said, "She's not an atheist. She just think she's one..."

Huh? So if you can "think" you are atheist, can you also "think" you are an Xer?

It is taken for granted that religion is a good thing, and that an atheist is just someone who is a bit off. In my country you cannot even run for public office if you are an atheist, so strong is the sentiment that it is so important to human life that you cannot be rational without it. Imagine the guy in charge of the red phone without faith! (I would be more afraid these days if he does have faith. )

How did you all come out? Were you believed?

[Minimalist]

Those are people with an amazing capacity to believe whatever the fuck they want....just look at their religions... so they generally have to be hammered with it for a while before it sinks in.

I suggest acquiring a line of offensive t-shirts to wear in their presence for a couple of years until the message seeps in.














These should get you by Monday - Friday.

[RachelSkates]

OH MY DOG! I love them!

"Please stop talking to yourself" and "No one has even been stoned.... by an atheist."

HAHA! Love them. Where, prey tell, do I find them?

I assume that link at the top to Amazon will take me there?

Haaaa. These are great.

[Minimalist]

http://www.zazzle.com/tshirts


They will make up anything you want.


Search google for "atheist t-shirts" to get some ideas.

[Entropist]

I am finding a tremendous amount of trouble coming out. Even when I do , I am not believed.

My sister came out before I did. We have many religious family members still. An aunt of ours who is also a missionary said, "She's not an atheist. She just think she's one..."

I've experienced the exact same thing. My mother says that I am not really an atheist. My father, curiously, refuses to speak on the topic at all. They are nominally Catholic-- they don't go to mass. They are conservative, but not too much (they both think the teabaggers are insane). My sister, while still a believer of sorts (not exactly Catholic but she does attend mass on occasion) is surprisingly sympathetic to many of my objections to religion. Perhaps it is also a generational thing.

[parrotpirate]

Those are people with an amazing capacity to believe whatever the fuck they want....just look at their religions... so they generally have to be hammered with it for a while before it sinks in.

I suggest acquiring a line of offensive t-shirts to wear in their presence for a couple of years until the message seeps in.














These should get you by Monday - Friday.

The guy on that top one is no atheist! That's Bob Dobbs!

[Minimalist]

Who or what is "Bob Dobbs?"

[Entropist]

Who or what is "Bob Dobbs?"

Church of the Subgenius

[parrotpirate]

http://www.subgenius.com/
You've never heard of the subgenius? They've been around since the 70s I think. (Just noticed that Entropist linked,also.)

[TheDarkestOfAngels]

@ RachelsSkates

That's frankly the oddest reaction I've seen from theists. I'm used to hearing stories about threats, yelling, indifference, or acceptance, but this is the first instance where the family largly reacted with denial.

I suppose it could be worse, but I suppose as long as you're consistent with your views, they'll eventually get it... for better or for worse.

How did you all come out? Were you believed?

I brought it up on a related discussion. Naturally I became the center of attention once I did, but I explained my points, they accepted it, and life moved on. It was cool if very uneventful. My parents, while theists, are generally regular folks with their beliefs in the sense that they believe and go to church on occasion, but that's about all of it.
I honestly think I've used our bible more often than they have.