Now it's personal

[ignoramus]

And we eat BBQ babies. But that's it, I swear!

[arewethereyet]

I don't really know what to say. Not so good at talking about myself. I'll briefly lay out a couple of biographical items and then just, I dunno, answer your questions from there (if any).

1. I'm a Christian theist. Although theologically I fall within the evangelical camp, I really hesitate to use that label because it is saddled with a lot of baggage, most of which isn't relevant to me. Furthermore, a lot of the typical problems evangelicals have to deal with are inapplicable with me: I'm not a young-earth creationist, I don't believe there was a planet-wide flood a little over 4,000 years ago, or that humans have immortal souls, or that hell is a place of eternal conscious torment, and so on. So, technically an evangelical but I shy away from that label, and my biblical world-view is not typical.

2. I joined AtheistForums because I am working closely with a cherished family member who's in the process of "deconstructing" (a term which I trust is familiar to many of you). This has made the intersection of faith and science a deeply personal issue with important consequences, causing me to not only look at this Christian faith more critically but also to really try and understand the atheist point of view, which is no longer just an academic matter. (This family member now self-identifies as an atheist.)

So, there you have it. The floor is open for questions, if any.

Welcome.

I appreciate that you aren't taking part in the shunning that happens to some when they leave faith behind.

As for an "atheist point of view", there as many views as there are atheists.  The one commonality is not having a belief in a god or gods.   Beyond that, we are people who agree on some things and disagree on some things.  

I am interested in hearing more about working through the intersection of science and faith.

[Gwaithmir]

Outspoken atheist, Secular Humanist and recovered Catholic here. I look forward to reading your posts. 

[brewer]

Hello John.

What do you think about your family members new identification?

[Deesse23]

And we eat BBQ babies.  But that's it, I swear!

Didnt you *forget* to mention the satan-worshipping part?

[Mister Agenda]

I like that you identified yourself as a Christian theist, tells us roughly what kind of theist you are. Like atheism, mere theism isn't a label that tells us much; both Hindus and Muslims are theists; the only thing all theists have in common is that they believe at least one god or God is real.

I hadn't heard 'deconstructing' as a term for losing religious faith before; I have heard it referred to as 'deconverting'.

[downbeatplumb]

I hadn't heard 'deconstructing' as a term for losing religious faith before; I have heard it referred to as 'deconverting'.

I haven't heard that term either.

[JohnMBauer]

What do you think about your family members new identification?

To each their own. It doesn't change how I feel about him, really—which, of course, is something that I try to make very explicit and clear because he is highly sensitive to being ostracized by people of faith. I had also tried to suggest some plausible reasons for their pulling away from him that make good sense, with the hope that it would help lessen the blow somewhat (and it seemed to). You know, like how his falling away from the faith scares them, bringing to light things they're not prepared to deal with. Stuff like that.

It's also an opportunity to explore philosophy. I've studied it for many years, yet he had never so much as looked at it before. (He was raised in a home where the Bible was the only answer book to every question. And if the Bible didn't answer it, then it wasn't an intelligent question. Quite shameful, not to mention asinine.) As he tries on this new outfit, it's forcing upon him a new vocabulary and new questions (e.g., epistemology). And new values: He has suddenly become quite concerned about logic and critical thinking, which pleases me tremendously and I heartily encourage.

I hadn't heard 'deconstructing' as a term for losing religious faith before; I have heard it referred to as 'deconverting'.

Deconstructing basically amounts to examining the infrastructure of your religious belief system and critically analyzing it for coherence and consistency. The parts that fail get tossed. For many, deconverting is the end result of deconstructing. But not all: My deconstruction resulted in a more coherent and self-consistent biblical world-view.

[brewer]

What do you think about your family members new identification?

To each their own. It doesn't change how I feel about him, really—which, of course, is something that I try to make very explicit and clear because he is highly sensitive to being ostracized by people of faith. I had also tried to suggest some plausible reasons for their pulling away from him that make good sense, with the hope that it would help lessen the blow somewhat (and it seemed to). You know, like how his falling away from the faith scares them, bringing to light things they're not prepared to deal with. Stuff like that.

It's also an opportunity to explore philosophy. I've studied it for many years, yet he had never so much as looked at it before. (He was raised in a home where the Bible was the only answer book to every question. And if the Bible didn't answer it, then it wasn't an intelligent question. Quite shameful, not to mention asinine.) As he tries on this new outfit, it's forcing upon him a new vocabulary and new questions (e.g., epistemology). And new values: He has suddenly become quite concerned about logic and critical thinking, which pleases me tremendously and I heartily encourage.

Falling away, quite concerned? Interesting choices. I think you might be more biased than you realize. (I understand that I'm atheist biased)

But this is a conversation for outside an introduction thread.

[Shell B]

Do you intend to continue to have a close relationship with this family member? Are you trying to convince them to revert back to religion?

Welcome to the boards.