25th November 2010
“If you want to raise an atheist child, bring them up in the strictest fundamentalist household you can muster. It worked on me.”
Anon.
“If you want to raise an atheist child, bring them up in the strictest fundamentalist household you can muster. It worked on me.”
Anon.
November 25th, 2010 at 6:10
Clearly there’s more than one path toward the light.
Asimov said “Properly read, the Bible is the most potent force for atheism ever conceived.”
In my case, I was a religious moderate that decided to read the bible to improve my faith. Well, that couldn’t have gone more wrong, could it? Of course, if I’d been uneducated I might have been able to square that circle.
November 25th, 2010 at 6:53
Certainly worked for Nate Phelps (Westboro Baptist Fred Phelp’s son).
Quite a few of my friends actually, too. Though, many of them are in the Pagan or agnostic stage. They can’t quite get off of God, but they are really close.
Also, letting them grow up outside of the church and giving them the opportunity to be on the outside looking in on, and learning, both perspectives of religion and science helps, too. That’s what worked for me.
November 25th, 2010 at 11:25
I have to say that I’m not a fan of anecdotal claims like this. It misrepresents the factors that open the posibility of questioning religious assertions, such as exposure to multiculturalism, epistemological analysis, etc.
November 25th, 2010 at 13:12
I’m so glad I’m a part of the family of God.
November 25th, 2010 at 13:37
But that would only sharpen the cognitive dissonance that leads to questioning religion surely. The more fundemental your upbringing the wierder it would seem in the light of other epistemologies.
November 25th, 2010 at 13:49
Atheist MC,
Yes, and isn’t that cognitive dissonance a necessary condition for questioning abandoning belief?
November 25th, 2010 at 15:49
Tech,
Which god is that?
November 25th, 2010 at 16:50
I’m not sure I would be so cheerful about being in that family Tech. In most cases the people you admire and look upon for guidance have had years of study in Theology. These people know they are scamming you and for whatever reason continue to do so without the least bit of conscious. It’s kind of hard to wrap your head around how truly callous they really are. But hey, what ever makes you feel good, eh Tech.
November 25th, 2010 at 23:49
@Kaptain: I have actually had a pastor come right out and admit that “church is a business” right to my face. My parents owned a church they converted into a wedding chapel, but rented out to different congregations. Not a single one of those pastors was nice to my family, or anyone outside the church for that matter, and I even peeked at a few of their financial documents when cleaning their office/brides changing room. All I have to say is pastors definitely practice bestiality because they sure do a good job of screwing their sheep.
But, all you have to do is look at the Catholic church and image search “cathedral” to know how often, and how much, the church knows how to properly play their cards and place the right bets.