In the beginning...
And while non-believers likely try to pass critical thinking on to their children they don’t send them to weekly lectures about atheism and tell them they are bad if they don’t learn to parrot their parents’ beliefs.**********
FROM THE COMMENTS:
"If you want to believe your grandfather is a rock then have at it! Enjoy! Feel Free!"
12 comments:
Yeah, atheists never try to shape the beliefs of their children about anything. Our secular schools are entirely non-judgmental, and do not attempt to shape the beliefs of our children. Environmentalists, homosexual activists, feminists, libertarians etc. have no trace of zealotry or moralistic indignation. All bad things that have ever happened anywhere were caused by religion, and as soon as we are all atheists the lamb will lie down with the lion, swords will be turned into ploughshares, and we can all dance around the maypole in peace and harmony.
Don't weep too much for the atheists out there; the children of Christians and atheists both get the atheist lectures almost daily in school. Christian children only get their Christian teachings an hour a week. Unfortunately for atheist's children they only get one side of the debate so they assume there is only one answer. Little do they know it is the wrong one.
I continue to search for the meaning of existence and its influence on human behaviour. I was raised as a Christian believer and have some positive views of my faith. I have a graduate degree in the physical sciences. I have raised my children in the faith my wife and I were raised. I have doubts but I cannot teach that which I do not know. We encourage our children to find a truth which makes them content - at an age that they can make their own decisions. I am not afraid of atheist billboards - no sane person should be afraid of billboards on buses, buildings, subways etc. Our children feel part of the human race because we include them in our lives. Personally, I tend to side with Mr. McParland. I see no evidence I have harmed or forced my views of my doubtful life on my children. The question is "What are atheists afraid of?" We seem to have gotten to a somewhat non-brutal society on the backs of not a few Christian philosophers.
As an atheist, nothing annoys me more than atheists who can't leave well enough alone when it comes to other people's beliefs.
They seem to cherry pick some of the bad news about religion, residential schools, Spanish Inquisition, pedophile priests, but completely ignore all the good work done by people of the Christian faith.
I always tell Christian friends, enjoy your faith,and we'll see who's right when we die. The atheists campaign complete with bus ads is repugnant,just trying to add to the misery in the world ,are we?
I'll take a decent Christian like my neighbour over an atheist know it all prick any day.
DMorris
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"joe says... atheist's children they only get one side of the debate"
yes, of course... if only atheists could be as open-minded as fundamentalists of... well... just about any religion you can think of.
you, know... like the spanish inquisitors... the crusaders or the wise men of salem.
and, pardon me, joe... it's not atheists who strap bombs to themselves and blow people up... to further glorify their deity.
the indisputable fact is, over the course of human history... more than a few people have met their maker as a result of that "my beads are holier than your beads" thing.
don't get me wrong... the 10 commandments are a pretty good set of guidelines... don't kill folks, don't poke your neighbour's squeeze... or jack his/her benz... i just don't believe it's the word of a supreme being.
sorry, joe... you get to believe what you want... so should i.
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Where ever did I say you couldn't believe what you want? If you want to believe your grandfather is a rock then have at it! Enjoy! Feel Free!
Just to follow up what Neo said - no other books have been used to justify the spilling of so much blood for centuries. Those beliefs have been used to control, oppress and even enslave.
However, I also thing the problem with religions is not their core beliefs (who can argue with the golden rule?). Their problem is with their greatest weakness - that they are run by humans with all their greed and hunger for power and control.
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"joe says... your grandfather is a rock"
indeed, joe... how on, well... gawd's green earth... could anyone possibly overcome such a lucid, detailed argument?
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Neo - somewhere out there is a scientific paper from the 1970's where the author postulated that life originated within crystals, particularly the sheet silicates or micas. Perhaps our ancestors were once rocks!!
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"frances says... Perhaps our ancestors were once rocks!!"
as author p.j. o'rourke once said...
"i wanna see the logic AND the lab equipment".
and, joe... gawds bless his soul... he's good with leviticus... and the fossil record being compressed into seven wonderful days.
yeah joe... i know... i'm doomed to eternal, sulphurous hellfire... just like all the folks over the course of human history who didn't share your belief.
ah... it's a wonderful, many-splendoured world.
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Wow, apparently wars are caused by people thinking their beads are holy. Can't name one such war, can you? Doesn't matter. You just know.
Do you also know that all child mortality is caused by Jews murdering children and drinking their blood? Why not know it? It's just as true as the things you know, and you have just as much reason to believe it. And it will simplify things for you. And I see you like 'em simple.
Just being helpful here.
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of course, silly me... suggesting there might be a connection between religion and war.
what possible thesis could stand up against the old "jews drinking blood" gambit?
what was i thinking?
say... you think gawd will punish me?
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