Atheist/Religious/Question! How would you react if...

Scenario 2 for me.

As long as he/she is respectful of other people's beliefs, I would fully encourage my kid to follow whatever religion (unless it's some sort of religion based on hate or something) he/she would be interested in. Also, if the child's mother is for example catholic and would want the kid baptized, no problem with me either.
 
I think my kids should have the freedom to choose for themselves. If they feel compelled to join a religion, I'd accept it. I might not understand it completely, and I might wonder a bit about what led them to make this choice, but I wouldn't try to force them away if it was what they wanted to do.
But if my kids tried to convert me to their religion, then I will start to make some arguments against it.
 
silver 2039 said:
As long as my non-existant kid didn't join Chrstianity, Islam, Judaisim I have no problem with it (or some wacked out cult). I despise large, organzied, evelangical, religons. Any Eastern religon I have no problem with. Eastern religons are so much more philopshical, logical, sensible, and non-offensive and dangerous.

I had never thought that the day would come when you would speak these words . . . . . . .
 
I personally would not care if my child decided to become atheist. I don't plan on teaching him or her Christianity, I would leave it to my wife. I would argue with him, however, and show him the amazingly weak arguments that atheists have against a diety; I would try to turn him or her into a agnostic at the very least.
 
The full ideological deal ?
Like ignorance towards science and shrouded women...

I'd be outraged, but I would to my best not to show it.
Then I'd try to carefully manipulate them so they come to their senses again.

If this doesn't work..I really don't know...
I could ask my mother...
 
I am an agnostic , so being undecided myself , I won't care too much . I'll cover the cases one by one .

If my child joins Islam or Christainity , I will plant the seeds of doubt by leaving around the house materials which call the core beliefs of these religions in doubt , and I will recommend my child to be cautious .

If he joins Islam , I will tell him to be very sure before he makes any commitment , because the Islamic penalty for apostasy is death , and point him to other materials , such as the Hadith , which , if read in the original , are capable of shaking the faith of any liberal . I will then also point him to the records of Muslim rulers who destroyed Hindu India , and the language which they used . I will also point out to him the condition of women under Islamic law , and also the treatment of infidels , as also to how Muslim clerics behave even today .

If he joins Christainity , I will join him in his enthusiasm , then we will read the Old Testament together , and I will try to give justifications for the sort of bad behaviour found there done by God and God's prophets , and make it clear that I am making these excuses out of respect for my son's feelings . That should make him leave Christianity fast enough . If that does not work , then we will read the New Testament , and I will gentle raise questions about inconsistencies in the Gospels .

As Judaism does not accept converts , I am not worried on that front .

If he joins Buddhism , I will not object , but will tell him to be wary of the later interpretations , which are all negativist in nature . I will point out some of the more ridiculous implications of the later Buddhist interpretations .

If he joins Jainism , I will say/do the same thing .

And finally , if he decides to become an orthodox Hindu , I will tell him that being orthodox anything is bad for man's progress , and that he should be open to new ideas . If he becomes non-orthodox Hindu , I won't object at all ( as that is what I essentially am - a non-orthodox Hindu agnostic ) .

If he becomes an atheist , I will ask tell him that atheism is as untenable as theism , because unless you have yourself experience of the divine , you cannot decide either way .






I know that what I am doing can be called insidious ( specially the subtle planting of doubts part ) , but I consider it to be the "softer option" , because openly encouraging or discouraging beliefs never works . Why use a sword when a needle will suffice ?
 
Tycoon101 said:
I personally would not care if my child decided to become atheist. I don't plan on teaching him or her Christianity, I would leave it to my wife. I would argue with him, however, and show him the amazingly weak arguments that atheists have against a diety; I would try to turn him or her into a agnostic at the very least.

With all due respect:
Any arguments for the idea of god are equally as weak.
(if that is the word you wish to use)

I have yet to meet a religious person who can come up
with any evidence beyond shaky personal perspectives.

.
 
Well I'd be supportive of my children's decision, of course! You can't force religion on them like at a re-education camp and doing so would only breed resentment or the destruction of their character.

And if they continue to be athiest? That's alright. As long as they're respectful to everyone and not be a jerk by belittling other peoples religious choices.
 
aneeshm said:
I know that what I am doing can be called insidious ( specially the subtle planting of doubts part ) , but I consider it to be the "softer option" , because openly encouraging or discouraging beliefs never works . Why use a sword when a needle will suffice ?

:goodjob:
That's exactly what I meant with "manipulate them".
 
Though I would be very dissapointed that they didn't share my beliefs I would be fine with it. To each his own, I do not enforce my beliefs on anyone, and I think the concept of missionaries to spread "The Word" is disgusting.

Saying that, I can't deny that there would probably be a fair amount of arguments and disagreements... some probably pretty heated :) But hey that's life..


Edit: Just another thought: If my child decided to become LDS (Mormon), I would definately send them to another state or move myself. Mormons abroad are fine by me, but living in Utah, it is definately a huge case of herd mentality and a lot of social outcasting, and being an atheist I would not want my kid to share those aspects.
 
CurtSibling said:
With all due respect:
Any arguments for the idea of god are equally as weak.
(if that is the word you wish to use)

I have yet to meet a religious person who can come up
with any evidence beyond shaky personal perspectives.

.

What created the universe? I ask you that. I do not ask you to believe in a specific god, just ask that one question. If you can answer that question without saying that it is irellevent then I will be happy to know.
 
I don't imagine I'd mind too much if they took up an East Asian religion, because those are generally the ones I find that I agree with most ideologically. If they became a devout follower of an Abrahamic religion, however, I would be more put off. I would also be irritated if they made it a very large part of their life or tried to convert others, and I would try to understand why they did this and subtly try to make them see the world more from my point of view. If it was Christianity in particular, I would be very irritated. I would probably let them live their lives as they wanted to, though, as long as their religion was not violent or dangerous.

Tycoon101 said:
What created the universe? I ask you that. I do not ask you to believe in a specific god, just ask that one question. If you can answer that question without saying that it is irellevent then I will be happy to know.

I don't understand why that question needs to be answerable scientifically at this time. If you go back 1000 years and ask the people of that time "How do stars form?", they wouldn't be able to give you a scientific answer. Obviously, that doesn't automatically imply that a deity creates them.
 
As an atheist - no scratch that, as a rational free-thinker - I would accept my child's decision, but I would ensure that they consider it rationally. And kid of mine comes home and used Pascal's Wager as a valid reason for believing in god gets locked in the cupboard under the stairs. Well maybe not.
 
toh6wy said:
I don't understand why that question needs to be answerable scientifically at this time. If you go back 1000 years and ask the people of that time "How do stars form?", they wouldn't be able to give you a scientific answer. Obviously, that doesn't automatically imply that a deity creates them.

Thanks for the argument. Do you think that we will find enough about the Big Bang within 1000 years? I'm curious about your stance on that.
 
What created the universe? I ask you that. I do not ask you to believe in a specific god, just ask that one question. If you can answer that question without saying that it is irellevent then I will be happy to know.

No-one needs to have created the universe if it has existed for all eternity, in some form or the other. It might seem hard to imagine that, but I personally find it more plausible than the idea of somethingness coming from nothingness spontaneously.
Arguing that God created the universe will only create the inevitable second question - what created God? You might argue that God has existed for all eternity, but if it is possible for God to have existed for all eternity, surely it would be possible for the Universe as well.
 
Tycoon101 said:
Thanks for the argument. Do you think that we will find enough about the Big Bang within 1000 years? I'm curious about your stance on that.

Really hard to say exactly. Things certainly have changed a lot since 1006, and a lot more will change by 3006... but I imagine we'll be a lot closer to the answer, at least, assuming we don't kill ourselves off or regress to medieval times in technology and way of life somehow.
[edit]I sure used "a lot" a lot there... heh.[/edit]
 
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