Kuroikaze Posted August 4, 2005 Share Posted August 4, 2005 Ok, I told my mom i wasn't a christian anymore a few weeks ago right before i moved out of the house, of couse she told my dad... i knew she would, but she mostly ignores my confession of non-faith. For real, its like I never even said anything most of the time. My dad on the other hand is a little bit more open about discussing it. He even admited to me that the bible had errors in it, which makes me wonder why he still believes in it anyway i stopped by their office the other day to say hi and my dad said he wanted to talk to me....."ok sure" i said. Well he asks me not to say anything about my "agnositc philosophy" to my younger sister. Just to let you know, I have two younger sisters, the older is 14. I'm actually pretty close to her, we watch anime together and such, we are both pretty much otaku's anyway, she was the first person in my family that I told about my lack of believe, and she was pretty ok with it. Then a few weeks ago she tells me that she doesn't believe anymore either....well i did feel kinda bad about it cause I felt like she might have made the choice because I did, but she is, unlike most 14 year olds, pretty thoughtfull and deep, and truthfully she was very dispondent and fed up with most of the crap going on in her church and with many of her christian "friends". Actually my parents decided to leave that church last week because they were fed up with crap there. I mostly think that the only influence I had on her was to show her she didn't have to stay, I think she had already mostly figured out that the way the church told her to deal with her problems wasn't working anyway, I just gave her another option when I told her I was agnostic. Anyway, its wierd for my dad to tell me not to talk about this with her cause on the one hand I do want to respect his wishes, since she is his daughter, but he doesn't know yet that she is already lost to the fundamentalist lunacy. Anyway I start talking to my dad about what I believe, and he says the wierdest thing to me. He says "Well i know your just at that age where you thing everything should make sence" I wanted to just laugh in his face, it was such a silly thing to say...I'm thinking, so...what? when you get older your more willing to believe stupid fariy tales? Of couse i'm also thinking that I've known plenty of elderly athiests, but anyway. I think in part his statement goes back to the posiblity that he was fairly agnoistic when he was younger...he used to be into science fiction a lot when he was a kid, and read stuff by people like Asimov. Of couse then he got back into the church when I was 16 and went all gung-ho for christ. When i think about it I get really mad, because basiclly he was saying that my experince is meaningless, by saying that my experience is the same as his he is essentally throwing out the old worthless idiom "You'll understand when your older" Anyway then he says I walked away because i'm just angry with some of the christians that wronged me (underling messege is that you shoudn't judge christ by his followers, how you are supposed to judge him I don't know, but he uses a variation of that everytime we talk) I calmly explain that it has nothing to do with christians, i just feel the Bible is an untrustworthy book, if it has errors in places i can check, what abou the places i can't check? ... we debate that for a while until he admits he can't debate philsophy with me. I thought to my self "Finally, first damn inteligent thing he's said this whole converstation" The thing i mostly don't get is why my parents care anymore either, they have been through like 5 churchs in the last 7 or 8 years because of not being able to put up with the assholes there... in the last church my dad was even a deacon.... but the pastor that was working there lied to a bunch of people and almost split the church when he was fired. then the pastor search comity, which my mom was on, was trying to hire a new pastor without even doing a back ground check on him. Its like they want to be screwed over... My parents tend to end up on the outs in the churches they attented because they aren't afraid to tell people when they are doing something stupid. Most fundies don't like logic to intrude on thier lives, i've noticed. I'm just hoping that my parents can wake up one day and see how stupid the whole thing is. Well...another long post.... I do tend to ramble don't I Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ouroboros Posted August 4, 2005 Share Posted August 4, 2005 Well he asks me not to say anything about my "agnositc philosophy" to my younger sister. Just to let you know, I have two younger sisters, the older is 14. I'm actually pretty close to her, we watch anime together and such, we are both pretty much otaku's anyway, she was the first person in my family that I told about my lack of believe, and she was pretty ok with it. Then a few weeks ago she tells me that she doesn't believe anymore either....well i did feel kinda bad about it cause I felt like she might have made the choice because I did, but she is, unlike most 14 year olds, pretty thoughtfull and deep, and truthfully she was very dispondent and fed up with most of the crap going on in her church and with many of her christian "friends". Actually my parents decided to leave that church last week because they were fed up with crap there. I think she probably didn't have any belief either from starters, but you gave her a reason to see that there was an option, that she didn't have to force herself to believe, when she actually didn't. Many people get stuck in religion because of their parents, and people around them, they have no choice, and then kind of establish some fake belief. You gave her a way out. I mostly think that the only influence I had on her was to show her she didn't have to stay, I think she had already mostly figured out that the way the church told her to deal with her problems wasn't working anyway, I just gave her another option when I told her I was agnostic. Well, just what I said, and you said it already... damn! I'm slow... Anyway I start talking to my dad about what I believe, and he says the wierdest thing to me. He says "Well i know your just at that age where you thing everything should make sence" Hehe! That's funny! I wanted to just laugh in his face, it was such a silly thing to say...I'm thinking, so...what? when you get older your more willing to believe stupid fariy tales? Of couse i'm also thinking that I've known plenty of elderly athiests, but anyway. I think in part his statement goes back to the posiblity that he was fairly agnoistic when he was younger...he used to be into science fiction a lot when he was a kid, and read stuff by people like Asimov. Of couse then he got back into the church when I was 16 and went all gung-ho for christ. Yup. You're a kid, you believe in Santa, you turn teen and start rationalizing and stop believing in stuff, then you get old and become a kid again... sigh... When i think about it I get really mad, because basiclly he was saying that my experince is meaningless, by saying that my experience is the same as his he is essentally throwing out the old worthless idiom "You'll understand when your older" Don't let it get to you. Old doesn't mean smart. I know. I'm old... The thing i mostly don't get is why my parents care anymore either, they have been through like 5 churchs in the last 7 or 8 years because of not being able to put up with the assholes there... in the last church my dad was even a deacon.... but the pastor that was working there lied to a bunch of people and almost split the church when he was fired. then the pastor search comity, which my mom was on, was trying to hire a new pastor without even doing a back ground check on him. Its like they want to be screwed over... It sounds like they eventually will come out too. It's not easy for older people to change or to admit they're wrong. They might come around... My parents tend to end up on the outs in the churches they attented because they aren't afraid to tell people when they are doing something stupid. Most fundies don't like logic to intrude on thier lives, i've noticed. I'm just hoping that my parents can wake up one day and see how stupid the whole thing is. I think they will, because they still are searching. Well...another long post.... I do tend to ramble don't I ANOTHER ONE!!! Poor members on this site, you and I will kill them with our long postings! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Checkmate Posted August 4, 2005 Share Posted August 4, 2005 Anyway I start talking to my dad about what I believe, and he says the wierdest thing to me. He says "Well i know your just at that age where you thing everything should make sence" I wanted to just laugh in his face, it was such a silly thing to say...I'm thinking, so...what? when you get older your more willing to believe stupid fariy tales? ..................................................... My parents tend to end up on the outs in the churches they attented because they aren't afraid to tell people when they are doing something stupid. Most fundies don't like logic to intrude on thier lives, i've noticed. I'm just hoping that my parents can wake up one day and see how stupid the whole thing is. You just stick to your guns, Kuriokaze. It sounds to me that your parents are slowly, but surely waking up. Be patient. They, like many of us OLDER fools, are the unwitting victims of COMPARTMENTALIZATION. I mention this phenomenon on a seperate thread on the forums. http://www.ex-christian.net/index.php?showtopic=1659&st=137 Check it out sometime, if you've got the time. It explains WHY and HOW normally reasonable, intelligent people are able to accept even the most ludicrous ideas in spite of any evidence to the contrary. Your parents are no different than any of us deluded goobers who once swallowed the lies hook, line and sinker. As I said, they just need time. Oh, yes...Welcome to the forums and the land of Free Thought! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Amethyst Posted August 4, 2005 Share Posted August 4, 2005 Your parents grew up in an era where it was expected to be religious, so they were. Many younger Christians are just beginning to deconvert now, but I suspect that we are on the fringes of a growing movement. I am agnostic also. Welcome. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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