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Goodbye Jesus

Carpooling With A Fundy


No Heaven for Kevin

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I have been carpooling with this guy for about 4 months, ever since the oil company bastards really started shaking us down. He is a fundamentalist, and is well aware of my atheism. As you can imagine, our conversation frequently turns to religion. I don't like to talk about it, I would like to keep the conversation on sports or something. But, he is always asking me questions about why I turned away from Christianity. We have been loaning each other books from our personal libraries to try and help each other to see why we have made these philisophical choices.

 

Most of you know, these conversations usually go in circles, and nobody learns anything. Well, this guy has proven he is worth the effort. He announced to me yesterday that he now accepts Evolution, and is willing to look at Genesis as allegory (I prefer myth, but I'll take what I can get). He read a book called "The Hidden Face of God" over the holiday, which is written by a Jewish person, but it promotes the idea that you have to accept the facts of science. He just gave me the book today, and I'm interesting in seeing this books perspective.

 

Now, just two weeks ago, this guy was completely set in his belief that the Earth was 6,000 years old, and evolution was a big lie to discredit Christianity. So this is a major move forward for him, although it has more of a religious twist than I am comfortable with, I realize that moving away from heavy dogma takes baby-steps.

 

I know we all get on here and rant about the fundies who get our panties in a bunch, but is there anyone else out there who is making progress with any fundy family or friends?

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It feels weird congratulating you on this, but congratulations! This helps me believe that most people, if they put the time and effort in, are reasonable people. How long did it take us to deconvert? It was over a few years or more for most of us.... so a Creationist turned theistic evolutionist within two weeks is a huge step. :)

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My wife is slowly changing her views as well, though I'd wager those changes have as much to do with her desire to be a nurse and having to go through their fairly extensive biology classes as it has to do with my pointing out problems with her religion of birth and choice.

 

It is a much slower process than the one you describe though. But she was raised by a S. Baptist preacher aspirant (he didn't make it because of politics, but he knows his stuff), and all the rationalization he knows and taught her is pretty well ingrained.

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I am impressed. I would never have the patience to do what

you've been doing!

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The patience comes in the form of not ripping out what's left of my hair every time she noncritically reads the Bible, tells me that the craziest of things mentioned within it is true, and buries her head in the sand to keep from hearing my criticisms. Those are not as frequent as they once were, though, and I sense the fundamentalist in her slowly dissipating.

 

She is most likely to remain a Christian, however, but I have come to the conclusion that I can accept that as long as she continues to break away from her fundamentalist roots.

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She is most likely to remain a Christian, however, but I have come to the conclusion that I can accept that as long as she continues to break away from her fundamentalist roots.

 

First, you have to remember that it's the sacred duty of all females to exasperate and bedevil their males. It's biology. :mellow:

 

But, seriously, I could deal with liberal, pick & choose xtians who aren't fanatical evangelists and literalists, who believe xtianity is all about love and being good. Nothing wrong with that, as long as radicalism is left out.

 

It's when they start trying to put creationism in the science classes and justify wrong-doing in the name of jebus that I start seeing red.

 

Oh, also: good job, No Heaven for Kevin! :woohoo:

 

The guy might be more intelligent than his beliefs indicate! Good luck!

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The guy might be more intelligent than his beliefs indicate! Good luck!

 

You are right about that! He really suprised me. I think I have mistook his interest in my deconversion as a way of proselytizing me, but maybe he is just dealing with his own doubts with Christianity.

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If any Christian out there says that they don't have doubts about the literal truth of the bible then they'r either mentally deficient or a child.

 

Good job, NH4K... keep chipping away at him and I'll keep chipping away at my mom.

 

My mom recently conceded, "You're right... the pope is still a man, no matter what. He's not the voice of God, he's the voice of the Catholic Church."

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Does this guy attend a fundamentalist church? If so, he's in for a bumpy ride if he sticks to his new, more liberal religious beliefs. Either that, or he's going to be pulled back into fundyville by his preacher and fellow church members.

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Does this guy attend a fundamentalist church? If so, he's in for a bumpy ride if he sticks to his new, more liberal religious beliefs. Either that, or he's going to be pulled back into fundyville by his preacher and fellow church members.

 

That's a very good question. His wife hates going to church, so he hasn't been hanging around the fundy crowd too much. Although, he does watch it on TV. He's trying to get her back into church, but she isn't going any time soon. She is a Christian, but she had a falling out with her church and won't go back.

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Does this guy attend a fundamentalist church? If so, he's in for a bumpy ride if he sticks to his new, more liberal religious beliefs. Either that, or he's going to be pulled back into fundyville by his preacher and fellow church members.

 

That's a very good question. His wife hates going to church, so he hasn't been hanging around the fundy crowd too much. Although, he does watch it on TV. He's trying to get her back into church, but she isn't going any time soon. She is a Christian, but she had a falling out with her church and won't go back.

 

That's good; in fact, that might be the reason you've had such an influence on him. Otherwise, he would have been running to his pastor for advice on how to handle your views! If he does look for a church, perhaps you will have influenced him enough that he'll find something similar to a nice, liberal United Church of Christ.

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