★ Citsonga ★ Posted July 28, 2014 Share Posted July 28, 2014 That sounds like a good approach. Thanks for mentioning this, as that book sounds like an interesting read. I may have to get a copy (though the title is probably not something that bfuddled would want her husband to see, nor I my wife). As long as you keep it right next to any of their books on evangelism, I think you should be OK. I mean, it's a win-win, right? Either they ask you to get rid of the book and agree to get rid of their evangelism books too, or they see that it's absurd that they can keep the living room bookshelf full of Bibles and Christian books while you have to keep your few in the freaking nightstand drawer. That's a valid point. As for us, our bookshelves are in the basement, and they contain religious, nonreligious and atheist (or counter-religious) books. While all of the atheist books are mine, as well as most of the nonreligious books, I also have more Bibles than she does, and I have the religious studies and apologetics books. Most of her books are "Christian fiction" and have nothing to do with evangelism. (Of course, I now consider ALL Christian books to be works of fiction, but her books are the novels that are categorized as fiction at bookstores.) A book entitled "A Manual For Creating Atheists" is on that I most likely would keep in a drawer rather than leave laying around or displayed on a bookshelf. The title is just a bit more off-putting than most of the atheist books I have. I do want to get the book sometime, though. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Posted July 28, 2014 Share Posted July 28, 2014 He is not happy with the fact that I have been talking to my oldest daughter about what I believe (or my lack of belief), and thinks that by giving the kids 2 different opinions we will be confusing them. I said that I understand his frustration, but that there really isn't any other option, as I'm not willing to only present them with Christianity. He started to get upset and stated that it was hard enough for him to deal with the fact that I may be going to Hell, but that if one or more of our children ended up not accepting Christ, it would break his heart. His own faith must be weak if he feels the kids can be easily confused or they will not choose religion if presented with both sides. All he needs to do is explain his views to them and let them decide. If he only wants one side presented that betrays a very real lack of confidence in his beliefs. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Lerk Posted July 29, 2014 Share Posted July 29, 2014 bfuddled, I just want to add a bit here. It's been 2 1/2 years for me, and my wife and I rarely fight about it anymore. I still go to church, but skip whenever it's convenient to do so. (She misses a lot due to illness, so that makes it easier for me.) Our children are grown, so I don't have to deal with that, and I know that makes your situation very different from mine. But instead of fights now, she simply acknowledges my unbelief most of the time. She'll say something about her fear of Hell, or perhaps talk about some of her thoughts about a particular doctrine, and add "but I know you don't believe any of that." We've achieved a sort of peace after this amount of time. I hope that, over time, you'll achieve some peace as well. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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