Atheists

[Something Diabolical]

You shouldn't.

[jeffandlex]

That's what I'm saying. But I actually like helping in church even though I don't belive in God. It's weird. I think tommorow I'm actually going to tell my friends cause I just want to tell someone I actually know. But the hard part would be on how I'm going to tell my parents. Any help on that?

[Something Diabolical]

No, sorry.... I'm not good at that type of thing. But my advice is: DON'T make it a bigger deal than it is. Just calmly explain to them, and be done with the discussion.

[jeffandlex]

I'm workin on it... My mom actually freaked when I told her I {Jokingly} that I wanted to change my religion. She was M.A.D...

[Something Diabolical]

Oh geez. *rolls eyes* I hope it goes well for you.... I've learned from past experience that some parents will practically abandon their child when they find out things like that.

[SelkiesSong]

I have yet to tell my parents, though if my mom hasn't figured it out by now she's...well...pretty thick, to put it nicely. <_<'

I think she knows though---after my cousin's wedding just a couple of weeks ago, she just about jumped down my throat when I commented that the service was a joke. Her response was literally, "Well, maybe if you don't believe in Jesus Christ it would be a joke, but I thought it was nice!" in a very snappy, pissy tone of voice. When I'd literally meant that it'd been a joke. The reverend did nothing but joke around, baby talk/try to recruit the audience, and go on about the most sexist passages in the bible like they were the most important words of advice ever. I would've been insulted had that been my wedding.

Luckily our parents never made a real habit about going to church (not that it would've changed how I felt--I was questioning it even back when we *did* go to Sunday school), so I never had to deal with it for very long at a time.

If I were you, I just wouldn't say anything. Believe what you like, but avoid confrontation as much as possible. Of course, that may not be the best course of action, but it may be the safest route until you're a little older and mostly out of the house. As was said before, parents tend to have a rather strong and negative reaction to something like that...

[Luke Skywalker]

Ehm, I'm not really sure what I am. o.o I kinda believe in God, even though it kinda annoys me how the bible just skipped through his teenage years. That makes me partially think that he didn't really exist at all. You know the Native Americans religion? I think it's quite pleasant, not to dramatic. It shows that not just one thing can control everything (and possibly a representation of individuality). Contrary to the previous statement, I find it much more reasonable how a prince walking outside saw the poverty and terrors that the regular people faced and developed a strong sense of closeness to the Earth.With that being said.. I'm kinda Buddhist. And yet.. I would find it strange to worship just a person, god-like or not. Worshipping sounds odd and fangirlish in a way. So.. maybe I'm atheist for not bowing down like a puppet? I mean, I usually say I'm Christian and such because that's the type of family I was born into, but I hate how most 'Christians' try shoving their religion down your throat. In conclusion, I have many different religions/non-religions I like to follow. xD If that makes any sense.

[Atwood]

I'd agree with linksage; at this point it might be better not to say anything to your parents if you think they would have a severe reaction to it. If it helps any, my friend's family are devout Catholics, but they didn't protest (much) when he finally told them after he'd moved out that the Catholic religion wasn't right for him. He's still religious, but he doesn't know what religion he is; he knows what he believes to be true based on his intensive studying of religion, but he still hasn't found any organized religion that lives up to his expectations. I told him to try Buddhism, but he's not willing to give up on God, just the people who claim to follow him.

He and I have a lot of interesting debates, as I'm an atheist but know enough about different religions to discuss them with him on a roughly equal footing. It's a game of sorts, like a formal debate, because we both try to convince the other that our argument is more valid without expecting the other to actually believe it. Sometimes we'll reverse roles on specific points of religion and I'll defend the point while he pokes holes in it - he always finds it amusing when I get indignant on God's behalf. In short, it can be a lot of fun having religious friends when you're an atheist, so long as neither side tries to push their beliefs on the other (which includes saying you're praying for someone or pity them because they happen to not be the same as you. I know religious people mean well in saying that, but it's actually very offensive and is about as bad as the 'You're going to hell, Satan-worshipper!' shtick. Do it if it makes you feel better, but we don't want to hear about it, thanks). It probably helps that I do believe that Jesus existed and preached about his god, since there's plenty of evidence to support that, but I also know that he was far from the only one of his kind, especially at that time in history, and that there were plenty of other people with different gods saying much the same things. Interestingly, Jesus is thought to have studied Buddhism and incorporated much of it into his own teachings.

I've known lots of religious people, many of them very good people, some exceptionally so. However, in no case do I believe being religious was the cause of their goodness - rather, it was an expression of it, because they truly believed that all people should be treated with kindness, love, compassion and understanding, regardless of what those people believed or didn't believe, and to them it was only natural that there should be an all-loving god who created it all. I've also known atheists who were just as wonderful for exactly the same reasons, but to them it was obvious that there were no gods. Religion doesn't create goodness, though I've certainly seen it do the opposite, and it's so annoying when people imply (or outright say) that because you're an atheist, that means you have no morals and are an evil wicked person. We (that is, every atheist I know) don't act morally because we're afraid of divine retribution for not doing so or hope to gain some eternal reward by being superficially good; we do it because it's the right thing to do.

As for the supposed joy of belief, I find science to offer answers far more wondrous and yet logical than anything I have seen in any religion. That doesn't mean I think science is always right, but I know that its findings are constantly challenged, examined, reassessed and adapted to fit new data rather than, say, basing everything on something Plato wrote and saying anything that doesn't agree with him is wrong. Scientific knowledge is always growing, shifting, adapting as we learn things we didn't even know we didn't know before, and it's always fresh and exciting to me. To me, religion could never compare to that sense of wonder and awe that comes with discovery and truly understanding how something works and where it came from.

[gemini_girl]

Well im not an athiest but my best friend is and I support him in his beliefs.

[Chianya]

And yet.. I would find it strange to worship just a person, god-like or not. Worshipping sounds odd and fangirlish in a way.

LMAO Jesus fangirls....

**sings** Rock me rock me rock me sexy Jesus he died for our sins, you'd better believe us!!! OMG it's Jesus! **faints** Ahh, bless Hamlet 2

Sorry for the slightly OT post, I couldn't resist XD

-Chianya