Please register to participate in our discussions with 2 million other members - it's free and quick! Some forums can only be seen by registered members. After you create your account, you'll be able to customize options and access all our 15,000 new posts/day with fewer ads.
Well, the flaw in that is that, by driving around town and giving your children a Whitman's sampler of faiths to try on and discard like so many clothes at The Gap, you allow your own to wither on the vine.
Children are the not the center of the universe, or even of the family. The parents define what the foundation and values of what the family will be, and the child is raised with that shared understanding. Now, lest you misinterpret me, that is NOT to say that parents are closed minded. It is also NOT to say that a child cannot make choices upon reaching adulthood. But, just as thirteen year olds are not allowed to vote, thirteen years olds lack the maturity and wherewithal to make such critical decisions about their own spiritual wellbeing.
And, of course, there is the sheer logistical issue of what happens when the parents are Catholic and the child decides to become, say, Baptist or Church of God. To participate in a different community of faith means two different services, two different sets of activities, two different kinds of religious education, and on and on and on. Heck, it's tough enough as it is to attend weekly 9 a.m. services at my Episcopal church. I can't imagine coping with a completely different of demands because my fifteen year old wants to put on the Lutheran hat this week.
My viewpoint? When they reach adulthood, they can take any spiritual path they choose with my blessings. But I really don't have the energy and patience to deal with the simultaneous quest for meaning by all three of my children.
My faith in my beliefs is just fine thank your very much. Spirituality is an adult decsicion i believe, so you are no more equiped to make that descion then they are. I don't find it wasting energy...i take them to different hosues of worship....and answer their questions.
Agnostic is more like "There might be a God. There might not be a God. It's impossible to know." Your wanting proof is more atheist than agnostic.
I agree- I fall into the "I think there is a God/god/whatever, but don't believe in organized religion" category of agnosticism. Wanting proof in a god and not believing until you have proof is atheist. Plain and simple.
I was raised Methodist from birth to about 10 or 11 years old.
We went to church on occasion, I went to vacation bible school during the summer, etc.
However, I didn't really believe once I could question stuff.
Growing up in the bible belt also really deterred me from wanting anything to do with church. Controlling fundamentalist anywhere are a turn off.
Just hearing comments like weather is controlled by god so therefore insurance companies shouldn't pay out for weather damage, "god gave that man a heart attack" no his diet and lifestyle did. Just common sense stuff that can EASILY be proved by science.
I would guess I am agnostic now. Prove it to me, with PROOF that there is a god and I will believe it.
There is some stuff I believe and some stuff I don't.
I know a few people who are religious and talk about gods plan for them. I don't like that.
I have MY plan and no one or anything is going to come between me and my goals. This is MY life and I am in control of it and I control my fate and my future.
yep, God has given choices. Adam & Eve. They had a choice & they made it. It's called consequences.
Most normal Christians don't say "God killed that man". That man made choices.
God never promised rainbows & unicorns 24/7 if that is what you are looking for.
Christians, Jews, and Muslims understand that concept.
You definitely control your fate. And you've made your decision. It comes w/ its own set of consequences & I am not meaning all "your going to hell".
You live without faith. That is about it. Don't prompt yourself up on pedestal b/c of it either. I think more people take your stance b/c it shows control.
Nope they have been told my beliefs....but i want them to take their own path. I believe forcing kids to believe when you do really doesn't get them to believe as much as it gets them to affirm what their parent's do to make them happy. I don't want my kids just believing what i do to please mama. I would love it if they were pagans....but i will love them even if they are christians or jews or hindus.
yep, God has given choices. Adam & Eve. They had a choice & they made it. It's called consequences.
Most normal Christians don't say "God killed that man". That man made choices.
God never promised rainbows & unicorns 24/7 if that is what you are looking for.
Christians, Jews, and Muslims understand that concept.
You definitely control your fate. And you've made your decision. It comes w/ its own set of consequences & I am not meaning all "your going to hell".
You live without faith. That is about it. Don't prompt yourself up on pedestal b/c of it either. I think more people take your stance b/c it shows control.
I'm not prompting myself up on a pedestal.
And nothings wrong with control, its my life, why wouldn't I or any clear thinking individual want 100% control over the turns their lives take and what happens to them.
I agree- I fall into the "I think there is a God/god/whatever, but don't believe in organized religion" category of agnosticism.
Yeah, many agnostics learn towards thinking there might be a God. I sort of teeter between 'impossible to know' and 'there might be" but more in a general spiritual sense, not a specific God concept. I'm definitely not an organized religion person.
Quote:
Originally Posted by strawflower
Wanting proof in a god and not believing until you have proof is atheist. Plain and simple.
Absolutely. I'm not looking for proof (atheist) and I don't have faith (any type of religion).
I have a complicated religious background. My father's side of the family is all reform (or at least culturally) Jewish, and I have perpetuated some aspects of being culturally Jewish with my kids in that I teach them about, and we celebrate, some Jewish holidays. I also teach them about other cultures and religions too though, and we do actually celebrate Christmas too (I actually prefer Jesus Christmas to Santa Claus Christmas).
I emphasize that religion is something that each person has to decide for themselves what they believe, and that it's not okay or polite to tell someone else that their religious beliefs are "wrong". I attend, and bring my children to, a Unitarian Universalist fellowship. So if they ask what religion we are, I say we are UU, but if they ask what we believe, I still say that each person decides for themselves (UUs are non-credal). I will say what *I* believe if asked directly, but I do like to frame it as one option among many. "Mommy doesn't believe in a place called heaven, but grandma does. What do you think?" was a recent conversation. I will certainly let them decide for themselves what they believe, and my religion fully supports this approach. There is a lot of education about other religions in the Sunday school classes, and the whole 7th grade RE curriculum is called "Neighboring Faiths" and involves learning about different religions and then visiting different faith communities' worship services to see what they are like.
I'm not prompting myself up on a pedestal.
And nothings wrong with control, its my life, why wouldn't I or any clear thinking individual want 100% control over the turns their lives take and what happens to them.
exactly why you don't have faith
those w/ faith give over their fears & concerns to a higher power. they give over the control they have on those feelings.
and you are. you have to struggle to get that control & say "I'm in control. No one else." Why?
I'm not in 100% control of my life & my faith gives me peace & comfort with it.
If you know little to nothing about Christianity or blame your parents for making you go to church & that is why you don't believe in anything, so be it. You won't get what I am saying.
So, what is the meaning of Christmas & Easter to you?
And added: free will means you can choose to accept God or not. you can choose to kill a person, have 20 kids, smoke 39 packs a day...the list goes on. You have choosen not to believe and in the Christian faith, that is called free will. There is a flip side to that & those are all the consequences..BUT, since you have 100% control!!!! that means you must live an absolutely perfect life w/ nothing ever going wrong. If you really think you are the complete controller of your fate..what do you say to the 3,000 people who lost their lives on 9/11. Doubt they wanted to die that day. But they had no control over it, did they?
And nothings wrong with control, its my life, why wouldn't I or any clear thinking individual want 100% control over the turns their lives take and what happens to them.
I'm not trying to recruit you to religion, but I think it's important for you to understand that Christianity has a little thing called Free Will.
Please register to post and access all features of our very popular forum. It is free and quick. Over $68,000 in prizes has already been given out to active posters on our forum. Additional giveaways are planned.
Detailed information about all U.S. cities, counties, and zip codes on our site: City-data.com.
Please register to participate in our discussions with 2 million other members - it's free and quick! Some forums can only be seen by registered members. After you create your account, you'll be able to customize options and access all our 15,000 new posts/day with fewer ads.
