ApostateAbe

I am a male college student. I recently came out of the closet with my fundy parents in an e-mail: that I am a strong atheist. They e-mailed back and told me that they are cutting off my finances when the quarter ends. They said that they would send me money when (1) I declare myself to be an agnostic instead of an atheist, (2) I quit the atheist/agnostic club on campus, and (3) I stop looking at anti-Christian stuff on the Internet. I would rather become a homeless person than I agree to all that. Within my e-mails back I sent them a list of reasons I FIRMLY oppose religion. Here it is:

1) Religion creates gullibility in the realm of the spiritual which makes people susceptible to cult recruitment, scam artists, and false rumors
2) Religion serves as a means of government control
3) Religion creates bigotry against people who don’t deserve it (e.g. gays)
4) Religion opposes well-established facts with deceitful pseudo-sciences (e.g. creationism)
5) Religion hinders scientific curiosity by explaining the unexplained with God
6) Religion creates divisiveness in interpersonal relationships
7) Religion creates divisiveness in civil and international affairs
8) Religious sacred books are too ambiguous and outdated to create a solid moral code
9) Religious sacred books and religious dogma are used as justification for the unethical
10) Religious sacred books are filled with internal contradictions
11) Religion encourages dependence on the imaginary
12) Religion encourages people to trust the guidance of their emotions
13) Religion encourages people to accept their hallucinations as reality
14) Religion encourages stern indoctrination of children
15) Many religious activities are an unproductive waste of time and money for the participants
16) No religion has fulfilled its burden of proof

Please add more to this list or tell me why you disagree with it.

It is comforting to have a community of people like me here.

Edited: I changed my displayed name from ILOVEMYMOMMY to Apostate.

[ October 31, 2002: Message edited by: Apostate ]</p>

Albion

sigh....

lunachick

Oh man, I feel for you. I remember being written out of my mothers will (it was nothing to do with religion, but it still spoke volumes).

What you have to do now is show them what a good, strong, moral person you are. Get a job to support yourself. Get the cheapest rent possible without moving to a complete slum. Get flatmates in to help with expenses. You can make it on your own, and you WILL!!!

I admire you for your honesty with your parents. If they can't handle it, it's their loss. Hopefully, in time they'll come round and continue to support you (at least emtionally) in all you do. Just show them what a fucking amazing person you are. And you are!

Good luck, mate. Keep your chin up. Good things will come of this, I'm sure.

K

17. Religion causes parents to abandon their own child for the simple crime of using his brain to rationally try to explain the world around him.

Janaya

Here's my two cents:

18. Religion sucks up resources better used elsewhere: a.)Money is given to churches that could better be used for schools, roads, medical research, etc. b.)Nonbelievers have to pay higher taxes because of non-profit status of religious institutions. c.)Very bright people waste a huge amount of time debating/defending religions. d.)A whole lot of time is invested in participating in religions that could better be invested elsewhere. e.)The resources to build churches and send missionaries out to the masses could also be better utilized elsewhere.

19. Religions cause the demonization of opponents and the subsequent justification of any unethical action taken against said opponents.

20. Religions inject unnecessary complications into almost any situation.

I'm so sorry to hear that your parents cut you off. Maybe if they just have some time they'll come around. It kind of sounds like a knee jerk reaction to me. I have a friend in a similar situation. She is agonizing over telling her parents that she is gay.

Peace,
Janaya

Sheep in the big city

Maybe you should remind your parents that since they are supposed to love their enemies anyway they might as well heap it on a family member.

PS: Good thing you still love your mommy

Wyz_sub10

First of all, sorry to hear that this is causing you grief. My parents still don't know that I'm an atheist (and I'm 30, married and haven't lived in the same city as then for 11 years).

I don't know your parents, but I would stay away from the list and take a different approach. Facts rarely prove anything to relgious people. I could never *rationally* explain my atheism to my parents (mom especially). Maybe you can.

I would look at K's point, and have a conversation around that.

Surely, you cannot just change your mind like flicking a switch ("declaring" yourself agnostic).

Also, why would they spend all that money on school if you are not going to learn to think critically? (you're a big boy and can judge for yourself what material to read and not read)

In the end, take the approach that works for you, but I would suggest trying to convince them to give you the time and support to find your own way. As time passes, they'll grow more confortable with the situation and their expectations will fall with regard to your returning to Christianity.

[ October 29, 2002: Message edited by: Wyz_sub10 ]</p>

babelfish

ILMM - I'm so sorry about your parents' reaction. Any chance that they just cut you off in the heat of the moment, and will later regret doing so?

Even if not, and you really are on your own, there are ways to continue on with your education without relying on parental funding. Although the money part isn't the most important part, right?

I don't have anything to add to your list, except to say that it's not unusual for Christians to react this way to dissention within their families. Kind of hypocritical I think, and not very Christ-like.

Shake

First, K, <img src="graemlins/notworthy.gif" border="0" alt="[Not Worthy]" />

Second, I hope you're really OK with your course of actions, because it's always easier to burn your bridges than try to rebuild them.

Third, I am sorry about how they're treating you. If you want your points to be even stronger, you might consider specific examples if you can come up with ones that are sure to hit home with the folks. For example, I wonder if your mom realizes how much women are degraded and treated like second class citizens even in the US due to religion! I was once a member of a fairly open-minded (I thought) Lutheran church (I'm strong atheist now, too), and when we got a female associate pastor, you should have heard how many folks detested the fact that she was a woman. My folks were quite friendly with her and they got to hear about all of the troubles she'd had (and continued to have) with people from different congregations who didn't treat her the same as they did a male pastor. I don't know, this is just one of the issues about religion that really irks me! Tailor your response to specifics that'll really hit home with them.

Use the other <a href="http://www.infidels.org/library/index.shtml" target="_blank">II resources</a> for example if you need additional help or examples. And of course keep posting here for support! Good luck, ILMM!

ApostateAbe

Thanks, all