scarmig

Sounds like you hit the nail on the head!

:notworthy

beth

He could have stated that he thinks the pope has a *wink, wink* deep affection with his alter boys that the very good priest try to emulate. He could have said that the pope is the pope is an evil man for not doing more to solve the problem of child molesting priests. He could have said that Mother Teresa was a power mongering, glory hog who lied and deceived to get her Nobel Peace Prize.

Catholics really don't like having the outrages of their church pointed out to them.

MortalWombat

Well, maybe molesting some altar boys. No, wait a minute, that doesn't work.

Ummm... I guess it would have to be something really bad, like starting a war which leads to the death of millions of people, along with the deliberate extermination of 6 million Jews and millions of other so-called "undesirables." What? You mean even that doesn't get you excomunicated?

Oh, I know, you must do something too vile and evil to even contemplate, like becoming a priest while being a woman.

Frest

I think the real thing is that the public idea of atheists are confused, transitional people overwhelmed by temporary changes in their lives. The issues of faith are always a hot topic after some major calamity happens (*koff* 9/11), at which point pastors and preachers kick it into high gear to get their salvation on. This is nothing new.

And to be honest, i think that this approach of non-acceptance on the part of the person who really doesn't want to hear it is their best tactic. A lot of problems with faith are solved by ignoring them and letting the passage of time erode the argument.

This is one of those reasons i let my familiy talk me into sitting through Easter and Christmas mass, despite their open acknowledgement of my atheism. I respect my parent's decision to raise the rest of my younger siblings as catholic, despite my views. To be honest, if my younger brother told me he was an atheist, i would think he just hates getting out of be on sundays, because there is no prior evidence of faith-shaking or such.

So, i assume by the text formatting and confirmation that you're a young person, and to be honest, a lot of the rebellion against the church is something they are very, very used to seeing in young people. And the best way for a religious person to handle it is outright denial, because more often than not these frustrated, angry youth settle back into the faiths they were brought up in.

Which doesn't make it right, but does explain why, to some degree.

Jennie

It's been a while since anyone told me this, but I do remember feeling mildly irrittated when it happened. In my opinion the person who said this simply felt that I was a decent, normal person and *therefore* couldn't be an atheist--I must believe without knowing that I did. I shrugged it off myself, if they need that hard to believe then it wasn't worth my arguing with them. I made some sarcastic remark about knowing my own mind better than they did, and left it at that.

Rhea

Annoying, but as was said by others, a lot of annoying stuff happens to teens.

I might be inclined to go with the theme of feigning worship of his mindreading powers.

You're amazing. You can read minds! And not like those flim-flam psychics, either. You don't go on cues, 'cause you know stuff that _I_ don't even know I know. It's amazing.

Hey Fred! Check out Jasper, here. Did you know he was a psychic? He can read minds. It's amazing. Watch - he'll do it for you.

Jasper, go ahead, read his mind. Tell him what he's thinking! Come on! You're awesome! I want to see it again. This is incredible, Fred. Really he can do it. He just told me what religion I am, without me even agreeing with him. It's true, he read my mind and _I_ didn't even know I thought that way. It's incredible.

Jasper, you should write a book. Can you do that to anyone? Can you just look at a dude on the street and know his religion, just like that? Hey man, I'll take the photos for your book. No, honest, will you put me in the credits?


...


I expect a prepared dude could wear him right out.

butswana

Yeah, my wife said that to me before we got married. I told her she was wrong but she could believe it if she wanted to.
I'm not really sure what she believes. When something is really bothering her she will pray(I have never seen this), but she lives godless. She was raised in an Assembly of God church.
If she had a problem with it, she shouldn't have married me. If she has a problem with it, too fucking bad. She is completely dependent on me for every thing, so tough shit.
She knows I'm not the degenerate monster she was told I should be. She says I'm a way better father than she thought I would be. Not that she has a good father gauge, 'cause her dad was a Nazi sympathiser, alcoholic who blew his fucking brains out with a large calibur hand gun. He was a good Catholic though.

Shadowy Man

From all the things I have read on this board, including this thread and so many others, I am very glad that I have never been a Christian.

Majestyk

If, you really don't believe in something then, don't bring it up. The "it" will eventually lose meaning within your own mind. Continuing to bring up a topic is to re-enforce its definition within your mind.

If, someone else brings up the topic, ask them to define what it is they're talking about. Do not settle for the "You know what I mean." response. After (or if), they've provided you a definition; you can simply dismiss the existence of the definition (assuming the definition involves the supernatural) for lack of evidence and properly label it as a myth.

My preferred phrase of dismissal is to claim that anyone who believes in the existence of such a myth is, retarded, ignorant, or delusional. This usually keeps them from bringing up the topic again.

Of course, it helps to realize that humanity is inherently, insane.

abe smith

Uh, there ARE some specific actions wh/ (at least formerly) did bring about *automatic* excommunication from the Roman Catholic church; even if no-one knew about them. That is, if you incurred automatic excommunication by doing them, you could have that removed only by confession and absolution, wh/ latter often required the intervention of your local Bishop, or even of the Vatican.
I believe that one such action is, or was to have performed or to have assisted in the performance of, an abortion. I shd go back in this thread & read the list one of us has so-thoughtfully
provided us here.