Atheism for dummies

Hey Andrew,

I was just wondering about a few things about your conversion, and was hoping you could give me some advice/insight on this from your experience. First off when you first told your parents that you were Atheist what was their...

reaction? Also how did your go about telling them? My main problem is being a teenager the pressure is on to be "in" so if I were to go around telling people, that would ruin my image for a lot of my friends and other important people in my life. Another thing is im a Boy Scout and I've earned my religious award, so if I were to go public about being an Atheist, that would pretty much undermine the whole thing (which is a lot of work).

Thanks for your continued help,
your bud, Chris

P.S. your daughters are very cute. : )

I am a Christian and have been since I was 5. My parents were Christians until I was about 8 then they dropped out of church, but sent us kids for another couple years until we stopped wanting to go. My parents never bugged us about God or church at all, so for me to continue to be a Christian was all my own idea not theirs.

I know God lives, that He is our Creator, that He sent His Son, Jesus Christ to save us, all of us...to show us who He is and how much He loves each one of us, yes, even those who don't love Him or even know Him...He still loves.

People like atheists, who have ignored that small still voice (God's voice) and hardened their hearts by turning away from Him at every opportunity they could will drift farther and farther away from God until they won't feel He is real anymore. It won't bother them at all to make crude jokes about Him, to blaspheme His holy name...to me this is so very sad in the fact that they really don't know what they are throwing away...eternity.

The reason I'm here on this question for atheists...is because of my desire to plant a seed for God to water and when His Son shines His warmth in their minds and hearts maybe, just maybe they will see God face to face. God bless...

My parents are supportive of my atheism. I could see how having religious parents could make coming out a lot tougher.

Re: Boy Scouts. According to their rules no atheists are allowed. Seems to me you are going against your atheism everytime you recite the Scout Oath. Staying in the Boy Scouts is hypocritical if you no longer believe in God. The Boy Scouts also discriminates against homosexuals. If you don't believe in discrimination against people for reasons of religious or sexual orientation than you should quit.

Even though I've been openly atheist since I was 12 I've had religious friends. There are people who will dislike you for not believing in God but there are also people who will accept you for who you are. I always liked the saying, "it is better to be hated for what you are than liked for what you are not."

I've never told my parents. I know that my mom knows, but my dad keeps pretending I'm still a Christian, even though he must know by now considering how long ago I broke free.

My advice is to hide it from the people who will inflict consequences on you for it; such as your parents and the boy scouts.

I've never been one to wear my religious beliefs publicly, so for me being an Atheist or a Christian never really is part of a conversation. However I don't go to Church, nor do I follow any religion in general. Seems to me that you should follow your heart first.

Do you feel that being an Atheist makes you a bad Boy Scout?
For myself, I usually take the don't ask, don't tell stand on things.
I don't choose my friends based on a specific religion.

For that matter, are you sure you're an Atheist?
Or is it that you just aren't sure if God exists or not?

For me, I don't know. I grew up in a very Lutheran home, with two uncles and a Grandfather as Priests. I took several classes in High School and in College on World Religions, and found that there were enough similarities to make me wonder if any could truly call themselves the "True Religion". For me, there isn't anything that Religion can offer me. I'm happy in my life, my work, my kids. I never felt good or at peace with Prayer, and frankly felt it was a waste of my time.

For those that really "get something" from prayer or religion, congratulations.

I will say that I've often found that the people who most claim to be Christians are the ones who most often have a problem with my lack of religion. My in-laws have told both my wife and I several times that they feel that we shouldn't be celebrating Christmas with them if I'm not a Christian. Which seems to me to be very un-Christian of them to say that. But it's those kinds of contradictions that pushed me away from Religion in the first place.

So I guess what I'm trying to say is trust your heart. If you enjoy the friendships you have in the Boy Scouts, stay in. It's not a lie or being false to yourself. If wearing the badge makes you uncomfortable, take it off. Just be the best person you can be and life will sort itself out.

-Goran

Im not Andrew or anything but I am also a atheist. Im a teen aswell and my parents are like the most religious and goldy people I have eve rmet. I told them one day when we were talking about christianity and I was like, I dont believe in god, and they thought I was joking, my dad was shocked and my mother told me to get out of her face. They still pester me sometimes but I feel a lot better that I came out with it and just told them. And if people are true christians, thou shalt not judge others ,right? =] x

FYI, the Boy Scouts officially discriminate against atheists. That's why it's an issue.

The only reason I will disagree with fillet-o-spam on this one, is if you are close to getting your eagle scout. Honestly, that looks great on a resume or a college application. I wouldn't blow that just for the sake of being open and honest if that's the case.