+344 You'd be skeptical if an atheist or agnostic told you that they want to raise their children as Christians, amirite?

by Anonymous 13 years ago

I'd also be skeptical if a cannibal said they were only rubbing BBQ sauce onto my kids because it smells so good. What's your point?

by Anonymous 13 years ago

I have no point. I just wanted to know because I am agnostic and I plan on raising my children as Christians.

by Anonymous 13 years ago

Huh? You aren't Christian but you plan on raising your kids like Christians.. ? I don't get it

by Anonymous 13 years ago

I'm not Christian because I can't believe in something without proof. But I believe Christians have something to rely on when times get tough and it seems like things won't ever get better. I don't have that. I want my children to have that. I think they'd be happier if they could rely on faith so they won't give up. If everyone turns their backs on them, I want them to be able to at least believe they have god on their side.

by Anonymous 13 years ago

So you're purposefully going to indoctrinate your kids with somethig that you know isn't true? That seems kind of cruel. If you're an atheist, you've probably argued with those annoying Christians who ignore proven facts and cling to ancient fairy tales even when some cursory reaserch would show it doesn't make sense. Do you really want your child to be that person?

by Anonymous 13 years ago

I have never argued for or against the existence of god. I am agnostic, not atheist. I will raise my children to respect other beliefs. You are no better than the people who push religion on others if you push the non existence of god on people. God's existence is impossible to argue. The is no evidence for or against his existence.

by Anonymous 13 years ago

Yes, but there's plaenty of evidence against the specific stories of every religion. You can't disprove a God or Gods, but you can disprove religions. If you're really an agnostic, I doubt you'll be able to go through with raising your kids like that.

by Anonymous 13 years ago

My girlfriend is Christian. Even if I didn't want to I'd raise our children Christian for her.

by Anonymous 13 years ago

I don't expect you to get it.

by Anonymous 13 years ago

I think that would be great. I was raised atheist and there is no going back from this. I wish i was raised Catholic..

by Anonymous 13 years ago

Yes there is... If you want to be catholic, be catholic. They're YOUR beliefs, so YOU can change them. I was catholic and now I'm atheist, it's not that hard to change. Other people have too. :)

by Anonymous 13 years ago

(Randomer :)): no, it's only possible to change from faith to no faith, you can lose it, but you cannot gain it if you haven't had it in your childhood. i mean, you said you want your kids to be catholic because it's easier, then why did you become atheist? this is like an adult forcing themselves to believe in santa claus, it's just not possible

by Anonymous 13 years ago

I was raised Catholic, but I wish my parents had let me discover myself, and not force me into a religion. They brought be to church every weekend, made me pray, made to do the rosary, I've read the bible and went to Catholic school. I truly completely resent the religion I was raised with now because they did so much for me to accept it.

by Anonymous 13 years ago

I wouldn't force religion on them. I wouldn't even take them to church every week unless they wanted to go. I just want my children to feel like there is something out there that has there back when times get tough. I know will have me, but I won't be around forever.

by Anonymous 13 years ago

I'm agnostic and I want to raise my children as christians too.

by Anonymous 13 years ago

I'm agnostic, but if I do happen to have kids I want them to choose their own path.

by Anonymous 13 years ago

it's hard to do but i want to let my kids choose without any swaying on my part. let them see what they believe with my help if they want it. let them choose their path, like tic tac addict said. it is true that being raised atheist that basically all you can go to is agnostic unless something big in your life happens in which you need support outside of your fellow people. sometimes you do need something that is said to be not able to fail. sometimes you need something to believe in. if my husband is christian and he wants them to be raised christian, he can raise them as that and when they're older let them know that it's ok to choose which religion you want.

by Anonymous 13 years ago

You can't raise your children to believe in something that you don't believe in. That would be unbelievably hypocritical and I don't even see how it would work.

by Anonymous 13 years ago

My girlfriend is Christian. She is happy and wants our children raised Christian and so do I. I'm not atheist, so I won't be telling them lies, I'll be telling them things that may or may not be true.

by Anonymous 13 years ago

If you're gonna believe in something you need a very solid background. Your kids are gonna be confused. And if you really believe in what you claim to believe in then I don't understand how you can be in a healthy relationship with someone who believes the opposite. Religion or lack thereof should be the foundation of who a person is. If it isn't, you shouldn't be arguing it online.

by Anonymous 13 years ago

My children will not be confused. If they are that's on me, and it's really no one elses business. My girlfriend and I have a great relationship. Her life does not revolve around religion, and my life does not revolve around whether or not god exists.

by Anonymous 13 years ago

I know plenty of people who are in very healthy relationships and don't have the same beliefs. That is just something that makes them different from one another. It doesn't make them argue or fight. They know what the other person's beliefs are and live with them. So, yeah, you can have a healthy relationship with someone if you have different beliefs. Trust me, I would know.

by Anonymous 13 years ago

Fuck, you guys say you can't disprove god? Disprove unicorns. Oh wait, you can't. Whatever you say can be turned against god. Sooo basically that argument is absolutely stupid. Mind choosing something else?

by Anonymous 13 years ago

There are so many things you can not disprove. But since so many people believe in a higher power, it's ridiculous to compare that higher power to unicorns.

by Anonymous 13 years ago

What do you mean by "Whatever you say can be turned against god"?

by Anonymous 13 years ago

I wouldn't be skeptical at all. If I was agnostic I would more than likely raise my kids as Christians too. I think that pikabeau is right. You're gonna need someone to turn to during the hard times in your life. And people aren't always going to be there for you. I know this from personal experience. I was going through some hard stuff and didn't have a person to turn to. So I turned to God. Just knowing that I had Him to turn to made me feel better. I think that what pikabeau wants to do is a great thing but that is just my opinion.

by Anonymous 13 years ago

Thank you :)

by Anonymous 13 years ago

You're welcome :)

by Anonymous 13 years ago

@380335 A healthy relationship needs to be working toward a similar life goal. Having different beliefs is not like having different favorite flavors of ice cream. If a person believes, whether they are religious or not, to a certain extent it defines their every move, even if it's only subconsciously. It's hard enough to stay in a relationship. Throw in a difference in the essence of who you are and it's practically impossible. If a person doesn't believe that god exists then why would they want their children depending on Him. Think about it. It's not logical.

by Anonymous 13 years ago

I'm a Christian and I am in a relationship with someone who has totally different beliefs than me. We have a very healthy relationship. We have been together for a short 6 and a half months but we are still going strong. Just because we have different beliefs doesn't mean that we can't have a healthy, strong relationship. We talked about what our beliefs are and still do. But they aren't a problem. We have accepted the fact that we have different beliefs. It doesn't matter to us.

by Anonymous 13 years ago

A healthy relationship needs two people who love each other and who want to stick together against all odds. Maybe believing the same thing helps, but it certainly isn't necessary. I'm so sorry to hear about your friend's parents. They were probably just using the slight difference in religious beliefs as an excuse because they weren't in love anymore. Love, real love, can make it through the differences.

by Anonymous 13 years ago

I don't care about your relationship. I'm happy for you and hope it works out for you but statistics show that it won't. Even if you do have the same beliefs. You're not giving me any proof. The only proof would be a couple married fifty years and even then it would be a definate exception. I'm not asking for these 'proofs' that it works. I'm asking you all to use your brain for five minutes and think about how it would work. I can give you stories too cuz I bet I know just as many people as you. My friend's parents got divorced for slight religious differences after twenty years of marriage and five children. Don't start a relationship that can't work. That's just stupid.

by Anonymous 13 years ago

So you're telling me that two teenagers 'in love' with contradicting beliefs have a solid chance of making it together. They'll raise the kids as good christians and tell them "even though daddy doesn't believe in god you still have to because mommy does". I don't know what world you're living in but in mine love doesn't conquer all. The only world where it does is the movie world which i'm assuming you're big enough to know that it isn't real. Love exists and it's a beautiful thing but it has to be worked on every second of every day. If something doesn't make sense then throwing in some love isn't going to change that.

by Anonymous 13 years ago

My kids are going to know that I don't believe, they will know that their other mom does believe. They will be raised Christian but whether or not they believe is up to them. Maybe religion is the core of all your relationships, but it's not the core of mine. My girlfriend and I have had this discussion. We know the odds are against us, but we've already decided to keep religion out of our relationship.

by Anonymous 13 years ago

This debate is getting repetative so we're just going to have to agree to disagree.

by Anonymous 13 years ago

This isn't a debate. This is you saying my relationship won't last because my girlfriend and I have different beliefs. You're making an assumption about two people you don't even know. I was just trying to show that not all relationships fail because of religion. Maybe they do in your religion because it's a bigger part of your life, but your religion doesn't affect my relationship.

by Anonymous 13 years ago

I guess the aagreeing to disagree thing is not going to happen. As i said many times, maybe your relationship will be the exception and i wish you the best of luck. My argument has nothing to do with a specific religion. In general a relationship needs to be based on some kind of common ground. Love on its own without anything backing it is just infatuation. Love has to be based on giving, respect, and common growth. In a mature, adult relationship you must respect your significant other and what he/she believes in. If you feel that what you believe in is truth then by definition the opposing opinion will be a lie. There are different levels of respect but it should at least bother you a bit that the person you love is living a lie and i don't see why you would want to pass on that lie to your children. Do you understand what i am trying to say?

by Anonymous 13 years ago

I guess the aagreeing to disagree thing is not going to happen. As i said many times, maybe your relationship will be the exception and i wish you the best of luck. My argument has nothing to do with a specific religion. In general a relationship needs to be based on some kind of common ground. Love on its own without anything backing it is just infatuation. Love has to be based on giving, respect, and common growth. In a mature, adult relationship you must respect your significant other and what he/she believes in. If you feel that what you believe in is truth then by definition the opposing opinion will be a lie. There are different levels of respect but it should at least bother you a bit that the person you love is living a lie and i don't see why you would want to pass on that lie to your children. Do you understand what i am trying to say?

by Anonymous 13 years ago

I understand what you're saying. But I am not an atheist, I'm agnostic, so I don't believe any religion is wrong, I believe all religions cannot be proven. Adult relationships are based on loving one another despite the differences. Only an immature relationship would end based on something as trivial as one difference. Our similarities are what brought us together, but our differences are what makes our relationship interesting.

by Anonymous 13 years ago