I am an atheist thread 4

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Well, I returned to find the old thread locked, too many posts. I will have a deep breath and continue…
 
My 14 year old has decided he is now atheist:( I know he is searching and confused (welcome to the teen years). Because I ONCE was an atheist, I am aware of all the “logic” he tries to use in support of this. When I point out how ILL-logical being an atheist is, he just says that being a Christian is too hard and not believing in easier and more fun:eek:

like me, there will come a time when the emptiness of being an atheist will be overwhelming, and that is when he will return to the fold of God’s love and mercy.

Being an atheist is indeed easy, no going to Church, no praying, etc…but there will come a time when all that “Easy” will feel empty. Just believing that when we die that is IT seems so dark, empty of hope. I know, I was once there.

I pray for my son and for all atheist who are lost, even though they may not feel lost at the moment.

The Joy and Peace of soul in believing and knowing our Lord far outweighs the nothingless of atheism. Its OTHERWORLDLY:thumbsup:
 
Good for him.

Your son is probably too young to coherently articulate this with you at the moment, but I’m not.

Let us discuss the logic or otherwise of our respective positions, and cut out all the appeals to emotion shall we? Perhaps you will realise you have been misled, perhaps I will, or perhaps our discussion can be food for thought for others.
 
love4mary said:
My 14 year old has decided he is now atheist:( I know he is searching and confused (welcome to the teen years). Because I ONCE was an atheist, I am aware of all the “logic” he tries to use in support of this. When I point out how ILL-logical being an atheist is, he just says that being a Christian is too hard and not believing in easier and more fun:eek:

like me, there will come a time when the emptiness of being an atheist will be overwhelming, and that is when he will return to the fold of God’s love and mercy.
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My oldest son is about the same age and is an atheist as well, L4M. I feel your pain and share your hope.

I think i’d commend your son for being so honest with you. He is not rejecting Jesus because He is not true, rather, he is rejecting Jesus because he loves his sin more than Him.

My wife and i have tried to not pressure our son, but to be open to talk with him when he is in the mood to do so, or initiates the conversations. We have let him know that we are always open to discussing his beliefs with him. I’m not sure if the same course of action is wise for your own son. Pray about it and ask the advice of those you trust.

When your son is in the mood to talk, try to listen to him more than you talk to him. When he is in the mindset to listen to you in return, it might be good to point out how quick God is to forgive those who really know they have done wrong and want His forgiveness. The Gospel of John and the book of 1st John are two good sources of teaching on God’s forgiveness.

If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just and will forgive us our sins and purify us from all unrighteousness.(1 John 1:9)
 
phooney said:
Good for him.

Your son is probably too young to coherently articulate this with you at the moment, but I’m not.

Let us discuss the logic or otherwise of our respective positions, and cut out all the appeals to emotion shall we? Perhaps you will realise you have been misled, perhaps I will, or perhaps our discussion can be food for thought for others.
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Sounds like a good invitation to me, although i’d be presumptuous to think you would be as welcome to discussion with me. But what the hey!

Phooney, i don’t think i’ve ever asked you why you chose to be an atheist. Are you in the mood to briefly explain why?
 
I was born an atheist. I have never (that I can recall) believed in a deity.

I thought about the concept God a bit when I was young, partly as a result of going to a Roman Catholic school. All the attendence at mass and the bible/religious studies never provided any evidence though. I didn’t know what to call them then, but appeals to emotion describes those lessons well.

Sorry I can’t go into more detail, my lunch break is about to finish!
 
phooney said:
I was born an atheist. I have never (that I can recall) believed in a deity.

I thought about the concept God a bit when I was young, partly as a result of going to a Roman Catholic school. All the attendence at mass and the bible/religious studies never provided any evidence though. I didn’t know what to call them then, but appeals to emotion describes those lessons well.

Sorry I can’t go into more detail, my lunch break is about to finish!
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Not a problem. Enjoy the rest of your lunch! I should be leaving for work here soon myself.

Funny how we both rejected Catholicism, yet you took one path and i took another. It might be enjoyable to talk about our reasons for that. I’ve confess i’ve spent too much time disagreeing with you and not enough time trying to understand you.

http://imagecache2.allposters.com/images/pic/PTGPOD/216624_b~Fork-in-Road-Posters.jpg
 
Socrates4Jesus said:
Sounds like a good invitation to me, although i’d be presumptuous to think you would be as welcome to discussion with me. But what the hey!
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Welcome back, S4J. I wanted to comment that I think it is presumptouos of you to say that this stranger loves sin more than god. You made this decision based on the presumptions you made from a few words written by someone who doesn’t understand his position (though a Mother is closer to understanding than most).

I would suggest to the woman that she remember that an atheist might be pushed away by constant attempts at conversion.
 
love4mary said:
My 14 year old has decided he is now atheist:( I know he is searching and confused (welcome to the teen years). Because I ONCE was an atheist, I am aware of all the “logic” he tries to use in support of this. When I point out how ILL-logical being an atheist is, he just says that being a Christian is too hard and not believing in easier and more fun:eek:

like me, there will come a time when the emptiness of being an atheist will be overwhelming, and that is when he will return to the fold of God’s love and mercy.

Being an atheist is indeed easy, no going to Church, no praying, etc…but there will come a time when all that “Easy” will feel empty. Just believing that when we die that is IT seems so dark, empty of hope. I know, I was once there.

I pray for my son and for all atheist who are lost, even though they may not feel lost at the moment.

The Joy and Peace of soul in believing and knowing our Lord far outweighs the nothingless of atheism. Its OTHERWORLDLY:thumbsup:
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Why not explore it with him, as if he were correct? If you are a person of faith, this could not hurt your faith, but it might help you to understand him and him to think of you as open and interested in his interests. Read a few of the books he suggests (this might lead to his reading some that you suggest, as an added bonus). I love my Mom and much of that is because I can talk to her about anything. In this she has been wonderful.
 
My Brother in Law is an Atheist (married to my older sister)and I’m starting to believe my younger sister is as well. Hes leaning towards the possibility that aliens might have helped us evolve. My sister on the other hand is attracted to the same sex…and shes a med student… I’m studying a MA in Systemic thinking/Family therapy…

It is my first semester but I grasp the Idea of Systems theory. We help the client solve what they see as a problem, again its what they see as a problem not what we may think it is. We also don’t label people, like in Psychology. To me this is true but what I once saw as normal, my sister being how she is, I’m starting to see differently since Ive returned to the Catholic religion. Being that she believes shes gay or whether she is conflicts with my Catholic views and its really hurting my parents.

I don’t know I guess what I can do is pray and talk to her when she comes and visits…personally I think shes a product of her environment.
 
A,I believe I have a very good understanding of his lack of faith in God. I was an Atheist for 40 years of my life having been raised in such a home. I know most all the arguments based on “logic” and “reason”,or so I thought.:rolleyes:
I do try to listen to him, I want him to explain to me his reasons, not so I will “Bash” him, but so I have a better understanding where his mind is at. I know the journey he is on, and its a tough one.

Phooney, at 14, my son is very much old enough to articulate his thoughts and reasonings, albeit not as an adult would. But “Good for him?” good that he turned his back on his Creator? Trust me on this, emotions have very little to do with this. When I converted to Christianity and became Catholic, it was LOGIC that brought me home, NOT emotion, in some respects I am still waiting for the emotional part of my conversion to “kick in” so to speak.

My son had at one time a very real and strong belief in God. Many factors in his personal and social life caused him to doubt or just become lazy, and like another poster said, he enjoys his sins more then being faithful to God’s teachings.

My son fell away based on emotions, it will be Logic that will bring him home. And a whole lot of prayers from me and those who love him. I entrusted him to our Lady, and she will lead him home to our Lord. His eternal soul depends on it.
 
love4mary said:
A,I believe I have a very good understanding of his lack of faith in God. I was an Atheist for 40 years of my life having been raised in such a home. I know most all the arguments based on “logic” and “reason”,or so I thought.:rolleyes:
I do try to listen to him, I want him to explain to me his reasons, not so I will “Bash” him, but so I have a better understanding where his mind is at. I know the journey he is on, and its a tough one.

Phooney, at 14, my son is very much old enough to articulate his thoughts and reasonings, albeit not as an adult would. But “Good for him?” good that he turned his back on his Creator? Trust me on this, emotions have very little to do with this. When I converted to Christianity and became Catholic, it was LOGIC that brought me home, NOT emotion, in some respects I am still waiting for the emotional part of my conversion to “kick in” so to speak.

My son had at one time a very real and strong belief in God. Many factors in his personal and social life caused him to doubt or just become lazy, and like another poster said, he enjoys his sins more then being faithful to God’s teachings.

My son fell away based on emotions, it will be Logic that will bring him home. And a whole lot of prayers from me and those who love him. I entrusted him to our Lady, and she will lead him home to our Lord. His eternal soul depends on it.
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I believe phooney’s remark was simply a congratulation that your son has started to think for himself. Regardless of what one believes, everyone must go through a period where they question everything they are taught.
My family attempted to literally force me into Christianity.
The views of the Southern Baptists have always been too narrow for me. I went through a period, not of atheism, but of exploration.
I’ve always known there was something greater than us out there somewhere, but I’ve also always known that we, as human beings, are ill-equipped to know exactly what it is. I went off looking for something that made sense for me.
You yourself went through a period of Atheism and managed to find your way, yes? I can assure you that by forcing religion down his throat at this young age, he will be lost. He must be allowed to explore what he believes, and more importantly, what he doesn’t believe. You have to allow him that.
So yes, good for him. He’s showing signs of rational thought, and in this day and age, that is needed more than anything.

And all this from a Buddhist. What is the world coming to? 🙂
 
I was an Atheist for 40 years of my life having been raised in such a home. I know most all the arguments based on “logic” and “reason”,or so I thought.
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Then perhaps you could bring some of that wealth of experience to this thread. After over 4000 posts in the combined threads that A has created, nobody has brought forth any rational evidence for God, and many people have even said that such things are not possible. I have been pointed towards what I hope will be some excellent reading material from forum members Pax and Armor of God, and I hope I have shown a few people some interesting examples, evidence, hypotheses and theories regarding, biology, physcs, a touch of philosphy and my own personal perspective, talking as an atheist. As well as pointing people to reading material myself.

Perhaps you have some questions you’d like to ask? Perhaps you could even allow your son to read this thread (and the others) to see how his Mum’s arguments fare on people whom she has no control over and on whom emotions are dismissed as irrelevant, which they are when you are trying to weight things with argumentative value.

I agree with S4J and A, this is something I think you are going to have to try to remain neutral on with your son, unless you just want him to rebel more. There’s no hurry for him to get back into church, there’s plenty of time for honest enquiry.
 
love4mary said:
My 14 year old has decided he is now atheist:( I know he is searching and confused (welcome to the teen years). Because I ONCE was an atheist, I am aware of all the “logic” he tries to use in support of this. When I point out how ILL-logical being an atheist is, he just says that being a Christian is too hard and not believing in easier and more fun:eek:

like me, there will come a time when the emptiness of being an atheist will be overwhelming, and that is when he will return to the fold of God’s love and mercy.

Being an atheist is indeed easy, no going to Church, no praying, etc…but there will come a time when all that “Easy” will feel empty. Just believing that when we die that is IT seems so dark, empty of hope. I know, I was once there.

I pray for my son and for all atheist who are lost, even though they may not feel lost at the moment.

The Joy and Peace of soul in believing and knowing our Lord far outweighs the nothingless of atheism. Its OTHERWORLDLY:thumbsup:
Click to expand...
:eek:
I disagree there is a hurry in getting your son back.
Tell him he has been given a gift , a gift of faith, as everyone is given and he is throwing it back in the giver’s face.
He is probably trying to fit in with a group and wants to be accepted. He is exploring his purpose in life. He wants to be different, and can’t see the harm. You keep praying for him you are his link. Atheism is hopelessness, give him some joy let him see you are with joy when you attend mass and pray, show him your peace in believeing our Lord.🙂
Why does he think being a christian is too hard?
 
I think for both parents might want to try is share your personal experiences with your kids and show them how you got through your hardships with the power of prayer, and faith in God and Jesus Christ.
 
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