Atheist parents!

Originally Posted by Cellius

Anyway, your thoughts?

Don't be like my parents. They were violent and did lots of things that drove me to God.
The very mention of God in my home was a sure way to get my butt kicked.

Love & support your kids and let them learn in reasonable boundaries.
Besides the Christian way there are worse paths to choose from, I know.
I tried them.
The occult and a multitude of other belief systems compete with mine.

I'm a parent and to keep up with todays trends I stay in touch with guys like you. Thanks to folks like you I have been proactive in my approach to inform my oldest on my view & competing views. I also live out my values and model what my belief stands for to show the reality of how it works.

In time they will choose and I wont stand in their way unless their choices will do them harm.

Jam it back in, in the dark.

Originally Posted by whinehurst

....What do you think will happen if you DO tell them? Exactly the same that happened to you when you found out. Nothing.

I mean, how can you call it misinformation? wha? Do you really deem it necessary to bring the crushing weight of reality down on five year old shoulders? don't you have any respect of the age of innocence and nativity?

shit. i would feel cheated if i never got in on the Santa.

I worked with a woman who told me of her experience of finding out about Santa.

It still bothered her even at the age of 28. When she was a kid, school kids teased her constantly & with great relish about her belief in Santa.
They were cruel in many ways for a long period of time. I am put in the same position often in life and it gave me the chance to encourage her with a biblical message.

I have a Niece who was terrorized by an "invisible" dog-like creature with glowing eyes under her bed. She was thankful of my banishing the thing in the name of Christ. It never returned.

My kid is afraid of the basement. After a refresher course on the Armor of God he is good to go.

I dont sell Santa because its not useful. Entertaining but not useful.
I dont want to sow seeds of doubt about other things I believe in but cant be seen. For the atheist I suppose the same thing could happen. Dont set your kids up for doubting your convictions later in life.

There's nowhere I can't reach.

Originally Posted by Sassafrass

"At age 28, I am still hurt about Santa not being real." If this is true, I hope the woman you speak of is mentally retarded. Seriously.

She's sensitive & frail. Everybody reacts differently. I wouldnt want to needlessly expose my kids to the same thing.
There are more important things to deal with.

Originally Posted by Sassafrass

I don't think we were talking about fears either, there. Way to pay attention.

Nor Santa.
I noticed we moved on to imaginative concepts and their benefits & consequences.

Originally Posted by Sassafrass

Kids aren't adults. The mentality that you take as an adult will not be relayed to a child well. They don't understand "useful." Kids aren't going to follow your conviction through life.

In ancient history, the people you label as kids ruled nations. Young people are capable of much more than the limits some people place upon them. Role models do make a difference. When I look back I consider the feats of those that went before me to measure myself by.

Originally Posted by Sassafrass

Encourage your kids to have a sense of imagination and wonder about the world. Don't make them adults right out of the goddamn womb. Imagination begets curiosity and creativity.

My son is an adult in training. He knows this. As a spiritual person & artist imagination is the stuff from which I survive on. I teach many things that may not be real to the atheist but because they are real to my kids they preform interesting feats.

This thing is sticky, and I don't like it. I don't appreciate it.

Originally Posted by Hachifusa

What do any of these (amazingly humorous) anecdotes have to do with telling your kids about Santa?

I will finish with this. Santa in his current depiction is the same as anything a child can believe as "real" like boogymen, toothfairies, ect.
My position is to just be truthful and not set myself up to be branded as habitual liar.
The Santa thing may seem harmless but by our actions we teach what is improtant.

Originally Posted by Hachifusa

For the record, that invisible dog-like creature was probably more a figment of your niece's imagination. Please, as if banishing Satan's minions in the name of Christ from some middle aged guy is really going to scare them.

If I was Satan, I would have laughed and sent more.

OR AM I.

To her it was quite real. My solution fixed her problem & gave her comfort. What would you do?

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Originally Posted by Phoenix X

Teaching kids to obey you means teaching them to be motivated by their fear of you, and I would be a prick if I taught my kids that fear should ever be a motivation.

Sometimes fear is a grim necessity because people naturally challenge authority. I'm dealing with the terrible 2's right now. Rebellion is on like Donkey Kong when they find out they have choices.

As mine have aged the concept of consequences get challenged with greater complexity and ferver.

Sadly to say you have to show time and again that you can & will enforce your will in a given circumstance to kids.

Even if they know you will come down like a tonn of bricks on em' they will still experiment and test the boundaries.

I spell it loud & clear and hold the line cause I care.

I was speaking idiomatically.

Originally Posted by JackyBoy

Telling me that challenge to authority is a wrong act is both highly unintelligible and morally contemptible. Maybe some of you should emmigrate to North Korea since you fancy this authoritative and totalitarian principle so much.

I think challenging authority is a healthy skill that should be cultivated with discipline and control.
I have lively debates with my oldest about what is deemed fair, what is right & wrong and the notion of freedom.

My concern is the motives behind the challenges.
Is it for the sake of virtue or vice that a challenge is made & what is the definition of the perceived virtue or vice.

In the past I beheld the ugliness of the "wrong" to appreciate the beauty of the "right". As a parent I encourage this too but under loving guidance for the sake of safety.

What kind of toxic man-thing is happening now?

Originally Posted by Traveller87

Right and wrong are right and wrong not because it was written in some book, but because you and society defines them as such.

Ok, but the laws that we obey are written in books.
Ultimately we align ourselves with the written law because of a respect for the authority that enforces the law.

Recently my kid asked "what if there is no God, what if its a scam?"
I responded with "then I can do what I want as long as the police don't find out. I can be as selfish as I want & I dont have to work on being loving and kind to my family. As long as I am smart enough & strong enough I can do whatever I want."

This revelation caused a look of utter horrer on his face.

The "authority" issue is a heavy deal, I wonder how atheist parents hurdle this one?

FELIPE NO

Originally Posted by Sassafrass

I think God is a scam and I'm a good person.

Explain that one away.

"good person" based on whose definition?
See when you go teaching a kid to be "good" it helps to lay out the parameters, give a moral map to align their course by.
The atheist has the challenge of getting this across because of the lack of a guide that is consistent over time.
The parent may be a good one but they are not perfect or consistent.
Society isn't either.

Originally Posted by Sassafrass

(Also, how long does it take you to figure out you're not welcome in a community?)

Once upon a time folks like me were fed to lions and burned at the stake. Time changes view on what is good.

What, you don't want my bikini-clad body?

Originally Posted by Smelnick

So you're saying that athiests don't know how to be good? So you're only good if you do what it says in the bible?

I asked the question "good based on whose definition?" for a reason.
Sure they can be "good" but based on what system.
Society, history & experience are very fluid concepts depending on where you are and when you are in the world.
Remember I go by a 2000 yr. old book that was considered "good" for society at one time. Now its heavily disputed.

Originally Posted by Smelnick

It says in the bible that it isn't through our works that we'll get into heaven, but by believing that the only son of God, Jesus, died on the cross to save us from our sin. So if it doesn't matter what we do, why would God bother making a guide for us?

I would answer this but I wont do it here, PM me. The admins shut me down when I get on a roll.

Originally Posted by The_Melomane

What makes a Christian parent any more consistent than an Atheist parent?
No parent is perfect regardless of their religion.

Yes no parent is perfect but the book doesnt change. Its like the rules for sports. They are written down too so the game is played correctly.
A religious person can be held liable for "cheating" because of the standards they say they follow.
The atheist cant because "rules" don't really exist. They have guidelines but no real rules on morality to be held accountable to.

Jam it back in, in the dark.

Originally Posted by Arainach

Good is doing whatever makes you happy and doesn't interfere with the happiness of other people.

Ok, I suppose this works for kids. Simple, easy to remember.
Lets look at the reality though.

My critics are not making any attempt to make me happy are they? They are in fact with premeditation trying to make me unhappy.
Your statement is a mere platitude that is trampled on by you & evey new post aimed at me.

Recognise this? Some call it the golden rule:
Matthew 7:12
So in everything, do to others what you would have them do to you, for this sums up the Law and the Prophets.

The atheist is challenged by their abandoning of what has worked for civilization since the beginning of time: the impression that moral guidelines come from beyond the opinions of men.

The opinion that good=everybody happy system is proven to be a double standard that kids see right through.

Originally Posted by TheReverend

According to the Bible, yes, everything an atheist does is wrong. But guess what, the same is true of everything that you do.

Look folks, here is the golden rule at work.

Because this member & I have a rule book as a basis for working out our disputes, we both have a means to have unity despite our differences.
Our unity is wrought through our common acknowledgment of an authority of how life should be lived that is higher than our own shifting opinions.

Furthermore we have a basis for solving our problem instead of ignoring that one exists or the conflict degenerating to 2 people just getting their feelings hurt.

TheReverend and I can even strengthen our faith and knowledge through a prescribed process.
Matthew 7:4
How can you say to your brother, 'Let me take the speck out of your eye,' when all the time there is a plank in your own eye?
Matthew 18:15
"If your brother sins against you, go and show him his fault, just between the two of you. If he listens to you, you have won your brother over.
Luke 17:3
So watch yourselves. "If your brother sins, rebuke him, and if he repents, forgive him.

I never said an atheist is wrong, they are "challenged" with their own obstacles that keep them from the ideals that we all strive for.

Life can be Hell too, no parent wants that for their kids, whats your system?

There's nowhere I can't reach.

Originally Posted by Divest

LordsSword, not even God himself would listen to your bullshit.

Only those who were taught through neglect have the desire to not listen.
I've have the role of a father and have had the pleasure of the experience for over 5 years. My stepson is an accomplished student and martial artist of 11 who started out as one of those diagnosed ADD kids. His temperament nearly got him tossed from his school.

Having been raised under the despotic whims of a parent who was an atheist before being shot in the face, I know how bad a person can go. I've seen things kids shouldn't be exposed to and survived to tell the tale, warn others and show that there is a better way.

I know my system works, my kids health and strength has earned the respect of his father who has thanked me himself for his sons success. You have your own ways of course, go ahead, experience and time will be the judge.

How ya doing, buddy?