You're an Atheist; How could you do that to your kids?

[Ravenone]

You're an Atheist; How could you do that to your kids?

It's in our nature to cherish our children. If you have children yourself
then you will know what I am talking about. (Unless you're emotionally retarded.) As soon as you rationalize that it is OK for a "God of Love" to put disobedient children to death....you lose me!! (Truthfully, you lost me at the God part!) Parents in the USA would be imprisoned and (if in Texas, hehe) possibly put to death for killing disobedient children.

Christians point to the 'end times' prophecies, like the book of Timothy (2 Timothy 3:1-3) which says that, "Children will have no natural affection, disloyal, disobedient ....Parents no natural love for their children...." (I paraphrase). Well, if that is true, maybe its because so many follow the sick example of a God (heavenly Father) who tells us that Abraham was his friend because he was willing to kill his son, Isaac. The great moral lesson of the Bible is that Adam and Eve fucked up, so we all deserve to die! The moment you accept this as OK, your thinking is skewed.

People will find a way to accept a total contradiction. GOD IS LOVE! God will demand from you what is most precious! You say that the God of the Old Testament was before Jesus...what the fuck does that mean? I don't think that the Bible was addressing two different Gods. Genesis to Revelation...same God. Murderous, jealous and vengeful describes that God for me. God allowed Satan to kill Job's family and destroy all his material possessions (to settle a wager, by the way), but that's OK because God said, "Do your worst Satan, as long as you don't kill Job." So Satan, we are told, killed Job's family. Did you miss that part? Job lost 10 children, but that's OK, because God let Job have a bunch more. LOL!!!! Abraham proves he is God's friend by his willingness to give up what was most precious...HIS OWN SON. This is twisted. This is no different than radical Islam, which also claims Abraham as its great patriarch. Who would ever accept this as normal behavior for a parent?

What is the Biblical message? God comes first and family is replaceable. God is not even fucking provable, and family is right before your eyes, yet you accept a faith that says you must sacrifice your child to show your obedience? You devalue your life and the life of your children in favor of what comes after this life? Give all that you have to God (including this life and your children) and you will have rich rewards in heaven...oh, and God's Love. This is philosophical suicide! Dude, all that anyone really wants is unconditional love, right fucking now.

Did God need a hug?

When I was a child and tried to imagine heaven...it always looked like the best day ever with my Mom and Dad and brothers and sisters. Great music, enough to eat and drink, a home, good health. This was heaven to me, in spite of sickness, death, and crime. Life takes a very wrong turn when we buy into the lie that there is something better than love and loved ones, right here and right now.

I love this planet, this family, this person that I call myself. I am an atheist and believe in love. That's how I can do this to my kids!

[Ravenone]

I am in agreement with you. These religions belonged to our ancestors and they are testaments to the fact that we love rituals. I think history like this gives real meaning to our current lives. Hmmmmm guess what I'm trying to say is that it's not good to throw the baby out with the bath water.

[Ruhal Hazim]

Kids have active imaginations and if we don't give them (not that I'm saying we should btw) anything to imagine, they make things up. Telling these tales to a kid means nothing to him/her except it is what it is - a story. I was raised on all of these folktales, some of them very bloody and many that were more benign. The central lesson that I received and took to heart in all my education was the dogma of a skeptic - always ask questions and always question everything. Believe it or not, that is an Islamic teaching, although one wouldn't know it today, and, as weird as it sounds, my Muslim upbringing lead me to where I am today, including my love of science and my lack of religion. If we tell our children these stories with the understanding that they are stories, and help them look at the various religious books and scriptures with a critical eye, it might not be so horrible a thing. Our Western culture has its roots in the tales of these desert nomads which were recorded and codified hundreds to thousands of years ago. In a sense, this is who we are and to deny that to our children would be wrong.

[IntergalacticHussy]

Isn't brainwashing your kids with horrible folktales much much worse? I think preaching to kids at a young age about any religion is just child abuse!