Growing up in an irreligious household.

[st_swithin]

Beowulf?

[Sikander]

Originally posted by Agathon


You would even more if you'd seen the fundy kid at my school who was constantly afraid that Satan was going to get him and would call out to God in the middle of the playground.

I was out to get him.

[Sikander]

Originally posted by st_swithin
Buy her a few sharks with frikkin lasers on their heads - that'll teach her about life. Or death. I guess that's two of the same thing, huh Zed?

This is exactly why it's so important to choose the right sect. Imagine trying to respect a sect that had ill-tempered Sea Bass fitted with laser attachments instead. I'd die.

Oh, and Zed's dead baby. Zed's dead.

[Sikander]

Re: Re: Growing up in an irreligious household.

Originally posted by KrazyHorse

I was raised in a completely secular household, and look how good I turned out.

What, do you have a particularly large penis or something?

[Sikander]

Originally posted by KrazyHorse


Been there, done that.

Yea, but it's kind of gross in elementary school.

[Spiffor]

I didn't read the whole thread (I just had an exam, so I didn't check 'poly in days), but in answer to Shi:

As a communist, is it my duty to raise my children into being communists ?

It may be inclined to do so, but is it my duty to do so ?

[Shi Huangdi]

I can't answer that. Catholicism has specific rules requiring you to raise your children in the faith. I don't know what the Communist Party has rules for its members in this regard.

[MrFun]

Re: Re: Re: Growing up in an irreligious household.

Originally posted by Sikander


What, do you have a particularly large penis or something?

Why do you think his girlfriend is so happy with him?

[KrazyHorse]

Re: Re: Re: Growing up in an irreligious household.

Originally posted by Sikander


What, do you have a particularly large penis or something?

Probably in the 80th percentile, or so. Nothing parthicularly noteworthy, but I'm happy with it.

[JohnT]

Originally posted by lord of the mark
The "official" orthodox jewish line is that miracles have not been possible since the destruction of the Temple in 69 CE. And will not be possible again till the messiah comes and the temple is restored.

Some orthodox zionists see a miracle in the building of israel - and take great interest in the paradox that this miracle was largely carried out by agnostic and atheist secular zionists.

Chassidic jews, IIUC, still see claim occasional miracles, though theyre subtle.

Most Conservative and Reform Jews would see all divine action (including in ancient times) as occuring through man.

The closest one to what I believe is the Conservative/Reform Jews, though a bit more humanistic - that if God is acting in the current day, he is doing so through the likes of Newton, Maxwell, Edison, Locke, and all the other progressive ideas and things that mankind has devised to help lift us from the animals... even including Mozart, Goethe, Shakespeare, etc.

Satan, of course, can be seen in the likes of B. Spears, Donny Osmond, the Teletubbies, and Disney TV (The good guys seem to have control of their animation department, though it was a rough go in the late '90s. )

[JohnT]

Another thing is that I was raised Catholic and I turned out OK - I never thought of it as "oppression" or "indoctrinating" because I always knew that I was free to believe it or not. Therein lies in part of my confusion - I wasn't raised in the manner that I want Sophie to be raised, but the manner that I was raised in did a pretty good job in and of itself. I don't feel "oppressed", I don't feel angry towards the church or anything, it's just not something that I drew a lot of emotional resonance out of.

[aside]

I never considered the fact that it is wrong to (for example) shock your grandmother (or even your teacher) with un-Christian declarations to be "oppression" - it seemed to me to be more a maturity issue than an oppressed issue. Perhaps a few of you are mistaking manners for oppression. [/aside]

[SlowwHand]

It takes a village to raise a child; but John, you picked a village of cannibals.

[JohnT]

Originally posted by SlowwHand
He isn't going to send her to something he doesn't believe at all.
Well, he might. But that's a whole new can of worms.

Look, here's the thing: I don't disbelieve it. As I mentioned in the post above, I was raised Catholic, I went through all the rites (not too successfully though), and, given the fact that you see Catholics in all walks of life (from prostitutes to Presidents) it obviously is not a belief system that is detrimental for success in this society.

My view towards beliefs, sciences, religions, and ideologies is that their main function is as mental "frameworks" that people use to understand the world around them. And, for the most part, one belief system is as good as the next as long as the individual in question doesn't cling too tightly or exclusively to that belief system. And that's really the question I'm asking here: If we don't raise Sophie to believe in God, what do we raise her to believe in? Nothing? That seems kind of cold comfort for a 3 year old.

[JohnT]

Originally posted by Arrian
First off, isn't Sophie really young?

...

Sending a child to "Sunday School" or whatever when they're in elementary/middle school is... well, I wouldn't do it. I'll leave it at that.

-Arrian

Sophie is 23 months old.

Nothing wrong with Sunday school for the children of the devout.

[JohnT]

Originally posted by Ned
You have a "legal" obligation as a Catholic to raise your daughter Catholic. She will question your own lack of religious fervor as she grows up. Explain it to her. She can then make up her mind whether she wants to continue her religious education, etc., or stop. You should not make that decision for her now.

According to the rules of the Church, Ned is correct. But, given that I don't accept many of the rules of the Church, Ned, this argument is moot. See my above post where I reference the Reformation and Enlightenment.