Christianity ruins families.

[Asher]

Uh, that last bit sounds like a very bad idea. Most of what needs to be said about the family has already been said, except I'd say the mother is unusually extreme. My Buddhist brother's in-laws are the most out-there believers I've met, and they can be pretty judgmental, but even they don't refuse to talk to them. Also, if your brother and sister-in-law are planning to have kids, this shunning BS is going to pretty well vanish when the first one pops out. I won't guarantee it or anything, but few mortal women have the power to resist a baby grandchild.

Being drunk is never a bad idea.

[MOBIUS]

None.

Yes, but I'd probably want to switch churches. Though (*knock on wood*), I don't see that happening .

I can't believe you supposedly religious types think it's OK to chop and change religions and denominations out of some personal whim or because of chasing some tail, or because it doesn't work out etc...

[Elok]

The whole wedding is going to be a cluster ****. My mom outed me to the extended family via email (I did NOT ask her to, or want her to)..but she insisted it was best to do so before the extended family got shocked I was there with a guy.

My extended family in Ontario is...hickish. All from small towns, very "faithful", work in factories, etc.

I suspect I will need to be drunk early and often.

Uh, that last bit sounds like a very bad idea. Most of what needs to be said about the family has already been said, except I'd say the mother is unusually extreme. My Buddhist brother's in-laws are the most out-there believers I've met, and they can be pretty judgmental, but even they don't refuse to talk to them. Also, if your brother and sister-in-law are planning to have kids, this shunning BS is going to pretty well vanish when the first one pops out. I won't guarantee it or anything, but few mortal women have the power to resist a baby grandchild.

[Imran Siddiqui]

What denomination?

None.

And would you honestly still feel the same way if you two broke up?

Yes, but I'd probably want to switch churches. Though (*knock on wood*), I don't see that happening .

[Jon Miller]

Sorry.

But sometimes you do have changes to make the family happy. I know times when alcohol wasn't offered or dancing wasn't, so that the in-laws would feel comfortable. The mother isn't making anyone say grace after all?

By the way, atheism runs in families even more than Christianity, as in that the children of atheists are less likely to not be an atheist compared to the children of Christians not being a Christian.

JM

[Robert]

The mother is crazy, but your brother and his fiancee are crazy if they're going to ruin their day over something as stupid as that.
People are crazy, sometimes a small sacrifice has to be made for the greater good.

And then after the marriage send the mother a letter in which they politely describe how much they were shocked by the very unchristian attitude of her and how her behavior confirmed your brother in his atheistic believes, but that despite of that they want to stay in touch and they want to forgive her.

[MrFun]

Atheist actually. And Asher is somewhat right. I started going to church because my girlfriend is a big believer (though the rare good kind of Christian, who loves everyone and is not really interested in condemning people to Hell, though she does believe it exists). I wanted to support her because it was a big thing in her life. So I went a few times and started to realize that I was feeling the Spirit (which is somewhat hard to explain). Where I'd just stand for respect during praise and worship, I felt more and more the presence of God; and found that the people there were so full of love and joy and I wanted that feeling of love towards people. It was so totally unlike other Christians I knew. They were completely loving and accepting, even though they knew I was an atheist (my gf told me not to be shy about my beliefs). So I gradually decided to be open to whatever was there for me.

Basically the difference between Islam and Christianity for me was that I didn't feel the presence of God while praying as a Muslim. I think it is because of the stress on love that true Christianity has. That notion of loving everyone, even your enemy, is so absolutely powerful and the people that try to live for that ideal have such inner joy and peace, that I'm just scratching the surface on.

That was kind of a ramble about how I accepted Jesus Christ and his gospel. Since then, I've been voraciously reading; and not just the Bible, but theological books, especially those touching on the emerging church, which seeks to explain the Living Word in the context of our postmodern culture.

FWIW, my girlfriend put absolutely NO pressure on me to accept Christianity (though apparently her folks were antsy about her dating an atheist when we started going out - they were exceedingly nice however).

awesome stuff

[Al B. Sure!]

Mothers can be evil *****es who curse the day you were born and destroyed all her youthful aspirations.

My scenario is far more common than even divorces

[SlowwHand]

Half of all marriages end in divorce. Mothers are set in stone.

[Ben Kenobi]

And Flubber wanted me to admit I was wrong.

Damn, just damn. Welcome to the party Imran.

[Al B. Sure!]

Yeah. I remember a lot of random facts about you, Sean

[Ben Kenobi]

Ben's family is Anglican. They're heretical.

As you can see, they are *very* different from me.

[Al B. Sure!]

What denomination?

And would you honestly still feel the same way if you two broke up?

Atheism to faith is a rare conversion, especially following an Islamic background. Unusual is all.

[Imran Siddiqui]

I actually believe Wiggy was trying to altruistic there

[Asher]