As an Atheist, what do you tell your little kids?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:You don’t sound like an atheist, you sound like someone that needs to heal their relationship with their perception of religion.

But I don’t believe in super-human powers or an almighty God or Gods. I believe in science without all of the other crap.

that's not what you said though, you said "I love the idea of a “higher-power” - perhaps I can call it an energy? Love the cosmos and science behind it all. "

that's god talk in case you didn't know, as there is no "higher-power" in science....whatever that means. As a scientist, I see to many people who thinking they can ground their supernatural beliefs in science by putting sciency words to it

Op here. Okay, “higher-power” was the wrong choice of words.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I tell them the truth. That life is precious, that we're here for relatively little time, and that we need to make the best of the time we have. When someone dies, they live on in our memories, but I don't believe in any sort of afterlife.

I also tell them that that's what I believe -- that they need to grapple with these questions and decide what they believe. We have books about different religions, and they are free to explore their own beliefs. I'm not here to force my beliefs on them.

This sounds like wise counsel.

Whether we are religious or not religious, it is important to allow children space to choose their own path.

Op here. I like this too, and will definitely encourage my children to explore their own beliefs as they get older.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I tell them the truth. That life is precious, that we're here for relatively little time, and that we need to make the best of the time we have. When someone dies, they live on in our memories, but I don't believe in any sort of afterlife.

I also tell them that that's what I believe -- that they need to grapple with these questions and decide what they believe. We have books about different religions, and they are free to explore their own beliefs. I'm not here to force my beliefs on them.

This sounds like wise counsel.

Whether we are religious or not religious, it is important to allow children space to choose their own path.

Op here. I like this too, and will definitely encourage my children to explore their own beliefs as they get older.

Think about this for a minute: Would you encourage your children "to explore their own beliefs" about science, if they believed the sky was green instead of blue? The only reason people treat religion differently is because there are lots of choices among a bunch of untrue, made-up stuff. e.g., Are you Christian? which denomination? Jewish? Hindu? All the beliefs are different and they are all made up.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:All religions are indoctrination
All religions are producers of child sbusers and protect them as well Catholics thank you for still being ok with the church protecting them next up megachurches wow

Tell your kids not to talk to strangers and you bring them to Santa’s lap

I like to think of myself as agnostic and that life is about dealing with the discomfort of not knowing. And I try to teach my child that science is what we know but that there are limits to our knowledge and we can be respectful of other people’s beliefs. But having been raised in organized religion, what the PP says is true.

I think the best way to be respectful of other people’s [crazy, supernatural] beliefs is to not talk about them at all, assuming that their beliefs come up in conversation. And if the off chance people ask about your beliefs, say that you believe in science. If they proceed to try to convert you, say you're not interested. Cut them off.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:As an atheist, one of my strongest convictions to my children is NOT lying to them about magic sky daddy or having them believe fake things to comfort them. Obviously ymmv, but that was one thing I hated about religion and one thing I was determined not to do to my kids. So I don't really get the point.

Your hostile terms for the deity you claim not to believe in suggest both deeply held belief and disappointment.

Are you trying to convince atheists that they secretly believe in your god? Based on a post about not lying to children about your religion and religious beliefs of life after death? I'm confused.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I tell them the truth. That life is precious, that we're here for relatively little time, and that we need to make the best of the time we have. When someone dies, they live on in our memories, but I don't believe in any sort of afterlife.

I also tell them that that's what I believe -- that they need to grapple with these questions and decide what they believe. We have books about different religions, and they are free to explore their own beliefs. I'm not here to force my beliefs on them.

This sounds like wise counsel.

Whether we are religious or not religious, it is important to allow children space to choose their own path.

Op here. I like this too, and will definitely encourage my children to explore their own beliefs as they get older.

Think about this for a minute: Would you encourage your children "to explore their own beliefs" about science, if they believed the sky was green instead of blue? The only reason people treat religion differently is because there are lots of choices among a bunch of untrue, made-up stuff. e.g., Are you Christian? which denomination? Jewish? Hindu? All the beliefs are different and they are all made up.

what a silly argument...science doesn't say the sky is blue. Science says the sky is "x" wavelength on the electromagnetic spectrum, what you see is whatever word you call it. Words are made up products of our experiences to explain whatever reality we have, and has nothing to do with the reality someone else experiences which is all made up in your mind and your way of experiencing it. You haven't experienced god, or an existential crisis or whatever you want to call it yet. If you haven't had your existential crisis yet it is probably because you are not educated enough to realize we live in a matrix like Musk says.

Expressions like nothing new under the sun are true because humans keep inventing reality to suit their needs. People are either goddists or foodists. A foodist is someone who realizes that the only truth we know for certain is that we have to eat to live. A goddist is someone who believes there is more to reality than that.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I tell them the truth. That life is precious, that we're here for relatively little time, and that we need to make the best of the time we have. When someone dies, they live on in our memories, but I don't believe in any sort of afterlife.

I also tell them that that's what I believe -- that they need to grapple with these questions and decide what they believe. We have books about different religions, and they are free to explore their own beliefs. I'm not here to force my beliefs on them.

This sounds like wise counsel.

Whether we are religious or not religious, it is important to allow children space to choose their own path.

Op here. I like this too, and will definitely encourage my children to explore their own beliefs as they get older.

Think about this for a minute: Would you encourage your children "to explore their own beliefs" about science, if they believed the sky was green instead of blue? The only reason people treat religion differently is because there are lots of choices among a bunch of untrue, made-up stuff. e.g., Are you Christian? which denomination? Jewish? Hindu? All the beliefs are different and they are all made up.

what a silly argument...science doesn't say the sky is blue. Science says the sky is "x" wavelength on the electromagnetic spectrum, what you see is whatever word you call it. Words are made up products of our experiences to explain whatever reality we have, and has nothing to do with the reality someone else experiences which is all made up in your mind and your way of experiencing it. You haven't experienced god, or an existential crisis or whatever you want to call it yet. If you haven't had your existential crisis yet it is probably because you are not educated enough to realize we live in a matrix like Musk says.

Expressions like nothing new under the sun are true because humans keep inventing reality to suit their needs. People are either goddists or foodists. A foodist is someone who realizes that the only truth we know for certain is that we have to eat to live. A goddist is someone who believes there is more to reality than that.

It's not a silly argument, it's just not the argument a trained scientist would make. Not everyone is a scientist.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I tell them the truth. That life is precious, that we're here for relatively little time, and that we need to make the best of the time we have. When someone dies, they live on in our memories, but I don't believe in any sort of afterlife.

I also tell them that that's what I believe -- that they need to grapple with these questions and decide what they believe. We have books about different religions, and they are free to explore their own beliefs. I'm not here to force my beliefs on them.

This sounds like wise counsel.

Whether we are religious or not religious, it is important to allow children space to choose their own path.

Op here. I like this too, and will definitely encourage my children to explore their own beliefs as they get older.

Think about this for a minute: Would you encourage your children "to explore their own beliefs" about science, if they believed the sky was green instead of blue? The only reason people treat religion differently is because there are lots of choices among a bunch of untrue, made-up stuff. e.g., Are you Christian? which denomination? Jewish? Hindu? All the beliefs are different and they are all made up.

what a silly argument...science doesn't say the sky is blue. Science says the sky is "x" wavelength on the electromagnetic spectrum, what you see is whatever word you call it. Words are made up products of our experiences to explain whatever reality we have, and has nothing to do with the reality someone else experiences which is all made up in your mind and your way of experiencing it. You haven't experienced god, or an existential crisis or whatever you want to call it yet. If you haven't had your existential crisis yet it is probably because you are not educated enough to realize we live in a matrix like Musk says.

Expressions like nothing new under the sun are true because humans keep inventing reality to suit their needs. People are either goddists or foodists. A foodist is someone who realizes that the only truth we know for certain is that we have to eat to live. A goddist is someone who believes there is more to reality than that.

It's not a silly argument, it's just not the argument a trained scientist would make. Not everyone is a scientist.

+1

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I tell them the truth. That life is precious, that we're here for relatively little time, and that we need to make the best of the time we have. When someone dies, they live on in our memories, but I don't believe in any sort of afterlife.

I also tell them that that's what I believe -- that they need to grapple with these questions and decide what they believe. We have books about different religions, and they are free to explore their own beliefs. I'm not here to force my beliefs on them.

This sounds like wise counsel.

Whether we are religious or not religious, it is important to allow children space to choose their own path.

Op here. I like this too, and will definitely encourage my children to explore their own beliefs as they get older.

Think about this for a minute: Would you encourage your children "to explore their own beliefs" about science, if they believed the sky was green instead of blue? The only reason people treat religion differently is because there are lots of choices among a bunch of untrue, made-up stuff. e.g., Are you Christian? which denomination? Jewish? Hindu? All the beliefs are different and they are all made up.

what a silly argument...science doesn't say the sky is blue. Science says the sky is "x" wavelength on the electromagnetic spectrum, what you see is whatever word you call it. Words are made up products of our experiences to explain whatever reality we have, and has nothing to do with the reality someone else experiences which is all made up in your mind and your way of experiencing it. You haven't experienced god, or an existential crisis or whatever you want to call it yet. If you haven't had your existential crisis yet it is probably because you are not educated enough to realize we live in a matrix like Musk says.

Expressions like nothing new under the sun are true because humans keep inventing reality to suit their needs. People are either goddists or foodists. A foodist is someone who realizes that the only truth we know for certain is that we have to eat to live. A goddist is someone who believes there is more to reality than that.

I not a goddist and I guess I'm not a foodist, either, because I believe other truths as well, e.g., that we need air to breathe

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I tell them the truth. That life is precious, that we're here for relatively little time, and that we need to make the best of the time we have. When someone dies, they live on in our memories, but I don't believe in any sort of afterlife.

I also tell them that that's what I believe -- that they need to grapple with these questions and decide what they believe. We have books about different religions, and they are free to explore their own beliefs. I'm not here to force my beliefs on them.

This sounds like wise counsel.

Whether we are religious or not religious, it is important to allow children space to choose their own path.

Op here. I like this too, and will definitely encourage my children to explore their own beliefs as they get older.

Think about this for a minute: Would you encourage your children "to explore their own beliefs" about science, if they believed the sky was green instead of blue? The only reason people treat religion differently is because there are lots of choices among a bunch of untrue, made-up stuff. e.g., Are you Christian? which denomination? Jewish? Hindu? All the beliefs are different and they are all made up.

what a silly argument...science doesn't say the sky is blue. Science says the sky is "x" wavelength on the electromagnetic spectrum, what you see is whatever word you call it. Words are made up products of our experiences to explain whatever reality we have, and has nothing to do with the reality someone else experiences which is all made up in your mind and your way of experiencing it. You haven't experienced god, or an existential crisis or whatever you want to call it yet. If you haven't had your existential crisis yet it is probably because you are not educated enough to realize we live in a matrix like Musk says.

Expressions like nothing new under the sun are true because humans keep inventing reality to suit their needs. People are either goddists or foodists. A foodist is someone who realizes that the only truth we know for certain is that we have to eat to live. A goddist is someone who believes there is more to reality than that.

I not a goddist and I guess I'm not a foodist, either, because I believe other truths as well, e.g., that we need air to breathe

that's still foodist

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I do not feel comforted by a god at all. I think if there is one, god is too busy to pay attention to me. And when someone dies I'm either comforted that they're "done" (they were old and finished living) or they're not tortured anymore (eating disorder, addiction, mental illness), or I'm not, but I miss them just the same.

You're trying to decide that not only should your kids believe in a god, but how they should feel about its presence. That's ... a lot.

Parents raise their kids as they choose. When children are adults, they can change their behavior and opinions based on their own preferences.

Do you think strangers, tv, the internet, or what should be a larger and more important influence on kids than their own parents? Parents are the primary educators children have, have complete responsibility for their welfare, and love them more than anyone else in the world. They make every important decision for their children, including medical decisions.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I do not feel comforted by a god at all. I think if there is one, god is too busy to pay attention to me. And when someone dies I'm either comforted that they're "done" (they were old and finished living) or they're not tortured anymore (eating disorder, addiction, mental illness), or I'm not, but I miss them just the same.

You're trying to decide that not only should your kids believe in a god, but how they should feel about its presence. That's ... a lot.

Parents raise their kids as they choose. When children are adults, they can change their behavior and opinions based on their own preferences.

Do you think strangers, tv, the internet, or what should be a larger and more important influence on kids than their own parents? Parents are the primary educators children have, have complete responsibility for their welfare, and love them more than anyone else in the world. They make every important decision for their children, including medical decisions.

Yes -- parents make all the important decisions pertaining to their children, including medical decisions. It's too bad, in my opinion, that some parents choose to indoctrinate their children into a religion.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I tell them the truth. That life is precious, that we're here for relatively little time, and that we need to make the best of the time we have. When someone dies, they live on in our memories, but I don't believe in any sort of afterlife.

I also tell them that that's what I believe -- that they need to grapple with these questions and decide what they believe. We have books about different religions, and they are free to explore their own beliefs. I'm not here to force my beliefs on them.

This sounds like wise counsel.

Whether we are religious or not religious, it is important to allow children space to choose their own path.

Op here. I like this too, and will definitely encourage my children to explore their own beliefs as they get older.

Think about this for a minute: Would you encourage your children "to explore their own beliefs" about science, if they believed the sky was green instead of blue? The only reason people treat religion differently is because there are lots of choices among a bunch of untrue, made-up stuff. e.g., Are you Christian? which denomination? Jewish? Hindu? All the beliefs are different and they are all made up.

what a silly argument...science doesn't say the sky is blue. Science says the sky is "x" wavelength on the electromagnetic spectrum, what you see is whatever word you call it. Words are made up products of our experiences to explain whatever reality we have, and has nothing to do with the reality someone else experiences which is all made up in your mind and your way of experiencing it. You haven't experienced god, or an existential crisis or whatever you want to call it yet. If you haven't had your existential crisis yet it is probably because you are not educated enough to realize we live in a matrix like Musk says.

Expressions like nothing new under the sun are true because humans keep inventing reality to suit their needs. People are either goddists or foodists. A foodist is someone who realizes that the only truth we know for certain is that we have to eat to live. A goddist is someone who believes there is more to reality than that.

I not a goddist and I guess I'm not a foodist, either, because I believe other truths as well, e.g., that we need air to breathe

that's still foodist

it's not only foodist. It's airest too. Please stop trying to prove other people wrong.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I do not feel comforted by a god at all. I think if there is one, god is too busy to pay attention to me. And when someone dies I'm either comforted that they're "done" (they were old and finished living) or they're not tortured anymore (eating disorder, addiction, mental illness), or I'm not, but I miss them just the same.

You're trying to decide that not only should your kids believe in a god, but how they should feel about its presence. That's ... a lot.

Parents raise their kids as they choose. When children are adults, they can change their behavior and opinions based on their own preferences.

Do you think strangers, tv, the internet, or what should be a larger and more important influence on kids than their own parents? Parents are the primary educators children have, have complete responsibility for their welfare, and love them more than anyone else in the world. They make every important decision for their children, including medical decisions.

Yes -- parents make all the important decisions pertaining to their children, including medical decisions. It's too bad, in my opinion, that some parents choose to indoctrinate their children into a religion.

Parents raise their children as they wish.

Do you think you know how to raise the children of religious people better?

All Jewish, Muslim, Christian, etc, all religious people are wrong and you know better than they do, as they raise their children?

How did you receive and cultivate this amazing knowledge of how every child in the world should be raised? Just something you decided you had, that you are right and every parent who is religious is wrong?

Wow, you are really amazing.

[Anonymous]

I guess I’m more agnostic than true atheist since I’m holding out that 1% hope there is something more.

But what I’ve told my kids is that religion is how people explained the world around them before we had science, and where you were born affects which religion you were taught.

We’ve also spent a lot of time talking about the creation of the universe 300B years ago, how crazy it is that matter turned into conscious life, the statistical improbability that the earth was made to support life and that they were born as them, etc.

You can still look at the science and appreciate the “miracle” of it all. And my kids know that I don’t have any more answers to the unknowns than they do. 1 kid is practical and even questioned Santa from a young age. He’s had a pretty skeptical outlook on God from early on. Whereas my younger kid is much more creative/spiritual and open to the unknown existing. He will talk about maybe God is like X or like Y.

I support both of them in coming up with their own thoughts on the matter. I think indoctrinating them that there is no God is just as harmful as shoving religion down their throats. What they believe is up to them.