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

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:^^^^ Just want to point out that there is insufficient evidence that any of the above is true.

Correct -- also, no need to be impressed by a long copied list of mainly little known schools of supposedly esteemed scholars who are supposedly backing up the statements.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote: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.

I don’t think raising your own children in your family’s faith tradition is “shoving religion down their throats.” Children are part of a family, and most families have traditions and beliefs. Parents have the responsibility to raise their children in the manner they believe is a responsible and appropriate.

If a parent does or doesn’t have faith or religious beliefs or traditions, raising children without faith or religious traditions is how their family works, for lack of a better term.

When the children are adults, parents should accept whatever their child and their child’s own family (spouse and kids) decides they want to believe, or accept that their adult child and their adult child’s family is undecided about such matters, or does not have any religious or faith beliefs or traditions.

No one should tell other people how to raise their children. Parents do not have to stop practicing their religion once they become parents, that’s absurd. Parents don’t have to stop being atheist or agnostic once they become parents, but that’s absurd.

People need to stop believing they have any say or authority in the lives of other people’s children. They have zero input into the decisions parents make for their own kids.

There are laws saying that you can't beat your children, but no laws saying that you can't indoctrinate them into a religion.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I find it extremely creepy that some people posting here think they have any say into how other people raise their children.

If you think you have authority over other people’s kids, tell me how you exert or exercise that authority in real life. Also, what would you do differently if someone told you they had a say in how you raised your children?

When you think something is child abuse and brainwashing, unhealthy for both the individual and society, you don't think you have a right to express that thought?

Sorry but your bronze age bullsh*t hurts the world, and some of us are done sitting by passively while cults perpetuate pain and suffering. And no that is not hyperbole.

You are in the wrong country, if you think you or anyone else is going to classify a family being religious and practicing religious freedom as cults that perpetuate pain and suffering. America was founded on freedom, and religious freedom is among those freedoms. You have no moral or legal right to stop people from practicing their religion in the United States. You are severely flawed in your premise that “some of you” are “done sitting by” and going to take away every American’s right to practice their religion.

The First Amendment of the United States Constitution protects the freedom of religion in the United States:

Establishment Clause
Prohibits the government from establishing a religion. The Lemon test, set forth in Lemon v. Kurtzman (1971), governs what constitutes an establishment of religion.

Free Exercise Clause
Protects the right of citizens to practice their religion as they choose, as long as it doesn't violate public morals or a compelling government interest.

Some other examples of religious freedom in the United States include:
The right to collect unemployment benefits if you lose your job because your employer forces you to work on a religious holiday
The right to operate a church without government interference, even if only a few people share your beliefs
The right to use public property to promote your religious beliefs
Title VII of the Civil Rights Act protects employees from religious discrimination in the workplace
The United States' commitment to religious freedom has been strong, as shown by the 2023 Religious Freedom Index score of 69, the highest ever.

If you don’t like religion, don’t be religious. Simple. Leave others alone. You aren’t in charge of their minds or their decisions. Focus on your own life.

Please take your own advice.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:^^^^ Just want to point out that there is insufficient evidence that any of the above is true.

From most philosophical perspectives, religions do not require empirical scientific evidence to believe, as faith is often considered the foundation of religious belief, meaning people accept truths based on trust and personal experience rather than solely on tangible proof; however, some argue that there can still be forms of evidence within religious experiences that support belief, even if not scientifically verifiable.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote: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.

I don’t think raising your own children in your family’s faith tradition is “shoving religion down their throats.” Children are part of a family, and most families have traditions and beliefs. Parents have the responsibility to raise their children in the manner they believe is a responsible and appropriate.

If a parent does or doesn’t have faith or religious beliefs or traditions, raising children without faith or religious traditions is how their family works, for lack of a better term.

When the children are adults, parents should accept whatever their child and their child’s own family (spouse and kids) decides they want to believe, or accept that their adult child and their adult child’s family is undecided about such matters, or does not have any religious or faith beliefs or traditions.

No one should tell other people how to raise their children. Parents do not have to stop practicing their religion once they become parents, that’s absurd. Parents don’t have to stop being atheist or agnostic once they become parents, but that’s absurd.

People need to stop believing they have any say or authority in the lives of other people’s children. They have zero input into the decisions parents make for their own kids.

I’m sure there are families that simply that raise their children with religion without shoving it down their throats. But I grew up in the south and can 100% tell you a lot of parents are. Like very intensely raising their kids to operate within a very religious social community, if you don’t believe this you will go to hell, etc. I once went to a playdate that ended with the parents taking me to church and making me get on stage to accept Jesus into my heart (my parents were not thrilled to hear this).

Growing up amongst evangelicals in the south has really turned me off of religion. I doubt they are encouraging their kids to think for themselves or that they would be ok if their kids end up with different beliefs as adults. I’ve also seen this with some Catholic families (I have a close gay friend who was shunned for many years by his very conservative Catholic family).

So I don’t judge raising your kids within a religious community and teaching them your beliefs, but I also think it is gross to insist your beliefs become your children’s beliefs. I would never teach my kids to be lemmings and not have thoughts for themselves.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:^^^^ Just want to point out that there is insufficient evidence that any of the above is true.

Also, many Christians disagree among themselves about what is true. There are many different sects of Christianity. They just make it up as they go along.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I find it extremely creepy that some people posting here think they have any say into how other people raise their children.

If you think you have authority over other people’s kids, tell me how you exert or exercise that authority in real life. Also, what would you do differently if someone told you they had a say in how you raised your children?

DP, but you can still judge even if you know you don’t have authority. I judge all sorts of crappy parenting which is usually anything at the extremes (e.g. severe sugar restriction vs allowing your kids to eat whatever they want, being a totally no screens house vs. no screen rules whatsoever).

Going to church on Sunday, teaching your kids about Jesus, etc.? Fine. I’m not religious at all but we’ve taken our kids to services on holidays like Christmas Eve and has them baptized b/c I know it in important to DH’s family. But when my kids question things about religion that don’t make sense, I’m not gaslighting them to force them to believe.

I do judge parents who don’t allow their children to question beliefs and think for themselves or who do things like denying lifesaving medical treatment (it’s one thing to decide that for yourself, but letting you child be harmed or die unnecessarily is abuse).

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:^^^^ Just want to point out that there is insufficient evidence that any of the above is true.

Correct -- also, no need to be impressed by a long copied list of mainly little known schools of supposedly esteemed scholars who are supposedly backing up the statements.

It is copied and the source link is provided. It is a link that provides information on a tenet of Christianity that a very significant number of Christians and scholars believe is true.

If you think the little known scholars are of little or no importance, why do you give any attention or consideration to the anonymous posts here? We have no idea of the education of the person posting about their opinions.

Should we require each poster to preface their opinion with a list of their degrees so we can make sure they didn’t get their degree/s from a “little known school?”

Why do atheists worry about how Christianity says people go to heaven?

If atheists are worried about how Christianity says Christians go to heaven, a link has been provided that tells atheists how that occurs.

Atheists are not required to believe any of it, but they should understand that whatever they have been taught is false. They can be educated on what Christianity says about the matter. It’s very odd atheists are so invested in the subject since they don’t believe in God, but it’s good they have a source to answer their questions about Christianity.

It is a reputable and reliable source:
https://www.gotquestions.org/

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I find it extremely creepy that some people posting here think they have any say into how other people raise their children.

If you think you have authority over other people’s kids, tell me how you exert or exercise that authority in real life. Also, what would you do differently if someone told you they had a say in how you raised your children?

When you think something is child abuse and brainwashing, unhealthy for both the individual and society, you don't think you have a right to express that thought?

Sorry but your bronze age bullsh*t hurts the world, and some of us are done sitting by passively while cults perpetuate pain and suffering. And no that is not hyperbole.

You are in the wrong country, if you think you or anyone else is going to classify a family being religious and practicing religious freedom as cults that perpetuate pain and suffering. America was founded on freedom, and religious freedom is among those freedoms. You have no moral or legal right to stop people from practicing their religion in the United States. You are severely flawed in your premise that “some of you” are “done sitting by” and going to take away every American’s right to practice their religion.

The First Amendment of the United States Constitution protects the freedom of religion in the United States:

Establishment Clause
Prohibits the government from establishing a religion. The Lemon test, set forth in Lemon v. Kurtzman (1971), governs what constitutes an establishment of religion.

Free Exercise Clause
Protects the right of citizens to practice their religion as they choose, as long as it doesn't violate public morals or a compelling government interest.

Some other examples of religious freedom in the United States include:
The right to collect unemployment benefits if you lose your job because your employer forces you to work on a religious holiday
The right to operate a church without government interference, even if only a few people share your beliefs
The right to use public property to promote your religious beliefs
Title VII of the Civil Rights Act protects employees from religious discrimination in the workplace
The United States' commitment to religious freedom has been strong, as shown by the 2023 Religious Freedom Index score of 69, the highest ever.

If you don’t like religion, don’t be religious. Simple. Leave others alone. You aren’t in charge of their minds or their decisions. Focus on your own life.

DP but the first amendment you cite is also freedom from religion.

I think it’s funny you’re saying we should leave religious people alone when it’s religious people shoving their beliefs into our political system, using at a reason to ban books at schools, etc.

You.leave.us.alone. Practice your religion on your own time. Teach your kids your beliefs. But stop insisting society function in line with those beliefs.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote: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.

I don’t think raising your own children in your family’s faith tradition is “shoving religion down their throats.” Children are part of a family, and most families have traditions and beliefs. Parents have the responsibility to raise their children in the manner they believe is a responsible and appropriate.

If a parent does or doesn’t have faith or religious beliefs or traditions, raising children without faith or religious traditions is how their family works, for lack of a better term.

When the children are adults, parents should accept whatever their child and their child’s own family (spouse and kids) decides they want to believe, or accept that their adult child and their adult child’s family is undecided about such matters, or does not have any religious or faith beliefs or traditions.

No one should tell other people how to raise their children. Parents do not have to stop practicing their religion once they become parents, that’s absurd. Parents don’t have to stop being atheist or agnostic once they become parents, but that’s absurd.

People need to stop believing they have any say or authority in the lives of other people’s children. They have zero input into the decisions parents make for their own kids.

I agree with much of what you say, but not all. Personally, I think it's crazy to encourage anyone to be religious in a world in which more and more can be explained by science.

Also, I think we do have say and authority over other people's children right now, in that beating your children can and should send you to jail. I think and hope the time will come when it's not considered OK to fill children's mind full of silly superstitious stuff like, for instance, that if they are good,God will redeem them and send them to everlasting life in heaven .

Beating other people is against the law. Police officers can arrest people who are suspected of breaking the law. The accused gets competent legal representation and must be afforded a fair trial. If they are convicted of child abuse, they can be sentenced by the judge based on state sentencing guidelines.

That is not the same as random strangers having responsibility/authority over children. The school nurse has to contact parents to administer otc pain relief medication to children; that’s how little authority even a school professional who works with children has over children.

You don’t sound open minded at all about the Christian faith, yet judge people who aren’t open minded about atheism or other religions as hypocritical bigots. You are just as close minded and bigoted as they are.

You also are incorrect about Christianity; God doesn’t “send people to heaven if they are good.” That’s probably something someone indoctrinated you into believing, something that is false.

Pot, meet kettle.

Beating people gets you arrested because we have decided as a society that is is harmful to human well being. There are people, (me included), who
believe that indoctrinating children into a Bronze Age belief system, for which there is zero evidence and that has caused immeasurable harm over the centuries, is something that is also harmful to well being.

I am not saying that it should be illegal, and it really couldn't be regulated anyway. But I do believe it is ultimately harmful in many many ways, and I hope at some point we have both accepted that it is harmful, and outgrown the usefulness of religion.

Have you seen stats about religious beliefs and service attendance in younger people?

I think we are definitely headed in a direction away from religion. There’s still a very vocal group clawing to keep religion relevant in public places, mostly in places like Texas and Florida that don’t have the best education systems (I grew up in one of those states).

Once the religious boomers die off they’ll lose even more control.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I find it extremely creepy that some people posting here think they have any say into how other people raise their children.

If you think you have authority over other people’s kids, tell me how you exert or exercise that authority in real life. Also, what would you do differently if someone told you they had a say in how you raised your children?

DP, but you can still judge even if you know you don’t have authority. I judge all sorts of crappy parenting which is usually anything at the extremes (e.g. severe sugar restriction vs allowing your kids to eat whatever they want, being a totally no screens house vs. no screen rules whatsoever).

Going to church on Sunday, teaching your kids about Jesus, etc.? Fine. I’m not religious at all but we’ve taken our kids to services on holidays like Christmas Eve and has them baptized b/c I know it in important to DH’s family. But when my kids question things about religion that don’t make sense, I’m not gaslighting them to force them to believe.

I do judge parents who don’t allow their children to question beliefs and think for themselves or who do things like denying lifesaving medical treatment (it’s one thing to decide that for yourself, but letting you child be harmed or die unnecessarily is abuse).

Do you judge people who call religion “crazy” and say religion is harmful to the world?

People who believe those things are definitely not allowing their children to question atheism and not allowing their children to think for themselves.

I see religious people denying their children medical care sometimes in news stories, but I also see similar news stories about vegan parents. They don’t provide their children adequate nutrition because they are so dedicated to veganism. I also see news stories more prominently of parents who are addicted to drugs, who starve and neglect their children while doing drugs.

Using the death of children to make a point? You want to start listing dead kids whose parents were drug addicts and neglected them to death? Because those kids would outnumber the children of religious people who denied their kids medical treatment, by a very large margin.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote: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.

I don’t think raising your own children in your family’s faith tradition is “shoving religion down their throats.” Children are part of a family, and most families have traditions and beliefs. Parents have the responsibility to raise their children in the manner they believe is a responsible and appropriate.

If a parent does or doesn’t have faith or religious beliefs or traditions, raising children without faith or religious traditions is how their family works, for lack of a better term.

When the children are adults, parents should accept whatever their child and their child’s own family (spouse and kids) decides they want to believe, or accept that their adult child and their adult child’s family is undecided about such matters, or does not have any religious or faith beliefs or traditions.

No one should tell other people how to raise their children. Parents do not have to stop practicing their religion once they become parents, that’s absurd. Parents don’t have to stop being atheist or agnostic once they become parents, but that’s absurd.

People need to stop believing they have any say or authority in the lives of other people’s children. They have zero input into the decisions parents make for their own kids.

I agree with much of what you say, but not all. Personally, I think it's crazy to encourage anyone to be religious in a world in which more and more can be explained by science.

Also, I think we do have say and authority over other people's children right now, in that beating your children can and should send you to jail. I think and hope the time will come when it's not considered OK to fill children's mind full of silly superstitious stuff like, for instance, that if they are good,God will redeem them and send them to everlasting life in heaven .

Beating other people is against the law. Police officers can arrest people who are suspected of breaking the law. The accused gets competent legal representation and must be afforded a fair trial. If they are convicted of child abuse, they can be sentenced by the judge based on state sentencing guidelines.

That is not the same as random strangers having responsibility/authority over children. The school nurse has to contact parents to administer otc pain relief medication to children; that’s how little authority even a school professional who works with children has over children.

You don’t sound open minded at all about the Christian faith, yet judge people who aren’t open minded about atheism or other religions as hypocritical bigots. You are just as close minded and bigoted as they are.

You also are incorrect about Christianity; God doesn’t “send people to heaven if they are good.” That’s probably something someone indoctrinated you into believing, something that is false.

Pot, meet kettle.

Pp did not say that God sent people to heaven if they are good. They said that some people believe that. Maybe you don't. Good.

“when it's not considered OK to fill children's mind full of silly superstitious stuff like, for instance, that if they are good,God will redeem them and send them to everlasting life in heaven.”-pp

Can someone post scripture from the Christian bible that says people have to be good so God will send them to heaven? Who believes that? No Christian I know believers that?

Who do you know that believes that, pp?

Even if they don't say exactly that, it's an implied message. A more overt message is the one that states that bad people (subjectively bad, though, because for some people being bad means people that don't BELIEVE a certain thing) will go to hell. Evangelicals describe it as a lake of fire...for all eternity. Young children actually believe this message, are shown pictures, and if you don't think that is child abuse, coercive control, then I don't know what to tell you. The threat of hell follows people their whole lives, even torturing people that leave the faith long after they no longer believe in a god. They still have emotional reactions to the thoughts of it because the message was laid down in their brains when they were small children.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote: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.

I don’t think raising your own children in your family’s faith tradition is “shoving religion down their throats.” Children are part of a family, and most families have traditions and beliefs. Parents have the responsibility to raise their children in the manner they believe is a responsible and appropriate.

If a parent does or doesn’t have faith or religious beliefs or traditions, raising children without faith or religious traditions is how their family works, for lack of a better term.

When the children are adults, parents should accept whatever their child and their child’s own family (spouse and kids) decides they want to believe, or accept that their adult child and their adult child’s family is undecided about such matters, or does not have any religious or faith beliefs or traditions.

No one should tell other people how to raise their children. Parents do not have to stop practicing their religion once they become parents, that’s absurd. Parents don’t have to stop being atheist or agnostic once they become parents, but that’s absurd.

People need to stop believing they have any say or authority in the lives of other people’s children. They have zero input into the decisions parents make for their own kids.

I agree with much of what you say, but not all. Personally, I think it's crazy to encourage anyone to be religious in a world in which more and more can be explained by science.

Also, I think we do have say and authority over other people's children right now, in that beating your children can and should send you to jail. I think and hope the time will come when it's not considered OK to fill children's mind full of silly superstitious stuff like, for instance, that if they are good,God will redeem them and send them to everlasting life in heaven .

Beating other people is against the law. Police officers can arrest people who are suspected of breaking the law. The accused gets competent legal representation and must be afforded a fair trial. If they are convicted of child abuse, they can be sentenced by the judge based on state sentencing guidelines.

That is not the same as random strangers having responsibility/authority over children. The school nurse has to contact parents to administer otc pain relief medication to children; that’s how little authority even a school professional who works with children has over children.

You don’t sound open minded at all about the Christian faith, yet judge people who aren’t open minded about atheism or other religions as hypocritical bigots. You are just as close minded and bigoted as they are.

You also are incorrect about Christianity; God doesn’t “send people to heaven if they are good.” That’s probably something someone indoctrinated you into believing, something that is false.

Pot, meet kettle.

Pp did not say that God sent people to heaven if they are good. They said that some people believe that. Maybe you don't. Good.

“when it's not considered OK to fill children's mind full of silly superstitious stuff like, for instance, that if they are good,God will redeem them and send them to everlasting life in heaven.”-pp

Can someone post scripture from the Christian bible that says people have to be good so God will send them to heaven? Who believes that? No Christian I know believers that?

Who do you know that believes that, pp?

Maybe immediate pp is correct and there's no need to be a good person on earth to get into heaven when you die. Maybe the Bible says you can be very nasty and simply believe in God to receive your eternal reward. Maybe that would explain why so many people who profess to be Christians are so nasty. Meanwhile, atheists or people of other religions go to hell because they don't believe that Jesus Christ is lord. Or maybe just believing in God is enough.

+1. Not to mention that you really can't MAKE yourself believe something. It doesn't work that way.
Knowing that it doesn't even matter if you are a good person in order to get to heaven is just one more ludicrous notion about christianity

This conversation shows that the atheists participating don’t know much about Christianity. They were either indoctrinated by someone who was ignorant about Christianity, lied to, or they haven’t educated themselves about Christianity.

Do not listen to the wandering minds that post here about Christianity. They have every right to not like Christianity and every right to not be religious, but they are not correct whatsoever when they speak on Christianity.

A great site to answer your question about Christianity:

https://www.gotquestions.org/


Top 20 Most Frequently Asked Bible Questions

https://www.gotquestions.org/top20.


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Why should I trust GotQuestions.org?

While we do not believe a formal biblical/theological education is necessary to be able to provide quality answers to spiritually related questions, we do believe that expertise can be eminently valuable. We also occasionally receive questions about whether our writers are qualified to write on biblical / theological / spiritual / religious topics. With that in mind, we have provided the following list of the advanced academic credentials that our current and past staff, contractors, and volunteers possess, along with the educational institutions from which the degrees were earned:

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It’s perfectly fine to reject religion and not have any belief in a God or gods. But representation of your opinions about Christianity and Christians as facts, and statements of how God does x, and Christians do y, and Christians (and religious parents of all religions) are committing child abuse by having religious traditions in their family life is not reality.

Basically, atheists who don’t like Christianity and Christians are making up their own stories about Christianity and insisting their stories are true.

They are not true, and the atheists posting falsehoods they believe are not even educated about Christianity.

Instead of being factually correct, they persist in their ignorance. Do not believe their falsehoods. You don’t have to believe Christianity’s tenets, but at least know what they are.

Who will go to heaven?
https://www.gotquestions.org/who-will-go-to-heaven.html

People have different ideas about heaven. Many have no understanding of God at all but still like to think of heaven as the “better place” where we all go when we die. Ideas about heaven are often no more than vague hopes, on par with “maybe I’ll win the lottery someday.” Most people don’t give heaven much thought until they attend a funeral or a loved one dies. It is popular to refer to heaven as the place where “the good people go.” And of course, everyone they know and love is included in the category of “good people.”

But the Bible has a lot to say about life after death, and it contradicts popular opinion. John 3:16 says, “For God so loved the world that he gave his one and only Son, that whoever believes in him shall not perish but have eternal life.” Then in verse 36, Jesus goes on to say, “Whoever believes in the Son has eternal life, but whoever rejects the Son will not see life, for God’s wrath remains on them.” Hebrews 9:27 says, “People are destined to die once, and after that to face judgment.” According to these verses, everyone dies, but not everyone goes to heaven (see also Matthew 25:46; Romans 6:23; Luke 12:5; Mark 9:43).

God is holy and perfect. Heaven, His dwelling place, is holy and perfect, too (Psalm 68:5; Nehemiah 1:5; Revelation 11:19). According to Romans 3:10, “there is no one righteous, not even one.” No human being is holy and perfect. No one is “good enough” for heaven. The people we call “good” are not good at all compared to the sinless perfection of God. If God allowed sinful humans to enter the perfection of heaven, that place would no longer be perfect. What standard should be used to determine who is “good enough?” God’s standard is the only one that counts, and He has already ruled. Romans 3:23 says that “all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God.” And the payment for that sin is eternal separation from God (Romans 6:23).

Sin has to be punished, or God is not just (2 Thessalonians 1:6). The judgment we face at death is simply God bringing our accounts up to date and passing sentence on our crimes against Him. We have no way to make our wrongs right. Our good does not outweigh our bad. Just as one drop of arsenic in a glass of water poisons the whole glass, one sin ruins perfection.

So, God became man and took our punishment upon Himself. Jesus is God in the flesh. He lived a sinless life of obedience to His Father (Hebrews 4:15). He had no sin, yet at the cross He took our sin and made it His own. Once He paid the price for our sin, we could be declared holy and perfect (2 Corinthians 5:21). When we confess our sin to Him and ask His forgiveness on the basis of Christ’s sacrifice, He saves us. It’s as if He stamps “Paid in Full” over our debt of sin (see Acts 2:38; 3:19; 1 Peter 3:18).

When we stand before God one day, we cannot beg entrance to heaven based on our own merit. We have none to offer. Compared to God’s standard of holiness, not one of us is good enough. But Jesus is good enough, and it is by His merit we can enter heaven. First Corinthians 6:9–11 says, “Do you not know that wrongdoers will not inherit the kingdom of God? Do not be deceived: Neither the sexually immoral nor idolaters nor adulterers nor men who have sex with men nor thieves nor the greedy nor drunkards nor slanderers nor swindlers will inherit the kingdom of God. And that is what some of you were. But you were washed, you were sanctified, you were justified in the name of the Lord Jesus Christ and by the Spirit of our God.” The sacrifice of Jesus covers it all.

The people who go to heaven are all alike in one way: they are sinners who have placed their faith in the Lord Jesus Christ (John 1:12; Acts 16:31; Romans 10:9). They have recognized their need for a Savior and humbly accepted God’s offer of forgiveness. They have repented of their old ways of living and set their course to follow Christ (Mark 8:34; John 15:14). They have not attempted to earn God’s forgiveness but have served Him gladly from grateful hearts (Psalm 100:2). The kind of faith that saves a soul is one that transforms a life (James 2:26; 1 John 3:9–10) and rests fully on the grace of God.

Again: reject Christianity, God, the Bible, etc, as is your right and privilege as an American citizen, but don’t presume to tell others what Christianity is about, because the many posts here show no atheist knows.

No thank you. Not interested. I've educated myself plenty about your faith and that education has led me further and further away. I'm not interested in hearing more proselytizing .

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I find it extremely creepy that some people posting here think they have any say into how other people raise their children.

If you think you have authority over other people’s kids, tell me how you exert or exercise that authority in real life. Also, what would you do differently if someone told you they had a say in how you raised your children?

When you think something is child abuse and brainwashing, unhealthy for both the individual and society, you don't think you have a right to express that thought?

Sorry but your bronze age bullsh*t hurts the world, and some of us are done sitting by passively while cults perpetuate pain and suffering. And no that is not hyperbole.

You are in the wrong country, if you think you or anyone else is going to classify a family being religious and practicing religious freedom as cults that perpetuate pain and suffering. America was founded on freedom, and religious freedom is among those freedoms. You have no moral or legal right to stop people from practicing their religion in the United States. You are severely flawed in your premise that “some of you” are “done sitting by” and going to take away every American’s right to practice their religion.

The First Amendment of the United States Constitution protects the freedom of religion in the United States:

Establishment Clause
Prohibits the government from establishing a religion. The Lemon test, set forth in Lemon v. Kurtzman (1971), governs what constitutes an establishment of religion.

Free Exercise Clause
Protects the right of citizens to practice their religion as they choose, as long as it doesn't violate public morals or a compelling government interest.

Some other examples of religious freedom in the United States include:
The right to collect unemployment benefits if you lose your job because your employer forces you to work on a religious holiday
The right to operate a church without government interference, even if only a few people share your beliefs
The right to use public property to promote your religious beliefs
Title VII of the Civil Rights Act protects employees from religious discrimination in the workplace
The United States' commitment to religious freedom has been strong, as shown by the 2023 Religious Freedom Index score of 69, the highest ever.

If you don’t like religion, don’t be religious. Simple. Leave others alone. You aren’t in charge of their minds or their decisions. Focus on your own life.

DP but the first amendment you cite is also freedom from religion.

I think it’s funny you’re saying we should leave religious people alone when it’s religious people shoving their beliefs into our political system, using at a reason to ban books at schools, etc.

You.leave.us.alone. Practice your religion on your own time. Teach your kids your beliefs. But stop insisting society function in line with those beliefs.

You should read gotquestions.org to educate yourself about Christianity, you and every atheist who spouts their opinions that are incorrect about Christianity. That way you will have the basic information and understanding about the religion you don’t believe in. And the God you don’t believe in. It’s ok to not believe, but at least you will understand correctly about what you don’t believe in.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:^^^^ Just want to point out that there is insufficient evidence that any of the above is true.

Also, many Christians disagree among themselves about what is true. There are many different sects of Christianity. They just make it up as they go along.

+. Not to mention that it's all circular reasoning anyway. I know..,,"have faith". There is zero reason to have any faith in a book just because someone said it's true. The only reason any christians truly believe it is because they were indoctrinated to believe it. It is so damn easy to convince a child (or any vulnerable human being) to believe anything you want them to. Incredibly easy.