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

Forum Index » Religion

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

Subject:

Emoticons





More smilies

Text Color: Font: Close Marks

[quote=Anonymous]I’m an atheist but I want my kids (5 and 2.5) to feel comforted, like there’s something else out there watching over them whenever they’re scared or sad. And I want them to be comforted when someone dies.

I love the idea of heaven, and have told them our dog went to heaven when she died. I’m treating heaven like Santa (which should buy me some time). Instead of praying before bed or a meal, my son and I sometimes list all the things we’re grateful for in this life (health, modern medicine, cookies, toys, our house, family, friends, school, etc).

By way of background, I was raised Catholic - baptized, communion, confirmation, and church every Sunday. My two siblings are also religious. Then there’s me…I could never get into it, thought it was boring and difficult to understand, disliked all of the contradictions and HATED the whole “you’re a sinner and damned if you do/don’t do abc/xyz…go to church, have sex before marriage, are gay, etc). I will admit, however, that when I’ve been in very scary situations, I’ve asked “God” to keep me safe which made me feel better in the moment.  My parents told me things would change once I had kids and “I’d come back to the church.” Well, that obviously hasn’t happened. I never baptized my kids, nor do we belong or go to a church.  As far as Christianity, I believe Jesus was probably a great guy and/or an excellent politician. I don’t believe in the immaculate conception or any of those other stories (turning water into wine, etc.)).  I just can’t deal with all of the BS that goes with Christianity or any other religion.

I love the idea of a “higher-power” -  perhaps I can call it an energy? Love the cosmos and science behind it all. So what do you call this? Being spiritual? How do other people handle these situations with kids? Should I call it God, a spirit, energy, or something else?

If you’re an atheist, what do you tell your little kids when you want them to feel like a higher power or energy is watching over them? [/quote]

Options

	Disable HTML in this message
	Disable BB Code in this message
	Disable smilies in this message

Review message

Search Recent Topics Hottest Topics