New Here - Have a question about child and church!

[irish]

What do I do?

Church and gods are an adult concept.   You wouldn't let your daughter go to a swingers club would you?

I hope Brandon reads this post.   If Church and Gods are an adult concept no reason to tell a young child your misguided beliefs there is no God.  She even cried so I might say atheism and the negativity it creates is an adult concept.

Irish.

[leo]

What do I do?

Church and gods are an adult concept.   You wouldn't let your daughter go to a swingers club would you?

I hope Brandon reads this post.   If Church and Gods are an adult concept no reason to tell a young child your misguided beliefs there is no God.  She even cried so I might say atheism and the negativity it creates is an adult concept.

Irish.

Brandon ignore this Irish troll.

[aileron]

You told a child you don't believe in God, and she said she does and cried.  Who are you to deprive her of going to Church
with a friend?

Her father.

You sound like a  monster with those child rearing techniques.

Starting at an age too young to reason away the Santa Clause conspiracy, forcing children to decades of indoctrination into a mass delusion is what then??  

You should be honest with these friends parents
and tell them the truth.  You don't believe and God and your child won't be attending any Church functions.

It's none of their concern, and he's entitled to tell them or not tell them his reasons.

[Jason78]

What do I do?

Church and gods are an adult concept.   You wouldn't let your daughter go to a swingers club would you?

I hope Brandon reads this post.   If Church and Gods are an adult concept no reason to tell a young child your misguided beliefs there is no God.  She even cried so I might say atheism and the negativity it creates is an adult concept.

Irish.

Have you read your bible Irish?  It's full of gore and X-rated content.   Do you really think that it's appropriate to expose a child to that?

[leo]

^^^ Yup and yahvew is a asshole . Read your fucking bible Irish ! :roll:

[Shol'va]

6 years old is still an age where kids believe in fantasy things. I would not worry about it for now. You as a parent know best where she is at: does she believe in Santa, the Easter bunny, etc? In a couple years or so you can start having a conversation about critical thinking and how some people such as Irish successfully delude themselves.
She might force herself into belief also as a rebellion against you, so you have to take the approach of teaching her how to think. Ask probing questions, don't tell her what she should think.

[Moriarty]

I do hope Brandon does continue to read these replies.

I have pretty much been a lifelong Atheist. I never had the intention of exposing them to religion or even Atheism until I felt they were old enough and could make their own decisions on the topic. Whether or not they believed in a god wouldn't change the way I felt about them anymore than if they were homosexual as long as they made the decision on their own after being exposed to both sides of the argument.

It never got to that point though, when they were 6 and 8 the relationship ended and the new guy in my ex's life decided to take it upon himself to tell them about "god" , "god's love" and all the other bullshit lies. I was pretty outraged, probably the closest I have ever come to killing another human being. I view it as nothing more than child abuse.

So, I had to go into damage control mode with them and tell them what I though about it and science earlier than I ever expected. I have to admit they were kind of shocked to learn that there was even such a thing as an Atheist. Thankfully by exposing them to science, challenging them and asking them questions, drawing comparisons to other things like the Tooth Fairy and Santa, they no longer believe in a god, or at least that's what they tell me now.

Don't ever allow you children around those nutters, they will corrupt them.

[brandon]

I do hope Brandon does continue to read these replies.

I have pretty much been a lifelong Atheist. I never had the intention of exposing them to religion or even Atheism until I felt they were old enough and could make their own decisions on the topic. Whether or not they believed in a god wouldn't change the way I felt about them anymore than if they were homosexual as long as they made the decision on their own after being exposed to both sides of the argument.

It never got to that point though, when they were 6 and 8 the relationship ended and the new guy in my ex's life decided to take it upon himself to tell them about "god" , "god's love" and all the other bullshit lies. I was pretty outraged, probably the closest I have ever come to killing another human being. I view it as nothing more than child abuse.

So, I had to go into damage control mode with them and tell them what I though about it and science earlier than I ever expected. I have to admit they were kind of shocked to learn that there was even such a thing as an Atheist. Thankfully by exposing them to science, challenging them and asking them questions, drawing comparisons to other things like the Tooth Fairy and Santa, they no longer believe in a god, or at least that's what they tell me now.

Don't ever allow you children around those nutters, they will corrupt them.

Thanks for sharing this experience. You sound like you care a lot about your children. I am starting to have a different view point on this subject. Why do we as atheist feel the need to hide what we believe to be truth from our children? Maybe we need a generation of children who were taught from a young age to analyze facts about god before they were even capable of it. What I mean to say is, most atheist I know, including myself, have come from a christian background. Maybe we need a generation that comes from a non-religious, fact based background. People who believe in god are never going to present the facts and let the child come to a well educated conclusion on their own. Why do we as atheists feel so bad about teaching the facts?

The feeling I have generally had was that if I don't think there is a god, why do I need to expose my child to it and take a defensive position. That same feeling also stops me from taking an offensive position. But, there is the realization that my child will be exposed to religion inevitably and I should prepare my child as much as possible before being exposed.

[brandon]

6 years old is still an age where kids believe in fantasy things. I would not worry about it for now. You as a parent know best where she is at: does she believe in Santa, the Easter bunny, etc? In a couple years or so you can start having a conversation about critical thinking and how some people such as Irish successfully delude themselves.
She might force herself into belief also as a rebellion against you, so you have to take the approach of teaching her how to think. Ask probing questions, don't tell her what she should think.

Yeah, I could see belief as a rebellion for a while. I rebelled purely to oppose my parents wishes when I was 16-18, but then I grew up, and the rebellion actually made me question more things, rather than just believe. Some of my parents teachings are still not right, but, I must say that the rebellion actually made me understand and know that at least half of what they were telling me was the truth.

[Glitch]

I think the best option would be to tell your daughter's friend's parents that you do not share the same belief system that they enforce. Don't be crudely rude about it though, but tell them you do not feel quite comfortable enough with sending her on her own to church.

Also remember that church songs will get stuck in your head and play for days on end. It's one of those brain washing keys.

I still have "Let there be Peace on Earth" stuck in my head from a service I went to with a friend a year or so ago.