加拿大华人论坛 多伦多 TorontoWhy I Raise My Children Without God



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When my son was around 3 years old, he used to ask me a lot of questions about heaven. Where is it? How do people walk without a body? How will I find you? You know the questions that kids ask.For over a year, I lied to him and made up stories that I didn’t believe about heaven. Like most parents, I love my child so much that I didn’t want him to be scared. I wanted him to feel safe and loved and full of hope. But the trade-off was that I would have to make stuff up, and I would have to brainwash him into believing stories that didn’t make sense, stories that I didn’t believe either.One day he would know this, and he would not trust my judgment. He would know that I built an elaborate tale—not unlike the one we tell children about Santa—to explain the inconsistent and illogical legend of God.And so I thought it was only right to be honest with my children. I am a non-believer, and for years I’ve been on the fringe in my community. As a blogger, though, I’ve found that there are many other parents out there like me. We are creating the next generation of kids, and there is a wave of young agnostics, atheists, free thinkers and humanists rising up through the ranks who will, hopefully, lower our nation’s religious fever.Here are a few of the reasons why I am raising my children without God.God is a bad parent and role model.If God is our father, then he is not a good parent. Good parents don’t allow their children to inflict harm on others. Good people don’t stand by and watch horrible acts committed against innocent men, women and children. They don’t condone violence and abuse. “He has given us free will,” you say? Our children have free will, but we still step in and guide them.God is not logical.How many times have you heard, “Why did God allow this to happen?” And this: “It’s not for us to understand.” Translate: We don’t understand, so we will not think about it or deal with the issue. Take for example the senseless tragedy in Newtown. Rather than address the problem of guns in America, we defer responsibility to God. He had a reason. He wanted more angels. Only he knows why. We write poems saying that we told God to leave our schools. Now he’s making us pay the price. If there is a good, all-knowing, all-powerful God who loves his children, does it make sense that he would allow murders, child abuse, wars, brutal beatings, torture and millions of heinous acts to be committed throughout the history of mankind? Doesn’t this go against everything Christ taught us in the New Testament?The question we should be asking is this: “Why did we allow this to happen?” How can we fix this? No imaginary person is going to give us the answers or tell us why. Only we have the ability to be logical and to problem solve, and we should not abdicate these responsibilities to “God” just because a topic is tough or uncomfortable to address.God is not fair.If God is fair, then why does he answer the silly prayers of some while allowing other, serious requests, to go unanswered? I have known people who pray that they can find money to buy new furniture. (Answered.) I have known people who pray to God to help them win a soccer match. (Answered.) Why are the prayers of parents with dying children not answered?If God is fair, then why are some babies born with heart defects, autism, missing limbs or conjoined to another baby? Clearly, all men are not created equally. Why is a good man beaten senseless on the street while an evil man finds great wealth taking advantage of others? This is not fair. A game maker who allows luck to rule mankind’s existence has not created a fair game.God does not protect the innocent.He does not keep our children safe. As a society, we stand up and speak for those who cannot. We protect our little ones as much as possible. When a child is kidnapped, we work together to find the child. We do not tolerate abuse and neglect. Why can’t God, with all his powers of omnipotence, protect the innocent?God is not present.He is not here. Telling our children to love a person they cannot see, smell, touch or hear does not make sense. It means that we teach children to love an image, an image that lives only in their imaginations. What we teach them, in effect, is to love an idea that we have created, one that is based in our fears and our hopes.God Does Not Teach Children to Be GoodA child should make moral choices for the right reasons. Telling him that he must behave because God is watching means that his morality will be externally focused rather than internally structured. It’s like telling a child to behave or Santa won’t bring presents. When we take God out of the picture, we place responsibility of doing the right thing onto the shoulders of our children. No, they won’t go to heaven or rule their own planets when they die, but they can sleep better at night. They will make their family proud. They will feel better about who they are. They will be decent people.God Teaches Narcissism“God has a plan for you.” Telling kids there is a big guy in the sky who has a special path for them makes children narcissistic; it makes them think the world is at their disposal and that, no matter what happens, it doesn’t really matter because God is in control. That gives kids a sense of false security and creates selfishness. “No matter what I do, God loves me and forgives me. He knows my purpose. I am special.” The irony is that, while we tell this story to our kids, other children are abused and murdered, starved and neglected. All part of God’s plan, right?When we raise kids without God, we tell them the truth—we are no more special than the next creature. We are just a very, very small part of a big, big machine–whether that machine is nature or society–the influence we have is minuscule. The realization of our insignificance gives us a true sense of humbleness.I understand why people need God. I understand why people need heaven. It is terrifying to think that we are all alone in this universe, that one day we—along with the children we love so much—will cease to exist. The idea of God and an afterlife gives many of us structure, community and hope.I do not want religion to go away. I only want religion to be kept at home or in church where it belongs. It’s a personal effect, like a toothbrush or a pair of shoes. It’s not something to be used or worn by strangers. I want my children to be free not to believe and to know that our schools and our government will make decisions based on what is logical, just and fair—not on what they believe an imaginary God wants.

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回复: Why I Raise My Children Without God这个很简单谁生的谁养

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回复: Why I Raise My Children Without God这个很简单谁生的谁养点击展开...哈哈哈哈哈, 加拿大不是这么简单。我生的有时不归我养。

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回复: Why I Raise My Children Without God这个很简单谁生的谁养点击展开...这是一个比喻, 就像歌里唱的, 我把党来比母亲,

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回复: Why I Raise My Children Without God哈哈哈哈哈, 加拿大不是这么简单。我生的有时不归我养。点击展开...祝贺儿哥成本转移

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回复: Why I Raise My Children Without God这是一个比喻, 就像歌里唱的, 我把党来比母亲,点击展开...你怎么比都得自个儿养就算你家里十口人一天三顿全在food bank

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回复: Why I Raise My Children Without God你怎么比都得自个儿养就算你家里十口人一天三顿全在food bank点击展开...说的是精神文明建设, 新三年旧三年缝缝补补又三年这类的,

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回复: Why I Raise My Children Without God说的是精神文明建设, 新三年旧三年缝缝补补又三年这类的,点击展开...你十口人五条裤子怎么缝都的三班倒者穿

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回复: Why I Raise My Children Without God这个家长大大滴坏,

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禁言违宪! 超赞 赏 我的梦想我的路 0$(VIP 0) 20,6312013-01-18#11 回复: Why I Raise My Children Without God我让孩子自由地成长自由地思考洗脑的事 绝对不做

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​ 超赞 赏 mushhead 0$(VIP 0) 5442013-01-18#12 回复: Why I Raise My Children Without God逻辑上讲,没有证据证明是“真”东西,并不能得出就是“假”的结论。支持“自己思考,拒绝洗脑”。

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回复: Why I Raise My Children Without God楼主的主贴太长,看了开始几句就不看了,看费神,还得在脑海里转化成中文。

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风景很美逻辑上讲,没有证据证明是“真”东西,并不能得出就是“假”的结论。支持“自己思考,拒绝洗脑”。点击展开...这就比较容易导致假货泛滥

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回复: Why I Raise My Children Without God逻辑上讲,没有证据证明是“真”东西,并不能得出就是“假”的结论。支持“自己思考,拒绝洗脑”。点击展开...赞一个, 认识到位。

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回复: Why I Raise My Children Without God楼主的主贴太长,看了开始几句就不看了,看费神,还得在脑海里转化成中文。点击展开...真看啊中文这么长也看不下去阿

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​真看啊点击展开...蜂姐是比较实在的广东人

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回复: Why I Raise My Children Without God蜂姐是比较实在的广东人点击展开...只要不拿字典看的都可以

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​ 超赞 赏 咱们这儿放牧人 0$(VIP 0) 8,2192013-01-18#19 回复: Why I Raise My Children Without God就当做看小说一样看吧。 别当做看股票一样看就不觉得长

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回复: Why I Raise My Children Without God儿哥估计就没指望有人看。用范爷的话说,儿哥就把帖子复制好啪贴这儿了,自己都不看的。

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