I Was Raised An Atheist, But Something Completely Unexpected Turned Me Into a Believer

[rug]

After my experience, being an atheist is impossible.

Sep 25, 2015
By Anne-Marie Yerks

It was the first day of the first grade. ​My family had just moved to Muscatine, IA because my dad had got a new job. My new teacher was a crisp, efficient woman named Mrs. Huff. Our first assignment? A connect-the-dots of baby Jesus lying in a wooden cradle. I completed it successfully, received a checkmark at the top and took it home to my parents.

They looked at each other solemnly.

"This was what you did at school today?" my father asked.

Later that night, I heard him talking on the phone. The phrases "public school" and "separation of church and state" were part of the conversation. I felt like I had done something wrong, but I wasn't sure what it was.

http://www.womansday.com/life/real-women/a52019/growing-up-atheist/

I don't think chemically induced hallucinations are the way to do it.

But I am curious. How common an experience does she describe in growing up in an explicitly atheist household?

[Person 2713]

1. Universal Consciousness? What's wrong with that? The teacher giving her a donkey picture

Last edited Sun Sep 27, 2015, 07:14 PM - Edit history (1)

and bringing Catholicism to public school class ? Something wrong
I agree with dad
My friend was raising his kid without religion and would be upset at Christmas songs at school plays etc. never got him or his kids any good. I told him Irving Berlin wrote the song White Christmas and was Jewish trying to say that it is sort of something celebrated in the USA but he was not happy and only replied that yes they were calling his kid Jewish now.
They were not
It seems hard to fight the system and maybe better to just just at home tell your family not to buy the BS because they will run in to it as adults and can't be expected to argue their lack of belief all the time.

[rug]

7. Her description reminds me of some people I know who were raised as Jehovah's Witnesses.

The Pledge of Allegiance, Christmas, circling articles in membership publications, etc. But I'm sure she had many happy birthday parties.

[Person 2713]

13. Yes If she had beenJW I don't think you get the birthdays but yes that's another group

that has to have a hard time in the USA with explaining to kids why it is not part of their belief / non belief.
There are sick teachers who delight in sticking it to any " others" who don't conform to their own world vision be it religion race or sex and can really harass kids . The donkey teacher sounds like one of those sickos

[Fumesucker]

2. Women's Day?

Meetings, underlining with a red pen, liquor and cigarettes.

And then she dropped some Owsley and saw God.



Poe's Law comes to mind...

[orpupilofnature57]

4. Which makes me think of ' Cask of Amontilldo ' .

[rug]

5. Check the credit at the end of the article.

It comes from this site: http://themix.hearst.com/

[Fumesucker]

8. I haven't read a more dog whistle laden article in a while

O'Hair, liquor, cigarettes, acid (Dangerous!), solemn and rigid atheists, God, Separation of Church and State...

My to the author..

[rug]

9. So, do you think it's exaggerated, fictitious or an accurate description?

[Fumesucker]

10. As someone who is Experienced I can believe the seeing God part

The rest of it comes off as exaggerated while not entirely implausible.

The pain of the child not allowed to worship the baby Jebus like her peers comes palpably through the piece, it must have been horrible.

[rug]

11. Thanks for your input.

[Fumesucker]

12. I could hear the "But Dad! All the *other* kids are doing it" all the way from here in the future

I said it as a kid, listened to it as a parent and now I'm hearing grandkids say the same damn thing.

Most of us get over it and don't hold it against our parents.

[beam me up scottie]

16. LMAO!!!

Aw, rug has a sadz, he scours the internets relentlessly for articles like this and you ruined it without even trying.

[rug]

17. Did you have a problem, bmus?

I'd be happy to disabuse you of your unwarranted assumptions.

[beam me up scottie]

18. Apparently someone does, that definition of "personal attack" is pretty lame:

Better luck next time!

AUTOMATED MESSAGE: Results of your Jury Service

Mail Message
On Sun Sep 27, 2015, 08:22 PM an alert was sent on the following post:

LMAO!!!
http://www.democraticunderground.com/?com=view_post&forum=1218&pid=213496

REASON FOR ALERT

This post is disruptive, hurtful, rude, insensitive, over-the-top, or otherwise inappropriate.

ALERTER'S COMMENTS

This is cute. Pops into a thread for the sole purpose of making a personal attack on another member.

You served on a randomly-selected Jury of DU members which reviewed this post. The review was completed at Sun Sep 27, 2015, 08:45 PM, and the Jury voted 1-6 to LEAVE IT.

Juror #1 voted to LEAVE IT ALONE
Explanation: No explanation given
Juror #2 voted to HIDE IT
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Juror #3 voted to LEAVE IT ALONE
Explanation: The post is kind of a non sequitur, but I don't think it's really hide-worthy.
Juror #4 voted to LEAVE IT ALONE
Explanation: mild comment considering the agenda of the article
Juror #5 voted to LEAVE IT ALONE
Explanation: stop alert stalking BMUS.
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Thank you very much for participating in our Jury system, and we hope you will be able to participate again in the future.

[Warren Stupidity]

20. Well he did find one person to go along with his nonsense.

Which is unfortunate, but it is what it is.

[beam me up scottie]

21. Some folks aren't familiar with rug's posting history.

And it's possible he has a friend here.

[rug]

24. You have it backwards again.

Give my regards to juror # 5.

[rug]

26. What nonense is that, warren?

[rug]

25. Now that I have your atterntion, explain #16, scottie.

Or is all you've got meta and wingmen?

Go on, show some integrity and state it directly.

[Goblinmonger]

32. What I really like is the "go ahead and state it clearly" BS.

Like it isn't clear that he wants another shot a jury in the hopes that all his friends get seated.

[Warren Stupidity]

34. Desperation.

[rug]

38. You should take up knitting to accompany your clucking.

[rug]

37. Your preference is indirect, obliqes passive-aggression isn't it.

As you just demonstrated.

[AtheistCrusader]

22. Juror #4 gets it.

[orpupilofnature57]

3. He was right in his concern, Jesus was a believer in Separation of C&S, we are Free to not

impelled or subjected by any agent of the government, no matter what department or level . Many people are brought up in a non religious households and some become Christians, many are brought up in Christian households and leave religion as soon as they can, being Spiritual and religious aren't always synonymous .

[immoderate]

6. All kinda stream of consciousness...

Sort of rambling.

--imm

[Cartoonist]

14. I did something bad on acid

I drove my car. I was lucky no one was hurt.
I won't say I saw God, but I kept experiencing this sensation of cosmic enlightenment. Again and again the world would reveal itself to me in a looping pattern of colored lights and harmonic sounds.
Turns out I was driving around the block with the radio on.

[rug]

15. Glad you're okay.

LSD led Timothy Leary to form the League for Spiritual Discovery in Millbrook, New York.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/League_for_Spiritual_Discovery

[AlbertCat]

19. But Something Completely Unexpected Turned Me Into a Believer

Opportunism?

"Dream interpretation and analysis, out-of-body and near-death experiences, tarot cards, crystals, ghosts, power animals and hallucinogenic drugs were my favorite topics."

Jesus....what a flake!

A 12 hour acid trip??? Did she take the whole 4 way hit?

This is the stupidest thing I've read since the last thread in this group.

[Goblinmonger]

23. Well the healine is written like buzzfeed clickbait

and it doesn't get muck better after that.

[Rob H.]

28. Which is exactly why it got reposted here nt

[rug]

31. Are you claiming psychic abilities?

[BlueJazz]

27. Sounds like the person in the article/story is still lost.

[DetlefK]

29. You cannot be "raised" as an atheist. You have to make the mental journey for yourself.

"There is no God because my daddy told me so."

An atheist can explain exactly how he came to the conclusion that there is no God. If you cannot give arguments for your stance that there is no God, then you are not an atheist.

[rug]

30. Her descriptions are very specific.

Do you think atheist parents can and do raise their children to be explicitly atheist?

[DetlefK]

35. I would do it this way:

"These are the claims, these are the facts. Now, what do you make of that?"

The difference is that atheism is no believe. In religion you are free to believe whatever you want and there is literally no argument that can change your believe against your will because religion exists outside the realm of logic. Religion isn't objective, it's entirely subjective.

But atheism rejects unlogic explanations and is therefore part of the realm of logic. Accordingly, you have to be able to hold your own with arguments if you are an atheist.

[rug]

36. I agree with that approach.

Religious education can use a similar approach. Such as,' "These are the teachings, and these are the reasons for it. Now, what do you make of that?"

What she's describing is something different. I wonder if that's common, uncommon or if the evidence is purely anecdotal.

[edhopper]

33. She had no real intellectual or critical basis for her atheism

but when she "just felt something" during an LSD trip, she was sure there was some form of God. Sounds like a typical believer.

[rug]

39. Yet she had to live it out as a child.

[Fumesucker]

40. If her parents had had the grace to "pass" as religious her life would have been better

Why would someone who is a member of hated subgroup choose to advertise that fact?

Clearly her parents were guilty of emotional abuse, making their child be seen as different and yes evil for no reason at all. Theists at least have the excuse that they believe they are commanded by their creator to abuse their children, atheists do not have that particular escape clause.

Her pain was quite evident in the piece as I already pointed out.

Thank God I was raised in a Christian household and didn't have to deal with the horror of my parents setting me up for a life of misery at the hands of my Godly peers.

[rug]

41. It's not a matter of "passing" at all.

Her parents explicitly had her live with their own explicit atheism.

[Fumesucker]

42. Of course it's about "passing"

If they had just shut up and attended church like everyone else their child would not be so damaged that as an adult she hasn't forgiven them and we wouldn't be discussing this article.

What skin would it be off their noses to just keep their opinion to themselves?

Why set yourself and your child up for hatred when all you have to do is not be an asshole and keep your unpopular views to yourself?

What if this went down in Saudi Arabia and the damn blabbermouth parents got them all crucified?