So my very Catholic parents found out I am a Atheist last night.
Today they went to church and I quietly refused but of course they made a scene in front of my siblings as to warn them that all poor sinners like me will go to hell and then they kicked me out of the house during the time they were at church. Then the real kicker comes here. They picked me up Chinese and took the bag up to my room. On the bag was a note saying"Here’s some food. Please thank the Good Lord, As my family and I do every Day" I did not know that the Lord feeds my hunger. I thought they did. Some people do not want to spend their lives kissing the ass of a fake entity. They might be completely happy ignoring science and living in ignorance trying to achieve a afterlife of dripping creme and honey, but I am not. I will not waste my time going to church and talking all about some God’s greatness. They should be tolerant of my views as I am tolerant of theirs. :smack:
Good for you, but if you’re living in their house, it might serve you to play along. Once you’re out on your own, then you can buy your own note-free Chinese food.
Let me guess…you’re either a teenager or early twenties, living at home sponging off your parents. Probably wear all black clothes, various piercings, maybe some tattoos, and you’ve never held a job or accomplished anything meaningful in the short time you’ve been alive.
Get off your ass, get a job, and make your own living. Then you can set your own rules. Otherwise, quit whining on the internet and go apologize to your parents. And get a haircut.
“I don’t know the key to success, but the key to failure is trying to please everybody.”
Bill Cosby
Why sell my self out trying to please them?
Because they’re putting a roof over your head and food in your belly, you ungrateful little shit.
Man, you guys are a tough crowd. I don’t know how old the OP is, but if he’s underage, “moving out and getting a job” won’t add up to much more than getting picked up as a runaway. There isn’t a ton you can do about being young.
I’ll go out on a limb here and say that your parents freaking out, making a scene and then attempt to guilt you for not believing what they believe is not right. Of course, if it is their house, food, and cash you are soaking up, they don’thave to be right. It is up to you to put a value on a relationship with your parents and decide if it would hurt more to be yourself and lose what they provide or to rub some blue mud in your belly button for the sake of domestic harmony (a good life lesson to learn) and go through the motions until you leave home.
If it happened today, they’re probably angry at Jesus over the whole Tim Tebow fiasco. Let them blow off their steam, and come to grips about Jesus’ wisdom as concerns Tim Tebow as a shitty NFL quarterback. Now is not the time to make waves. ( unless you are a hell of a quarterback.)
Ouch. Harsh.
Sean, how old are you? What’s your situation of employment/education?
I’m 36 and my parents still don’t know how to handle my non-belief. I think they think they are always respectful enough, but that doesn’t stop them from treating me as if I’m just a prayer away from coming back to the flock. They’re never going to stop with the Jesus talk around me.
You have done anything wrong. They should be proud that you are brave enough to stand up for your convictions, rather than bending to the social pressure around and pretending you are someone you are not. I did this when I was a teenager, and I cringe at my weakness and stupidity. So kudos to you.
Exactly. There’s a lot to be said for cultivating tolerance of other attitudes and beliefs especially when that’s what you expect of yours. I know that what’s being expected is more than passive tolerance, but that’s also what’s going to be expected of you at work and in social situations where you are trying to network and develop contacts. You don’t necessarily have to feign believe or acceptance but knowing what the minimally acceptable lip service you need to pay in any given situation - any being able to do it graciously - will be important, so you may as well start practicing now.
I’m a senior in high school , in the Army reserve, work part time and have a car.
You’ll have a very different perspective on things when you grow up. The army will be good for you.
It would also be interesting to discover how the parents “found out” that the OP was an atheist.
Was it a case of the OP approaching them in a calm manner, explaining that he or she had thought through various teachings of the church, compared them to his or her life experience or other sources of information, and then saying “I am sorry, but I simply cannot profess a belief in a religion that has these contradictions/logical inconsistencies/harmful teachings/whatever”?
Or was it a case of the typical parent/teen confrontation on some totally unrelated topic during which time, in the “heat of battle,” the OP declared “I AM AN ATHEIST AND I DON’T BELIEVE YOUR STUPID RELIGION!”
Now. I disagree with the actions of the parents as described. I don’t think anyone can be compelled to believe anything and I do not think that anyone should attempt to compel a belief in anything. Punishing a child for the typical conflicts regading beliefs that arise in nearly all families is inappropriate.
OTOH, I am singularly unimpressed with the OP as a rant, giving it a 5.5, mostly on the basis of good expression of angst. (Being a teen, of course, he or she has an unlimited wellspring of angst, but I will not deduct points for that.)
I’m guessing that the OP is underaged as well. But like the others have said, he needs to suck it up until he is able to move to somewhere better suited for his tastes.
To the OP, you don’t have to suck it up and eat their food and live under their roof. You can just leave and live on the streets. You don’t need to worry about being picked up as a runaway, cops tend to ignore homeless teenagers. Actually, everyone tends to not look at teenagers on the street and once you get dirty and your clothes are ripped, everyone will ignore you no matter how old you are.
I’ve lived on the streets, so my advice is to use the money your parents have given you to buy a car. You can sleep there. Do steal blankets from your parents, you will need them. If you can manage to get a job at a food retail place, you will probably get a meal out of them at least once a day. Stay in school, you can shower during gym classes.
Also, when you can, park your car next to a big building. It helps to keep you warm in the middle of the night. Gas is expenisve, you probably won’t be able to afford to run your heater when it gets cold.
And, always ALWAYS keep your car registration paid. Yeah, it sucks to have to deal with the man, but cops pay more attention to registration than they do to homeless kids.
I’m an atheist and when my daughter was six, she decided Catholicism was a really neat religion, so I I took her to mass (yawn), found a nice old lady to be her godmother, took to get baptized, first-communioned, etc. And when she grew away from it as a teen that was cool too. She’s in her twenties now and studies Buddhism.
Because, perhaps you’ll agree, to love someone is to respect their evolving convictions.
I’ll listen to any ideology on a note if I’m getting free chinese food out of it
It’s still kind of crappy to drag your kid into church when he’s made it clear he doesn’t like it. Good parents don’t force religion on their kids.
Far better advice. It’s probably better to just keep your mouth shut and put up with them now. My atheist husband was forced into church as a kid and just mocked them in his head. You can have your beliefs later in college or when you move out permanently. You just may have to accept they might be angry over it and there’s nothing you can do about it.
My brother was mad at me and he told them(he is young). Plus I would think they might have had a clue from me skipping church for a year and not engaging in their Sunday afternoon Bible studies. They asked me that night if I am a atheist and I replied yes then I kinda just walked away. I really do not argue with them honestly.(I am typing from phone sorry in advance)
Wow, this is some harsh medicine for our young teen. He doesn’t want to go to church, he doesn’t believe and he doesn’t want to lie about it. Jesus would approve. Assuming he treats others with love and respect. You guys are a bunch of jerks. This is normal growing up stuff.
Being a Catholic, what is he supposed to do? Go to mass and take communion? Only believers are supposed to do that.