Reply #5: Very nicely done! [View All]

[Warpy]

I know my parents were disgusted with me when I announced I didn't believe a word of it and would never set foot in a church again except for weddings and funerals, but it just became a subject we never discussed.

I never used the "A" word to them. They just knew I'd walked away from the Irish Catholic church. I think that really hurt them at the time and I'm a little sad about that, but there was no way I could continue to play the game.

Both my parents died unbelievers. My mother flatly tuned down last rites because she said she didn't want to die that big a hypocrite. My dad told me two weeks before his death that he no longer believed "all that Sunday school crap."

The "guilt bombs" you so aptly described are what trap people in that "afraid not to believe" mindset that I honestly think most believers are in. After all, many will give up part of their family and friends if they come out as unbelievers and all will give up the community they find in their churches. It's too much for some people and compassion dictates I allow them whatever illusions they need to keep.