WA state atheist on HuffPo--giver her some clicks!

[eridani]

I’ve been invited to blog on the living section of the Huffington Post. My first post was put up this evening. The more people click on the link the longer it will stay up, the more comments it will get, and the more likely to move to the front page for a little while. Could you do me the favor of clicking on the link? This will help me to build a readership.

Thanks!
Valerie


http://www.huffingtonpost.com/valerie-tarico/when-leaving-jesus-means-_b_92442.html

[goddess40]

1. Great article

We do have issues in our family because my sister's a fundy but she likes to stick her hand in my mothers purse so she stays connected to us. She warns her children about their evil going to hell auntie so they worry about me not "loving the lord". I just grin and bear it and let the kids know that my door will always be open to them.

[trotsky]

2. Very nice.

I was lucky in that my official abandonment of Xianity didn't happen until I was in college, so it just never came up. I feel so badly for the kids who have to go through this shunning, whether they are dropping religion or realizing they are gay. And my heart just breaks for those who do both.

[YankeyMCC]

3. I wasnt' vocal about my atheism until I was an adult

I haven't been exactly shunned but it's been difficult and it's a scary thought to consider what would've happened if I was vocal about it earlier in my life. I think a lot of people who decide to start talking about it don't realize the type of reaction they're going to get from the people in their lives.

I know I underestimated what the reaction from my family would be.

[trotsky]

4. I still haven't spoken directly about it with any of my extended family.

They're not fundies by any stretch, and most are Democrats, but their faith is very important to them and I know it bugs a lot of them that we haven't baptized our kids. (I think they're trying to convince themselves that it's because my wife was Baptist, and that EVENTUALLY our kids will get the dunking, but of course she's an atheist too so it ain't gonna happen.)

[Warpy]

5. Very nicely done!

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.

[frogmarch]

6. Great job!

I sent the link to your article to my grown kids, the only atheists I know besides my husband.

[progressoid]

7. Yes, very nice article.

I especially liked the choice of Matthew 10:34-36 at the beginning. :thumbsup:

[cynatnite]

8. My family would see it as a rejection of their religion...

it would be very painful for them. That's basically what I said in the comments section.

You really nailed it when you discussed the emotional turmoil many of us deal with.

[immoderate]

9. Congratulations! I added a comment.

Looks like you got some business there.

--IMM