Can Atheists Be Parents?

nhboy

nhboy

Ubi bene ibi patria
"After six years of childless marriage, John and Cynthia Burke of Newark decided to adopt a baby boy through a state agency. Since the Burkes were young, scandal-free and solvent, they had no trouble with the New Jersey Bureau of Children's Services—until investigators came to the line on the application that asked for the couple's religious affiliation."

Can Atheists Be Parents? - TIME
 
K

Kain99

Guest
Just to play devil's advocate:

How effective can a parent be, if he believes in nothing?
 
H

Hules

Curly locks!
Atheists can be parents. They face difficulty when it comes time to explain death to a child. No child wants to know that when they die, they'll rot in the ground. Believing in a higher power provides that comfort of a better place after death.
 
mAlice

mAlice

professional daydreamer
Dye Tied said:
Atheists don't believe in nothing. They just don't believe what organized religion says.
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Actually, we pretty much believe in nothing, if referring to some sort of diety. I believe if I raise my child with honesty, she will learn honesty. If I raise her with integrity, she will learn integrity... I believe if I put in 40 hours at work, I'll get a check for that 40 hours, after uncle sam gets his cut. I believe if I treat my friends well, I will have good friends. I believe that some time during the winter, it will get cold...and I won't be able to find my gloves.
 
smoothmarine187

smoothmarine187

Well-Known Member
Kain99 said:
Can you really have a moral compass with no foundation?

Devil*
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Why do you have believe in god to have morals? I know what is right and wrong. I'm sure back in the day, when they were making laws they had no way of enforcing them, so what better way to do it then to tell people that they would go to hell.
 
mAlice

mAlice

professional daydreamer
smoothmarine187 said:
Why do you have believe in god to have morals? I know what is right and wrong. I'm sure back in the day, when they were making laws they had no way of enforcing them, so what better way to do it then to tell people that they would go to hell.
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One doesn't, but for some reason that keeps coming up. As if believing in a god automatically gives one a moral ethic, which it doesn't.
 
smoothmarine187

smoothmarine187

Well-Known Member
mAlice said:
One doesn't, but for some reason that keeps coming up. As if believing in a god automatically gives one a moral ethic, which it doesn't.
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It seems to me that most people who beilieve in god think that it is ok to commit sins as long as they go to church and pray for forgiveness.
 
Dye Tied

Dye Tied

Garden Variety Gnome
Kain99 said:
Can you really have a moral compass with no foundation?

Devil*
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Of course. Why do you need a church when you have your own mind to decide your morals? Can't you decide for yourself what you believe morally and teach your children that?
 
mAlice

mAlice

professional daydreamer
Dye Tied said:
Of course. Why do you need a church when you have your own mind to decide your morals? Can't you decide for yourself what you believe morally and teach your children that?
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People who like to point out the transgressions of others seem conveniently forget about their own.
 
mAlice

mAlice

professional daydreamer
smoothmarine187 said:
It seems to me that most people who beilieve in god think that it is ok to commit sins as long as they go to church and pray for forgiveness.
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Yes, that is how it seems to be. They feel fine as long as they feel they've been forgiven by an imaginary diety, regardless of how they messed up someone else's life. They need to remember that being forgiven by their imaginary friend does not take away the hurt or problems associated with the very human actions.
 
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