Well, this atheism is even more subtle. Jesus made it very clear that children have a built-in faith. He said "they that believe in him." He just took it for granted. You have to teach children atheism, and that`s the harm.
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All right, so don't indoctrinate your kids and just let their "natural" Xtianity show through.
What, you don't test your ideas against reality? i'm shocked.
I would say that children are born with an instinctive grasp of Plato's "Form of Good".
And it goes downhill from there. The more rabid the child's indoctrination, the more damage is done.
JasoNF , I'd like to see that happen.
Actually, you teach (intelligent) children atheism by shoving your horseshit down their throats.
Ask any recovering Catholic.
Wrong! Kids have to be taught to believe in a religion. If you don't teach them religion they won't be religious unless they become religious later in life.
That was my upbringing, nobody said much one way or another about religion to me, my parents were both atheists but they didn't dicuss the matter with me untill I asked them outright at the age of 8 or 9 or so, when they just said they didn't believe in god and that was the end of that discussion. I decided for myself that I don't believe in god at age 13 after I read about world religions and decided they were all nonsense.
What is subtle atheism?
Children are born atheists. People are taught to believe in religions. Nobody "sees Jesus" unless they have been previously taught about Jesus.
The harm is teaching children to believe in things which are not correct and to teach them that wishful thinking amounts to truth and that critical thinking is bad or unnecessary.
The context of this quote is even stupider, but it was far too long to succinctly submit.
Basically, this is from a transcript of a debate over the movie "The Golden Compass", whose original story was written by an admitted atheist. LaHaye admitted he's never read the book or seen the movie, but because it's written by an atheist, the sole purpose of the film must be to indoctrinate children into atheism. However, since no one could find any such attempt at indoctrination in the film, it's simply "subtle" indoctrination, which is even more dangerous.
Where did the mythical Jesus say that? And how do you know what that vague quote means?
My parents never taught me atheism. In fact, the were shocked when I told them.
You're full of shit.
Actually, children can be muslims, christian, mormon, atheist...............depending what their parents teach them.
It's true, look at how children across the world pray to Jesus every day on their own... wait, you mean they don't? You mean they have to be told about Jesus and taught to believe before they start praying? But then Timmy's point makes no sense! Oh, then I guess it doesn't.
oh, wrong wrong wrongitty wrong! babies are born with no beliefs. none. they have to be TAUGHT to believe in teh big sky daddy (c). nobody ever hears "the voice of god," or sees images of the virgin mary in toast, or claims that jesus pushed them out of the way of an oncoming car who wasn't already TAUGHT to believe in that bullshit.
@flipper:
Now that you mention it...
No, probably not.
Also, how the hell do you go from "they that believe in him" to "all children have an innate belief in Jesus"?
Non-sequitur of the month?
"Jesus made it very clear that children have a built-in faith. He said "they that believe in him."
Chapter and verse, please?
Or did you just pull this Biblical "quote" out of your ass, like you did with the whole Rapture thing?
Well, this atheism is even more subtle. Jesus made it very clear that children have a built-in faith.
Really? Can you provide the bible verse where this is explicitly stated?
He said "they that believe in him."
That's it? "They" means "children" and the act of belief is assumed to be built in? This is horseshit.
He just took it for granted. You have to teach children atheism, and that`s the harm.
I was never taught atheism as a child. As a matter of fact, my family has been extremely christian and my atheism stemmed from the fact that I thought the entire religion was a pile of crap.
QED, bitch.
yeah, that's why i didn't know anything about religion until jr. high when i became best friends with a preacher's daughter. and why when my sister was 8 she asked me who "god" was and said people in her class were making fun of her for not being religious.
fsm bless my heathen parents.
As I recall I was atheist (though baptised) until I was about 6 since my parents have always been religious on occasion. At about 6 or so I had to start bible classes and all that junk. I believed it for a good while, then stopped, then noticed I was gay and got back into it hoping God could make me straight like all teh Christians say he can, then after a good 5 year run, give or take, of God not doing a damn thing to alter my sexuality no matter how I succumbed to Him I deduced that I was just being delusional and he was never there to begin with. My parents still can't understand why I'd be atheist though (ie. nobody taught me to be atheist -- quite the contrary).
I just want to mske something clear about what Dog did when he said what he said to his son, now I am black so I think I know what he said was racist, First of all when black people use the word nigga to each other it's a figure of speech, they use between each other. Now I believe it's a word that was made in the pass by white people towards black slaves and just black people in general. When white people say it, they say it with hate exprssively when they say "nigger" and that is just how Dog said it, He did't say it like he said he meet it to come out, like they use it in the Rap music, or the way black people use it among them selfs. What it all comes down to is it's a bad and mess up word white people have made up and it needs to be stop being said altogather, hell I still see it being used in movies on the TV, It's word that needs to be destored in everyones mind, White and Black people.
to be honest I hadn't realised just how venomous some of th US talk shows were until I read the whole transcript - really vicious.
I understand your 1st Amendment, and agree with its values, but why do the rightwingers and fundies use it with such licence?
Atheism is simply a lack of belief in gods, goddesses and other deities. It's pretty straight-forward, not particularly subtle.
Children have a built in sense of wonder. That's why it's easy to teach them fantasy stories with magical gods in them...
You definitely have to teach children religion, dearie; atheism is the default.
Where's the harm in not believing in gods?
Confused?
So were we! You can find all of this, and more, on Fundies Say the Darndest Things!
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