Lately, having been around my incredibly Christian family more, and being forced to attend anything relating to Jesus, I've noticed that many Christians seem to be very preoccupied with the wickedness of the world. However, the things they find wicked... aren't even that wicked, or not wicked AT ALL. That's just my opinion.
I attend a southern baptist church with a population of maybe twenty people when there's free food offered. Every Sunday, the elders of the church (which is the majority of the church) will say a prayer for America and sometimes even start bawling like they just lost a child.
Here are the "Sins" they cry over:
1.)Obama. That's right. He's a sin. Let God impeach him.
2.)Liberals. How dare they want equal policies for everyone.
3.)Homosexuality. It's no different than having an addiction to lying or stealing, according to my family.
4.)Atheism, or simply not being a Christian. Recently, I listened to one of my teachers at school talk about how she wasn't sure what atheists believed. Lack of belief in the only God, the Christian God, is incomprehensible to her.
5.)Gender equality. Just yesterday, my mom told me that I really shouldn't be a politician because my job is to have babies.
6.)The supposed War on Christmas. Apparently, everyone has to celebrate things a certain way. I get scolded for saying Happy Holidays. Which I say out of respect to anyone who may not celebrate Christmas.
7.)Not forcing public prayer. This one really gets me heated. Everyone must pray to a certain God, even if they perceive him as imaginary.
8.)Promiscuous girls. Double standards and an important thing to most Christians, and are clearly seen in the bible.
9.)Not eating meat. This one is a weird one, but since apparently God gave us authority or the animals, we have to eat them.
10.)Skepticism. The biggest sin of them all. Science/reason/questioning is the work of Satan.
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My mom's preacher can't get through a lesson without etting torn up about how homosexuals and people who don't believe in God are somehow ruining America.
According to my mom, the only reason people are gay now is because it's more accepted, and if we just had prayer in schools, there would be no school shootings.
Which is a very dumb way of perceiving things, considering no matter how many people get together to pray for kids in deprived countries, they still suffer immensely compared to American kids.
Sloth;
You think very clearly.
Keep on keeping on, and don't let your family or fellow church people sway you from your path.
You're doing incredibly well for a person in your position and I salute you for it.
Please keep us updated on your tribulations and your exemplary resistance to pressure.
I, for one, will always try to support you.
Thank you!! :)
I told my mother the other day that she was my creator. I told her that a decision she made resulted in her carrying me for nine months as well as looking after me for eighteen years and to say that god created me is very much like when I used to work at Domino's Pizza. If you came in and ordered a pizza on Tuesday night when I was filling orders, stood on the other side of the plexi-glass while I stretched the dough, applied the sauce, sorted the toppings, put it in the oven, took it out of the oven, cut it up, closed the box and handed it to you, then you looked me right in the eye and said "I'm going to enjoy this pizza so much because Jesus made it" then I would look at you with a smile and make some one else build your pizza the next time you came in so I won't have to deal with you. Apparently reason doesn't apply to a theists world. Hang in there, you'll be making your own decisions soon.
Sloth--- I don't know if I could get through any of that without losing my cool. I understand your situation (not being quite old enough to get out of the situation you are in) as recently, I was having to stay for a period of time with my wife's family due to economic hardship. They are total cuckoo right wing evangelicals (sorry to offend). Fortunately, I found a decent job and was able to move the hell away from them in a different state. Little did they know that their worldview is one of the factors which finally led me to unbelief. I couldn't take the hypocrisy and stupid any longer. So, I empathize with you in regards to the incredible cognitive dissonance you must be experiencing.
I'm finding this form to be a good thing as it seems to be a safe haven for nonbelievers so they are able to regain a sense of sanity. I personally feel isolated as an atheist since pretty much everyone I am surrounded by (family, wife, fiends, coworkers neighbors) are believers in one way or another and, my viewpoint is very alien and, threatening to them. Arguing with them is pointless because they will not change their minds but, neither will I. They also know better than to argue with me since my background is in philosophy and theology.
Judging by what you are presenting as your worldview, given your present life situation, it seems to me that you are pretty bright for a 16 year old. With that, I'd like to offer you a couple of points. First, how do you define sin? I can tell you from the Catholic view that sin is defined as "a willful act against god". I personally feel that the notion of sin is total bullshit which finds it origins in the book of Genesis which I can show to be a collection of plagiarized myths "borrowed" from the ancient Babylonians. Anyway, if what you have listed are considered "sins" by your church then, everything except number 9 is a logical fallacy based on the definition of sin. The are all nouns not actions. Of course, this list looks conspicuously like a right wing agenda, LOL! Know that all churches subjectively list and, demonize things they are against based on the local cultural milieu. Any list of "sins" that were objective in nature would look so completely different since they would have given to all people by a god of all who would have went out of his way to make himself known around the world with no ambiguity. The first step in debate is to know the opposition's argument the best you can. Then you'll have the ammunition to use to blow it out of the water.
Second, you mention that it is "just your opinion" that you don't find these things either as wicked or, not wicked. You can show objectively that their is nothing wrong any of these things and, therefore, show they are not sin. We would have to treat each one individually and that would take a lot of time and writing. You have the cognitive dissonance eating away at you so I know you have a thirst for answers and the truth. Important to the notion of sin is "free will". There is no such thing for a human being. The best that we can do is volition with numerous determining factors which limit our ability to choose. Here's a few things to read: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Free_will ; http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Problem_of_evil. Knowledge is not only power but, religion's enemy. Knowing this stuff will help you argue back when the time comes. Good luck and thanks for your post. Anything I can help you with, let me know.
(Working my way back through older posts, I found this one)
Absolutley mind boggling.
As I see it, there is just one thing to do: Get out!
If it were me, I would plan how to get out of there while waiting for the time to come. Until then keep my head down, and don't speak up too much. And I would not mention the intention to escape.
That's exactly why I don't attend church. Even while visiting family. I politely decline to attend.
I would end up laughing at everything that was said. And probably fall asleep during the sermon. I used to do that a lot as a child/teen.
Also, this is why I hope my family keeps the TV off while I'm there visiting. They worship Fox News almost as much as they do their god.
Hang in there, I know exactly what you're going through. I also grew up in a strict Christian home and was not allowed (I wish I could underline that... I was not ALLOWED) to think any differently or have an opinion about it. Speaking any sort of disbelief was enough to get me prayer for an hour the following Sunday (true story, I wanted to kill myself afterwards). My parents were firm that I wouldn't be able to have an opinion until I was 18. The first Sunday after my 18th birthday, my dad came to wake me up for church. I told I didn't want to go, turned over and went back to sleep. The happiest day of my teenage years. Shortly after that, I had a sit down with my parents and broke the news that I wasn't going to follow Christianity anymore. My dad's response was hilarious; "Yes you are, you just don't know it yet." And my mother just shook her head, "We did the best we could..." Just thinking about that day made me chuckle. It'll get better afterwards too. If your family is anything like mine, initially you'll deal with them thinking that you're just acting out and they'll label you an attention whore. And after a while, reality will sink in and they'll learn to accept it wasn't just a phase.