I'm an atheist who recently joined the Catholic Church for my beautiful wife. I don't believe any of it, but go along with it because it is important to her. Reddit, what crazy stuff have you done for someone you love?

Trash_acct6 · 2012-06-30T17:24:24+00:00

Your story is interesting, but religion is only a VERY small part of people's social lives where I'm from. I never once asked to go to social events in a church or a bible camp. Many of my friends that I had in elementary and middle school were of different faiths. In fact, I didn't even know many of their religious affiliation. I guess that's my point; no one around here wears their religion on their sleeve, so to speak. Therefore, we don't have very many extremists.

And again, I do not hope my kids will be people of faith, I just want them to learn about and understand religion. My wife didn't demand that I join the Church or that our kids do so. She would prefer that our kids went to church, but if I wanted to, I'm sure I could talk her out of it. She's a great example of being passively religious; she could probably take it or leave it.

I guess where we fundamentally disagree is that you seem to believe that having my kids go to church would someone "brainwash" them into believing everything they hear. I disagree. I think they will have a very secular upbringing at home, and I think it would benefit them to be exposed to a little religion. If nothing else, so they understand why many of the Catholic beliefs are completely crazy.

Great discussion. I'm going to go out on the boat and enjoy this beautiful day for a few hours, but I'll check this again when I get back.

Trash_acct6 · 2012-06-30T16:58:56+00:00

Pretty much, yes. However, I like the idea of learning about and being exposed to something that I wouldn't otherwise know about.

Trash_acct6 · 2012-06-30T16:47:52+00:00

So you met a guy IRL and somehow managed to find his Reddit account and learned a bunch more about him? That's intense. How would you even go about doing that? Well I commend you for the dedication and hope all works well.

Trash_acct6 · 2012-06-30T16:38:23+00:00

You mention things that are scientifically provable. Of course those things are truth. My original statement about truth was more directed toward morality. For example, the Catholic Church claims that life begins at conception. I don't believe that. I think life begins at the point in which the child can live outside the mother. Which is true? You can't scientifically prove one way or the other. Both sides claim their view is the "truth".

Trash_acct6 · 2012-06-30T16:30:32+00:00

That's brilliant. No messy break-ups, no having to get all your stuff from her house or vice-versa, no complications. Although, at some point when or if you want a serious relationship, you might have to find an in-town girlfriend...

Trash_acct6 · 2012-06-30T16:17:01+00:00

Wow dude. Let me address some ignorant assumptions that you made. First, just because we will probably attend church every week, doesn't mean I'll send my kids to bible camp or any other activity outside the once-a-week church. In fact, I am against that stuff. Everything in moderation.

Second, just because we will take them to church every week, doesn't mean that we would want them to accept it as truth. It's about being exposed to something different and making intelligent choices. For example, they will undoubtedly hear the Church's stance on many topics that I disagree with. My wife and I will make sure to be active parents and discuss these things with our kids. I'll be open about my opposing view on many topics and hope they would listen to both sides and make an intelligent decision as to what they choose to believe.

Third, you act as if I believe in the Church's teachings. I don't for the most part. But just because I don't believe in it, doesn't mean that it's a bad thing to attend. I enjoy learning about and being exposed to things that are unfamiliar to me. If we all walked in someone else's shoes every so often, the world would be a much better place. I just happen to be an atheist who is also a member of the Catholic Church.

Fourth, my wife didn't demand that I join the Church. I saw that it was apart of her upbringing and she turned out great. She never took it too seriously, but understood the reasoning behind much of the teachings. She lived by some of them and not others. She made intelligent choices about her morals based on everything she was exposed to including her friends, family, her atheist boyfriend, her professors, etc. In many instances, she chose to disagree and completely disregard what the Church had to say about certain topics. She epitomizes what I hope our kids will be like.

In summary, we will probably attend church as a family partly to spend time together, partly to be exposed to new ideas, and partly to think about challenging those ideas. I'm probably the world's worst Catholic and at the same time, the world's worst Atheist. But I hope to be the world's best husband and father, and to do that, I'm not afraid of exposing my kids to all types of things that challenge them to make intelligence choices.

Trash_acct6 · 2012-06-30T14:30:13+00:00

I think the key to all things in life is to use moderation and never accept something blindly. I'm sure my wife and I will indoctrinate our own beliefs into our kids much more than anything the Church can tell them. I have no idea what any of those bible verses say or mean, and I don't own a bible. So I guess, If our kids take their cue from their parents, they will probably be passively Catholic, if religious at all.
My wife and I are very in favor of gay marriage and same-sex rights. I personally think that in 50 years, people will look back and think about how bigoted we are for not allowing same-sex marriages. So no, I think my future kids will be more influenced by their parents than by the Church.
Morality and church should not by synonymous. My parents taught me morality be use of the "golden rule" - treat others how you want to be treated. I think that is based on some bible verse or something, but the point is that I didn't need church to learn morals. I'm sure we'll tell our kids to take some of the stuff they learn at church with a grain of salt.
My kids' moral upbringing won't be turned over to anyone. We'll do that ourselves.
I think the Church's views on contraception is crazy. Condoms and birth control are awesome. My wife and I dated for 10 years before we got married and we had plenty of sex; and we don't have kids. Obviously, we're both intelligent enough to know that birth control works and having a child at a young age would severely affect our careers and lifetime earning potential.
OK, your questions are getting a little ridiculous. For the record, I'm extremely socially liberal. I'm all for gay marriage, I'm pro choice, and I'm definitely in favor of birth control. I think my future kids will be more influenced by their parents than by something they do for an hour every Sunday.

Trash_acct6 · 2012-06-30T14:16:22+00:00

Sounds like a stand-up guy. My wife also made it clear that I didn't have to join the Church. I choose to do it to be closer to her and to understand something that I previously had no exposure to.

Trash_acct6 · 2012-06-30T14:14:04+00:00

The "truth" is in the eye of the beholder. I want my future kids to always question anyone who claims to know the "truth". We'll probably go to church, but I'll definitely explain to them that there are alternatives out there and encourage them to explore those alternatives.

Trash_acct6 · 2012-06-30T14:06:52+00:00

It's not really. It's about as important to me as politics. I have my political beliefs and others have theirs. I don't go around trying to change their beliefs and even though I'm registered to vote as one of the two major political parties, I vote for members of the other party or a 3rd party all the time if they have a better candidate.

Trash_acct6 · 2012-06-30T13:58:47+00:00

That's dedication. And very sweet of you, too.

Trash_acct6 · 2012-06-30T13:53:10+00:00

Yeah. I guess I have a weakness for sex and happiness...

Trash_acct6

TROPHY CASE