How to raise an atheist in seven easy steps

[Turdacious]

That is a discussion from Justin L. Barrett’s new and interesting Born Believers: The Science of Children’s Religious Belief. He gives more than equal time to how to raise your child to be religious, but we’re already pretty good at that. Here are his atheism tips, noting that I am excerpting and paraphrasing:

1. Have less-than-average fluency in reasoning about minds.

2. Do not have children.

3. Stay safe.

4. Get in the habit of crediting or blaming humans for whatever you can.

5. Learn to like pseudoagents (including abstractions).

6. Take time to reflect.

7. Add to these factors indoctrination of the young against religion.

http://marginalrevolution.com/marginalr ... heist.html

[Kazuya Mishima]

Here's a great tip that I'll give you for free...

If you have the choice between an atheist and a Catholic priest taking your young son on an overnight camping trip, and you'd really hate for him to get felt up or fucked...let the godless heretic take him...odds are better.

[Blaidd Drwg]

Bullshit.

Quickest way to develop an atheist make a kid read the Bible cover to cover. You'll have an atheist by the end of Job... In Psalms, David will do some good work dragging him back. Once he gets to Ezekiel it's all downhill until John. Some wavering will ensue in the horse latitudes that is the Jesus Myth but by the time he rolls through Revelations, not only do you have an atheist, the kid will definitely want to experiment with hallucinogens.

[Turdacious]

Bullshit.

Quickest way to develop an atheist make a kid read the Bible cover to cover. You'll have an atheist by the end of Job... In Psalms, David will do some good work dragging him back. Once he gets to Ezekiel it's all downhill until John. Some wavering will ensue in the horse latitudes that is the Jesus Myth but by the time he rolls through Revelations, not only do you have an atheist, the kid will definitely want to experiment with hallucinogens.

I've never read the Bible while rolling. How does that change the experience?

[Turdacious]

Here's a great tip that I'll give you for free...

If you have the choice between an atheist and a Catholic priest taking your young son on an overnight camping trip, and you'd really hate for him to get felt up or fucked...let the godless heretic take him...odds are better.

Thank you for illustrating points one and four. I doubt most normal people would let a non family member take their son on a camping trip. But your theories of parenting are interesting.

[Pinky]

Here's a great tip that I'll give you for free...

If you have the choice between an atheist and a Catholic priest taking your young son on an overnight camping trip, and you'd really hate for him to get felt up or fucked...let the godless heretic take him...odds are better.

Thank you for illustrating points one and four. I doubt most normal people would let a non family member take their son on a camping trip. But your theories of parenting are interesting.

That explains why the Boy Scouts of America no longer exists.

[Turdacious]

Here's a great tip that I'll give you for free...

If you have the choice between an atheist and a Catholic priest taking your young son on an overnight camping trip, and you'd really hate for him to get felt up or fucked...let the godless heretic take him...odds are better.

Thank you for illustrating points one and four. I doubt most normal people would let a non family member take their son on a camping trip. But your theories of parenting are interesting.

That explains why the Boy Scouts of America no longer exists.

Most parents of Boy Scouts don't let their kids go on camping trips alone with the scoutmaster.

[Pinky]

No, but most of them are letting their sons go camping with non-family members.

Anyway, back to the topic at hand, how are we defining atheist?

[Thud]

Tell him he'll get just as many Christmas presents whether he believes in Santa/Jesus or not.

[Turdacious]

Tell him he'll get just as many Christmas presents whether he believes in Santa/Jesus or not.

Try to understand point number six.

[Blaidd Drwg]

Turd you've never read the damn thing rolling or otherwise.

Continue to enjoy your Aquinas or How I learned to love the delusional ramblings of desert death cults.

[Turdacious]

No, but most of them are letting their sons go camping with non-family members.

Anyway, back to the topic at hand, how are we defining atheist?

Atheism is, in a broad sense, the rejection of belief in the existence of deities.[1] In a narrower sense, atheism is specifically the position that there are no deities.[2][3] Most inclusively, atheism is simply the absence of belief that any deities exist.[3][4]

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Atheism

[Thud]

Tell him he'll get just as many Christmas presents whether he believes in Santa/Jesus or not.

Try to understand point number six.

Well it's axiomatic that if you deprive them of the opportunity to think they'll accept whatever you foist on them. Oh, and promising eternal hell if they don't believe is one such deprivation of thought.

[Kazuya Mishima]

No, but most of them are letting their sons go camping with non-family members.

Complete and utter ownage.

[Pinky]

No, but most of them are letting their sons go camping with non-family members.

Anyway, back to the topic at hand, how are we defining atheist?

Atheism is, in a broad sense, the rejection of belief in the existence of deities.[1] In a narrower sense, atheism is specifically the position that there are no deities.[2][3] Most inclusively, atheism is simply the absence of belief that any deities exist.[3][4]

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Atheism

So there are multiple definitions of the term "atheist", roughly depending on where you draw the agnostic/atheist line. I imagine that raising a kid to actively believe there are no gods is different from raising a kid to not have any belief about gods.

[Testiclaw]

Atheism isn't necessarily the belief that there are no gods, it can also simply be expressed as realizing there exists no suitable scientific evidence that supports the existence of said gods.

There's a very large distinction between the two. Note that it also requires a competent understanding of how science "works" (in terms of evidence, hypotheses, testing, peer-reviewing, etc.).

[Jonny Canuck]

I am an atheist and my wife is a Lutheran. We have a 12 month old baby girl. It will be interesting to hear what she believes in 10, 15, 20 years.
Wife goes to church a couple times a year and I imagine she will take our daughter to church down the road. I will not be attending with them. As the father of a young girl I am quite concerned about the book of deuteronomy.

[Testiclaw]

As the father of a young girl I am quite concerned about the book of deuteronomy.

Just remember it is the infallible word of God...from which you can conveniently pick and choose what to follow.

[Fat Cat]

Why would you want to raise an atheist or a theist? Raise a human being who can be, and think for, themselves. My son is getting to the age where he asks about God and I always try to get him to cast his thoughts as big and as open as possible.

Psalm 82:6 I say, you are gods; you are all children of the Most High.

[Kraj 2.0]

Atheists hate religion because it holds them accountable. Everyone wants to believe that they're doing the best they can and are in the right. Few can accept the fact that they're worthless fuck-ups.

Find me an atheist who isn't neck-deep-up-his-own-ass full of himself. You'd have an easier time finding a Brazilian wax parlor in Kabul. Atheism is militant conceit, plain and simple.

[tough old man]

Just remember it is the infallible word of God...from which you can conveniently pick and choose what to follow.

LMAO

[Blaidd Drwg]

Atheists hate religion because it holds them accountable. .

Belief that this one life is all there is, represents the ultimate in self accountability.

[Testiclaw]

Atheists hate religion because it holds them accountable. .

Belief that this one life is all there is, represents the ultimate in self accountability.

Bingo.

We get one go-around on this planet, and are fortunate enough to exist at a time when 7 billion other people also exist, sharing our world, as well as a global environment and millions of species of various lifeforms.

We owe it to them (people, planet and life in general) to treat each other well. Accountability.

No religious deity required.

[Kraj 2.0]

Belief that this one life is all there is, represents the ultimate in self accountability.

Bingo.

We get one go-around on this planet, and are fortunate enough to exist at a time when 7 billion other people also exist, sharing our world, as well as a global environment and millions of species of various lifeforms.

We owe it to them (people, planet and life in general) to treat each other well. Accountability.

No religious deity required.

Your notions of social responsibility and universal love are the remnants of deistic thinking inherent in all human beings. Man, on the highest spiritual, mental, and physical level KNOWS there is a God. That Truth is emanating from our very being. That's why, despite your falling into disbelief and self-worship, at your core you know that you should love others, help them, and sacrifice for the greater good.

If one were to be a true atheist then all that mumbo-jumbo you were talking about is nonsense. If all there is is this one life to live and nothing more then all life is meaningless and all things are permitted. Love, hate, rape, kindness, murder, torture, charity... they all lead to the same place, a dead end. There's no reason to give a shit about anyone or anything if all there is at the end of the road for everyone is just nothingness, unless there is some immediate benefit to us personally.

For you to tell me that you really believe there isn't a God or a human soul yet you still live your life believing "We owe it to them (people, planet and life in general) to treat each other well" means you're either dishonest with yourself or you're a damn idiot. A true atheist -- someone who 110% believes in atheist philosophy -- could not be anything other than a cold-blooded narcissistic psychopath. To be anything other than that while still claiming you're an atheist just makes you a hypocrite.

[DrDonkeyLove]

I'm unsure of what's up with God but am certain that I have no faith in mankind.

I like Jesus, Buddah, and a few others putting a governor on our animal natures. We think that we're highly evolved, but that's because we're comparing ourselves to chimps and other beasts, not to something that is truly highly evolved.