Hi. I'm SHIN

[La Dolce Vita]

Because atheism is not a school, nor a philosophy, or a religion. It is possible he was brought up in a non-religious household but highly unlikely he was raised "to be an atheist". Most atheists are intelligent enough to understand science enough that their children would likewise have SOME intelligence to the point where reading a book completely devoid of common sense, reason or morality would set off the koo-koo alarm.

This one embraces it like he grew up brainwashed, which is what I suspect happened, or he has an ailment of another type. Reasonable inspection of the babble is all that is necessary for reasonable people to reject it. His blog reads like a cut and paste of everything he was brainwashed into. I doubt he could find his way out of a single room bathroom without a sign.

Atheism = Lack of belief in god(s). Being raised atheist = Being raised without belief in god(s). I doubt he was stating that he was raised with The God Delusion and daily prayers to our goddess Athe ...

[Plu]

There's a difference between being raised without a belief in god and being raised without religion. I wouldn't call "not mentioning religion until your kid asks you about it and then giving them a bible and saying 'see for yourself'" the same as telling them from a young age that religious people are dumb and gods aren't real.

The latter is being raised atheist, the former isn't.

[SHIN KAIRI]

Welcome. :)
Oh, and I see you were raised atheist, why did you happen to become a believer?

I never did a testimony as of yet in any forum but I have to say that recently I've thought about maybe doing it. If I do make one, I'll tell you. :-D

[SGOS]

Welcome. :)
Oh, and I see you were raised atheist, why did you happen to become a believer?

I never did a testimony as of yet in any forum but I have to say that recently I've thought about maybe doing it. If I do make one, I'll tell you. :-D

What is a testimony to you?

[SHIN KAIRI]

Well I don't think there is a difference between "raised atheist" and "raised without religion". But hey, if you some of you think there is, then... go at it :-D

To put it in a nutshell, I was raised to not care. It's not that I was an atheist or religious, I was neither. I just, didn't care.

[Plu]

Yeah, that's not being raised atheist anymore than your parents never raising you to play football is being raised "a-football-ist". Your parents simply didn't give you a religious upbringing. Atheism is the default you'll fall into, and the final stop for most people I know to have received that kind of upbringing.

[aitm]

To put it in a nutshell, I was raised to not care. It's not that I was an atheist or religious, I was neither. I just, didn't care.

I ain't buying it. Oh it's possible that your parents were complete morons, ignorant of all science, literature and common sense and thus you were raised to not "know" anything and then at some time some lovely girl (or boy) caught your eye and invited you to church where you, devoid of knowledge had your head filled with gobblygook that you thought was quite possible such as in "he rolled the sky up like a scroll"...makes perfect sense if the stars are little twinkly things just out of bow and arrow reach. Or that "one third of the stars fell to the earth" again possible if the stars are little spots just over the clouds. or that the moon is a light, possible if you have the education of a 1st grader. Or of course my favorite that within the bowels of a 7900 diameter planet is a flying lizard capable of gathering one third of all the stars of the heavens in it's tail and flinging them to earth...why jesus that MUST be possible and makes perfect sense ........if yer a retard.

[Davka]

Well I don't think there is a difference between "raised atheist" and "raised without religion". But hey, if you some of you think there is, then... go at it :-D

To put it in a nutshell, I was raised to not care. It's not that I was an atheist or religious, I was neither. I just, didn't care.

I can relate. I remember clearly asking my dad about god when I was around 10. His answer? "I don't know, I don't think anybody knows, but it seems pretty doubtful." The only church we ever went to was the Unitarian church, which my parents took us to for a couple of years because of the free childcare.

My dad has always subscribed to magazines like New Scientist, Skeptic, and Nat Geo, which I also read. I regarded religion as suspect at best, but I really didn't care much.

[Davka]

To put it in a nutshell, I was raised to not care. It's not that I was an atheist or religious, I was neither. I just, didn't care.

I ain't buying it. Oh it's possible that your parents were complete morons, ignorant of all science, literature and common sense and thus you were raised to not "know" anything and then at some time some lovely girl (or boy) caught your eye and invited you to church where you, devoid of knowledge had your head filled with gobblygook that you thought was quite possible such as in "he rolled the sky up like a scroll"...makes perfect sense if the stars are little twinkly things just out of bow and arrow reach. Or that "one third of the stars fell to the earth" again possible if the stars are little spots just over the clouds. or that the moon is a light, possible if you have the education of a 1st grader. Or of course my favorite that within the bowels of a 7900 diameter planet is a flying lizard capable of gathering one third of all the stars of the heavens in it's tail and flinging them to earth...why jesus that MUST be possible and makes perfect sense ........if yer a retard.

It's also possible that you are every bit as ignorant of the various permutations of non-theistic upbringings as you rather arrogantly assume such parents must be, just as you appear to be abysmally ignorant of what most theists actually believe. Hint: poetic language.

[Davka]

Yeah, that's not being raised atheist anymore than your parents never raising you to play football is being raised "a-football-ist". Your parents simply didn't give you a religious upbringing. Atheism is the default you'll fall into, and the final stop for most people I know to have received that kind of upbringing.

What is the difference between not believing in god(s) and being an atheist? Is there some secret atheist handshake nobody told me about?

[Plu]

Both are atheists, there is no difference. There is merely the difference in paths to the goal; I don't call it "raised as" if there is no outside influence pushing one to the path. Someone who takes a personal interest in something is not raised for it. Someone who is pushed towards liking something is.

If your parents tell you there are no gods, you were raised atheist. If your parents told you to figure it out on your own and you decided there are no gods, you are still an atheist, but you weren't raised to be one.

[Davka]

Both are atheists, there is no difference. There is merely the difference in paths to the goal; I don't call it "raised as" if there is no outside influence pushing one to the path. Someone who takes a personal interest in something is not raised for it. Someone who is pushed towards liking something is.

If your parents tell you there are no gods, you were raised atheist. If your parents told you to figure it out on your own and you decided there are no gods, you are still an atheist, but you weren't raised to be one.

OK, that makes sense. Although I'd probably see the second as being raised agnostic, or possibly freethinking.

I'm not even convinced that telling your kids "there is no god" is necessary. "I don't believe in god" seems more honest, along with "there is no evidence for god." And if you want to toss in some information about confirmation bias and rational thought, so much the better.

One thing that bugs me nearly as much as pushy theists is atheists who treat atheism as if it were a belief system. In reality, not believing in gods doesn't guarantee that someone will be logical, rational, or woo-proof. Lots of neopagans and new-agers are atheistic, but they still believe in nonsense like chakras and crystal therapy and homeopathy. Buddhism is an atheistic religion (aside from a few fringe sects). One of my favorite videos about how very stupid people can be without any god-faith is Tim Minchin's beat poem, Storm:

[youtube:3krano6j]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HhGuXCuDb1U[/youtube:3krano6j]

[aitm]

To put it in a nutshell, I was raised to not care. It's not that I was an atheist or religious, I was neither. I just, didn't care.

I ain't buying it. Oh it's possible that your parents were complete morons, ignorant of all science, literature and common sense and thus you were raised to not "know" anything and then at some time some lovely girl (or boy) caught your eye and invited you to church where you, devoid of knowledge had your head filled with gobblygook that you thought was quite possible such as in "he rolled the sky up like a scroll"...makes perfect sense if the stars are little twinkly things just out of bow and arrow reach. Or that "one third of the stars fell to the earth" again possible if the stars are little spots just over the clouds. or that the moon is a light, possible if you have the education of a 1st grader. Or of course my favorite that within the bowels of a 7900 diameter planet is a flying lizard capable of gathering one third of all the stars of the heavens in it's tail and flinging them to earth...why jesus that MUST be possible and makes perfect sense ........if yer a retard.

It's also possible that you are every bit as ignorant of the various permutations of non-theistic upbringings as you rather arrogantly assume such parents must be, just as you appear to be abysmally ignorant of what most theists actually believe. Hint: poetic language.

hint: the sky is not water, the sky cannot be rolled up like a scroll and the earth cannot contain an animal of any kind that could gather a third of the stars and fling them to earth. If you find this problematic your use of three syllable words must be the work of your father looking over your shoulder as you type.

[Davka]

It's also possible that you are every bit as ignorant of the various permutations of non-theistic upbringings as you rather arrogantly assume such parents must be, just as you appear to be abysmally ignorant of what most theists actually believe. Hint: poetic language.

hint: the sky is not water, the sky cannot be rolled up like a scroll and the earth cannot contain an animal of any kind that could gather a third of the stars and fling them to earth. If you find this problematic your use of three syllable words must be the work of your father looking over your shoulder as you type.

Hint: You are being a deliberately obtuse moron. Horses do not think it "queer" that their rider might choose to stop and wait at a particular location. Does this therefore mean that there is no meaning to the poem "stopping by woods on a snowy evening"?

You might want to take an English 101 course, paying particular attention to the concepts of "figures of speech," metaphor, simile, and allegory. If you are being driven nuts by something, does that mean that you are literally strapped into an automobile, being driven until you become a pile of pecans? When you type "fuck me!" do you actually intend to drop trou, grab your ankles, and hope I use vaseline?

Some theists believe literally in every word of the OT - or they say they do, probably because they've never really read it through all that carefully. But most Christians take the stories in the OT as a mixture of literal and figurative language. The pretense that all who claim belief in the OT must therefore take all figures of speech in the OT as literal descriptions is merely a straw man.

There are plenty of legitimate reasons for rejecting the Wholly Babble, without stooping to logical fallacies to shore up your lack of faith.

[aitm]

The pretense that all who claim belief in the OT must therefore take all figures of speech in the OT as literal descriptions is merely a straw man.

Sorry, but to allow them to make excuses for things previously believed to be the  FUCKING WORD OF GOD and then proven not to be true, and still allow them to spout nonsense and to continue to grant them respect is the sign of a DIPSHIT. so........here's your sign.

edited to remove "FUCKING" from FUCKING DIPSHIT, my apologies for being an ass.