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Talion - my mother left the convent at 19 because the Virgin Mary told her
to go out and have babies.
I wish I were kidding, even though she has led a somewhat normal life, she can still talk crazy with the best of them. I view turning out to be a well adjusted productive adult (if I say so myself) was in spite of my religious upbringing and definitely not as a result of it. Observations over my lifetime demonstrate to me that the children of the religious fanatics seem to be the most screwed up in life, while the children of religious moderates are dramatically less so. . . . but I always concede that this observation can be completely tainted by my own bias and also acknowledge that there are other factors as well. Such as: the deficiencies in mental acumen, perspective and cognative abilities of the religious fanatic do have physical hereditary implications that lie outside of the environmental influences they may construct for their children......things like inbreeding.
posted by
gomedome
on May 18, 2007 at 9:06 AM
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gomedome
The fact that both my brother and I turned out okay implies it's possible to be raised without religion pounded into us, but by no means was our household completely devoid of God. My folks were/are believers and consider themselves Christian. They simply taught us the principles without the aid of a Bible or a preacher or forcing us to believe. I think the difference in the way I was raised is my folks viewed their religious belief as only one of many facets of their lives, not the only one, the alpha and omega, and the sole reason they exist.
posted by
Talion
on May 18, 2007 at 8:32 AM
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Talion -I often wonder if there is a correlation between the type of person
that you are (you specifically) and not going through traditional indoctrination while growing up.
By all indications you seem to be a well balanced individual, who can inherently tell right from wrong and always seems to not only give the other person the benefit of the doubt but a fair shake as well. Is it just a coincedence that you have matured into the person that you are without having religion pounded into your head as a child? I honestly don't know if there is a correlation, meeting someone who has not gone through some form of religious indoctrination while growing up on this continent has been in my experience rare. The few I have met have all been individuals I have been impressed with, primarly in how they interact and relate to others but I must always remind myself that "a few" is nothing to base a conclusion on.
posted by
gomedome
on May 17, 2007 at 9:02 PM
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gomedome
Because religion in general and Christianity in particular wasn't forced on me as a child, I was able to make my own decisions. When I looked into the concepts, I realized it didn't make much sense to me. If there is in fact a God out there, I don't believe for a second the way He's portrayed in any religion I've ever encountered. Without any "family traditions" and what not to "abandon," coming to my agnostic conclusion was quite easy. In fact, I was an agnostic long before I discovered the word for it.
posted by
Talion
on May 17, 2007 at 2:14 PM
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sannhet - I'm actually not an atheist by true definition
I hold about a .05% likelyhood of there being a conscious entity, that influenced or propagated the beginning of life. The explanation for two different people taking the same information (or lack thereof) and coming to two widely divergent conclusions is simple to explain; people are all wired differently.
posted by
gomedome
on May 17, 2007 at 1:57 PM
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Gome -
Every argument you throw up, I've had the exact same ones. And I questioned the status quo so often at church as a youth that I spent many a Sunday school session standing in the corner or being asked to leave. But I find it interesting that where you moved toward atheism as a result of your questioning, I moved toward a different kind of spirituality that is outside of most mainstream religions.
posted by
sannhet
on May 17, 2007 at 1:35 PM
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