Comment by Zack on January 9, 2009 at 2:15am

I found Jesus, but then I lost him in the wash again. I'll get back to you with any updates :P

Comment by Stacie on January 9, 2009 at 3:12am

this is from chat I just wanted to post to to look back at.

metaphorgasm
you know... so many people in the religious community are so intlerant... but all they have to do is look to what jesus taught and realize that he loved everyone, no matter what (people seem to forget that these days) they take shit from the old testament (the jewish part where god was an asshole) and then talk about jesus (who truly was a saint... due to the fact that he was forgiving and open minded)
3:10am
carpe_diem_baby
I first told my family that I don't believe that religion is the best way to approach faith.

Comment by Frank on January 9, 2009 at 6:46am

I go with my mother, but it is only for Christmas Eve service, since I live in another state. It's her chance to show me off, so I oblige her. One thing though is you can have a lot of fun watching people and noting the hypocrisy of it all.

Tell your parents you have a friend who invited you to their church and then just go to a coffee shop for an hour and half then return and say you like that church. Then you just take off every Sunday morning and read a book or something. Me personally I would go hiking when the weather is nice.

Comment by Sophie on January 9, 2009 at 7:47am

tell them your on your period :P haha

But seriously I assume your parents are kinda strict. To me you should bring up rational questions that you can bring up and ask your parents to think about them to give them some clue that your "thinking" about things. They will/should get the hint sooner or later.

Comment by Parrish on January 9, 2009 at 8:09am

Could always tell them the preacher touched you.

Comment by Jay E on January 9, 2009 at 10:04am

This worked for me when I was in high school: too much homework. "I know you guys love me to get good grades, I have to study and that 1.5 hours spent going, doing and coming back is way too precious to lose. So you go on without me."
"I went (yesterday, earlier this morning, will go later have something to do right now)"
This is what my brothers did: "We'll be right in" and they would hang out in the lobby or wait in the car.
"I see my friend (X). I'm going to go sit by (X)" (then hang out in the lobby or wait in the car).
Unless you have great stamina, you can argue/reason your way through.
I take it you still live at home and have to abide by rules. Hang in there, patience is a great virtue, this too shall pass.

Comment by Tom on January 9, 2009 at 12:52pm

You could be honest about yourself and tell your parents you don't believe in God. That might work.

Comment by Luna Agimat on January 9, 2009 at 1:23pm

Tell them the truth. They might get mad but eventually they will understand,, take it slowly. I do go to church sometimes because of my school requirements.. and I don't mind listening to the mass because you learn things.. you see christianity's flaws. Then you have something to blog at when you got home.

Comment by Johnny on January 9, 2009 at 5:05pm

My early deconversion started in high school; and it started with me deciding that organized religion was a sham, and the church was corrupt. I still had some faith left in me then, but the church and the people at church had left too much bitterness in my mouth. After solidifying this belief to myself, the first confrontation came and I said, “Organized religion is a sham, and I’m tired of dealing with the hypocrites, I’m staying home to do my own worship.” My parents never pushed the issue (my dad wasn’t going to church very much by then either).

A few friends and extended family pressured for awhile, and about a year after my initial rejection, my grandmother pressed the issue. I had honed my response by then, “The Bible and my faith are enough for me; organized religion is a farce and the church is antiquated and corrupt.” She was shocked, but no one in my family has pressured me since.

I’ve moved much farther since, its atheism all the way now, and it sounds like you might be as well. But if you think the full truth is too much for them to handle, some sort of partial truth like this might get things started. Good luck.

Comment by Kevin on January 10, 2009 at 12:18am

I lived with my cousin (who believes the Bible stories to be literal, mind you) for several months. For me, I had a night job that kept me up late so I would often use the excuse of being exhausted. Other days, I would "forget" to set my alarm or on rare occasions, I would say I was not feeling well.

However, this could only go on for so long until I decided it was time to just tell him the truth. He knew after a while that I was making blatant excuses and called me out on it. I'm sure your parents will know you are avoiding church if they don't already. Honesty is the best option I think, although it did take me a while before I was prepared to go through the drama and lecture of disappointment from my family. Once I was prepared to do that, I told my family I no longer believed in God and reaped the consequences of the religious reaction.

If they respect your "free will" then they should allow you to stay at home, even though they might see it as a sign of disrespect. But if you are looking to make up excuses so that your parents won't find out, it will only work for a short period of time. Best of luck!

Comment

• ‹ Previous
• 1
• 2
• Next ›
• Page