Posted on 04/29/2010 8:58:35 PM PDT by se_ohio_young_conservative
Let me say first of all that I am a Christian with a strong faith in God. I grew up going to church with my grandpa. I accepted Jesus Christ into my life at a young age.
My wife was raised in a strict christian home. But I think that worked against her in some ways. I think certain people in her family turned her off on religion at points along the way. She is now an atheist. She is a great mom to our 16 month old twins. She is an awesome wife. I love her so much and I will never let it destroy our marriage. So I have been very open and tolerant of her views while praying for her like crazy at the same time.
She has been mostly apolitical and I guess she has been more intrested in recent months watching Fox News with me and listening to the radio. She is very much against abortion. She knows that Obama is a disaster for this country.
It came up in another thread. We have been watching Glenn Beck. and my wife likes him at times. But he really loses her when he goes off into a deep religious discussion. Here I am trying to get her to see and understand things that are going on, and religion comes up, and she sort of tunes out and changes the subject.
That got me thinking. I know this country was founded by men of faith. I know many of us conservatives are religious. But can't a person be a conservative, pro life and atheist ? and still love their country just as much as I do ? ... How many out there are like my wife ?
I tend to think so for sure. But at the same time. I don't want to remove our religious traditions either. They are very important. Our country needs them now more than ever. But I think people like my wife are important to our cause as well. Men and women in their 20s, not religious, but conservative on many issues and they don't even label or know they are conservative. So I guess the problem is.. We can't slip into a politically correct echo chamber, but at the same time we must carefully equate our christian traditions with religious freedom for all. Our rights come from God. and that includes the right not to be religious of course.
what do you say ?
I know you’re a Christian, but it sounds like you were not aware of God’s admonishment that we not be “yoked” with unbelievers: http://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=2+Corinthians+6%3A14&version=NIV (when I got married, I was Catholic and had no knowledge of Scripture, so had no idea this concept even existed!).
Anyway, now that you’re married, just continue to pray for her salvation. I, too, hope that Glenn can lead people to the Lord. I often watch his program with my former husband (an agnostic), and since he agrees with virtually everything Glenn says, I hope that he will go further and explore the Christian concepts that Glenn mentions that are so important to our nation’s heritage.
I will keep you and your wife in my prayers!
There is no such thing as AN Atheist on a crashing Airplane.
Fixed it. Darn that spell check!
I told my wife that S.E. is on my “laminated list” - which is a reference from “Friends” if you ever watched that show.
Yes.
Exactly. Sounds like alot of wool is in play here.
I get hung up on atheism as it relates to this phrase in the Declaration:
“We hold these truths to be self-evident, that all men are created equal, that they are endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable Rights, that among these are Life, Liberty and the pursuit of Happiness.”
If you don’t believe in God, then you don’t believe that God is the granter of our rights and therefore, you must believe that men grant them. And if men grant them, what’s to prevent them taking them away at some point.
God is the same yesterday, today and tomorrow. He will never change and he will never take back the Rights he gives us.
Sure, atheists can have many views which are in line with conservatism, but in my opinion, one of the cornerstones of conservatism is that God is the granter of the unalienable Rights referred to in the Declaration. The Founding Fathers included that phrase because they wanted to make it clear that God is the author of our Rights and they are not subject to the whims and fancies of man.
That being said, if she votes the right way, no problem. Keep praying.
Yes.
My current tagline sure does fit on this thread...
God gave us free will. That is the entire point about Adam and Eve's failing in the Garden and people's failings throughout the Bible. For without free will, there cannot be love of others, let alone love of God. And what is Hell (not used as a curse word) but God allowing us to choose to live eternally devoid of His presence?
I have been down a path at least somewhat similar to what your wife has partially traveled. Have gone from Catholic to Protestant to deist to some very strange places to atheist and finally back to God as a Christian who believes in Him, His Son, and the Word (albeit imperfectly so and nominally in a Catholic form).
Pray for her. It really does matter. Be patient. The bigger issue is her soul. Stick with it. I pray she will come around. But it must be her choice.
It's fairly apparent you already know that, but I thought it might help to hear (read) it from someone else.
Good Post. An atheist denies their God given rights. They only subscribe to the government with which they live. No repercussion, no judgment, no reason for being.
Everyone lives by a moral code. By itself that’s not anything to brag about, as everyone does. Everyone also tends to believe they are better than they actually are, relatively speaking.
If you’re not trying to live a moral code based on objective standards set by God, you only have to live up to whatever standards you decide are right. Of course some people have higher standards than others, but in the end if there’s no reason outside of yourself to act in certain ways, however you’re living is based on what you want to do or not do, and your own internal rationalizations (sound or not).
Can she be a ‘good’ mom? Yes. Can she be a ‘good’ person? As far as society is concerned, yes. Can she be a ‘good’ person in God’s eyes? On her own, no. She can be a moral person (all people are, their codes vary), she may even have high moral and ethical standards, but that will not save her. None of our good deeds save us.
God will judge her however in perfect fairness and justice, as He will everyone.
People who profess any religion, or none, can be good conservatives in principle, although there are some interesting subtleties to be considered.
In one sense, atheism, in its unsentimental rejection of that which lacks empirical evidence, and its embrace of the reality of nature, is a good template for the rejection of much of fuzzy-headed bleeding-heart liberalism which is (it should be acknowledged) a secularization of a particular strain of 19th/20th century Christian charitable impulse.
In another sense, though, atheism, at least its more evangelical forms, is hard to square with good Burkeanism — a good Burkean is loathe to tear down institutions (such as churches) which have been bulwarks of stability and inculcation of socially-useful values and practices for many generations.
It’s a fishing expo. Kinda stupid but I did think a response was afforded.
We have some flaky, flamboyant atheists here that are merely interested in economics, but we have at least a couple of atheists that seem truly, and thoroughly conservative, that are quiet about it and that don’t seem very interested in mentioning it, the only way you learn it, is when it comes up in a dispassionate way.
You betcha.
It's like asking if a Bhuddist can be a conservative...
She was a Christian when we got married almost three years ago. We went to church together. She had doubts that she didn’t talk about very much because she was afraid to upset people around her. Starting with her parents in the past. And then she knows how important faith is in my life. I think it was a gradual process for her that started a long time ago. And I knew there was something different. But it was still shocking when she first used the word atheist.
I went down a similar path as your wife. When people would tell me this in the past, “Jesus Christ is my Lord and Savior” ... I just thought they were a little on the crazy side, old fashion, but well meaning people. I thought I was so smart and they were just desperate or looking for a meaning in life.
I can tell you now with 100% certainty that God exist. Keep in mind I was where your wife was from about 1981 until 2005. I went to college and lived the wild life, etc.. Oh and btw, I have even a better life now. I still have a lot of fun and enjoy reading and talking to God.
At any rate I hope this helps you out.
I would also add that it is one thing to ‘get tired of’ organized religion. It is another thing to not believe in God anymore. Make certain which one it is. If it is the former, encourage her to reconnect with God through the Bible at her own pace, read a little bit each day.
The way you describe her upbringing makes me think the ‘religious’ aspect of things turned her off, not necessarily God Himself. If that’s the case there might be some hope for her.
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