Homeschooling mom using a anti-atheist book in curriculum

[lilwriter85]

This fundie lite homeschooling mom of 6 talks about using I Don't Have Enough Faith To Be An Atheist book in her homeschooling curriculum. It looks like she is covering her bases and taking steps to prevent one of her blessings from becoming an ebil atheist. She also sent notes to pastors to promote the book.

journeying-sue.blogspot.com/2012/12/i-dont-have-enough-faith-to-be-atheist.html

I am using his curriculum, I Don't Have Enough Faith to be an Atheist, in my homeschool with my high school boys this year and we are enamored with it. One day I said to my boys, "I can't believe I've never heard this before even though I've been a Christian since I was a child!"

We recently completed the first 6 of 12 chapters in the book, I Don't Have Enough Faith to be an Atheist. Those chapters use science, logic and philosophy, not the Bible, to help people see that it only makes sense that there is a Creator. It's fascinating. My boys, who are generally not jumping up and down with enthusiasm to do their school work, actually like this class and are learning from it....which, I think, is the equivalent of them jumping up and down with joy!

"Christian young people are leaving the church at an alarming rate, mainly because they are not equipped to examine the skepticism and atheism they encounter after leaving home, often coming from their college professors." (CrossExamined.org) I believe that having Frank speak to our church would greatly benefit the Kingdom.

[Effie]

Hmm, someone on my FB wrote that he doesn't have enough faith to be an atheist. I got annoyed and thought "Hey, I don't have Facebook to be offended by people". Then I realized I had got myself my first Christian FB-friend out of 200 people. Maybe I'm not so tolerant after all. Dunno, but I felt offended by that statement. I would like to know what is meant with faith in that context. To me, that statement indicates that atheism is irrational. I'm not the one who has a blind faith though.

[skeptifem]

It seems like a bad idea to give your kids a manual of what would piss you off the most, if they choose to rebel.

[gardenvarietycitizen]

Hmm, someone on my FB wrote that he doesn't have enough faith to be an atheist. I got annoyed and thought "Hey, I don't have Facebook to be offended by people". Then I realized I had got myself my first Christian FB-friend out of 200 people. Maybe I'm not so tolerant after all. Dunno, but I felt offended by that statement. I would like to know what is meant with faith in that context. To me, that statement indicates that atheism is irrational. I'm not the one who has a blind faith though.

That's exactly the strategy. "It takes a leap of faith to believe that there is no God because there's not concrete evidence either way, so you're just as religious as I am, and so you can't 'argue separation of church and state' to keep my beliefs out of the classroom because YOURS are just as religious!!!!11!1"

Some of the truly hard-core say the same about science. "It takes a leap of faith to believe that we randomly appeared..." etc.

[Dev83]

It dosen't take any faith not to believe in something there is zero evidence for. I also don't believe in pink unicorns that poop rainbows - maybe I just have SUPER faith ;)

[lilwriter85]

It seems like a bad idea to give your kids a manual of what would piss you off the most, if they choose to rebel.

I agree. But from Sue's description, I think the book is one of these creationist type books where the authors tries to make a case to why God exists. I started reading this woman's blog because she once commented on Lori's blog. I do like her more than Lori. With this posting, I'm predicting that if her kids go to college, they will probably to a private Christian college. I can't see her being ok with them going to a state college or a non-religious private college.

[Slt]

This fundie lite homeschooling mom of 6 talks about using I Don't Have Enough Faith To Be An Atheist book in her homeschooling curriculum. It looks like she is covering her bases and taking steps to prevent one of her blessings from becoming an ebil atheist. She also sent notes to pastors to promote the book.

journeying-sue.blogspot.com/2012/12/i-dont-have-enough-faith-to-be-atheist.html

The crazy thing is I know the guy who wrote the curriculum- he passed away a couple years ago.

eta: it is a Christian apologetics book, "look at the proof" type book. If you have ever heard of Lee Strobel "Case for Christ" books, this is similar.

[lilwriter85]

The crazy thing is I know the guy who wrote the curriculum- he passed away a couple years ago.

eta: it is a Christian apologetics book, "look at the proof" type book. If you have ever heard of Lee Strobel "Case for Christ" books, this is similar.

I have heard about the Lee Strobel books. Thank you for the additional info, I was wondering about the theme/focus of the book that Sue is using.

[wild little fox]

It dosen't take any faith not to believe in something there is zero evidence for. I also don't believe in pink unicorns that poop rainbows - maybe I just have SUPER faith ;)

Well, I do. Just don't hold it against me, okay? :)

[wild little fox]

Lee Strobel's "Case for Christ" was weak. At the time I read it I was very much a Christian and I thought so. Strobel's statement that the Gospels are fact without him taking time to prove it really put me off. And still does to this day.

[Dev83]

Well, I do. Just don't hold it against me, okay? :)

Well, truth me told, I am more agnositc about the unicorns pooping rainbows than I am about the Christian God that provides snow and dresses to good little fundie girls.

[Full enough quiver]

I think a lot of fundies don't know what an atheist actually is. That sotdrt education and all. I think many that they would call atheists are actually agnostic. If you think about it, no one KNOWS what, if anything, is out there. We just choose which scenario seems more likely to us. I dont believe in space aliens either, but acknowlege that i dont know all the mysteries of the universe. None of us do, not the fundies, and not Atheists. Personally, I think the big bang is likelier than a man in the sky, but, hey, anything is possible.

[Ramona]

Lee Strobel's "Case for Christ" was weak. At the time I read it I was very much a Christian and I thought so. Strobel's statement that the Gospels are fact without him taking time to prove it really put me off. And still does to this day.

Funny... when I was leaning toward being pretty sure that Christianity wasn't true (I wasn't sure.. I wanted it to be, and I wanted to believe it, but I was more agnostic than anything, despite trying) I watched his Case for a Creator video and it pushed me back toward "this has to be real!" again for a while.

[OnceModestTwiceShy]

Quite frankly, if your college student completes one of my classes without ever having had his or her beliefs challenged, you have wasted your tuition money.

ETA: Just to clarify, I'm referring to the bit in the OP about kids losing their faith due to atheist profs.

[August]

It dosen't take any faith not to believe in something there is zero evidence for. I also don't believe in pink unicorns that poop rainbows - maybe I just have SUPER faith ;)

I don't believe in pink unicorns that poop rainbows OR orange pixies which live in my garden. I've got more faith than you!

[crassy]

I immediately dismiss anyone who uses Frank Turek as an example for anything. The guy is a complete moron who has been blasted many times in debates. I don't think I've ever seen the guy actually put forth even a slightly convincing argument. He just gish gallops and babbles on about crap.

[Joan of Snarc]

One of my friends recently pulled her kids out of public school and put them in a private Christian school. I was checking the school's web site the other day and they had their curriculum posted. They use this book in senior Lit class. :roll:

I can't believe my friends are paying for this crap to be taught to their kids.

I've heard a lot of Christians try to make this argument that is takes more faith than they have to be an atheist. They go on and on about how their faith is the most important thing in their life -- more important than family, even. Oh, but don't have too much! Really? How much exactly should a person have? This much -- but not this much... how finely do you really want to parse this? Stupid.

[Sobeknofret]

Lee Strobel's "Case for Christ" was weak. At the time I read it I was very much a Christian and I thought so. Strobel's statement that the Gospels are fact without him taking time to prove it really put me off. And still does to this day.

I had the same problem with it. I was astounded at the leaps of logic and bad argumentation he used. I've always thought he and Chris Jeub should get together sometime.

[chaotic life]

Everything I have read about the upcoming generations leaving Christianity and the church has NEVER cited that children raised in the faith don't have the apologestics to handle being confronted with alternative ideas, especially at Univesity. Almost every study has cited that the newest generation is fed up with the HIPOCRACY and often conclude that they may very well retain actual faith beliefs but are done participating in a hatemongering coporation that targets minority populations for destruction and fails to pay a bit of attention to their own needy within their community as they do so.

The current US church has choosen collectively to focus on the eradication of homosexual rights and the erosion of women's rights as THE purpose of so-called Christian religion. In a generation that well over 60% supports gay rights and has never known a world without the equality of women, this generation is FED UP with that hipocracy. Meanwhile, that same generation is discovering that if you dare to give birth to a special needs child (and with 1 in 88 children now being diagnosed with Autism, the rise of families in these pews with special needs children is dramatic) OR dare to have actual hardship in your life...the church will chase you away with pitchforks and flame throwers because they don't want you to mar their image of what they believe church is meant to be.

Good or bad apologetics is not what will preserve a faith heritage to the next generation. This generation has children capable of THINKING and even SOTDRT doesn't take away all of their brain cells. Just like the two Westboro girls who stood still and realized that you cannot discredit the entire rest of the human race to prove you are the only ones who are "right," the entire generation is leaving the church for the same reason. Apologecits will only increase that exodus if the church itself does not change how it operates.

[salex]

One of my friends recently pulled her kids out of public school and put them in a private Christian school. I was checking the school's web site the other day and they had their curriculum posted. They use this book in senior Lit class. :roll:

I can't believe my friends are paying for this crap to be taught to their kids.

I've heard a lot of Christians try to make this argument that is takes more faith than they have to be an atheist. They go on and on about how their faith is the most important thing in their life -- more important than family, even. Oh, but don't have too much! Really? How much exactly should a person have? This much -- but not this much... how finely do you really want to parse this? Stupid.

A niece in law is now the principal of a small (very small) very fundie christian school in a small town. The curriculum is A Beka and BJU Press, mostly and I am horrified that my state is contemplating paying for private schools (and home schools, if they get their druthers)with state money. I find it hard to wish her well when I think she is doing evil.

[lilwriter85]

Quite frankly, if your college student completes one of my classes without ever having had his or her beliefs challenged, you have wasted your tuition money.

ETA: Just to clarify, I'm referring to the bit in the OP about kids losing their faith due to atheist profs.

I think fundies exaggerate the influence that atheist or agnostic professors have on their students. I had an atheist earth sciences professor who is a small part of the reason I became an atheist. He and other atheist or agnostic professors at my college, never pushed their beliefs on students. They also respected students who had religious beliefs.

[Kitchen Princess]

You mean they never pushed their LACK of belief on students. The only arena where their atheism is relevant is where held up against a belief in a god or gods. Atheism has nothing to do with any scientific school of thought. It is simply living as if religion doesn't exist.

[Dev83]

You mean they never pushed their LACK of belief on students. The only arena where their atheism is relevant is where held up against a belief in a god or gods. Atheism has nothing to do with any scientific school of thought. It is simply living as if religion doesn't exist.

Exactly! I never had a professor teach "there is no god and this is why!" Lol

They teach critical thinking. Which for some may lead to atheism, sure. But for others it strengthens their faith. Either way, at least you have used your brain to seek out what is the best path for you.

And seriously, you can't preach atheism. Athiesm is not a religion or belief system - which fundies do not seem to grasp.