So some guy donates $10,000 to one of those atheist bus campaign to push “atheist pride” (whatever that is) as a way to push atheists to “come out.”
Funny part? It was an anonymous donor, according to The Examiner.
Hey, don’t laugh. Coming out atheist is hard to do. Just ask Jacqueline Lavache, the Atheism writer for The Examiner. Her horror stories about “coming out” as an atheist is just so awful it makes me tear up and hide my head under a pillow for shame just for being a Christian.
Please sit down before reading and try not to scream out loud in empathy, especially if you’re at work. It starts off brilliantly and without cliche:
When I first went down the road of atheism, it was a struggle. In the Catholic religion with which I was raised, there is a sacrament of Confirmation that happens around the age of 14. The basic purpose is to confirm the religion that was placed on you without your consent through Baptism. In my personal experience, I had come to the conclusion that I did not accept the doctrine of the Catholic Church and so I did not want to confirm myself in a religion with which I had serious doubts. This caused many arguments within my family, claiming I should “just do it” or I will “regret it later.” It wasn’t until the pastor of our church did a homily stating that if your kid has doubts, they shouldn’t get confirmed that my family backed off. However, I remember a conversation with my mother where I said I was agnostic and she said, “Well, at least you’re not an atheist.” A year or two later I finally came to the conclusion I was an atheist, but at that point my family was resigned to the fact.
Aaaaaahhhhhhhh!!!! Were you able to get through every last syllable of the trials and travails of this poor desperate atheist alone on her island of dignity fighting heroically the hordes of fundamentalism in her own family? It was one of the most brutal things I’ve ever read. Like Oliver Twist meets Saw V. How could her poor family put her through that? They actually said, “You’ll regret it later.” Aaaaaahhhhhh! Those monsters!
So a little sympathy for atheists, please. Never mind that the government doesn’t want Christians doctors to be able to refuse to perform procedures that are against their religion. Never mind that Christian pharmacists are forced to sell abortifacients. Never mind that the Catholic Church is being attacked by the state government in Connecticut. Never mind that high school football coaches are fired for pre-game prayers. Children are suspended at school for wearing religious shirts, etc…
All that stuff pales in comparison to the fact that someone once said, “You’ll regret it later” to a young atheist.
July 1, 2009 at 7:48 pm
In a situation like this is there ever a case for forcing the child to be confirmed? It's a parents responsibility to make sure their kids receive the sacraments and I'm not sure Ms. Lavache is quite correct in her assertion that, "The basic purpose is to confirm the religion that was placed on you without your consent through Baptism."
July 1, 2009 at 7:49 pm
Had I read that snippet by itself I would have simply made a mental note to pray for her, either before or after yawning.
You're comments though…they'll have me giggling for quite a while 🙂
July 1, 2009 at 7:54 pm
Brian,
I'm not sure it would be possible to force someone into it since you can form a disposition to refuse the graces given to you. Either way confirmation is seen more as a rite of passage than an efficacious sacrament – so forcing would be completely out of the question.
What struck me more is that it doesn't sound like her parents did anything at all to help her in the faith, just a sad "do this because we said so." So many are lost because Truth is never given to them.
July 1, 2009 at 9:07 pm
BOO-HOO!
July 1, 2009 at 9:11 pm
To be fair, while I don't think there is any "witch-hunt" for atheists in this country, atheism itself was always frowned upon, even since the time of the founding fathers. Why? Because freemasonry requires that you believe in some "deity", and it doesn't matter which one. So, while it is fairly evident that at least some of the founding fathers could have been atheists (John Adams is very suspect), they would never admit this openly since it would have tarnished their respectability.
Fast forward to the 19th and 20th century where Communism became the # 1 threat to Democracy. Since atheism was the official "belief system" of Communism, the two were often equated. So, to be an avowed atheist up to the very end of the last century was to be suspect, at the very least, of being a Communist sympathizer.
So, we can aknowledge that any group that goes against the norm of society, whether it is Catholics, atheists or Satan worshipers will have some levels of difficulty, if not outright persecution. An atheist will do much better in Hollywood than in rural Mississippi, just as a Catholic will do much better in Rhode Island as opposed to…well..rural Missisippi.
July 1, 2009 at 11:22 pm
I have trouble believing she was Catholic because of her language. I looked at her other articles and she seems to be a native speaker of English and her non religious speech seems ordinary. These phrases seem
very un Catholic to me:
In the Catholic religion with which I was raised,
The basic purpose is to confirm the religion that was placed on you…
pastor of our church did a homily…
This reminds me of TV commentators who are unfamiliar with Catholicism and say things such as
The priest made a mass…
July 1, 2009 at 11:34 pm
Anamcara never overestimate the cradle Catholic. Bill Maher says the most ridiculous and ludicrous things that one would assume any 1st year Catholic communicant would be able to point out as wrong.
July 2, 2009 at 12:34 am
It could be she's just a bad writer.
I'll say two Hail Mary's for her for that catty remark…
July 2, 2009 at 1:19 am
SherryTex, I didn't think it was cattiness. She makes many mistakes, such as using passive voice, vague words, adverbs like "basically", etc. Those errors reflect poorly on her editor, too.
July 2, 2009 at 3:25 am
Christina: Confirmation may be "seen" to be more of a rite of passage than an efficacious sacrament, but that doesn't mean it is one. There's no theological reason that it can't be given at the same time as baptism, as it is in the Eastern church, and so consent isn't necessary. I think many people make their children go to confirmation "because they say so." Not the best reason, but a perfectly valid one for a minor child living under one's care.
July 2, 2009 at 2:54 pm
I saw Confirmation as a rite of passage that my parents were 'making' me go through. I admit I wasn't very accepting at the time but later (almost 15 years)when I finally became open to God the Grace came flooding in. I often wonder if I hadn't been confirmed if I would ever have been open to God and His will for me etc. I know I was not capable of it on my own.
July 2, 2009 at 7:44 pm
I taught confirmation class for each of my 3 children. In my youngest's class, I had a kid who fought with me over every Catholic belief: abortion was oK, sex before marriage was great, women should be priests after all God may be a she, etc. etc. I couldn't understand why he wanted to be confirmed.. he got a lot of his beliefs from his mom. I recommended to the person in charge of Confirmation that he not be confirmed, but the director let him. I was not pleased.
July 4, 2009 at 2:17 pm
Unfortunately – VERY unfortunately – I have to commend this woman for at least having the guts to acknowledge what she believes. Or disbelieves. Or whatever. From what I can see, there are a large number of people who live like atheists who are too spineless to say so. Some of them even go to church.
July 30, 2009 at 4:24 pm
I stumbled across this article when out of curiosity I googled my name. Ahh, the joys of quote mining. You do it so well.
First, you make the first mistake of connecting my quote in another article with the one about Keith Olbermann. I never said that when I came out as an atheist that I was discriminated against. I in fact, pointed out examples in my Olbermann articles of legitimate situations in which other atheists were backed up by sources. You gladly ignored that.
Then you take an article that had nothing to do with severe social discrimination and was about coming out atheist vs gay and how different the experiences were. I did this because Keith is a fierce supporter of gay rights and I would expect him to have the same understanding how hard it can be for atheists. The intention of the actual article, coming out gay vs atheist, is to show how parents can be more accepting of gay children than atheist, not that I suffered cruel religious discrimination as a result. I never ever said I suffered social discrimination as a result because I am lucky enough to live in a part of the US that is more liberal and accepting of atheists.
Furthermore, you're examples of "Christian Discrimination" are not that. Christian's are perfectly free to express their belief and practice their religion however they want, but your examples cite issues of separation of church and state. Christians DO NOT have the right to impose their beliefs on others. Pharmacists make a commitment to serve the needs of the patient regardless of their religious belief, so do coaches. They have absolutely no right to force someone to conform to their beliefs, and this does not infringe on their right to believe.
Also, if you would like a real example of discrimination I wrote about one recently. A cancer patient was fired for being an atheist and lost her health insurance as well. THAT is religious discrimination. http://www.examiner.com/x-8776-Boston-Atheism-Examiner~y2009m7d11-Cancer-patient-fired-from-job-for-being-an-atheist-now-needs-financial-help
And to the person who thinks I was not raised Catholic, I most certainly was. I was baptized in St. Brendan's church, received First Communion there, attended school there and went to High School at Msgr Ryan Memorial. Furthermore I was the first female alter server in that parish. My language might be different since I DO NOT believe anymore. You're observations are completely inaccurate.
So please, if you want to make a point, you might benefit from actually presenting the quotes in context and not phrasing them so it fits your incorrect view of real discrimination.