Do you have to believe in a religion?

[jack sommerset]

I don't. I am 36 years old and have my reasons. I have a 5 year old daughter along with all the family so many people have. Along with that they all have thier own beliefs. When it comes to my daughter, how do you explain to a 5 year old death.

I bring this up today because my moms dog died. My daughter was close to the dog. My mom has cried for 3 straight days. She was very close to the dog. I do not know what the big deal is, the fact a dog lived 15 years and is now dead. That does not make me insensitive. When my mom called the other day I was there. I left my work, I went down to the Vet and watch my mom hold the dog in her arms crying as the Vet put the dog to sleep. I put my hand on my moms knee as this was happening. I know this was very hard for my mom. I told my mom I love her and drove her home.I have been checking on her ever since. She is getting better.

My daughter is why I bring this up. How to deal with death? I donot believe in God. When I say this I really mean religion and all the rules every religion has. I hope there is a God but I am 100 percent certain no one knows who God is or what he wants from us.

As a father that has his own belief, I have to ask myself how do I deal with death when it comes to my daughter, a 5 year old, how do I make the pain go away? How do I make her understand?

I did what I thought was the right thing to do considering the situation. I told her Oliver was in doggie heaven. I figured this was the best way to deal with death, to make her know there is something after life you have here on earth.

I used religion in a way this past weekend. Similar situation I told her about Santa Claus and the Easter Bunny. I played along. I did this to make her feel better. I did this because it was easy.

Do you have to believe in religion to feel good about a life? Do you have to have rules and regulations in order for you to do the right thing? I wish I could tell her how I feel about death let alone a dogs death.

Is religion a way to keep people sane. There is a saying "a lock keeps the honest people honest." Is that religion in a way. Keep people honest. To scare people in forcing them to do the right thing.

[MiamiHeat]

there are other god threads, pick 1

[RandomGuy]

My wife grew up on a farm and life, death, and sex were all pretty commonplace things.

Death is a part of life, and I have explained that to my own 5 year old. I don't think he quite gets it, but he does seem to mostly understand what death is.

He has seen dead birds and roadkill, so he knows things can die, but has never had anything/body close to him die and go away.

I don't think you need a religion to feel good about life. Just remember that death is as much a part of life as being born.

The best thing one can do is to ask yourself if your actions are something that your child will be proud of when they grow up. That tends to guide me in a lot of ethical dilemmas.

[RandomGuy]

Ok, brain not work so pretty.

Bed time.

[jack sommerset]

My wife grew up on a farm and life, death, and sex were all pretty commonplace things.

Death is a part of life, and I have explained that to my own 5 year old. I don't think he quite gets it, but he does seem to mostly understand what death is.

He has seen dead birds and roadkill, so he knows things can die, but has never had anything/body close to him die and go away.

I don't think you need a religion to feel good about life. Just remember that death is as much a part of life as being born.

The best thing one can do is to ask yourself if your actions are something that your child will be proud of when they grow up. That tends to guide me in a lot of ethical dilemmas.

Thank you. I am proud the way I handled this. Even though I wanted to say " you just don't know" I think when she is older she will understand why I told her Oliver was in heaven

[Life Coach]

I put my hand on my moms knee as this was happening.

Hey, hey hey, Jack............WTF are you putting your hand on your mom's knee for??? You need to cut that shit out!!!

[ALVAREZ6]

tell her to watch Religulous

[peewee's lovechild]

Thank you. I am proud the way I handled this. Even though I wanted to say " you just don't know" I think when she is older she will understand why I told her Oliver was in heaven

You should have told her something metaphysical, using religion is just lazy.

[ashbeeigh]

there are other god threads, pick 1

+ 100000000000000000000000000

[Bigzax]

you have to let kids be kids.

i think you did the right thing.

[Blake]

I'm pretty sure you don't believe in Santa Claus either but you obviously don't have the same moral dilemma about telling her about him bringing gifts.

Kids will figure things out on their own when they get older. Go right ahead and tell her about the great dog pound in the sky

[deadratsam]

Yeah there are a billion other religion topics, but he's got his own dilema he wants addressed.

On the aside, Have you never seen a ghost? Maybe you can hold a seance for the dog to answer any questions about the afterlife. Although if he did make it to doggie heaven I'm not sure that he'd be able to respond.

[jack sommerset]

Telling her the Dog is doggie heaven was the best for me. She is 5 and when she gets older she can decide for herself. I have a big family and we all have opinions. It really is strange how a pet can influence people.

My mom told me today she does not cry every 30 minutes anymore, its been 5 days now, my daughter has tons of stuffed animals that she never plays with but on Saturday she found one my mom gave her that looked like Oliver. She been carrying it with her the past few days. I can tell something is different in her personality this past week. She is sad and all the activities we have her in she has not giving it her all. My wife and I are worried about her and I know with time she will pull out of this funk. Still it amazes me.

[usckk]

Do you have to believe in religion to feel good about a life? Do you have to have rules and regulations in order for you to do the right thing? I wish I could tell her how I feel about death let alone a dogs death.

Is religion a way to keep people sane. There is a saying "a lock keeps the honest people honest." Is that religion in a way. Keep people honest. To scare people in forcing them to do the right thing.

I don't necessarily believe in the following comments I am about to make, but it is something that will help explain and solve your dilemma according to your beliefs (I'm still debating to myself about this issue as well):

1) No, you absolutely do not need a religion to enjoy life. Imagine this situation. You wake up every mourning and eat an apple. Apples are your favorite fruit, as they are incredibly juicy and aromatic. The first time you ate an apple was when you were a kid. The sweet taste and amazing aroma fully satisfied your taste buds, and from then on, you always eat applies in the morning. However, as a adult now, the great awe-inspiring experience you gain from eating an apple has lessened now. Because you have become accustomed to eating an apple every morning, eating one no longer carries the excitement and satisfaction as the first time.

However, you later found out that you have cancer and only have 2 weeks to live. The next morning after your prognosis, the apple you eat is going to taste sweeter and smell better than ever before, almost matching the experience in your childhood. In other words, knowing that life does not last forever makes you enjoy your current situation much more.

2) Rules do not always have to come from religion. Rules can be made according to culture and the government. So if you follow the law, that can keep you in line. Whether or not the laws are moral or "right" is a different question.

3) And yes, for some people, religion is a way to keep people "sane". If you think about it, we live our lives because of HOPE. Without HOPE, there would be no purpose or want to live. HOPE can come in different forms--the most obvious being an afterlife. But, one can find HOPE in seeing your child grow up happy and successful, for example.

[xtremesteven33]

Religion has to have some validity to it.

You just dont make it up and it becomes the greatest thing to captivate man. It has to have some Truth to it. Not all religions are correct but there is only one Truth.

I chose Christianity after years of doubt and research. You just cant make this stuff up and have evidence of being True.

[Blake]

Religion has to have some validity to it.

You just dont make it up and it becomes the greatest thing to captivate man. It has to have some Truth to it. Not all religions are correct but there is only one Truth.

I chose Christianity after years of doubt and research. You just cant make this stuff up and have evidence of being True.

what evidence do you have of truth?

[ALVAREZ6]

I chose Christianity after years of doubt and research. You just cant make this stuff up and have evidence of being True.
Sure you can, ask any Christian, they all speak to you about "truth".

[batman2883]

you gotta have faith,
you gotta have faith!!!!
gotta have faith!!!!!
gotta have faith!!!
baby, i know you're begging me to stay
say please please dont go away
cause you're giving me the blues

[samikeyp]

You can believe or not believe however you want. No one has the right to tell you different.

[S_A_Longhorn]

Do you have to believe in a man-made story about virgin births, man living in a big fish, or conflicting stories?

No.

[Dex]

In my opinion, you did the right thing.

Personally, I think religion is a very personal aspect of everybody's life, and something you only come to understand through trial and error and living life's experiences. So to force your religious views (or lack thereof) upon your daughter would be much like forcing extreme Christian or Catholic views upon her. My parents raised me in a loosely Lutheran environment, but ultimately let me decide for myself.

I think for kids growing up, they should be taught the basics that all religions touch upon in some form or another. God is good, heaven is after life, a basic moral and ethic structure, etc...Usually, the easiest way to do this is to present them with one of these religions in terms they can understand. Christianity is probably the most common because it is dominant in America and ties in with half of our American holidays.

Kids are gonna decide on their own whether they want to be religious or not, and in their due time. The best thing you can do is provide them with a strong moral fiber, and let them explore their religious creativity on their own terms. Let them cope with concepts like the death and the afterlife when they are old enough and mature enough to do so.

[Chief]

you did the right thing.

[johnsmith]

"Chief" has a very "manny" like attitude on this board in that he knows all and sets the moral compass for everyone, and he says you did the right thing, so it must be true.


Seriously though, chief is a douche.


Seriously though, religion brings order to chaos, always has, always will.

[Why?]

Why do we need another God/Religion thread? Neither side is going to convince the other so why go through this crap over and over again?

[johnsmith]

Why do we need another God/Religion thread? Neither side is going to convince the other so why go through this crap over and over again?

Because mouse needs something to do.........being a drain on society gets boring after a while.

[jack sommerset]

Because mouse needs something to do.........being a drain on society gets boring after a while.

That is the biggest insult that has ever been thrown my way. I have one id. I had another one that said Jack Sommersets( i think that how I spelled but I lost the pass word and the owners never sent me a new one when I requested it. MOUSE.....

Anyhoot I thank those who responded to my thread. I knew what I did was right for me and my daughter and the other night I was up late drinking some beers and letting some of my thoughts out.

[johnsmith]

That is the biggest insult that has ever been thrown my way. I have one id. I had another one that said Jack Sommersets( i think that how I spelled but I lost the pass word and the owners never sent me a new one when I requested it. MOUSE.....

Anyhoot I thank those who responded to my thread. I knew what I did was right for me and my daughter and the other night I was up late drinking some beers and letting some of my thoughts out.

Geez, my bad. I honestly didn't mean that to say that you were mouse (I wouldn't wish that upon my worst enemy). I meant that another God thread existed so that he would have something to do to pass the time between now and his death.


Again, I apologize, in no way did I mean to suggest that you were mouse. Please accept my apology.

[jack sommerset]

Geez, my bad. I honestly didn't mean that to say that you were mouse (I wouldn't wish that upon my worst enemy). I meant that another God thread existed so that he would have something to do to pass the time between now and his death.


Again, I apologize, in no way did I mean to suggest that you were mouse. Please accept my apology.

No problem

[peewee's lovechild]

"Chief" has a very "manny" like attitude on this board in that he knows all and sets the moral compass for everyone, and he says you did the right thing, so it must be true.


Seriously though, chief is a douche.


Seriously though, religion brings order to chaos, always has, always will.

"Chief" looks like a middle eastern terrorist.

[johnsmith]

"Chief" looks like a middle eastern terrorist.

I agree, the similarities between him and a few of the 9/11 hijackers is strange..................chief, where were you on September the 10th, 2001?

[johnsmith]

We may have a crack in the case boys.

[slayermin]

I tried going to church when I got back to SA even though I am not a devout christian. I kinda believe in a higher being. But I watch Cosmos with Carl Sagan whenever it comes on and that show puts a lot of doubt in my head.

Anyway, I really don't go anymore because during one bible study session, they talked about the absurdity of evolution. Sometimes they would talk politics and about other topics in the real world. But I always kept my mouth shut. I didn't go to church to debate. I went there to listen and learn. I didn't agree with a lot of what they were saying which turned me off on attending regularly.

What I did like about the church though, were some of the people. There were some of the kindest, nicest people I have ever met. Also, they promoted a healthy lifestyle. During their potlucks, the foods were all made in healthy, vegetarian way.

Imo, religion is good if you don't question it. But my mind doesn't work that way.

[I Love Me Some Me]

Everyone believes in something.

[batman2883]

When you believe in magic
and i hope you do
you'll always have a friend wearing big red shoes

[MiamiHeat]

4CHLSI6SFj0

You are insignificant. There are no boogiemen gods in the sky. Accept it and live a happy life.