Should I feel bad?
 

I was putting my five year old sister to bed. Normally one of the parents do it, and they always pray with her. I, do not believe in God, and this is what we said:

Her: "Are you gonna pray?"
Me: "No I don't pray well, you can do it and I will stay here". (I didn't want to tell her I don't believe in God)
Her: "It's okay, I'll just go to sleep"

Should I feel bad for not praying with her? Part of me feels bad, but another part tells me it wasn't my responsibility to do it.

eta:

I've had this situation before. I'm usually left the same- my brother's nine and really studying different religions. I'm really just plain agnostic, and don't pray. I kind of feel bad, but I think it's fine to choose not to pray with her. It's your beliefs.

I actually think you handled it well.

I'm Christian and I hate it when people ask me to pray. I don't really like being put on the spot. So I'd probably be a bit dumbfounded myself in that sort of situation. I'd ask them to teach me a prayer probably.

Well, I don't know, its like saying grace, you can say something about appreciating your family and friends or your life, without incorporating god or any religious conotations within your sentiments, at least that's what I think anyway.

Im an atheist, i dont pray. If god existed, i think he wouldve shown himself by now. Im not gona start an argument on weather god exists or not, so i wont go any deeper. But as for feeling bad about not praying with ur little sis, hmmm....i think idve prayed with her, for her sake.....Cos shes five yrs old, probably still belives in the tooth fairy and father xmas....so idve done it for her.

obviously she was fine with you not praying with her :) if she started crying the situation would be different first step towards child's rationality... i think religious upbringing is an abuse. save your little sister from parent's abuse! :)

Hyperstation, I hope that is not your reason for bering Athiest. It seems silly to me that someone would be an athiest because God hasn't fulfilled their expectations of what God should do. That is a pretty faulty statement not from a religious standpoint, but from a logical point of view.

1. God
   1. A being conceived as the perfect, omnipotent, omniscient originator and ruler of the universe, the principal object of faith and worship in monotheistic religions.
   2. The force, effect, or a manifestation or aspect of this being

Assuming that if God existed, he would have to do X is assuming the mind the, reasoning, and logic of an infinite, omnipotent, perfect being from the point of view of a finite and imperfect brain. I hope you have realized you are imperfect, but you might not have, you are 16. Making a judgement that someone infinitely more intelligent than you is like trying to calculate PI on a calculator.

Take note, I'm not arguing the existance of God, just your reasoning.


Alex's trip, Soundtrax just called your parents abusive, are you gonna take that shit?

(The more I read soundtrax's posts, the less I can take him seriously)

Did you see the freaking smileys?
JOKE.
Jeez.

I think if you are not a religious person, not setting an example of being a hypocrite by feigning prayer is infinitely more valuable than praying to a god you don't believe in to avoid an uncomfortable situation.
I will not say grace, go to church, or pray for anyone. It is possible to do this tactfully, which you did.
You have nothing to feel bad about.

You shouldn't feel bad at all.

I thought it was more of the Soundtrax kind of smilie.

You should feel terrible, you dirty heathen. NOW look where you're sending your sister

Let me guess!
Jupiter?

That's truncated's house.

Does truncated live on Jupiter?!

No, that is my vacation home. This is my house:

Nicer than I thought it would be.

I did some remodelling when I got my government check last month.

nice house, looks like mine :D

about the praying thing: the sooner you can free that child from crippling superstitions, the better

amen! >:)

!@#$%!, I was under the impression you lived in a refrigerator box.
Don't try to make yourself look classy; you will only embarrass yourself when you are exposed for the fraud you are.

man, since getting my new job at wendy's i've moved up in the world
why are you trying to belittle my great success?
besides, the wife forced me to get out of the fridge box when she caught me in it molesting a neighborhood dog
i sleep now on the back of a pickup truck where i can be watched constantly, especially by the owner of the dog-- the asshole...
only the picup is not as fancy as the one in the picture
that's way over my means but i'll get there someday...

Hey, is your refrigerator box for sale? I'm looking to put on an addition.

Spectraljulian

astoundingly great post
\
rep points!!!!! for "succint analysis"

sure thing, and at a discount if you agree to clean the dog mess yourself

it will be just like the hallmark store business, just a little crusted up :eek:

So I've heard that Jupiter is 318 times the mass of Earth. How's the real estate there? I'm looking to buy and I'm kind of interested in a big yard. No refrigerator box or mobile home for me though. I'd like to think of myself as high class.

I think it's a good sign that she was comfortable with not praying - it means it hasn't been ingrained in her yet as a compulsory activity.

I assume your parents are not especially heavy-handed with religion, if the above is the case, and you as well have made a decision not to practice. While five is too young to make any deductive decision about faith, it seems as though you both have an upbringing that is conducive to choice, so I wouldn't worry at all about destroying any beliefs system she may have.

More importantly, do your parents know of this, and how do they feel? Her reaction to the situation will likely be based more upon what they tell her in response to your decision.

Does the lock work? Is it aerated for breathing? Can it be opened from the inside?

you don't leave a lot of room for suprises do you? if that's the case i suggest you try sears... :mad:

I'm pretty interested in Jupiter.

Excuse me, but I hardly think this is the appropriate venue in which to discuss your eccentricities and weird fetishes. I'm rather offended.

I'm offended that you're offended.
I'm offended that you're not feeling what I'm saying about Jupiter.
I'm in the mood for bagels. Okay?
I hope you're not offended by that statement because bagels mean a lot to me.
And I'm not masturbating! I swear.
MMMM is not the sound of masturbation.

I love you.

So what IS the sound of masturbation, according to you?

you handled it perfectly my friend

There can be no room for error. Too many of America's great serial killers were brought down by lack of attention to such details.

MMMMM or MMM
I now see why you thought MMMM did,
but I hope you can see the difference now.:)

Jesus hates masturbators.

what's up with megalomaniacs always hating the competition? :confused:

Ummm.....okay, thanks:confused: Let me have my opinion, without yr confusing/baffleing jibberish getting involved....oky? Thanks

Meh. I think you should've. First of all, she's too young to really know the difference, and second of all, it doesn't really hurt to give a little 'un hope in their life. S/he can decide when s/he's older, and for the time being, consistent information is probably less detrimental. But then, I do say that as a Catholic rather than an atheist like a lot of people here.

*Edit: SpectralJulian...'s post made perfect sense to me. Give it a couple of reads, it should sink in.