What do Atheisits tell a young dying child about life and why they are going away? Caught You didn't I!?

Question

When one has lost the ability to believe in themselves it is a stablizer to rely on God-when one has found that they can not live with their actions it is a comfort to know Jesus Loves You-when the world is in turmoil and one does not know how to cope it is easier to rely on an image of love that is provided in a God that will nurish you-God in the form of a Savior is a remedy of sorts 4 those that are lost and without hope-How do you explain to a lil 3 yo child that there is no god and the disease that is killing them is just a bad thing? U can't so you appease it because worry makes it worse-Life is cruel in that way but then so are those that use religion to try to control and convert by manipulating the followers. So I agree with your analysis-about causing problems but ask yourself as well-how many problems does it avert? Animals do not pray or bow down unless trained to do so-EITHER DO MEN-and when you hold a gun to their head called The Bible they conform-but Love works wonders!

Answer 1

Death doesn't make you lose your common sense. I don't believe in god and I will not believe in god on my death bed. As for a young dying child. I would tell them whatever I could to comfort them. We tell children stories of Santa Clause, the Tooth Fairy, the Easter Bunny. We tell them the light will scare the monsters in the closet away. Are all of these things real? Just because we tell a child a story to comfort does not make it real. I will never lose the ability to believe in myself.

Answer 2

Um, why do you all do this? Ask a question of Atheists and then proceed to answer it as if you Know exactly what all Atheists believe and what they tell their children?

I believe in a higher power, but I do NOT tell my child that when people die they go to heaven (or hell)... I simply tell my child that their physical body is dead... if the question goes further (which is has, he's 16)... I am HONEST...I tell him there is No Proof of any such thing as Heaven outside of what MAN has written to begin with. I don't rely on things written by other MEN, which those same MEN "Claim" it is inspired by their God (If that were all it took to make TRUTH, every damn religion in the world would be TRUTH). I would most certainly tell a 3 yr old child dying of a disease that it is the disease killing him.

You know, this may be why my 16 yr old doesn't cause trouble and has more respect for me than what I see of other teenagers.

Yes, Life is Cruel... and once you learn to be honest about LIFE itself, you might actually get somewhere.

Hold a Gun to their head called The Bible they conform??????? I didn't. When my family did that, I chose to be cut off from my family rather than just give in because everyone else is doing it. *Sigh*

Answer 3

ever heard of a comma? You need to realize that not everyone is going to work the same way you do. If a religion works for them, and is a positive influence in their life, it is not a wrong choice. No matter if you are Jewish, Wiccan, Christian, or Muslim..Did Jesus go into everyones face and say, You are wrong for not believing in me, and you will surely go to Hell for not accepting me. If you think he said that, read the bible again. Your message is not of Love, your message is "My way is the right way, any other way is false". How is that message love? Just because your belief system works for you, doesn't mean it will work for everyone else. I don't think a 3 t/o would be able to truly comprehend the concept of God and Jesus. But if it was a small child, i would tell him he would be going to a place of peace, where is pain would end, and that he would be happy. Would i tell him that is was Jesus and that if he did not accept Jesus he would be going to hell like you probably would frighten a little child with? Obviously you are not at peace with your belief system. You would not be asking questions like these to try and defy non-Christians. Your job is not to find a way to convert everyone on this planet. You need to reevaluate your belief system and accept that not everyone on this planet is going to believe like you do. Learn some tolerance man. Why don't you be Christlike?

Answer 4

The atheists are doing more harm to their child than the illness....God loves that child and His arms are always open to that child. An older child would have the intelligence to make up their own minds...God or no God...a three year old is far different.
Atheism is an illness...another story. Atheists might want to turn their lives around and accept Jesus into their hearts...and finally discover how wonderful GOD OUR FATHER really is..then later they will know exactly what to tell any body,in any given circumstance.

Answer 5

an atheist might say that all life is temporary and we do not know what happens next but maybe it is good and maybe it is bad.
God does not enter into the conversation unless to explain that some people think that a thing called GOD created us and also gave us death as a penalty.
The child had had a short time here and perhaps it is best to just lie and say anything to make him feel better while he is here.no sense getting into complicated stuff that is controversial.
you must either lie or tell the truth. if you lie, make it a good one. if you tell the truth, just say that nobody knows for sure what happens or why we all die but we do all die. thats the truth.
some people like to believe certain things and more power to them, but they do not really know.maybe the truth hurts

Answer 6

I would tell them that I love them, me the one they can see and feel. That sometimes life is unfair but the life he/she lived was meaningful to a lot of people and he/she touched a lot of hearts. That no one is really sure what happens when we die, maybe we go see God, maybe we come back as something else, maybe nothing. I don't need to comfort him/her with the bible and a God. There are a lot more explanations than the bible. The above is exactly why religion was created. To spread some kind of explanation on the unknown....it just leaves more unknown. It worthless

Answer 7

You can believe that the soul is special and that there is an afterlife even when the body has died. You can tell a kid the flowers and animals die, too, but there will be more flowers, and more animals, and new babies will be born. Why is a God impoartant? Because you can put all the blame to him and simply say, man doesn't understand God's actions. Thats all bullsh*t to me. You are born, live, and you die, simple as that and though I'm not religious, I will find a way to explain this reality to my kid, should it be necessary (I hope not).
No, you didn't get me.

Answer 8

Since we're speaking in blanket generalizations that assume everyone behaves, reacts, or believes in a set, stereotypical way based on a severely limited view consisting of a Religious Label, one that lacks any sort of compassion or understanding of the underlying humanity in everyone, let's continue to do so.

Atheists tell their young, dying children then same thing every other non-Christian person would tell their young, dying children: that they are loved and everything that can be done is being done; that no matter what happens, they are loved; and that they are loved.

Caveat Lector: three year old children lack the vocabulary or logic to understand real discussions on life, death, and what happens when we die.

Answer 9

No you didn't catch {us} me.

First I would explain to my child my beliefs in atheism, that life begins and ends and no one lives forever. I would explain the pathology of her illness in terms she would understand. I would tell her just like the dinosaurs didn't live forever, neither do we. I would tell her I love her with all my heart and she can pass any fears she may have onto me. Also you mentioned “stabilizer.” It is a stabilizer to rely on ones parents and loved ones for strength and support too. (Again you prove my point about hiding behind God) Then I would sit with her until she pass away.

Using religion to explain death is really a cop-out. It allows you hide behind "God" instead of simply telling your child the truth. Using God has a coping mechanism is also a cope-out. However believing in God is a great coping mechanism for some people. It allows them to explain the inevitable, pass their fears and worries onto someone else and simply use God as the knot at the end of their “rope.”

Although I have my personal opinions in regards to God, I respect a person's right to believe in God. I only wish people like you would respect my right not to do so.

Answer 10

Long explanation... I was an atheist.... If I was an atheist I would tell the dying children that to die is like to turn off the light... Have you ever done it before... ON an OFF That's all. Nothing else. No wiered explanations none really understands. Light is on - light is off: someone dies - someone lives... Look at the nature... It is honest and innocent at the same time... there is no term like sin in nature... everything has its cause... It is only people invented things like sin, salvation, religion...... and now people kill each other for no cause.

Answer 11

I have to defend the atheist here, because I am repulsed by Christian condescension. "When you hold a gun to their head called the Bible." That's called conditional love, and that is sick. When parents treat their children with conditional love, they grow up with mental illnesses.

Death is not cruel, unless you fear death, which it seems that Christians do. Death is natural, and for all we know the beginning of a great adventure. Or it may be nothing at all, but it is nothing to fear.