 |
|
|
|
 A CNN iReport essay on raising kids without God draws record-breaking number of comments.
January 18th, 2013
06:32 PM ET
Godless mom strikes a chord with parentsBy Daphne Sashin, CNN Deborah Mitchell remembers the time, when her boys were younger, and another mom asked her about her religious beliefs. Mitchell was raised Catholic but moved away from religion in her early 20s. She told the other mother that she didn’t go to church and didn’t even really believe in God. Then, she says, the recruiting started. “She used to call my house and tell me she was praying for me. She’d leave me messages and leave cards in my mailbox with scripture,” Mitchell says. “I do realize that she meant well, but at the same time, I know my views were seen as wrong. I needed to be ‘saved.’” Mitchell, a mother of two teenagers in Texas who feels “immersed in Christianity,” started a blog about raising her children without religion because she felt frustrated and marginalized. She didn’t want to feel so alone, she says. This week, she gained a whole new audience and the reassurance that she's not alone. Her essay on CNN iReport, “Why I Raise My Children Without God,” drew 650,000 page views, the second highest for an iReport, and the most comments of any submission on the citizen journalism platform. It starts:
Mitchell posted the essay detailing her seven reasons for raising her children without God on CNN iReport because she felt there wasn’t anyone else speaking for women or moms like her. As she sees it, children should learn to do the right things because they will feel better about themselves, not because God is watching. She asks questions like: If there was a good, all-knowing, all-powerful God, why would he allow murders, child abuse and torture? Lots of people disagreed with her. Tons. They flagged her iReport as inappropriate and criticized CNN for linking to her essay on the CNN.com homepage. But there were plenty of others who wrote thoughtful rebuttals, respectfully disagreeing with Mitchell while not foisting their own beliefs on her. Take, for instance, a Methodist dad, who said faith can be hard to nail down, but “not to avail ourselves of the power of something we don't completely understand is silly.” Others said Mitchell presented a simplistic view of religion. “Presentations such as these seem to ignore a substantial percentage of believers - well-educated, compassionate, liberal folk, Christian and non-Christian alike - who, I feel, are able to worship without being blind to the realities of the world, or without lying to their children about their understanding of these complexities,” wrote commenter RMooradian. “I'll be raising my children with God, but I understand those who cannot!” But Mitchell’s essay also struck a chord with hundreds of like-minded parents raising children in a world where lack of belief puts them in the minority, often even in their own family. “Thank you for writing this. I agree with everything you say, but I’m not brave enough to tell everyone I know this is how I feel,” a woman who called herself an “agnostic mommy of two in Alabama” posted in the comments. “Thank you for your bravery and letting me know I’m not alone.” It’s a growing group. One in five Americans is not affiliated with any religion, and that number has grown by 25% in the past five years, according to a survey by the Pew Forum on Religion and Public Life. Of that group, 88% said they were not looking for religion, although 68% of the unaffiliated said they believe in God. Brittany Branyon, an American graduate student and substitute teacher living in Germany, was also compelled to express her thanks to Mitchell. Branyon was raised Southern Baptist in Georgia and Alabama. In high school, when she began to question the theory of creation and befriended gay and lesbian students, she says her mother tried to perform an exorcism. “She opened all the windows and doors in the house, brought me to the door, held my shoulders and shook me while screaming, ‘Satan, get out of this child!’, ‘Satan, leave this child alone!’.” After moving away from the South, she and her husband “became more comfortable in our secular ways,” but still take criticism from family members. They are now expecting their first child. “Though we are elated to welcome our child into the world, we can’t help but dread the religious uproar that is to come from our families,” she wrote in an e-mail. Such an uproar is familiar to Carol Phillips, a stay-at-home mother in northern Virginia. When she gave birth to her first child, she said her family was shocked that the baby wasn’t baptized. She said her mother-in-law cried and told her the little girl’s soul would not go to heaven. Then there are the comments from strangers. Last year, Phillips said she and her daughter were at a birthday party when a tornado warning sounded. “We were all in the basement keeping safe. A little girl was saying baby Jesus will keep us safe. My daughter asked who Jesus was. The rest of the time was spent hearing ‘I'll pray for you sweetie, we can take you to church with us if you want,’” Phillips told CNN. Commenting on Mitchell’s iReport, Phillips said, “To live out loud and to speak freely about my beliefs brings many clucking tongues. I would think it’s easier to come out as gay than atheist.” Mitchell said she spent years studying the history of religion and does believe it has “an important place in our community.” She has told her children that she’ll be fine if they decide to join a church when they are older. She ended her essay:
After her post ran on CNN, Mitchell said she was encouraged by the number of people who agreed with her, or who disagreed but wanted to have a respectful discussion. “I’m not saying that everybody should think how I do. I’m saying the people that do should have a place in our society and have acceptance and respect,” she said. “I just want to have children grow up and be able to not be afraid to say ‘I don’t believe that,’ or ‘I’m not part of that.’” soundoff (15,081 Responses)« Previous 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 25 26 27 28 29 30 31 32 33 34 35 36 37 38 39 40 41 42 43 44 45 46 47 48 49 50 51 52 53 54 55 56 57 58 59 60 61 62 63 64 65 66 67 68 69 70 71 72 73 74 75 76 77 78 79 80 81 82 83 84 85 86 87 88 89 90 91 92 93 94 95 96 97 98 99 100 101 102 103 104 105 106 107 108 109 110 111 112 113 114 115 116 117 118 119 120 121 122 123 124 125 126 127 128 129 130 131 132 133 134 135 136 137 138 139 140 141 142 143 144 145 146 147 Next »
Next entry »My Take: An almost chosen nation
« Previous entryTake a listen: God is all over inauguration
|
  About this blog
The CNN Belief Blog covers the faith angles of the day's biggest stories, from breaking news to politics to entertainment, fostering a global conversation about the role of religion and belief in readers' lives. It's edited by CNN's Daniel Burke with contributions from Eric Marrapodi and CNN's worldwide news gathering team.  |
|
|
|
Anyone know where JustTheFactsNot is? This sorry excuse for a delusional brain dead believer still owes us some of the plenty of evidence for his god and the jesus myth. I suspect his mommy took away his computer privileges. . .
Since you are not one of US the last we checked we the people of the USA don't owe YOU jack schitt. There's your sign
captain america,
How do you know that @JustTheFacts is from the U.S.? hmmmmm....
The point is f.art air isn't, by the way since you're kissing it how does that foreign butt taste to you. There's your sign
i wrote this yesterday but noone noticed it was at the bottom. but this stray cat came to my back porch, a little white kitten with distemper. it was all shaking, but still purring. and friendly. that was the only time id ever seen it, live out in the country. that night i had a dream that i was in a forest and it was dark and snowing. so i saw a cabin and knocked on the door and a lady opened it and said i could stay there. she had two kids, and one was dead, whos spirit started singing to me in a demonic voice. my body inverted in the air, i was hanging there and the kitten ran underneath me with blood gushing out of it. I woke up freaked out, and went outside and it was ran over at the end of my driveway on the highway.
that was an eye opening spiritual experience.
you may have overheard the cat getting killed in a certain stage of sleep where you can design your dreams. Happens to me all the time. I'll hear the TV in the background and subconsciously dream about the show that is on..
OK, M. Night, we give up – when's the movie being released.
the highway is 550 feet from my door. im sorry this speaks for its self. this is real. that happened and it is something involving a spiritual realm of spirits. i had someone tell me i should be put in a mental ward. but all i did was have a dream and experience the reality of the cat .
@ burt/Austin
Are you having trouble keeping your socks straight?
if you look down under my "austin" post about the dreams as i read through the old tertament, austin my real name, I will just let you know that when I hear about people who are lost and proud to reject God, and are going to keep it out of their kids heads. bearing in mind that 90% of kids who dont get saved by 12 years old never do, and knowing Jesus loved kids and said we have to have the "faith of a child" who trusts what they hear about Him, going through what i have with the dreams and being called makes me passionate for the truth. I have experienced it. I HATED christians "in the world but not of the world?" "put off your flesh live by the spirit" sounds oppressive.! but God is real. im here to tell ya.
well your imaginary friend sure has peculiar ways of manifesting himself. You'd think he wouldn't be so creepy about it. How about popping up to save some school children?!?
Very sorry to hear about the cat.
I asked a very devout Christian friend of mine about global warming. I said, you know I don't know much about it but whether we are heating up the Earth or not, we should study it and act on the side of caution because we can't afford to be wrong. He said, "it doesn't matter because we're all gonna end up in a better place someday". Comforting eh?
Don't ask a devout Christian anything. That's where you went wrong.
I go to church and i know people who act like that and i want to smack em, like people who dont care and think the earth is for human consumption. the problem is, i am in the lawn care business. live in the midwest. and i live off fertilizing peoples yard, installing sprinklers so they can water, grow faster, mow every week......it doesnt seem smart either. what do you think?
everybody has to earn a living, your line of work isn't good for the air but a necessary evil to keep neighborhoods looking good and property values up. Good job being self employed, they can't send your job to India! Indians don't do yard work.
Sounds like noisy neighborhoods during the growing months, Austin. But I'm glad that you have work – and I'm glad that you seem to respect the planet.
It's like being on a lifeboat – and half of the people on the boat want it to sink! Scary stuff.
Oh, no!
I'm approaching the event horizon!
The point of no return!
I must escape this black hole–this viper pit of insanity –while there is still a chance to do so!
All quiet on the "truth be told" front. What does it take the Chad to drive home, about a half hour?
It all depends on whether his mom picks him up on time or not.
Sometimes they stop at the Gas and Sip for hot dogs on the way home.
I am not chad nor do i know a chad but thanks for adding another proof to the Truth that atheists lie all the time.
@ truth be told
Your post might make more sense if it was relevant to this discussion, but probably not.
You're the buffoon if you think I'm a buffoon for expressing something I know is true.
That doesn't make any sense.
All you people do is call people names for the most irrational and unreasonable of reasons.
Who is this idiot talking to – herself?
I love that the best Lori-Andy can do now is "I KNOW YOU ARE BUT WHAT AM I".
something i experienced was when i was reading through the old testament in my time of need, I started having dreams about scripture that i was not familiar with, the night before i read it. i started writing my dreams down, and kept reading straight through the o.t. and the holy spirit was revealing pictures of the stuff i was going to be reading the next day . the holy spirit is a sanctifying spirit that bears the truth on someones heart, and when you receive a literal testimony from the Holy Spirit, you realize that you have been called into the light of Christ. Angels are ministering spirits, so they could have played a role in it. Jehovah Shammah the Lord is There
O_O
everybody turns to God in "time of need". Anyone ever turn to God when things are A-OK? Rarely.
@ Christo
No, you turn to god in time of need. I don't.
from religioustolerance.org:
+ + + + +
Satan did it to deceive: Various early church writers, such as Irenaeus (Bishop of Lyons; circa 120 CE to ?) Justin Martyr (Christian apologist; 100 to 165), Tertullian (Christian theologian; circa 160 to 220 +) concluded that the Pagan/Christian similarities were a Satanic attempt at "diabolical mimicry." Satan was said to have use "plagiarism by anticipation." That is, the Devil made a pre-emptive strike against the gospel stories centuries before Jesus was born. The reason was to confuse the public into thinking that Jesus was merely a copy of previous god-men. The goal was to demolish the credibility of Christianity in the people's eyes.
+ + + + +
LOL. So the early apologists explained away plagiarism by early Christians (of Pagans, and there was a LOT of it) by saying it was a pre-emptive strike by satan?? LMAO!
thats what happened. so when you witness demonic activity it becomes a lot easier to believe. if you dont believe in satan he wont persecute you. he leaves you alone. he already has victory over you at the moment. start wondering about things and he is going start messing around with your frequency and receiver.
Comedy gold!
That Satan, always one step ahead of The Man!
Gosh the early apologists got off easy on that one. ("Here, son, you don't have to look into anything or be embarrassed – just use this script right here – it comes straight from some folks who put together 'the word'")
"if you have to resort to threats, it indicates that your argument is weak"
Not necessarily.
Police resort to threats all the time when dealing with criminals. For example: "Stop or I'll shoot!"
Their argument against crime is not weak.
(Just another truth to be viciously attacked by someone who would rather benefit from lies.)
Do you have a point? Who are you responding to?
Andy got a sex change? That was fast. Can you find yourself a drive-through lobotomy center, too?
@ sam
Apparently so. Unfortunately, it didn't improve his/her ability to use the reply function.
Moore 1:1
Twas the night before Christmas, when all thro' the house
Not a creature was stirring, not even a mouse;
The stockings were hung by the chimney with care,
In hopes that St. Nicholas soon would be there;
The children were nestled all snug in their beds,
While visions of sugar plums danc'd in their heads
Oh wow! will He soon be Here With loTs of presents?
sam, are you done talking? i dont want to interrupt.
Craig,
Nice to see that you have a sense of humor (even if you did post in the wrong spot - I get it).
I see that atheists are now the new Sweat Hogs.
What a noble existence.
You shut your whore mouth while the atheists are talking!
Fundie tag team today. Lori, Craig, Deborah, ... probably all the same fool.
Looks like lionly stole sam's name based on the fem rant
"if you have to resort to threats, it indicates that your argument is weak"
Not necessarily.
Police resort to threats all the time when dealing with criminals. For example: "Stop or I'll shoot!"
Their argument against crime is not weak.
(Just another truth to be viciously attacked by someone who would rather benefit from lies.)
Lori, that might make sense if someone were really arguing with you. Since there was nothing of any real substance in your post, you've just made a bigger buffoon of yourself.
And believers are still the same snivelling sycophants
Isaiah 53:3 He is despised and rejected by men, a Man of sorrows and acquainted with grief. And we hid, as it were, our faces from Him; He was despised, and we did not esteem Him. Surely He has borne our griefs
And carried our sorrows; Yet we esteemed Him stricken, smitten by God and afflicted. But He was wounded for our transgressions, He was bruised for our iniquities; The chastisement for our peace was upon Him, and by His stripes we are healed. 700 BC messianic prophecy adam and eve sinned and hid themselves. do we hide from God? is that our nature? are we hiding from the truth. He will find you.
there we go!
Why does he keep capitalizing "He"? Does the word filter forbid "B a r r y M a n i l o w"?
Huh, I was thinking Neil Diamond?
He sees you when you're sleeping, he knows when you're awake...
Peter Frampton.
But is Peter Frampton rejected and despised by men?
Lo, Peter Frampton is despised and rejected by men; not all men, but some men; these men that despise him are forsaken by girlfiends, yea, who have sullied themselves with choosing to gift The Frampton with their underthings at concerts past. For He did Come Alive and the Baby Did Love His Way.
Craig,
Guess what? Matthew, Mark, Luke, John, Paul, or the others who wrote under those names, read (or heard recited) the Book of Isaiah and the rest of those old-time 'prophecies'. So easy to include them in their stories, for which there is no other authentication or verification, except for a bit of hearsay.
LOL @sam
Insert bible verse here as if its evidence of something
insert rebuttal comment refuting content of bible quote
cry and claim the rebuttal was mean because it was logical and backed by actual evidence
comment further re OPs lack of big boy pants
insert my own opinion that has nothing to do with the post.
Insult wow......
Quote song lyrics; insist they have more import and meaning than the bible quote
Post under a new name agreeing with yourself.
just joking sam its ok.
LOL
i wonder what the neandrathal baby will think. i cant wait
"Bread, good. Fire, bad."
I wonder if they have any serrogate volunteers yet i bet do. that baby is going to have alot of attention.
that would be crazy being that baby growing up realizing you were an experiment from a species 40.000 years ago.
@ Craig
According to people with great knowledge of nothing the universe is 6000 years old so that is impossible
speed of light fluctuation, gravity field fluctuation, not a constant model like every one assumes. we allraedy know that the magnetic pole shifted. who knows... I trust the way the Holy Spirit reveals himself within the heart. its something that you pretty much have to go through to believe and not be offended by it, come to a point where you understand the desperate need for it . humble and broken
I'm sure you intended to make a point with all that writing, Craig, but you managed to avoid it.
during noahs flood, if the presence of God hovered over the water., and God, in an attribute of radiant light, ( since moses was aged when he came down from the mountain (grey hair)), then the radio active decay rate of uranium or carbon could have been accelerated. when is an athiest going to think outside the box? He puts light where it belongs, and shines in our hearts in the face of Jesus Christ because He commands it to be so.
during noahs flood, if the presence of God hovered over the water, in an attribute of radiant light, ( since moses was aged when he came down from the mountain (grey hair)), then the radio active decay rate of uranium or carbon could have been accelerated. when is an athiest going to think outside the box?
yeah, Craig, that must be it. How could we have missed it?
maggots on a cow.......UNITE US ZEUS!
adorable? Sam, is not an athiest what is he?
Now I see why there is such widespread contempt for atheists.
My experience here has proven to me that it is warranted.
What's adorable is that you think everyone who's disagreeing with you is atheist. You're wrong.
How high is that horse, anyway? Did you need a ladder?
Dude believes a CNN comment section is proof of anything....sad.
sam
To a born again all other Christians might as well be atheists, because they sure don't believe in the same God that they do, right?
Awwwww. Are you mad that you don't have any proof? If your god is invisible and undetectable by any reliable, verifiable method, then don't get mad when people don't believe in him. Just be thankful for those that do believe without any reason to. M'kay?
Crybaby.
If you're going to come on to a public forum and post nonsense and misinformation, expect to get your ass handed to you, bubbie.
@Tod – you have a point there.
Andy, you mean widespread hatred in your loving religious compound?
So you post contemptuous comments about atheists and because they respond in kind, atheists are the spawn of satan. Look in the mirror Andy (or whichever handle you post under next).
I see that atheists are now the new Sweat Hogs.
What a noble existence.
Lori, please excuse all the atheists. They had too much baloney for dinner last night and are feeling too queasy to come to Bible school today.
Signed, Epstein's Mother
Was that supposed to be clever or something?
You seem to thrive on your hatred of Christianity like maggots on a dead cow.
What you said was not true, and it can be scientifically proven not to be true, ironically enough.
I have no idea what you are talking about, because its evident you dont know how to use the reply button, but please please please show us this scientific evidnece for whatever it is you are talking about.
Go to CNN.com and fill out the Butthurt Report.
sam lolz
Haha, $10 says he's looking for it right now.
sam – all joking aside, it's almost guaranteed that there is someone out there, right now... reading this...
who wants to put a bullet in my head, and yours... and a lot of others who post regularly.
srsly – they mad
I've always liked to think that the madder someone gets, the worse their aim is. May as well keep them frothing at the mouth until someone comes along to put a straitjacket on 'em.
Andy, some helpful tips: The "mouse" is not an animal. It controls the cursor movement on-screen. It does not belong on the floor. It's "The Internet" not "my internets". Al Gore did not invent it. The Earth revolves around the Sun. And there is a "reply" link beneath each post so we know what the hell you're talking about.
i got no hate of christianity. i have an extreme dislike of pompous jacka$$es. judging by your comment, you fall into the latter category
the Anvil: on another story, a person posting under the name "Canadian" said they wanted to meet me face to face. i did not think it a friendly comment
one would think people would be thankful to learn the truth, that there are no gods.
you'd think they'd be relieved and happy... but nooooooooooooooo
all the tears... the grief.....
it's so sad when these primates reject the truth.
If name-calling is being mean, then atheists are mean.
Mean atheists dont prove your god exists.
What if the name suits you, like "Andy" or "simpleton"?
Atheists are the ones doing all of the name-calling in here: stupid, mentally-handicapped, and a host of other adjectives on this blog.
And you're the one posting under 2 names Andy. Or should I say Craig? LOL
"YOUR ALL BIG MEANIES."
You've posted lies and misinformation, but get all sniffly when someone points it out? Boo hoo, grow a pair.
andy: and theists are the ones issuing the empty proxy threats. "believe in jeebus, or burn for eternity"......what fvcking drivel
if all the citizens of the united states were to embrace xianity – it could make this country what it once was...
.
.
a barren wasteland, covered in ice.
lol