Today is my 15th wedding annivarsary. 15 years married to a beautiful and wonderful person. 15 years married to a theist.So here’s a thread dedicated to diversity at the micro level — mixed marriages. They CAN work, as long as you don’t try to change each other. Love a theist? Chime in!
I’m a forty-something gay atheist libertarian. The chances of me getting married to someone who won’t strangle me (or vice versa) is fairly small. Congratulations on your achievement.
OK…we all have pets. How do we know that the behavior they exhibit is “love” and not merely what most call “instinct”?
The point is we can’t. Love and many other emotions are only observed in humans.
Here’s a great example of how those that claim to only believe in logic believe in an idea that is totally illogical.
Humans definately have their flaws but they exhibit totally illogical behavior sometimes.
I remember years ago when a plane crashed in Washington DC in the middle of winter and the plane ended up in the river. A witness to the crash jumped into the water and saved 2 strangers before succumbing to the frigid temperatures and died. An obvious expression of compassion for his fellow man. Some might call it love. Others might call it supidity…
Spanders…the love chapter.
However…you forgot the most important verse about love…
That love is greater than faith?
rah62
well lets fight to change that
hell that goes out to all the other GLBT atheist here.
Comment from: spanders [Member]
http://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?book_id=69&chapter=4&version=31&context=chapter
Congrats.Remember love knows NO boundaries.
Congrats on your 15 years, Dave. I just celebrated 25 years with my Phillippina wife. And yes, that subservience thing is only skin deep!
She is a strong Catholic (in her own terms) but not what I would call a fanatic. Our children are all Catholics, but none of them seem to believe in “religion”; in fact, one of them so stated on his LiveJournal. I avoid any confrontations, and she never pressures me in any fashion.
When I met her years ago, she introduced me to all her friends, mostly couples. For some reason, the men were all quite opinionated, and non-religious, one of them a thoroughgoing atheist. I have never heard her make any judgemental comment on these people. She tried to get the atheist couple installed as godparents to our first child (at the request of the lady of the couple). the priest would not go for it, he was concerned they never went to church, and were apparently lapsed Catholics. Nonetheless, he consulted his conscience and allowed one of the couple to be paired with a person from a church-going couple; then with the second child we switched it up. The priest called me late one night with his decision. I suspect he was a little concerned with the fact that it was a mixed marriage in the first place.
At that time I would have described myself as an agnostic. It is only lately that I have been thinking that one should consider the best arguments on both sides, and that this inevitably leads to a decision.
My anniversary was one day before yours, Dave. I can’t say that I am so sure I could tolerate a theist for a wife. I’ve been married for 6 years to a wonderful wife, whom is also an atheist.
Anyway, congratulations on your anniversary!
My question is, how does your wife deal with your daughter’s desbelief and willingness to show it in such a venue as the public school system?
Congratulations to the two of you, just in case Diane and I forgot to congratulate you at Balticon.
Diane often says that science fiction IS our religion.
Lee
I like this dude, he’s a christian though.
You said does a=b?, then said a=b is unknowable therefore ab
Then said…
Logician heal thyself.
..ab = a does not equal b..
$&@#$^%* angle brackets parsed out…
15 years for my wife and I also. I think our marraige works because neither of us takes our beliefs (or non-beliefs) too seriously. After all, neither of us has evidence to support our view.
I think, though, that I’m rubbing off on her. She has recently expressed some doubt.
On Love;
Love is an instinct that is present in many species. However, not all species show evidence of love. Just as not all humans are capable of love(ASD,etc…)
Love is best shown to be genetic in humans because of the varied ways in which our species has the ability to love.
Personal or physical:
Some are genetically attracted to the same sex.
Some want love transgenderally.
Some will only procreate with their “freudian mothers or fathers”
(if they don’t eat them first, and start all the worlds religions.)
Some prefer another species
(see Idaho)
Some want only relatives
(see “FLDS”)
I remember this from college:
When it comes to offspring all species exist on a spectrum of K-R selection and spend a certain amount of resources available on either or both:
1.quality of young (ex. one kid born, one kid to Harvard. or one baby cow etc)
2.quantity of young (ex. “Meaning of Life”, “Every sperm is precious”. or Spiders etc)
A certain amount of resource is invested in making the offspring. then a certain amount of resources, (or none) are used supporting those offspring. If a species has a combination of the two (K&R) that works the species “TENDS” to survive to produce its own offspring, and is considered successful.
A lot of what determines if a species is more K or R selective, is determined by the amount of time the offspring requires to “get on its’ own two feet”
Since spiders are born “ready to go” they require no K selection. Few may make it to adulthood, so the spider has to reproduce in vast numbers to sustain itself.
Conversely, we require about 18-21 years to reach maturity. We therefore require massive amounts of resources to sustain our offspring and our species.
If we did not have the instinct to care for our young(love our young) we wouldn’t have made it very far as a species.
Therefore love is only a byproduct of our own instincts.(the need to find a mate and perpetuate the species) But it is also the greatest gift given to us by our ancestors through evolution.
(Don’t bring up pets as a counterpoint, please. I know we domesticated them so they could get “cute”, and domesticate us.)
I’ve been married to my wife, who is catholic, for 12 years now and everything is wonderful. My two kids go to church. My feeling on the matter is it didn’t hurt my religious viewpoint when I went to church as a kid, let them make their decision on their own when they are old enough to do so.
For me to put my views on them would be as bad as the other way around. We each need to make our way through this world in the way that makes the most sense for ourselves.
Karen,
Just a word, since I always enjoy your comments. Over the last several months I?ve been hanging around here, I have found your remarks to be very consistent; reflecting a mind that has strong continuity, whatever else is going on under the surface. We are not friends here at this site but after reading countless posts I think we are acquaintances in some filtered way and I hope you can wrestle some of the crap out of your life. Want some of mine?
I would have married the first girl I was in love when, when I was 19. She believed in that Jesus crap. However, I loved her so much I would have, had I had the opportunity.. it was that strong.
Otherwise, I don’t have the patience or tolerance to date a theist.. unless I so click with them it’s sick. However, even if I did get with one, I would, over time, talk to them about it and get them to read something like “Losing Faith in Faith” by Dan Barker… eventually, if they love you enough, they will listen and not be afraid to learn… even change their minds.
Especially since I like to make fun of theism every chance I get.