My husband did, while he was a Ph.D. candidate in ecology/wildlife biology. It was the first domino to fall that led him out of Christianity. If the Bible claims to be science, it makes it all the more easy for an actual scientist to reject it. There is no creation science evidence. It's merely lies and ignorant rebuttals of the theory of evolution.

I do support Planned Parenthood. I began doing so three years ago when our current state government began stripping away their funding. Since then, four clinics have closed--and they did NOT provide abortion services, but provided only women's health care screenings, treatment, and birth control. Another non-abortion related clinic in a rural area is set to close this fall in our state. Had I known, I would have supported them sooner.

Yes, neurotheology! I've never even heard of this, but I'm glad someone's looking into it. I can't tell you the number of times I've wished I had been some part of some longitudinal brain experiment so we could follow how (and if) my brain functioned differently between my religious years and my non-religious years.

This does relate directly to your question though it is essentially about evolution. It's a short, 9-minute video that explains why evolution and understanding it is important. http://www.youtube.com/ watch?v=V6zaRW5dL5w&feature=youtu.be [ETA: I made a break in the address in hopes that the information would say, but that the video wouldn't appear because of the request for photos etc. to be removed.]

Yep. I'm going with lazy too. I've thought about getting one, several times, but have never followed through. ETA: Whew! Ok, I did it. This means I don't have to work out today, right?

I struggled with infertility for years. My sister-in-law will never conceive or give birth. We both disagree that conceiving and giving birth are the most empowering thing a woman can do. Sure, I value the ability. I'm glad I had children. I wanted them. I do NOT see it as empowering. In many, many situations, throughout time conceiving and/or giving birth has been of very serious detriment to women. That's a fact. You've just conveniently moved the goalposts on your own statement.

Could not disagree more. "Birth and growing babies" has caused more deaths for women than any other phenomenon is the course of human history. Gestating and birthing is no more empowering than ejaculating. It's what a body does under given circumstances. No. No. No.

I agree with Rosie. There's nothing wrong with going to church with the family. Also, I wouldn't use the word "witch." You know it's going to cause upset, fear, and hurt, then why give that label? Be a witch all you want, but not using that term is not being a hypocrite either. Just tell them, "Mama doesn't believe the things she used to believe, but nothing else has changed. I love you and your Daddy very much." It's true, isn't it? :) Then, that's all of the truth you need to tell, AFAIC. I think that's how best to keep things calm and help your family.

Both my husband and I were very serious Evangelical Christians and missionaries for years. I know that if he had left the faith, I would have been completely devastated. Fortunately, as we both began to question and doubt our faith, we felt each other out, dropping hints over a couple of years, and we eventually left faith at the same time. It would also have been excruciating if I had stopped believing and he still believed. The no-longer-religious partner hurts too in these situations. Our marriage is as strong and meaningful as it was when we were religious. I wonder what it might feel like if we were at odds on the issue.

I'm so sorry for your pain. I hope you and your husband will come through this with peace and comfort and greater love for one another, in spite of the shock. :grouphug:

I'm a bad person. :( I thought both books were horribly boring. :D

Maybe this? http://www.amazon.com/Biblical-Literacy-Essential-Stories-Everyone/dp/006171867X

Ooooh, I just Can't Stand, "Tess". Totally agree with her need for a SGF. :D LOL. I haven't thought about that in years! I second the Major of Casterbridge. I haven't read Far From the Maddening Crowd though. I might have to try it. I read "Tess" first and almost made it my first and last Hardy.

HAHAHAH! Cool kid. My kiddos love the Doctor. My 7-year-old likes to watch, but runs upstairs if things get too exciting. He did ask for a gas mask for Halloween though. :D

I worry about my children dying by gun as well, honestly. I grew up in a home where my father was in law enforcement, and I had easy access to guns. Not just for my father's work, but for hunting. Very small ranching town. In 7th grade, our science class took a week a did Hunter's Safety so we could get hunting licenses. My brother shot his first rabbit when he was 5 (yummy dinner). I was a little older; don't have the blood lust. Easily 50% of my high school regularly hunted in the fall. Deer, elk, antelope. I was an oddity that I didn't, given my father's profession (which I'm being just a bit vague about). I've been around guns my whole life. I know a half dozen people from my town who have killed themselves intentionally with guns, and several who have accidentally injured themselves. My husband and I have hunting rifles, but I'm scarcely a friend of the NRA. I tell you what, I have issues with guns now. I found that a friend of mine kept a loaded pistol in her top drawer--just in case. A couple of years ago, a boy in the local homeschooling group killed another little hs boy when they were playing with a firearm in one of their homes. People do not care for weapons well, i don't think, and with the prevalence of guns in my area, I do worry about it. I haven't quite got up the courage to ask the friends in my new town if they have guns and how they are stored when my kids to go play--but I probably should. I have warned them all what to do if a friend shows them a gun. (I don't imagine most parents outside of the US have to do this). A little girl in our area was shot in the head playing in a school playground last week. She was playing in a freakin' playground! Granted, my children will likely never be hurt by gunfire. But the chances of it are far higher here in the US than any other developed country. Is this right?

Great, thanks everyone. I'll check and see how the insurance will cover her in the new state. Hopefully pretty well! :D

Ohh, actually, DD is 14. I should have made that clearer. I'd expect a college-aged kid to be living on their own. I hadn't thought of that aspect. :D

My second child has an exciting opportunity to live with uncle and aunt in another state for the school year. Here's what I need to know--insurance. How do we cover her when she's living away from us? Do they take her on their insurance? I have no idea how to do this. Any suggestions? Thanks!

So true. I tore up so many of my pretty coverings with bobby pins, and it was never pretty under my headcovering. Plus, I was always getting my head wanded when going through airport security--I was surprised the piece didn't mention that. I'll have to share this with my hijabi students. :)

I still have really no idea what the OP with the complaint about this song means. But I'm glad you seem to. :) Should all songs be about rainbows and happiness? Is that what she's saying? We shouldn't take a moment of profound emotions, that are not necessarily cheery, and set them to music?

Maybe I'm pretty coarse, or just have had limited real-life experiences, but I've read pretty broadly and don't feel like I needed to be forewarned about anything in my reading. By way of example, I said in the other thread, I read Kaffir Boy when I was in 7th grade. I found it a revelation, and a horror, but I didn't have any trauma as a result. I remember the most shocking scene quite clearly even today though. My daughter is more sensitive than I, and I told her what The Hunger Games was about before she read it, just so she knew the basic idea. She started it and decided to wait a year or so. I believe she was in 5th grade. 6th when she actually read it. I would have read it in 5th grade with no problem. It's not a criticism of her, but I am aware of different sensitivity levels. She's in 7th grade and read "The Glass Castle" this year. That has some pretty sad stuff in it, but she's actually read in a couple of times this year because she liked to go back and mull it over. I think the hardest I've ever cried because of a work was the ending of "Casey at the Bat". Misplaced sadness, I know. :)

I would hope that the student has been exposed to enough literature to be aware that it contains depictions of many sorts of life experiences. The Bible has rape and dismemberment and genocide in it. Shakespeare has its fair share. How does a student get through high school without being aware of these topics or being exposed to them in literature? A college student ought to be able to look at a book list and do a quick tour of Amazon or any online source and identify themes and plot points if need be and prepare themselves.. These are adults. This is a way to learn. For a person who has been traumatized, hopefully a good therapist can help them learn to anticipate areas when they may experience challenging ideas--such as a college classroom--particularly in the arts or a literature classroom.

That's pretty much my feeling. Honestly, though, I don't have a problem with mentioning in my college syllabus that "this course and its materials contain mature subject matter that may include [whatever]" but I'm not going to spell it out in every book or give page numbers for every version, or offer alternate selections for every book. (My goodness! The workload!) By the time I was in high school, I had gained enough skill in skimming that I could tell when an unpleasant part was coming up if I wanted to avoid gory details of something or other. (I read "Kafir Boy" when I was in junior high--a book of my own choosing--and it was my first introduction to even the concept of child rape and prostitution and apartheid.) I understand if there are students who really are triggered by certain issues, and I hope that my syllabus would encourage them to come to me (it hasn't happened so far in my college classes), and I could help them identify these parts and perhaps avoid them if they really needed to, but understand enough of what happens to participate in the greater discussion. But, as I've said, it hasn't been an issue. So, I'm not completely unaccommodating, but I always think a balance is reasonable.

***Trigger warning on this post.*** I have to admit with having a hard time with the "trigger warning" stuff. I see so much of it online, it's lost all meaning for me. Everything is "triggery" it seems to me--from racism to sexual violence to any sort of unnatural death, to the "misuse" of a deity's name in some cases. I taught an "advanced" online English class to some high schoolers 2 years ago. We began with a unit on fairy tales. I had one girl who refused to come to class one day because we read the original Cinderella the night before, and she was "traumatized" by reading about the birds pecking out the stepsisters' eyes. I had other boy whose mother came home from an outing to find him "comatose" in front of the computer because he was so freaked out by a story I told. I very casually told the story of a very early version of Sleeping Beauty "Sun, Moon, and Talia" and we did a quick comparison of the story and more modern versions we know. Why was he "comatose"? Because the prince doesn't kiss the princess, he rapes her as she sleeps, and she later gives birth to twins. I didn't do anything more than say the word, and it was just overwhelmed him to the point that he just sat shell shocked in front of the computer. No, he hadn't had any personal experience with violence, but the very idea was so appalling to him, he couldn't even function. I have no idea how these students are supposed to cope with going to college--or, hell, even reading the newspaper. I did know one woman once who had her husband read the newspaper before she did and remove everything she might find upsetting. I'm not unsympathetic to actual trauma and pain caused by rehashing traumatic memories--but I think the ubiquity of the triggering-warning on everything has become patently absurd. Maybe someday we'll have them on books and movies--similar to the health warning on cigarettes. Maybe entire college departments will have a standard blanket trigger warning. I realize I'm being absurd now, but really, to what point do we take this, and when can we just let it go?