http://www.agnosticmom.com/2005/10/02/my-son-the-rule-follower/ Raising a Healthy Family Without Religion. Tue, 06 Jan 2009 09:57:13 +0000 http://wordpress.org/?v=2.6.1 http://www.agnosticmom.com/2005/10/02/my-son-the-rule-follower/#comment-138177 Joseph Fri, 25 Jan 2008 23:48:45 +0000 http://www.agnosticmom.com/?p=2#comment-138177 I am really struck by your "god-factor" thing. I found this entry looking for "rule-breaker." I find it odd that you think you are not completely dependant on a "god-factor" when it is so clearly the first thing you think of when your kid is a pain. I feel sorry for whatever experiance made you associate these feelings with the church. It is clear that alot of healing is necessary for you to contextualize the role of churchs as club-goods and agents for organizing sub-cultural groups around coherent rule structures. Far from being free of a "god-factor" your thinking is dominated by it. Also it seems that you are self-righteous enough to think that you can characterize other's beliefs is such a negative way. I think being honest with yourself may be a first step to being a consistant parent with your child. Your hatred of religion is going to drive Blake into its arms. If you don't appreciate the reasons that others choose this, and remain open to the truths as they percieve them, you are going to communicate this imbalance to Blake. He will then seek to correct this and may be led into some very bizarre mental gymnastics to overcome it. Good luck. I hope that you will try on some different understandings of the "god-thing" and see the one you have choosen from a different light. Opposition to something necessitates the thing more than the adherence to it. Think back to your days in the church and all of the rhetoric about the opposer. I think you will be fine, but must release your desire to own culture and program your different path. You are unique enough without having to pretend that you have some superior understanding of a "god-thing." I am really struck by your “god-factor” thing. I found this entry looking for “rule-breaker.” I find it odd that you think you are not completely dependant on a “god-factor” when it is so clearly the first thing you think of when your kid is a pain. I feel sorry for whatever experiance made you associate these feelings with the church. It is clear that alot of healing is necessary for you to contextualize the role of churchs as club-goods and agents for organizing sub-cultural groups around coherent rule structures. Far from being free of a “god-factor” your thinking is dominated by it. Also it seems that you are self-righteous enough to think that you can characterize other’s beliefs is such a negative way. I think being honest with yourself may be a first step to being a consistant parent with your child. Your hatred of religion is going to drive Blake into its arms. If you don’t appreciate the reasons that others choose this, and remain open to the truths as they percieve them, you are going to communicate this imbalance to Blake. He will then seek to correct this and may be led into some very bizarre mental gymnastics to overcome it. Good luck. I hope that you will try on some different understandings of the “god-thing” and see the one you have choosen from a different light. Opposition to something necessitates the thing more than the adherence to it. Think back to your days in the church and all of the rhetoric about the opposer. I think you will be fine, but must release your desire to own culture and program your different path. You are unique enough without having to pretend that you have some superior understanding of a “god-thing.”

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