Quote:
Originally Posted by Rockin' Flames
So then a child that is the son or daughter of an athiest has no choice but to be an athiest since the parents will not expose them to any religion but will be told that there isn't a god. Therefore the choice is made for those children.
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Did you miss the word "likely" in what he said? It's not that they have no choice but to be an atheist, it's just that they will likely believe similar to what their parents believe, all things being equal.
Beliefs can be heavily influenced by what your peers believe, you admitted to this yourself in your acceptance of Christianity.
You still choose what to believe, but your choice is informed and influenced by external factors, and to overcome a strong belief with just reasoning is actually quite difficult.
Quote:
Originally Posted by Rockin' Flames
I'm going to have to disagree with you on the fact that children's choices are made for them just based upon what they are exposed to. I won't disagree that there is an influence but the choice a child makes will ultimately be the childs choice not the parents.
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It's the child's choice, but as demonstrated by simple demographics, that choice is primarily as a result of that influence, not on reasoning of all available options or something like that.
The choices we make aren't nearly as "free" as we'd like to think.