Have we had a thread about the Richard Dawkins atheist summer camps for kids yet?

[policywonk]

here

Though #1: Dawkins is a loon.

Thought #2 (following very closely on the heels of Thought #1): DS1 (6) - who is alone (in his class of 30) in having been taught about the Big Bang rather than the creation story - might well get a lot out of something like this. At the moment, he's beginning to suspect that his father and I are cult leaders.

Now that's a thought. When and how did the Greek and Roman STOP having faith in their gods? Am I right in thinking they just swapped over to christianity? If so then at first it would have been exactly the same people wouldn't it. Swapping one weekend activity for another one equally credible.

I LOVE IT LOL my friend is an atheist and says, infront of her kids, that they are free to make their own minds up about there being no God.
Ok, so they can make their own mind up BUT THERE IS NO GOD - so to her kids, infact, there IS no God cos she says there isn't.. but she can't see that she ISN'T letting them chose for themselves!
makes me larf

Is anyone on here one of the 24 sets of parents sending their child to this atheist camp?

A philosophy camp (without an agenda) would be nice . . .

I don't know why camps have to have a theme at all really. Aside from the running around and climbing trees and falling over theme.

There might be a need for it one day though. For those who grow up thinking religion is the only option.

I thought this was bizarro because surely MOST camps are secular? They are not exactly sitting around discussing the baby Jesis at my very cheap high quality local council-run leisure centre summer camp.

I liked the quote from the organisers: "There is very little that attacks religion"

Oh that's okay then!

May I just point out, re the OP, that while we attend church and my DC have certainly heard the creation story, they have also heard of the Big Bang theory. And indeed I teach it to other people's children, what with in being in the KS4 programme of study for physics.

Trouble is, that as soon as you introduce an 'agenda' to an activity like that, complete with compulsory 'discussion' sessions, it's an open invitation for kids to start rolling their eyes and huffing and resenting it. So it might actually end up backfiring.

"Atheism = faith + thought + time"

Christ on a bike. You should offer your services to the summer camp UQD. They'd love it.

unstrungharp - look at the context. We were talking about the Greeks and Romans. Rhubarb's quite reasonable response to this was that their gods aren't believed in any more and that Judeo-Christian monotheism is. My response to this is "give it time"...

I saw the context

Not quite UQD! Onager is right, the Greeks and Romans did largely convert to Christianity. So they still believe.

And most faiths that have gods, do have one large diety that is God, the Supreme Being so to speak. The belief in a Creator is recognised by a great many faiths and has been for thousands of years.

So perhaps Faith = athiesm + thought + time.

still waiting here!

Waiting for God, or Godot?

waiting for the thought and time to = faith!

Ah, that comes with evolution I'm afraid!

Am highly evolved!
(indignant)

..and about to watch Dawkins enthuse about a dissected elephant.

But it ain't the same creator, that's the thing. Gods come, gods go, according to the superstitious fashion of the day!

I do think it's good that some humanists/atheists are uncomfortable with the summer camp idea, as it shows we can disagree and that this sort of thing (healthy debate) is in fact encouraged. It's entirely possible to hold a different opinion from someone on the same "side" as you...

(I am still fascinated by your experienced "proof", Rhubarb (mentioned on other thread). I'm not going to press you for it as i sens between the lines that it is something too personal. However, I have met people before who have claimed to have something similar, and it turned out to be asking God for an ill relative to get better and they did. Obviously a sceptic like me is going to have a field day unpicking that!)

I think the best way to foster scepticism in a child is to send them to a C of E school and have parents who are quite, um, scoffy about the principles of religious thought while accepting absolutely anyone's need to believe

My DH has developed his atheism all on his own, despite his school, and my soggy liberal tolerance (you know: 'some people believe in a higher power darling...')

And when I said DH I did not mean that.

btw when I said about the Greeks and Romans I was meaning that the first christians were the kind of people who would believe anything. They had the previous week been happy to believe in crocodile gods, thunder gods and gods who turned into swans and got other gods pregnant.

If someone had suggested a pasta god I'm sure some would have gone for it.

lol, Loop. DH also clever I see.

Ha UQD! Yes, the ill relative who gets better! Obv I've experienced that too.

Not sure about your different Gods theory. For instance, Muslims and Hindus believe in the same God as the Christians. He may have different names, but he is the same God as ours. Both of those religions are thousands of years old. And both the Hindus and Muslims also see Jesus as a prophet.

Of course none of this is your 'proof' though. I've a feeling that it would take God to literally stand in front of you and do some spectacular stuff to get you to believe, but even then you'd think he was just a clever conjurer (as some people think of Jesus)! But then if you converted, who would I have to debate with?

The best way to foster scepticism in a child is to just teach them to be questioning of any messages being forced on them, religious or not. Dd has not had a lot of exposure to religion, but she has had a hell of a lot of exposure to advertising, and I find myself constantly deconstructing billboards with her. Relentless marketing has become far more of a threat to a child's independence of mind than religion.