selfishheathens.com

[formerfundie]

i stumbled onto this the other night

http://www.selfishheathens.com/index.html

what's with the child-free stance? didn't bother to register,
as i didn't feel like i would be welcomed. it seems like such
an arbitrary combination. like, we only welcome athiest
belly dancers who like to smoke unfiltered cigarettes...

weird. :dontknow:

[stan2reason]

There's a growing community of the "child-free". They're opposed to government benefits for children and generally consider the munchkins to be a thourough waste of time. I would guess that this forum is primarily a child-free site that happens to be for atheists who are also child-free.

I think that those of us who have kids, or simply don't hate the concept of kids are called (not too flatteringly) "breeders".

As a pediatrician I can say that I'm wholly opposed...guys gotta make a living! Oh yeah, I love my kids too.

:p

[Aspirin99]

Yeah, I saw it and also chose not to sign up. I thought... I'm not for being selfish and I have kids. Must not be for me.

[Kingreaper]

It's selfishheathens. If you're selfish you probably shouldn't be having children, and almost certainly don't want to. If you're a heathen you haven't got a deity telling you to.

It doesn't seem that out of place.

[formerfundie]

It's selfishheathens. If you're selfish you probably shouldn't be having children, and almost certainly don't want to. If you're a heathen you haven't got a deity telling you to.

It doesn't seem that out of place.

i guess "child-free" isn't out of place with respect to the "selfish" theme. i just don't see any correlation with atheism and selfishness... or that the only reason to have kids is because a deity told you to. having children is the darwinian way! :)

[Kingreaper]

i guess "child-free" isn't out of place with respect to the "selfish" theme. i just don't see any correlation with atheism and selfishness... or that the only reason to have kids is because a deity told you to. having children is the darwinian way! :)
Oh, sure, there's no real connection between atheism and selfishness. Which is why it's not redundant to have SelfishHeathens as a site name; the vast majority of heathens are not in fact selfish, whatever fundamentalists might claim.

[Kumbafu]

It's selfishheathens. If you're selfish you probably shouldn't be having children, and almost certainly don't want to. If you're a heathen you haven't got a deity telling you to.

It doesn't seem that out of place.

Isn't HAVING children selfish?

One has children not for the sake of the child [since children don't exist until they're born] but for their own sake. With, I suppose, the exception of foster and adoptive parents.

[stan2reason]

Absolutely. Almost everything can be characterized as selfish; having children is no different. Although, I'm not speaking of selfish in a derogatory sense. There are studies that show our pleasure centers are stimulated when we do altruistic things like waving on a fellow motorist etc. We view the world through our own eyes--it makes sense that we're motivated by our own needs. Even being kind to others seems to be rooted in a certain form of selfishness.

[Kingreaper]

Isn't HAVING children selfish?

One has children not for the sake of the child [since children don't exist until they're born] but for their own sake. With, I suppose, the exception of foster and adoptive parents.
Having children benefits you through parts of the mind similar to the conscience IMO.

Being truly selfish means not working for your conscience IMO (otherwise, even the most selfless person is selfishly working to please their conscience) so it means ignoring the sort of pleasure that childrearing gives.

Of course, I can see why you might disagree, but that's my take on it.

[phrog]

I have had, on numerous occasions, some xtian tell me my wife and I are selfish for NOT having children, and in another breath say something like "Who's going to take care of you in your old age?"

Go figure.

[chasm]

Isn't HAVING children selfish?

One has children not for the sake of the child [since children don't exist until they're born] but for their own sake. With, I suppose, the exception of foster and adoptive parents.

Having children is selfish. Keeping them isn't. Been lots of times I'd like to selfishly give mine away and get my house back.

[Kumbafu]

Having children is selfish. Keeping them isn't. Been lots of times I'd like to selfishly give mine away and get my house back.

I'll give you a proverbial "amen" on that answer. LOL

[phrog]

Having children is selfish. Keeping them isn't. Been lots of times I'd like to selfishly give mine away and get my house back.
I child proofed my house, but they still get in.
Steven Wright

[aka d2]

Being new to this site...let me just tell you you are a lot easier on the eyes than selfishheathens.com.

They can have their silly child free environment...I'll keep my mass chaos.