That's alright, I'll pitch in to buy him an x-mas present. whatever can lessen the pain of such a stuck up mother.

christians can be so scary. although, perhaps, she was actually scared herself.

Poor kid. It would be hard to come out of the atheist closet at that age. The pure rage from that mother is sad. What is this clip from??

Braver than I! I haven't even told my mom (and probably wont...)

Oh, and i loved how she threatened with presents ("that's what christmas is about!")

I'm another 'confirmed atheist'

Lucky for me, I told my parents I didn't believe in God when I was as young as 7. They sure didn't act like this though. I mean, I was a kid, nothing I said was set in stone yet. Well, I'm still an atheist, and they don't seem to mind much anymore.

Anyway, where was this filmed. Sounds like North Dakota; just speculation though.

another confirmed atheist here :)

that was really brave of him. took some guts to face such a ballistic mother. bet that felt really good though...

i don't know, but aren't there easier ways to talk to one's children than constantly bullying them or threatening them?

What that kid doesn't understand is the Jesus died going down a chimney so he could have presents. For three days his corpse remained in that chimney until some guy poked at it with a spear and dislodged it. And now that kid is going to completely disregard that sacrifice? What is happening to the youth of today?

The good thing is that he's out now. He can now start going to atheist bars. Who knows, maybe even a...parade? One can dream.

Awesome video Norm. I shall send this to my parents.

boy is he in trouble!!

hah! the clip vanished off youtube the miniute I watched it.. Jesus must be pummeling his ass right now!

OK Norm, fess up. You corrupted Michael and then filmed him in the act of coming out to his parents.

What could make you do such a thing. Could it be...Satan?!

Now you have to get Michael something for X-mas, you BASTARD!

This is why my parents still don't know I'm an atheist, and I'm 26.

...not that I would mind not getting christmas presents. Actually, I haven't received christmas presents in years anyway, because they actually came to the realization that christmas is a pagan celebration.

...so is Easter

that was sad....so many people call themselves christians who, in reality, are nothing of the sort. Believe what you want about the 'story'...but you can never argue with the life and actions of a real christian...of which there are seemingly few these days...

Poor kid...

That is exactly why I refused to get confirmed, that was my first and only stand. Mum couldn't understand at first, but I told her "Look, I had little to no choice for Christening and First communion, do you really want me to lie when I get confirmed?"

also, that father needs to take his balls back from his wife...she cut 'em off and put them in her purse...grow a pair and defend the abuse of your son, man!

I don't feel too bad for him, as long as he sticks by his "non-beliefs". At least he got 15-16 years of presents in. I barely got Channukah presents, which aren't special enough to buy someone's faith with. That would seem a much better rationale for belief in god though - Christmas presents... really, really good ones.

the first thing i thought was "i want to send this guy a christmas present". im not kidding. i want to find out who he is and send him some treats lol. atheists lack the kind of structure and support thats needed to take away our bad reputation. who is he and lets give him something for his bravery cause its well deserved for standing up to his mother. im lucky my mother is respectful of my view.

Crazy woman. I love her ignorance of the origins of Christmas, and how she tried to bribe him. What was she looking for? "In that case, Jesus is my Lord and savior! And I want a PS3."

This is not a happy family. The mom's vulgar anger is likely from fear of failing her socially expected role, the chubby dad seems passive and perhaps overeats to stuff down his disallowed feelings, the boy is a little young to make this decision without the risk that it's really more about just wanting to be independent from his mom, and who is the unseen operator of the camera? A younger sibling, perhaps? The filming was planned in advance. Lots of secret intrigue for a suburban middle class family of four. They need family counseling.

"christians can be so scary."

true. but don't let this turn into a generalization.

there are plenty of well adjusted, clear thinking, tolerant Christians.

But there's no reason to make a video/mp3 of those people, so it's hard to tell.

• sean

Yeah... I would buy him a christmas present too. Hopefully he stands by his beliefs. It is so sad to see someone who is probably logical and intelligent slammed by a person who is probably ignorant and not a critical thinker. She is so full of hatred and violence. I thought christians were supposed to kindly reach out to non-believers. That whole conversation is just really scary.

I love how she like pauses after he goes "okay" when she says thats hes getting nothing for christmas.

She was expecting the guy to like go ":( im sowwry mum i love god" but he was just like "okay"

haha epic

dammit, why didn't I download the video when I had the chance?

How old is this guy? I'm giving him all my respect. It's tough to be rational in an irrational world!

He looked to be 14 or 15 in the video.

Personally I am a devout atheist.

Wow... that woman is a psycho! Good on him for having the courage to stand up to her.

This lady talks about a bishop, so she is most likely a Catholic, not a Christian (don't confuse them). She obviously doesn't understand her faith - or lack there of, but she undoubtedly is scared and angry that her child would actually choose to spend eternity in hell.

Ask yourself, what if Satan and hell does exist, is that where you would choose to be? Given the fact that no one can prove that it doesn't exist, why would you chance it?

last time i checked, presents weren't a reward for believing in god.

The video is still available here:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=P8Aq00yJSxo

Oh wow I always made the joke that I'm a confirmed atheist. Never knew it was a common thing.

Neat.

NOTHING for Christmas! NOTHING.

Jeez, I guess I better go be a Christian again. After all, Christianity is all about presents on December 25th and Cadbury Cream Eggs on the First Sunday in April, right?

I'm glad py parents didn't baptise me when I was born, they gave me the choice of wether or not to believe in God or Allah or Buddah or whatever. I think things are different from the U.S. here in Norway, no one is afraid to admit that they're atheists.

Anger is often a product of fear, and I think she is afraid of her son going to hell, though she may also be motivated by what others may think. This is why I don't tell my family that I'm an atheist. I know my mom and grandparents would loose sleep over thinking I will go to hell.

Some parents in the U.S. are cool. My parents were Mormons and when i told them that I didn't believe in God when I was 13 years old, they weren't pleased, but they didn't yell at me or anything. I stopped going to church and my dad said that it didn't make any sense to force me to go. I guess that my situation was the exception to the rule.

I like how the Mom says "GOD EQUALS PRESENTS FOR CHRISTMAS EQUALS JESUS" That makes perfect sense

Jo Ann,

I hope watching one video on the internet is not enough to make you think your situation is the exception. I would wager that what went on in this video is the exception, not the rule.

http://www.dnahelices.com/noreligion/noreligion.jpg

Yep, I'm a baptized and confirmed atheist. The sect I was baptized into does both at birth. It was really mainly done to make my grandparents happy, because both my parents are atheists.

So is this a video, or just audio?

Hi Syngas,

It's not from this one video that I said that. It's from what I hear on the internet and from what friends have told me. But then from what I hear from other people on the internet always leaves me thinking that I must live in a unique part of the world. ;)

Also, my boyfriend has told me how when he was visiting his parents (who live in Peoria) as an adult, his dad went balistic on him when he told his father he was an atheist. He was asked to leave and he never again spoke to his father after that.

This lady talks about a bishop, so she is most likely a Catholic, not a Christian (don't confuse them).

Umm - Catholics /are/ Christians, you know.

Ask yourself, what if Satan and hell does exist, is that where you would choose to be? Given the fact that no one can prove that it doesn't exist, why would you chance it?

Ah, so everyone should just "hedge their bets" just in case there is a God? Do you think God will be impressed when you are judged and say, "I didn't really believe in you, but I decided to go through the motions like I did just in case you were real..."

Someone totally needs to get Michaels address and pitch in to get him some kind of awesome present, perhaps a Porsche ? it would be totally worth it to videotape his moms face when it gets delivered "Well Mom, the people on the internet love me and gave me this car... does your invisible god do that?" -priceless!

Don't forget, there are also plenty of athiests out there that you "can't argue with their actions" either. Just because someone is athiest doesn't mean they are incapable of abiding by any set of rules they set for themselves.

It's like saying someone is wrong for using a different algebraic formula to save the same problem you solved by using an abacus.

Get over yourselves.

I agree Casey, I don't believe in Zeus, but I tell everyone I do because just in case Zeus is real I don't want to end up in Hades.

And those Catholics running around pretending to be Christians. Don't they know that there were no Christians until Martin Luther teamed up with the Justice League to start the Church of Silly Hats and Later Day Saints

Fobby, The Ethics Of Ambiguity by Simone de Beauvoir is your go-to-book for ethics sans religion.

"Ask yourself, what if Satan and hell does exist, is that where you would choose to be? Given the fact that no one can prove that it doesn't exist, why would you chance it?"

Given the fact that no one can prove that heaven doesn't exist... would you chance that?

"Ask yourself, what if Satan and hell does exist, is that where you would choose to be? Given the fact that no one can prove that it doesn't exist, why would you chance it?"

How is the fact that no one can prove or not prove that heaven exists?

I told my mother years ago and she couldn't care less. We still celebrate christmas but for the whole santa and gifts thing not stupid jesuscocksucker.

The reason I haven't told most of my family is because my grandmother is old and frail and very devoutly catholic. I'm actually afraid she might have a heart attack.

Kinda sad, really.

At least not all Americans are raving Christian idiots. Although most are.

Catholics and Protestants are both Christians. My understanding is that there are two main branches of Christianity, Catholic and Protestant with each having their own sub-groups (Lutheran, Orthodox, etc.). Both groups are indeed Christian and in fact any historical reference to Christians until the Protestant reformation during the 16th century must refer to Catholics since Protestants did not exist yet. So saying not to confuse a Catholic with a Christian seems a bit odd to me. Or am I missing something? :-)

I tried to come out to my mom as an agnostic several times. Never taked.

"Christian" can be partially defined as someone that follows the teachings of Jesus Christ. I only got the audio, but judging from it, there were definitely some traits this mother displayed that were not in line with the teachings of Jesus Christ. It is tough to feel rejected, but she should have shown her son, or even her mortal enemy, Christian love.

Some will argue that Catholocism is not true Christianity because the clergy interrupts the believer's pure connection with the teachings of Jesus, as well as the fact that the religion uses strong idol worship. However, Catholics do, at core at least, try to follow the teachings of Jesus.

Atheism is not the necessary result of a logical mind. I have found it usually to be, although not always, the result of a non-humble or stubborn personality desiring to refuse authority or simply a lack of religious education. At its core though, if God does not choose to save you, you'll be an Atheist. I'll pray for you all. I can only suggest you read The Bible and study string theory.

Mother was atheist but was forced to be Catholic. Mother's mother was a Catholic. My mother learned more and more science and accepted that things happen scientifically rather than religiously. When my mother broke the news to my grandmother, she said, "I can't control what you think, but I've accepted christ as my personal savior." (bleh) At least my parents raised me right by being atheist.

"I'll pray for you all."

My al-time favorite response to this--and I wish I knew who to credit--is "thanks for nothing!"

I am a teenager who also has become agnostic. I told my parents just recently and it turns out that they are atheist. I'm glad my parents aren't like this. I hate parents like this.

Now, if Midnite had said "I'll pray for you to SPELL all..."

Dude, If I told my mom I believed in god, she'd be just as ticked as this mom is.... It must be a mother thing.

I have a feeling this is going to happen to me when I tell my mother/she finds out.

Of course she might give me the same advise she gives about everything else: pray about it.

Realwx,

I can't answer with a simple yes or no. I'm not an atheist and I don't think I can call myself a pantheist. We are in the position of a little child entering a huge library filled with books in many different languages. The child knows someone must have written those books. It does not know how. The child dimly suspects a mysterious order in the arrangement of the books but doesn't know what it is. That, it seems to me, is the attitude of even the most intelligent human being toward God. We see a universe marvellously arranged and obeying certain laws, but only dimly understand these laws. Our limited minds cannot grasp the mysterious force that moves the constellations.

lol now that's hilarious (see the video if you haven't already)!

"At its core though, if God does not choose to save you, you'll be an Atheist. I'll pray for you all. I can only suggest you read The Bible and study string theory."

seriously.... like, what?

The woman wasn't demanding that her son believe she was demanding confomity. That's why the bribe was her first line of defense.

I came from a similar family although Baptist and lower on the economic pole.

My feeling is that she was more worried about her rep within her own peer group, not whether or not the kid would go to hell.

She didn't mention hell or Jesus or any of that, just a straight up bribe attempt. Conform or lose the loot 'cause that's what it's all about.

I only saw it once but I believe the camera was sitting on a table. It may have been put there by the young man in case his announcement would trigger violence. A likely scenario.

IT must have taken everything he had not to hit her when she got in his face like that, as fucked up as that may sound. I honestly don't know if I could have restrained myself, even with my own mother. Dad should have gone off on her, maybe got a hotel room for the night so he could have taken the kids out of the house.

I wish I could shake that kids hand, and punch out his mom.

well he deserves it because he's a retarded atheist who's going to burn in hell

"Ask yourself, what if Satan and hell does exist, is that where you would choose to be? Given the fact that no one can prove that it doesn't exist, why would you chance it?"

Brilliant.

"Believe in Jesus, because maybe the Bible is true!"

At the same time:

If some one says they'll pray for you, you can assume it's a condescending way to say, "Oh you poor thing"

or you can assume that maybe this person believes that they have experienced God as something really real and true and beneficial and they sincerely hope that you'll experience him too.

Also: not all Catholics are like that lady, not all Christians are like the ones in "Jesus Camp" we don't all believe God and science are mutually exclusive and we don't all vote Republican.

Lastly, whoever on here would call themselves a "devout atheist" or anything like that. Whoever would "raise their kids right as an atheist" if you r kid came to you in the kitchen and told you he believed in Jesus, how would you react?

I'm not saying you are the same as her, or making any accusation, it's just something to think about.

• sean

as george costanza said,

" I believe I am the target of a systematic process of intimidation and manipulation, the likes of which we have never seen."

I was going to wonder out loud if the video was fake, but given what people have said here about how their parents would react, I guess it's real enough for me.

I don't like the idea of getting this kid replacement Christmas presents. Support, yes; presents, no.

Michael. Believing it because you don't want to "chance it" is not believing. It's blinding yourself and choosing to live in arrogance. This kid did exactly what I did at about the same age (my confrontation was much worse, wish I could have had it on camera) and told his mother what he believed. And another thing. Atheists do not choose their beliefs, nor should anyone else. Who in their right mind wouldn't WANT to believe that there is a heavenly being watching over me and that when I die I will go to a place of eternal bliss. That would be amazing, but the fact of the matter (for me, and for all atheists) is that there is not. In the same bitter realization that there was no Santa Clause.

To all those who would turn this around on Atheists:

I have lived the entire portion of my adult life living in the 11-13% minority that is atheism. And I have been criticized, shunned, ignored, and disowned for it. Never once have I returned the favor. Why? Because Atheism does not care what the people around you believe. I care about how they act towards me, and what portion of my rights they are taking away with it, but deep down I don't care whether you believe in God, Santa, Elves, Tooth Fairies, Buddha, Ghosts, Aliens, Zen, Vortigaunts, or Flying Spaghetting Monsters. We all die the same way regardless. I'm not "Saving" a person by converting them.

For instance. At the age of about 16, I was attracted to, and frequently went on dates with an amazing girl. Knew she was Christian, so I felt it right to let her know. She then told me that she could never talk to me again, and has never since. My current girlfriend would consider herself a deist and could care less what I think.

When I marry and have kids, if my wife is religious I will have no problem splitting the teachings half-way. For every hour of church, I will have no regrets talking to them for an hour about my beliefs. If they choose to be religious (hah, think religion would stand a chance in this non-brainwashing environment?!) I would accept it and move on. Because again, atheism doesn't care. We just care that they are not inflicting their beliefs on others, or restricting someone else's rights.

Christmas is for bringing the family together, pretending to our children that Santa Clause is fucking real. Spoiling our children and family with items they really don't need... and making us start the new year with a lot less money.

What the fuck. I don't see where GOD relates to this. I wonder how long it's been since Christmas was on a Sunday. I'll go dig up the Calander map.

EDIT: Also note how obcene she is over her son declaring athieism, she uses Christmas as a guilt-trip to re-tain control... Just goes to show how "Selfish" Mormonism/Christianity, really is. Become a spiritualist, and divine into your own lifes path. w00t.

Yup. I'm definetally a great candidate to be excommunicated.

xyr0x

2 things... Alot of people get God and religion mixed up and end up walking away from both. An athiest looking for God is like a criminal looking for a cop. Get the real facts at leestrobel.com. This guy was once an athiest. I dare you to look at wayofthemaster.com. Check it out.

By the way, we all just missed it, but HAPPY ZOMBIE JESUS DAY!

i agree with jo ann, people of the internet, we must unite to buy this brave lad some replacement presents. Imagine her reaction, IMAGINE IT!!

i agree with jo ann, people of the internet, we must unite to buy this brave lad some replacement presents. Imagine her reaction, IMAGINE IT!!

I did not say that! When will people get a clue and understand which name belongs to which comment?!

She said he was confirmed. I guess that means she's a Catholic. She also said "We're going to start going to church every week." I know in the Catholic religion it's a mortal sin not to go every week. So I don't blame this kid for being an Atheist, as his mom's a hypocritical pile of dung.

2 things... Alot of people get God and religion mixed up

So what is God apart from religion? The only thing I know about "god" or "gods" is what I was told from religions.

another confirmed atheist

my mum didn't care she was like follow lord buddha :(

Good for the mother.

Obviously she overreacted, but her intentions are good.

The life of an atheist is a barren desolate one.

That young man sounds very reasonable... it breaks my heart that his mother was screaming at him like that. Good for him, it takes a lot of courage to do that. The "comfirmation" thing is a real joke... if you stop believing in the person you enter into an agreement with, it's up to them to prove it ;).

I hope he makes it through the difficulties it will cause to say what he thinks.

My mother is religious but never forced her belief unduly onto me, only encouraged me to do good things (and it wasn't too important if I believed in Jesus' magic powers).

"

Good for the mother.

Obviously she overreacted, but her intentions are good.

The life of an atheist is a barren desolate one. "

exactly which part was good for the mother? yelling at her kid for thinking for himself? grabbing him and screaming threats in his face? swearing like a sailor in a discussion about god? projecting a negative image of non acceptance on not so crazy religious folk?

what are her intentions exactly? to give the kid gifts on xmas? does she want company at church? does his beliefs really effect hers?

explain to me how an atheists life is barren and desolate? how have you experienced the life of an atheist? i submit that you dont have answers for any of these questions ad are pulling your comments directly from your ass. you might call it faith.

To all that say "the retarded Atheist is going to burn in hell" you are the reason i lost my faith. When i was growing up i was taken to church every sunday and the one major think i took away from that experiance is that god nor jesus ever promoted HATE. That is all i see coming from religion today is hate. "die f*g burn in hell" then they follow it up with "jesus saves." I told my mother i don't believe any more and she was cool with it because i explained that i dont want to be part of a hypocritical religion where its considered "ok" to do and say horrible things to fellow human beings just because they dont follow your faith. Acceptance is gone, tollerance is gone. The people made me lose faith in religion.

Did anyone else who watched the vid notice the father just sitting there. This sort of explosion is likely a normal occurrence in this family. Also note that the (cell phone?) camera that this was being recorded by, was taken from the table as soon as the mother walked over, and could have seen it?. Odd. I'm also pretty astounded that the mom is a "catholic" but yet says "bullshit" and "fuckin'".

I'm 17 and I was born and raised in a Catholic family. Baptized, Christened, First Communion, Confirmation, I've done it all up to marriage and the last rites. I do believe in God, but I have no faith in Catholicism (in which there is no idol worship, they're just fucking statues). I've tried my damndest to get my parents to stop forcing me to go to church, but they've always told me that I'll be free after I turn 18 and leave the house. I turn 18 the week of Pentecost Sunday, one of the most important days to my mother. On that day, I will claim my independence and my true idea of faith: Organized religion is corrupt, but true belief in God is not.