Forced to go to church

[JeoffreyAltKid08]

Will they let you choose a different church? Or do they believe on their denomination is saved?

They believe their denomination is saved.

Sorry, I meant "only" their denomination is saved. Do they think other Christians can not go to heaven?

I kind of depends on who those other Christians are. From what I know, they believe that Catholics for an example may not go to heaven based on what Catholics believe.

[JeoffreyAltKid08]

What is their opinion of the Blasphemy challenge? Mark 3:28-29 and Matthew 12:30-32

I'm not sure , I will ask them about it though.

[JeoffreyAltKid08]

To be honest, let me add a bit more details to the situation. I'm actually one of the musicians at the Pentecostal church my parents attend and my father was the one who got me into it after how I demonstrated how well I played the piano. This was back when I believed in the Christian faith. Now, since I'm still heavily involved with the other musicians, this makes the situation a little bit worse since now I have this long held commitment and promise with my father and I simply do not know how to handle this situation if I were to leave church for good.

[brimstoneSalad]

What is their opinion of the Blasphemy challenge? Mark 3:28-29 and Matthew 12:30-32

I'm not sure , I will ask them about it though.

To quote about the blasphemy challenge:

The challenge asks atheists to submit videos to the website YouTube, in which they record themselves blaspheming or denying the existence of the Holy Spirit.[4] According to the RRS' interpretation of several passages of the Bible (specifically, Mark 3:28-29, Matthew 12:30-32 and Luke 12:10), this action is considered an unforgivable sin.[5] Thus, users who took the challenge saw themselves as crossing a point of no return to prove that they truly did not believe in the biblical God and would "accept the consequences" if after their death they find that the Christian form of the Abrahamic God does exist.[3]

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Rational_Response_Squad

If they agree or fear that the sin of blaspheming the holy spirit is unforgivable, you could use that as a bargaining chip.
E.g. in exchange for not making you go to church, you would promise not to blaspheme the holy spirit.

I'm actually one of the musicians at the Pentecostal church my parents attend and my father was the one who got me into it after how I demonstrated how well I played the piano.

That wasn't a favor from them; they wanted you there, and you help them for free. You shouldn't feel indebted to them for that if your situation has changed. You should probably just give them notice so they can find somebody to replace you before you leave.

You should consider starting up doing music at a Unitarian Church if there is one nearby. They are more deist, and welcoming of atheists too.

[EquALLity]

At The moment, I still live with my parents and my family go to a Pentecostal church every weekend. I haven't told my parents that I no longer believe in Christianity since they are very strict when it comes to their religion and I'm a little worried on what may occur if I tell them. The question is, how do I put up with the situation and what are ways that I can utilize the time when I am at church?

I've been in a situation like this before, and what I did was subtly drop little hints to my parents that I stopped believing in 'God'. It didn't really work, and it kind of all came down in one day, and there was a lot of arguing. Eventually, we agreed to have me slowly stop going to church.
I'm not sure if that's something I'd recommend if your parents are really religious and you don't have a strong bond with them, because it could make things difficult.

Are you close with your parents? If you are, maybe you could gently sit them down and tell them that you no longer believe in Christianity, but still believe in 'God'. It's kind of risky though, because if they don't accept it, you're kind of stuck (unless you take it back, I guess).

I'm not sure how you could utilize your time there if you don't want to tell them. Maybe you could bring your homework (during the school year) and pretend to be taking notes?

[PsYcHo]

I've been in a situation like this before, and what I did was subtly drop little hints to my parents that I stopped believing in 'God'.

I was "outed" against my will by a teacher who overheard me telling a classmate I was an atheist, and took it upon herself to call my mother and inform her. HUGE argument ensued, but I must say it was the equivalent of ripping off a band-aid. Extremely painful, but at least it all happened at once. Although the experience gave me the courage to later bring up another upsetting revelation.

It's really difficult to decide between being open with your family about your life, or hiding certain things to keep them happy.

Whatever you decide to do, neither choice will be easy. But I will say, even though it is terrifying to tell your family something about yourself you would rather they not know, it is better for your personal well being (IMO) than lying to them everyday.

[EquALLity]

I was "outed" against my will by a teacher who overheard me telling a classmate I was an atheist, and took it upon herself to call my mother and inform her.

Are you serious?
Did you go to a private religious school?

If not, that's really crazy.

HUGE argument ensued, but I must say it was the equivalent of ripping off a band-aid. Extremely painful, but at least it all happened at once.

Aw. :/
To clarify, by 'it kind of all came down in one day', I didn't mean that it was one huge argument like with you. They just finally realized I was an atheist on a single day, instead of it being kind of drawn out like I had hoped. We argued a lot after that.

Although the experience gave me the courage to later bring up another upsetting revelation.

That's good.

It's really difficult to decide between being open with your family about your life, or hiding certain things to keep them happy.

Whatever you decide to do, neither choice will be easy. But I will say, even though it is terrifying to tell your family something about yourself you would rather they not know, it is better for your personal well being (IMO) than lying to them everyday.

I agree that it's a difficult decision, but I don't think it's necessarily better to tell them. Some parents aren't going to just have one big argument and end it all in one day.

If I could go back in time, I don't think I would've told my parents. It honestly kind of wrecked our family (in a way I'm glad, because I don't really think my parents are good people, but it makes things difficult at home and I'm worried about what kind of impact this could have on my younger sister) . You should be really careful with this kind of decision, it could be a bigger deal than you'd expect.

[PsYcHo]

Are you serious?
Did you go to a private religious school?

If not, that's really crazy.

Public high school. Teacher apparently wanted to save my immortal soul.

I agree that it's a difficult decision, but I don't think it's necessarily better to tell them. Some parents aren't going to just have one big argument and end it all in one day.

If I could go back in time, I don't think I would've told my parents. It honestly kind of wrecked our family (in a way I'm glad, because I don't really think my parents are good people, but it makes things difficult at home and I'm worried about what kind of impact this could have on my younger sister) . You should be really careful with this kind of decision, it could be a bigger deal than you'd expect.

Oh, the argument didn't end in one day, just the revelation about it. It took years for my family to accept everything, but I'm a lot happier that they know and accept it than I would be if they were only accepting of me because I was pretending to be something I am not. It is a really difficult and personal decision to notify your family that you aren't the person they want you to be, and you must weight the possible consequences of your revelation against the desire to make your loved ones happy. What the teacher did by telling my mother about my atheism was wrong, but I am thankful that she did, because I would have probably just continued playing the role of the good Christian child despite feeling like a liar every-time we went to church.

You (meaning everyone facing this problem) have the right to be happy. You have the right to be honest with yourself and others.You have the right to tell people things they may not want to hear. For myself, if you are a family member or a stranger, I shouldn't have to try and play the role in life you want me to, as long as I am not hurting anyone else. If you can accept me for who I am, great. If my personal life choices make it impossible for you to love or care for me, I don't need you in my life. I just want to be happy, and if my being happy upsets you, why the hell do I care what you think?

[EquALLity]

Public high school. Teacher apparently wanted to save my immortal soul.

Wow.
I could never imagine something like that happening in my school.

Oh, the argument didn't end in one day, just the revelation about it. It took years for my family to accept everything, but I'm a lot happier that they know and accept it than I would be if they were only accepting of me because I was pretending to be something I am not. It is a really difficult and personal decision to notify your family that you aren't the person they want you to be, and you must weight the possible consequences of your revelation against the desire to make your loved ones happy. What the teacher did by telling my mother about my atheism was wrong, but I am thankful that she did, because I would have probably just continued playing the role of the good Christian child despite feeling like a liar every-time we went to church.

Ah, I see.

You (meaning everyone facing this problem) have the right to be happy. You have the right to be honest with yourself and others.You have the right to tell people things they may not want to hear.

Well, I don't believe in 'rights'.
But I think I understand your point here. My point is that your life may be more pleasant and happy if you aren't honest with your parents sometimes. What if you were gay and living with fundamentalist religious parents? Coming out could be a really bad idea. Some parents kick out their gay kids, force them into conversion therapy, don't pay for their college, etc. etc.. It's be better not to tell them (at least until you turn eighteen) than to tell them in a case like that.

For myself, if you are a family member or a stranger, I shouldn't have to try and play the role in life you want me to, as long as I am not hurting anyone else. If you can accept me for who I am, great. If my personal life choices make it impossible for you to love or care for me, I don't need you in my life. I just want to be happy, and if my being happy upsets you, why the hell do I care what you think?

It's different when you're a teenager, though. You're stuck living with your parents until you turn eighteen, you can't just kick them out of your life.

[PsYcHo]

For myself, if you are a family member or a stranger, I shouldn't have to try and play the role in life you want me to, as long as I am not hurting anyone else. If you can accept me for who I am, great. If my personal life choices make it impossible for you to love or care for me, I don't need you in my life. I just want to be happy, and if my being happy upsets you, why the hell do I care what you think?

It's different when you're a teenager, though. You're stuck living with your parents until you turn eighteen, you can't just kick them out of your life.

Good point. (I sometimes forget that some of you are young, since you often speak at a higher level than many "adults." )

So for those of you still living with your parents, maybe wait until you can stand on your own two feet before revealing such a profound revelation to your parental units. For the adults though, I stand by what I said.