Family member driving me nuts with atheist propaganda?

First, try to keep in mind that when something tragic, like the death of a loved one happens, this sort of thing can follow. Something significant like that can shift our beliefs.

Changing our beliefs, in itself, is a major upheaval, too. And in the early stages after any such major changes, we are often more passionate about everything than we will be over the long haul.

So it's possible your relative may tone it down him/herself in a bit, in which case, any effort on your part to corral them might only drive a wedge between you that doesn't need to be there.

Second, I'm not sure posting things on one's own Facebook page is exactly the same as the "propaganda" you (and your relative) claim to dislike. (I dislike that, too, by the way.) Perhaps you don't want to hide his newsfeed, but you do have that option. And a newsfeed isn't the same as his speaking directly to you.

This death and his resulting turn from Christianity are big deals, probably the biggest events in his life right now—possibly ever. Perhaps you can give it time to see if it just works itself out.

Finally, I don't know if you are or have ever been a Christian, but if he was a pretty serious Christian, esp. a fundie, then it can be a big deal to walk away from it. You feel duped, used. It can leave people feeling very angry for a while, and perhaps that's what this is. (I don't know when he turned away.) Again, that may subside in time. Anger over past experience with such groups isn't quite the same as the propaganda that such groups use. The cause behind the passion is different, even if the actions appear the same.

Good luck, and if it doesn't subside in time (maybe a year? I don't know), perhaps then it's more appropriate to talk about it with him—gently, as you say. With understanding. But the time itself may make it a gentler sell for him—if he's had time to work some of it through his system.

p.s. I don't like the narrow-mindedness from either camp either—it's not the content but the vitriol that bothers me.

And oh! It's your mom! That changes things. There's a special dynamic there that influences how we speak to each other. I stand by my comments, but perhaps the timeline would be shorter. You may have an in with her that others do not, depending on your relationship.

Good luck.

Ever heard the phrase, "its not what you say, its how you say it"? Well, I would start by doing just that. Since you have known this family member for a good long while, then it should be no problem to reference and cite their previous sayings about how they cannot stand when beliefs/opinions are slammed in their face. I would start out in handling this situation by simply talking and then preface w/ this, "hey, do you mind if I ask you something?" Then explain that you are in no way disagreeing with them and you respect their opinion just as much as any other in the family. You would then ask, "do you remember when we use to talk and you would complain about other people cramming opinions and beliefs down your throat?" When they acknowledge that they do remember, say, "well, as I mentioned, I don't mean anything facetious by this, but it seems like you are coming off this way since NAME's death recently. I understand that you are hurt by this tragedy, as we all are, but we are all dealing w/ it just like you. Now, while I respect what you're saying and appreciate your thoughts on the matter, I cannot cope w/ this horrible event while being force fed these beliefs on atheism. If I am going to come to that or Christ or Buddha or whoever, let me do it on my own time. And I promise you that if I choose to deny the existence of God, I know exactly who to come to for answers and a pathway". Smile when you end this last sentence so that this person doesn't feel any distaste coming from you. This will emphasize that you are not mad at them and don't think bad of them. You just simply need to get your point across.

I saw in your question where you said that you couldn't make up your mind totally about being a Christian. I have been there. I would just like to suggest maybe a few readings if you have time and these may help you in making up your mind. I'm not a Bible thumping person and don't believe in slamming religion down anyone's throat. But I do believe in giving someone the Word and letting God take it from there.

I'm an educated person and believe in Science and the like. However, I also believe in Jesus too. These books that I am listing help me tie the two together and the evidence was overwhelming. They are nice subtle entrances into the subject of Christianity and clearly talk about direct questions and opinions regarding both sides of the story.

I hope this helps!!

books are The Case for Christ, The Shack, Letters From A Skeptic.

I had a problem like this with a family member of mine with her spamming of my personal fb page with christian verses and "please come back to jesus" nonsense. I eventually blocked her. I discussed it with her during a family get-together and we agreed to disagree and I continue to block her to this day. Don't think it's going to be a huge deal if you block a person because they are annoying. If you tell them so, they usually either ease up or understand. If not, they aren't worth it anyway.

EDIT: Oh dear, it's your mom... Lol, well that opens a whole new can of worms... Are you super christian? No? Are you super atheist? No? I say give and take a little because it's uncomfortable to block parents on facebook (to me that is). She is dealing with grief in her own way, wanting honest answers and she is probably under the slight illusion that other people find what she posts interesting. Most likely, this will ease up a bit (may be a few months or a year). Yes it's annoying, but so is my cousin Ronnie who posts every time he has a wierd shaped poo. It's awkward, but I continue to live.

I don't think that they should be doing that, even though I am atheist. I hate it when Christians over preach to me, and I don't think that it should be okay for atheists to do the same. I think everyone should have their own beliefs, and maybe tell others but not make it into a huge issue. I hate it when people turn things into extremes like she is doing.

As an atheist in my school i find that alot more of todays generation is turning towards Atheism. These Atheists in todays generation often like to attack chrisitanity and other religions rather than simply tolerate them like myself and a few others. It seems to me you are a bit agnostic and if you feel that the member of your family is presurring you, you need to simply ignore this person or you will get into a big debate with him just like everyone on Yahoo Answers.

If this hasn't been going on long, they may well settle down after a while. Otherwise, maybe you could suggest that carrying on doing what he's doing would make him like the Christians if he didn't stop or slow it down. Or maybe pose it as a question, such as, "Wouldn't you posting all this stuff be the same thing?" so that they have to think about it.

I know, I'm not good at this stuff.

I don't think there's much you can do. From what I've seen (No offense to atheists) is that the more vocal ones are VERY touchy about their religion. If your friend is continuously posting atheist propaganda on facebook, they're probably very self-righteous about their belief.

I see all sorts of religious and political crap show up in my FB news feed...I just ignore it most of the time. The idea of a news feed is to see what is of current interest for them...doesn't mean you have to pay any attention.

HOPEFULLY s/he is doing this now because being "out" about his/her atheism is new. Hopefully your relative will chill out and post less of that stuff after a while.

Definitely point out that if this was Christian propaganda instead of atheist, your relative would be the first one to scream about it.

Gentle, but firm. Gotta let 'em know.

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So block him or her, or support him or her in his grief. Atheists truly do not care what others believe we just don't want Christians and Muslims constantly trying to sell us on your delusion.

Sounds to me as if your family member is hurting and needs some non-judgmental support.

Taoist/Atheist (realist)