My daughter is pregnant for an atheist

Dear Pastor,

I have been reader your column for a long time. I am pleased with the way you have been answering these letters. I have one daughter and three sons. All the boys are gone, but my wife and my daughter and I are here living together. My daughter is 21 years old. My wife and I know that she is old enough to have a boyfriend in her life. We tried to teach her to be upright in life and not to throw herself around.

She had a couple of boyfriends who were not serious about life, so she broke up with them. But then she found this fellow she met in college. When she brought him home to meet with us, he told us that he is an atheist. I was shocked. I tried to convince him that he was going on the wrong path in life and he laughed at me.

I called my daughter in his presence and asked her if she knew that her boyfriend was an atheist and she said yes. She also said that everybody could not believe the same thing. She stopped going to church with us. One Thursday evening when she came home, she packed her bag and told us that when she goes to work tomorrow, she is not going to come home after work because she is going to spend the weekend with her boyfriend. I was shocked.

confession

She said she preferred to tell me what she was doing because she didn't want anybody who knows us to see her and tell us.

My wife asked her what has gone to her head and she said her boyfriend was telling her new things, things that she did not know before. We couldn't stop her because she is of age, but I declare to the both of them that I wasn't pleased. The young man started to walk in and out of my house as if he owns here. And when he is doing so, sometimes he does not even say 'good morning' or 'good evening.'

My daughter is now pregnant by him and he has slept here. I told them that that has to stop. She said if he cannot sleep here, she will move out and she will not make any contribution to the house. I never thought that I would have such a disobedient daughter. I don't even know what else to say.

Brother D

Dear Brother D.,

You have tried to teach your daughter to be morally upright. She has come to the place where she has rejected your teachings and your guidance. She has found a man who claims that he is an atheist. He does not believe in God, but there is a God. To him, people like you and your wife are crazy.

I would say that is sad indeed. It must be heart-rendering to see your daughter go with such a man. She has also lost respect for you. But what I do know that I should tell you is that although you can't chose for her, you can decide who should live in your house. And if she has lost respect for you and her man does not have any respect either, you should allow her to go.

She believes that she has made the right decision. Time will tell if she has. I would not be surprised if after a few months, she calls you and beg for your pardon. Whenever that happens, I hope that you would be willing to welcome her back to your house. Please, I beg you, don't put up a fight, allow her to have her way.

Pastor