Yeah, its precisely whats happening. It is her inlaws. 
It sucks.
Thanks everyone for all the good advise.
Ouch 
Yeah, there’s no pleasant way to deal with something like that. Using your sister that way is a form of mental abuse in my eyes. I’d give her husband especially a choice piece of my mind…
Her sister has a brain, containing hopefully some intelligence, and therefore can make a choice as to whether she wants to bow to that type of abuse or not. However, not sure how mature the lady is, sometimes we only find our voice and strengths later on in life.
True Faerie. That there was a big brother getting his hackles up at the thought of a weaker sibling being mistreated. A purely emotional response.
Obviously Majin’s sister should make her own decisions, but I don’t think it’s quite that black and white.
I can only use my own experiences as a frame of reference, so it might not be applicable to this situation at all, but my own family did the same to me, using my mother to try and drag me back into the fold. It ended up creating a lot of tension, which my mother bore the brunt of. In the end there was such a big fallout with the rest of the family that not even my own sisters speak to me unless they have to anymore.
The manipulation was very subtle. It’s all gentle nudges and “conerned” questions. My mother truly believed that everyone was acting out of love (as I’m sure they believed as well) and that she was doing what was right. But the fact is that they were putting her in an impossible situation. It took me having a massive fight with my grandfather at a family gathering before they started backing off.
I’m sure they still discuss me, but at least they don’t put my mom in the middle of it anymore, and I made it abundantly clear that if anyone has something to say about me they’d better say it to my face.
It’s a sickening situation, and not something I’d wish on even my worst enemy.
Our stories actually make interesting reading fodder. We’ve got a thread somewhere here where a couple of us told our tales of woe. I was disinherited for a good couple years before they figured out that there is a use for me after all, and we had to start building up relationships from scratch again.
None of our stories are fun reads, and more than just a few of us dont have happy endings. Hopefully Majin’s will result in a status quo in the very least.
Good luck Majin, for what its worth, we’re cheering for a happy ending for you.
When dealing with religionists it is important to know your arguments very well.
This is a great forum to start to know these things. You could also read The God Delusion, Dawkins(if you have not already). I found it an easy read and very informative.
There is alot of manipulation involved, from the very beginning. This is just the tip of the iceburg. I had to deal with it by ignoring it because there was just nothing i could do. I respected her wishes even though I knew it was wrong. I would rather be there for her seeing as she is cut of from the whole family. (She is in a manipulative relationship). But this latest religion issue is really a problem. Because its just one thing that her in-laws don’t want to let go. And I am more of a peaceful person. Being the older sibling is difficult because you have this huge protective quality. I have always protected her but there comes a time where you can’t. 
If we do go our seperate ways - it is life. But i will still try my best to reason with her.
I have given him a pieace of my mind countless times. 
But it is to no use.
I know only a little. I will have to read up on alot of stuff. It just feels like the list of reading material is endless.
Oh please babe, your reading habits make mine pale in comparison!
I have heard it said that the new younger brand of atheists are dumb and stupid.
But that simply is not true! I am sure that as soon as you become atheist your IQ goes up with 10 points. Add to that veganism that is another 20 points. Add to that, Asian + girl + lesbian = divine intelligence.
I think you might have your causality back-to-front… 0:)
'Luthon64
You mean to say atheist, vegan, Asian, lesbian girls are retarded?
In the bad old days, you had to be pretty smart to figure out that religion was total bullshit, when there was little access to information to support you.
Nowadays it is pretty obvious unless you grow up in a religion drenched environment, so the basic entrance requirement intelligence level for considered atheists (as opposed to default atheists)is dropping all the time.
On our side though, is the fact that religious IQ should be dropping in parallel, since it takes a higher and higher degree of gullibility to be convinced of the truth in religious bullshit these days.
i’m pretty sure that atheists have been around a good while. it was just near-impossible to be ‘out’ in a religious woo-fest, and still have a job/house/life.
We actually had the opposite problem in our family. There is a very old family bible which is traditionally inherited by the youngest living sibling. I am the youngest (No. 4), but did not want it because I’m atheist. Brother No. 3 is also atheist, but for sexual rather than skeptical reasons. Brother No. 2 then suddenly became very religious and even started praying in that funny accent of devotion when he said grace at meals. He eventually inherited the bible, but shortly after that he must have seen a light on the road to Delmas, for he also became atheist. He swapped the bible for a painting with Brother No. 1, who fits in ideally. He is a young earth creationist and goes to a church where they do spiritual healing.
Not one of those huge leather bound 19th century Dutch Bibles perchance? Very collectible.
Rigil
It is, but what do you do with it? You cannot sell it, it’s a family heirloom. You have to look after it. You may impress people, but I prefer books that I would actually read and that don’t weigh a ton.
I have a beautiful leather bound Afrikaans “Verklarende Bybel” that was given me by the church elders after doing some strategic planning for them (they had no idea that I was atheist). I read it quite often to confirm my atheism. Also used it as research for my novel. ;D