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P1234567890
Emperor of the Universe
Joined: 11 Mar 2006
Posts: 6772
Location: Toronto, Canada
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 Posted: Mon Feb 25, 2008 5:29 pm Post subject: Have you heard the good news? |
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| Religion Survey |
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admin
Beloved Admin
Joined: 28 Sep 2000
Posts: 1694
Location: Macau, China
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| Posted: Mon Feb 25, 2008 6:57 pm Post subject: |
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Ironic, I just posted this for discussion in the main forum!
I'll bet you James Randi comments on this Friday on his weekly post. |
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luvnlife
Lion King
Joined: 22 Feb 2007
Posts: 1132
Location: US
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| Posted: Mon Feb 25, 2008 8:41 pm Post subject: |
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Religion Survey
What part is good news, that fewer people are going to church or that atheists make up about 4% of the population?
Luv |
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P1234567890
Emperor of the Universe
Joined: 11 Mar 2006
Posts: 6772
Location: Toronto, Canada
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| Posted: Tue Feb 26, 2008 3:31 am Post subject: |
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| luvnlife wrote: | Religion Survey
What part is good news, that fewer people are going to church or that atheists make up about 4% of the population?
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That religion seems to be waning a bit; that's the good news. |
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Ana
King of the Jungle
Joined: 10 Mar 2006
Posts: 1549
Location: BC
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| Posted: Tue Feb 26, 2008 8:48 am Post subject: |
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| I think it's good that people are starting to actually think about their faith instead of just blindly following along like sheep. I also think it good that the survey didn't count children, because children don't really choose. |
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wilber
Banned
Joined: 20 Dec 2007
Posts: 581
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| Posted: Tue Feb 26, 2008 8:54 am Post subject: |
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| Quote: | | I think it's good that people are starting to actually think about their faith instead of just blindly following along like sheep. I also think it good that the survey didn't count children, because children don't really choose. |
Couldn't have put it better.
wilber |
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P1234567890
Emperor of the Universe
Joined: 11 Mar 2006
Posts: 6772
Location: Toronto, Canada
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| Posted: Tue Feb 26, 2008 2:56 pm Post subject: |
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| Ana wrote: | | I think it's good that people are starting to actually think about their faith instead of just blindly following along like sheep. I also think it good that the survey didn't count children, because children don't really choose. |
Most people don't choose. Religion is distributed geographically. If you're born in the Middle East, then with high probability you will be Muslim. If you're born in southern India, then with high probability you will be a Hindu. If you're born in Italy, then you'll be a catholic, and so on.
If people actually chose their religions, then I wouldn't be able to (correctly) make the claim that religion is a function of the latitude and longitude of where you grew up. The distribution would look a lot different. |
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JB
Young Wolf
Joined: 16 Feb 2008
Posts: 513
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| Posted: Tue Feb 26, 2008 3:33 pm Post subject: |
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P1-0,
Did you know that Turkey was once a Christian country as well as, Ethiopia and I am sure that there were many more. Are you sure that most people don't chose? Why would a Christian nation lose its status as a Christian nation? I also believe that the US is well on its way to becoming a non-Christian country. I am not sure that I agree that religion is totally a geographical thing.
Just food for thought |
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Pete
Tiger
Joined: 31 May 2006
Posts: 812
Location: Arlington Hts., Il. USA
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| Posted: Tue Feb 26, 2008 3:51 pm Post subject: |
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Everyone chooses, consciously or, for the most part, unconsciously. This modern world, and especially the younger folks he been drenched in materialism. "Gotta have this, and gotta have that." Bigger TVs, cars, idiotic devices to put in their ears on a 24/7 basis. All of which spews out garbage and pure crap.
Since WW2 this world has become a cesspool of materialism. Folks have no idea of what the good life was really like. They've had their brains fried by dingbat college professors, the media, Hollywood, television, brain dead rap musicians, and thieving, career politicians. Oh yah, let's include the self-serving TV evangelists.
Did I forget anyone? There's no escaping the racket made by today's materialistic society. |
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Ana
King of the Jungle
Joined: 10 Mar 2006
Posts: 1549
Location: BC
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| Posted: Tue Feb 26, 2008 4:14 pm Post subject: |
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| P1234567890 wrote: |
Most people don't choose. Religion is distributed geographically. If you're born in the Middle East, then with high probability you will be Muslim. If you're born in southern India, then with high probability you will be a Hindu. If you're born in Italy, then you'll be a catholic, and so on.
If people actually chose their religions, then I wouldn't be able to (correctly) make the claim that religion is a function of the latitude and longitude of where you grew up. The distribution would look a lot different. |
Well, sure, I absolutely agree. However the article is about people hopping from one branch to another within Christianity, for the most part, it seems, suggesting there is some level of choosing going on, even if it's only about the details under the Christian umbrella. The children, however, don't hop from this church to that unless their parents are. This hopping means that people are starting to change their minds about just being whatever they were raised to be. They're starting to think a little, is what this hopping indicates to me. Some of them are hopping out of the religion wagon altogether as well. |
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atoz
Emperor of the Solar System
Joined: 28 Jun 2007
Posts: 4189
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| Posted: Thu Mar 06, 2008 3:54 am Post subject: |
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Since all religions and the religion of no religion are all right,
there is no need for anyone to choose another religion---even if they did, they wd stil be in another right religion.
The real solution and problem is attitude,
no matter what religion is at whatever latitude & longitude.
With the wrong attitude of Hate for the religions that are not our own,
our own and all religions are wrong no matter what the latitude and longitude.
With the right attitude of Love for all religions as well as our own,
all religions and our own are right no matter what the latitude and longitude.
with L&R,
the attitude that works at all latitudes and all longitudes and for all seasons and at all times for all time,
atoz |
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P1234567890
Emperor of the Universe
Joined: 11 Mar 2006
Posts: 6772
Location: Toronto, Canada
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| Posted: Thu Mar 06, 2008 6:11 am Post subject: |
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| JB wrote: | P1-0,
Did you know that Turkey was once a Christian country as well as, Ethiopia and I am sure that there were many more. Are you sure that most people don't chose? Why would a Christian nation lose its status as a Christian nation? |
By military conquest, for example. |
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P1234567890
Emperor of the Universe
Joined: 11 Mar 2006
Posts: 6772
Location: Toronto, Canada
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| Posted: Thu Mar 06, 2008 6:15 am Post subject: |
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| Pete wrote: | Everyone chooses, consciously or, for the most part, unconsciously.
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Not really. Kids don't really have a choice; their parents can easily make them go to church or Sunday school even if they don't like it. Then over the years they get sucked in and are part of the social network, and there are serious social penalties for trying to pull away, especially if you live in a small town.
| Pete wrote: |
This modern world, and especially the younger folks he been drenched in materialism. "Gotta have this, and gotta have that." Bigger TVs, cars, idiotic devices to put in their ears on a 24/7 basis. All of which spews out garbage and pure crap.
Since WW2 this world has become a cesspool of materialism. Folks have no idea of what the good life was really like. They've had their brains fried by dingbat college professors, the media, Hollywood, television, brain dead rap musicians, and thieving, career politicians. Oh yah, let's include the self-serving TV evangelists.
Did I forget anyone? There's no escaping the racket made by today's materialistic society. |
This I agree with. Materialism is very bad. I would argue that most North Americans don't worship Jesus or God; they worship Mammon, even if they don't know it:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mammon |
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RevJP
Moderator
Joined: 18 Apr 2003
Posts: 6840
Location: USA
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| Posted: Thu Mar 06, 2008 1:11 pm Post subject: |
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| P... were (are) your parents atheists? Are your neighbors and the people in your childhood community? |
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P1234567890
Emperor of the Universe
Joined: 11 Mar 2006
Posts: 6772
Location: Toronto, Canada
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| Posted: Thu Mar 06, 2008 4:11 pm Post subject: |
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| RevJP wrote: | | P... were (are) your parents atheists? |
It depends on your definition, I suppose. The most accurate characterization of my father is that he just never thought of religion. It wasn't that he believed in God or didn't believe in God; he just never cared enough one way or the other.
My mother used to go to church with her mother, who was Catholic. But then the Catholic church excommunicated her for marrying my grandfather, who was divorced. My mother knew that her mother was a good person, and at that point realized that a religious institution which condemns good people isn't worth very much. I don't know if that turned her into an atheist, but it got her to question stuff. I think that now she's probably an atheist, though.
| RevJP wrote: |
Are your neighbors and the people in your childhood community? |
I don't really know. It never came up. The closest I ever got to religion was a couple of times when my grandmother tried to get me to pray before going to bed, and a handful of occasions at school when we said the Lord's Prayer in assembly and I didn't know what was going on. I remember being confused at how so many people knew the words, and I didn't, so I suppose that many of them must have had at least some religious background, although I didn't know it at the time. |
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