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Makes perfect sense to me. Of course, I haven’t any spooky books left over from the Dark Ages to answer to.
Or mysterious voices from burning bushes or cheese sandwiches.
#1, moss,
Have you checked out the mold growing behind your sink for any images? Not that I hope you have any mold, but if there was, …
*
How about other Scandinavian countries. I suspect Sweden, Finland, and Denmark are also doing well and are not known for their religious depth.
Religion – for people who are afraid to face reality.
If I actually believed that heaven existed, and if I believed it to be filled with the people who believe they are going there, I would not want to go. Heaven like that would be hell enough for me. Of course, back in the real world, I expect that after my death, my consciousness will be exactly what it was before my birth or even before my conception, i.e. non-existent.
M Scott, another reason you’d be miserable in heaven….
there’s no global warming. đ
Here’s your acceptance of evolution chart. Check out where the US is.
#7. maybe the problems suffered by the country with the second-highest GDP per capita are only problems to them, and would be enviable to many others.
I mean, it would be troubling trying to decide how to invest all that North Sea oil cash …
The problem in Turkey with creationism is that they just gobble it up.
(… so shoot me)
Your focus on atheism misses the more important here.
“Liberal” countries are better than “conservative” countries.
The fact liberals tend to be less religious is — at best — a minor factor.
I have lived or spent extensive time in both kinds of countries and the conservative (as defined by: low taxes, low gov’t regulation, minimal social net, etc. etc ) countries SUCK!
When some conservative blowhole is telling you how great conservatism is, think of one of the many countries that have minimal government. They all suck.
I’m one of t
Yeah #9, they’re just “stuffed” with it…
I’ve made cultural comparisons similar to the one in this cartoon, responding to the frequent Christian claim that removing prayer from public schools has directly resulted in America’s decline into Satan’s hedonistic abyss. I’ve even seen them offer statistical “proof” of the connection to the prayer ban, and few things serve as a better demonstration of junk science than statistical analysis done by the clergy and their flock. It isn’t pretty.
Japan makes for another good non-Christian country of comparison, and their culture is likewise marred by fewer of the cracks that show up in the far more “Christian” America.
To borrow a line from tiny Tim Cratchit, God bless us everyone, and please stop blessing those damn heathens overseas!
#5 – JimR,
Way to stay on topic.
#6 – hhopper,
Great chart. At least we didn’t come out below any theocracies … surprisingly.
How come when I see those Scandinavian countries in the news, it’s the trouble they’re having with Muslims pushing their agenda? Have they just switched one rleigion for another?
#3, hhopper,
religion is not only for people who are afraid to face reality (starvation is a bitch, BTW) but it is for people who want to THANK the existence that they are experiencing. Look at the creation that is before your eyes. Look at the utter beauty that is before you in Nature. Haven’t you ever felt that feeling that you want to love the creator of the oceans, the skies, the mountains? A gift so incredibly beautiful that you want to worship whatever produced that? Doesn’t your heart reach out to want to thank whatever gave you that. That whatever that gave you life? And your parents life, and their parents’ life and so forth?
Relgion can be a way to be grateful to a Being that does not make Himself/Herself present in a form beyond what we can see.
#13, M Scott, “Way to stay on topic.” ?
?? It was your topic deviation that I followed.
JC, don’t you just love it when a Lion rips the head off a Gazelle? What I really find amazing and glorious is a how malaria kills 1 child every 30 seconds. It’s so beautiful, I get all teary.
#17, JimR, YES! That awesome power of a lion ripping the head off a Gazelle is electrifying. Difference is that the lion does it for food not sport. As for everybody else dying except for you, I’d be especially thankfull if I were you. Don’t worry, your time will come. Today, in the park, I witnessed a baby squirrel dying near a tree after having eaten some rat poison. It was on its side. When it realized me watching its death it got itself up for a moment and coiled it head under his body and wrapped it furry tail over him. I was feeling pain today. But that squirrel took my pain away. I felt better afterward.
#15,
Look at the creation that is before your eyes .
Our daughter is in the other room reading a book.
Look at the utter beauty that is before you in Nature.
Well, right now it is dark out. BUT, earlier today as we were driving home along the back roads, we were admiring the beauty in the way that the leaves changed color. How as the weather cools and the solar influence declines the tree shuts down the chlorophyll production so the leaves lose their green color and the true color shows through. And it was nice how the sun was shining after those storms Wednesday night. We had two tornadoes pass through, lots of damage especially to the unharvested corn fields.
Havenât you ever felt that feeling that you want to love the creator of the oceans, the skies, the mountains?
Not really. I don’t feel that much affinity with a blob of dust particles coalescing in space to form a molten ball. Have you ever seen what a tornado can do?
A gift so incredibly beautiful that you want to worship whatever produced that?
ME ??? Worship some Chinese machine that took an American job? Not bloody likely.
Doesnât your heart reach out to want to thank whatever gave you that.
And I thanked my wife for a lovely present. It is beautiful and will look quite nice gathering dust in the garage. Some day I might just find a use for a headband with a flashlight on it.
That whatever that gave you life?
Hey, they are my parents, not a âwhateverâ. I don’t know what the eff you call your parents but please give mine some respect. They earned it.
And your parents life, and their parentsâ life and so forth?
What the eff you talking about ??? I don’t know what your parents did / do, so allow me to explain.
The male of the species deposits sperm with the females egg. In humans, as with most mammals, this requires the male to insert his sexual organ (aka penis) inside the female’s sexual organ (aka vagina) to deposit the sperm. The sperm then swims up the fallopian tube where it meets an egg coming down. One sperm cell will enter the egg and fertilize it. The egg then continues down the fallopian tube until it reaches the uterus
After embedding itself into the uterus lining, the egg splits and splits again repeatedly forming first a zygote and then an embryo. Because the embryo requires nutrition, it feeds off of the host mother until it is sufficiently formed to survive on in the world without umbilical assistance. It leaves the womb through the birth canal (aka vagina) and is born. At this point, the prior embryo is now a human child.
That child grows until it becomes capable of reproducing and repeats the entire cycle. Mankind has been repeating this exact same cycle ever since we became a recognized species. The species we originated from reproduced in a very similar fashion. As did the species that came before them and the species before them.
Relgion can be a way to be grateful to a Being that does not make Himself/Herself present in a form beyond what we can see.
But religion is really just a way of masking ignorance. If you don’t understand it then just credit âgodâ.
Long before the science of why leaves changed color was understood, it was attributed to one of âgod’sâ great miracles. We now know it has to do with the tree moving sugar to the roots to store over the winter. By shutting off the supply of sugar to the leaves, this stops the production of chlorophyll. It is the chlorophyll that gives leaves their green color during the summer.
Long before the science of conception was understood, it was believed this was another one of âgod’sâ miracles. We now understand that all vertebrates require a male to fertilize the female’s eggs in order for conception. Life is not âcreatedâ, it is conceived.
I’m still waiting for some Jesus spouting fool to explain why my niece was born with spina bifida. Tell me why she will always be âslightly not rightâ when cock sucking pedophile priest or ass fucking TV Evangelist can tell me I need Jesus in my life. I know the scientific reason, just tell me the âgodâ reason.
I hear ya JC. I bet the gazelle isn’t at all upset, and the terror and pain it feels is a joy because the lion is tearing it apart for food.
It’s obvious that “system” has been designed by a loving and caring god. I wish I were a gazelle, don’t you?
Will you also tell me why God made malaria?
#16 – JimR,
Global warming on this thread? Really? If you say so.
#9 “…Turkey with creationism…”
Well Turkey is predominately Muslim (one of the three Abrahamic religions, like Christians and Jews)…so this is not so surprising.
What does surprise me is that many Christians fail to realise that in essence they are Jews. Jesus – King of the Jews, the 10 commandments are Jewish laws and so on. Christianity is simply a branch of Judaism. Tell that to a “saved again” southern Baptist! đ
IMHO many (most?) Christian Americans follow their religion in as much as how they follow what the US government does – in other words let someone else take care of what they think. đ
Cheers
Not Stars and Bars, I hope that vent helped you in some way, and I’m truly sorry for your daughter’s misfortune. On a positive note, the resilience and adaptability of children can be amazing.
My kids got through birth relatively unscathed (2 have less serious problems), but there’s still a whole lifetime of randomness for me to worry about. It’s the only part of parenting I don’t like.
As for your question as to the âgodâ reason for your daughters spina bifida, apparently you find out when you die. Faith. It’s the most effective way to keep the god myth alive… except it’s wearing awfully thin.
#23, JimR,
Thank you but she is my niece. We are fortunate to have the most beautiful, healthy, intelligent, wonderful, well behaved daughter any parent could ask for. Actually, most of the credit goes to her mother.
My niece has spina bifida because her mother wouldn’t eat vegetables while pregnant, take folic acid supplements, or even get pre-natal physician care. The mother is also a holy roller Baptist who asks us all to pray for the child before each operation. My sister in law is also doing her bit to boost the divorce rate among Baptists.
Next week I think I won’t be Lauren the Ghoti.
#6, Hopper,
I noticed on your chart that Canada is missing. I would have expected it to be right up there with Germany and the UK.
Although not your fault, I’m just wondering. Could you post a link to where you found that chart.
#25- That’s top secret info in Canada đ
IF’
You really ran a true test of those that Go to church, and counted all the people in the USA….I would estimated 60% are NOT as religious as they THINK. Believing in God and Christ ISNT enough.
I do believe that the teachings are good and true, but COUNT the number of people who practice those teachings, WITH HEART. There are SOME that Live the life but dont go to church, also. But according to the Church, they will go to hell, FOR not attending.
Even among True believers, IF’ you dont believe in MY faith/MY base of religion/MY this that or The other…MY WAY….you will go to hell…
Very few acknowledge that there ARE other faiths/beliefs that COULD lead to enlightenment…
religion is for the individual, and it teaches the ways to LIVE your life. IT IS NOT the way a government can rule.
>Christianity is simply a branch of Judaism. Tell that to a âsaved againâ southern Baptist!
I think this shows your ignorance of Baptists. Ann Coulter said roughly the same thing, and people on this board excoriated her for it.
Not Stars-Lauren, my Freudian slip… I was thinking of my daughter when I read your post. I’m glad your daughter is in safe hands.
#244 – Not Stars and Bars
“Next week I think I wonât be Lauren the Ghoti.”
An excellent choice of someone to not be – and a popular one as well. 5.999999999 Gigapeople so far are already not doing it. đ
Let us now join our very own Mean Mr. Mustard in observing total silence.
You may not have noticed, but when the substantial, tangible benefits to society of absence of superstition are the topic at hand, the believers find it convenient to step out for a beer…