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The more often Americans go to church, the more likely they are to support the torture of suspected terrorists, according to a new survey.
More than half of people who attend services at least once a week — 54 percent — said the use of torture against suspected terrorists is “often” or “sometimes” justified. Only 42 percent of people who “seldom or never” go to services agreed, according the analysis released by the Pew Forum on Religion & Public Life.
White evangelical Protestants were the religious group most likely to say torture is often or sometimes justified — more than six in 10 supported it. People unaffiliated with any religious organization were least likely to back it. Only four in 10 of them did.
The religious group most likely to say torture is never justified was Protestant denominations — such as Episcopalians, Lutherans and Presbyterians — categorized as “mainline” Protestants, in contrast to evangelicals. Just over three in 10 of them said torture is never justified. A quarter of the religiously unaffiliated said the same, compared with two in 10 white non-Hispanic Catholics and one in eight evangelicals.
Is anyone surprised?
Posting one link at a time to avoid being filtered.
Here’s the Christian Science Monitor, which should be right up your alley.
http://tinyurl.com/yjyf6q
(Someone please let me know if they ever find the Christian Science Laboratory. I want to be an independent observer of their scientific method.)
Alfie, even you have to see the inherent contradictions in this type of behavior. Nah, maybe not. You don’t even see the contradictions in the bible, the only book you’ve ever read.
http://tinyurl.com/d65fsk
One simple quesiton. Why am I expected to believe these people? I know the motives of the people that put this together by the question asked.
Having no code of ethics other than going for whatever it is they want, why would anyone with a brain expect them to tell the truth?
Can someone show me this God character? If not, then his will can’t be reason for anything.
Also, the Jack Bauer character disgusts me. Torture doesn’t work. Someone should read Christopher Hitchen’s thoughts on torture. He has that down.
Johan- when you hear someone talking about behaving like Jack Bauer, bear in mind- they’re talking about a fictional character acting in fictional scenarios that they’ve seen on TV. It demonstrates an inability to separate reality from fantasy.
The answer you hear when they are confronted with this is almost always “You just wait- when it really happens you’ll be sorry, but I’ve got my bunker/guns/supplies/bullion and I’ll be okay. You’re just weak because you don’t follow my world view- I will triumph.”
How can you answer that except to say- alrighty then, you have a nice day.
#123, Scott, it seems strange to me that a person of your intelligence would attempt to argue with Alfred1, who accused me of being a fascist controlling him simply because I didn’t answer his many questions about how to post pictures in 1 or 2 hours.
You must have something more productive to do with your time.
#120, Ayatollah1
#115 How would I know someone shooting at me, dressed in civilian clothes, after they blew up a church with women and children, or a market…is a terrorist, without a fair trial…hmmm
Right!!! How would we know? So after we catch him we torture him until he confesses to the crime.
So, if the next time you get caught, oh, let’s say speeding, the government should torture you until you give up all the names of people that also speed AND confess to the crimes?
Now, what if the guy you grab, believing to be the shooter, actually is just a pizza delivery guy? He knows nothing about the shooting or the shooter. But you had to torture him to have him confess that he was the shooter. In the meantime, the real guilty shooter gets away. How will you live with yourself if you ever find out you have the wrong man and let the real shooter get away?
#124, deowll,
Having no code of ethics other than going for whatever it is they want, why would anyone with a brain expect them to tell the truth?
I hope this isn’t too far above your level of incompetence.
This is an opinion survey. The two questions were
1) Should the government torure?
2) How often do you attend church?
The questions are straight forward. For the first question a certain percentage supported torture by the government and a certain percentage didn’t. The same result was found for the second question, so many attended church regularly while another percentage didn’t.
When the group in the second question was analyzed to see how many that did or did not attend church favored torture that could be compared to the number that did not favor torture.
There is no trickery or bias required to end up with these answers. Other questions might even be added to the survey including “do you support Obama”, “should the military bring back the draft”, or “do you prefer McDonald’s or Burger King”.
While many people can’t see the correlation between McDonald’s and Burger King to torture, if you eat at either you quite possibly would see it. The same for supporting the President’s economic policies and church attendance.
Individually the numbers and correlations are meaningless. Taken as an aggregate they can show trends and the countries mood. One need not be a rocket scientist to understand that Jesus’s teaching of “Love thy fellow man” are lost on those that support torture. Not every believer will follow that route but it seems the majority do.
#134, Ayatollah1
So you didn’t answer the question. What if the guy you torture didn’t do it?
BTW, Traffic accidents are the leading cause of accidental death in this country. Speed is the major determining factor in the severity of any accident. You speed, you are a terrorist for the danger you pose to me and my family, friends, and others.
To stay on my theme in #137, over 40,000 people die every year from auto accidents. Many more are seriously injured and a substantial number are permanently crippled. While Ayatollah1 sees terrorists under every rock, those who actually threaten the lives of Americans are given no thought.
#139, Ayatollah1,
So what if you tortured the wrong person?
#139, Ayatollah1,
A traffic accident is just that, an accident, not willfully done…therefore any death or destruction is “accidental,” not “premeditated.”
You speed, you are doing it consciously. You know it is wrong. You also know the faster you go the more damage that can be done.
An “automobile accident” is a misnomer. There is no such thing as over 99% of “accidents” can have an assignable cause. In most, it is speed, alcohol, driver distraction, or vehicle condition. Some jurisdictions no longer refer to them as “accidents”. They are usually more correctly called collisions.
I used “accident” in the colloquial sense. Unfortunately that was a mistake as your head is too tortured to understand simple facts.
# 111 Misanthropic Scott said, “There is no such thing as an atheist ideology.”
1st, read the definition again. 2nd, atheists DEFINITELY have a systematic body of concepts regarding human life, its origins and human death, etc, etc.
Sorry, but, yes it is an ideology. You guys should cut down on mass murder you know?
#129 – Ralfie Malfie,
#123 There are no actual contradictions in the Bible…only apparent ones you shallow critics endlessly pass to each other in your circle jerk.
Somewhere there is a gnat flying around solving differential equations in its head and not regretting for a moment having switched brains with you.
There are no contradictions in the bible??!!? Are you freakin’ kidding me?
“Thou shalt not kill”
But, what is the punishment for breaking any commandment? Being stoned to death … and not in a good way.
http://tinyurl.com/cstvtm
http://tinyurl.com/3fwye
How stupid do you have to be to not see the inherent contradictions in the bible? Would an IQ of 12 be low enough? I doubt it. Your intelligence level must a number somewhere in the vicinity of the square root of negative one, purely imaginary.
#127 – BubbaRay,
You must have something more productive to do with your time.
More productive than showing a Jesus freak how un-Jesus-like he is? Perhaps. But, it’s fun.
Of course, if there actually is a god, this wacko is not only not getting caught up in the rupture … he’s going to the bad place.
#135 – Mr. Fusion,
This is an opinion survey. The two questions were
1) Should the government torure?
2) How often do you attend church?
There was a third question. They also categorized by specific subsect.
3) Which church/temple/mosque do you attend?
So let’s see what has been established here:
1) the sample size is too small
2) the survey doesn’t ask about religious beliefs of those who don’t physically walk into a certain building.
3) atheist ideologues have been responsible for more human atrocities in given time period than any other ideology in history.
Good article Eideard. 😉
Paddy-Troll,
Atheism is a non-belief. I have no idea what you are talking about in either #147 or #143.
Mostly, you’re blowing it out your ass as usual.
1st, read the definition again. 2nd, atheists DEFINITELY have a systematic body of concepts regarding human life, its origins and human death, etc, etc.
What does this mean??!!?? What is the systematic body of concepts of which you speak? Science has a body of evidence about such things. Atheism is merely non-belief in any god.
Evolution != atheism
Cosmology != atheism
Death??!!? What do you mean? Life ends. I think we all agree on that.
# 148 Misanthropic Scott said, “What does this mean??!!?? What is the systematic body of concepts ”
If you’re going to post on an adult blog, please come armed with a basic education. People can’t waste time with you on explaining the basics…
#151, Ayatollah1,
Wrong. That definition of an atheist is from the viewpoint of a theist. I personally don’t claim to be an atheist. I am normal. You may claim I am the opposite of you all day and it won’t change a thing. I don’t have a belief system, nor do have faith in something I can’t understand.
I know what I know is factual and when offered facts I form opinions. I see the proofs and accept what is most factual. There will always be room for learning new facts and re-evaluating old facts to form new opinions.
#152, Ayatollah1,
I won’t try to keep up with mindless copy paste from a blogger who can’t admit he is wrong…I trust more objective readers will accept the truth…not you…so it would be for them I take the time to refute your alleged contradictions.
Then you have lost before it starts. You deny something exists then refuse to even contemplate the evidence.
I know some really good people who believe in Christ. I don’t agree with their beliefs but I respect them for it. The same can not be said for you. You want to take everything good and turn it to evil.
Actually Fusion, if I may clarify:
He wants to take everything in disagreement with him and call it evil.
Why would he bother? You’ve already said you wont listen.
Besides, all you’ll say in argument is “Thats not what God meant.” How convenient.
#149 – Paddy-O,
If you’re going to post on an adult blog, please come armed with a basic education. People can’t waste time with you on explaining the basics…
You really don’t know how to even begin to have an actual debate do you? I bet you think you’re a real master debater too.
#150 – Ralfie Malfie,
Gleen[sic] what you consider the strongest proofs for your theory there are real contradictions in scripture…and I will document how wrong you are…
I’ll go easy on you. How about just one? Here it is:
Completely contradicts the following.
As for perusing your moonbat sites, I’d rather eat bugs.
Not surprising. I didn’t think you could read … and we did evolve from insectivores.
#157 – Ralfie Malfie,
U don’t respect any Christian…you were on my case the first time I posted…well before you knew anything about me…save I am a Christian…
If you read a large number of older threads, you’ll find that both I and Mr. Fusion have a great deal of respect for Mr. Mustard, despite some very heated debates with him. So, yes, I know I do and believe Mr. Fusion does indeed respect religious individuals, just not the religious induhviduals. You are one of the latter.
Part of the reason, at least from my standpoint, is that you quote scripture as if it is proof of anything other than that scripture exists.
Clearly you do not understand even the most basic definition of science … or logic.
It’s a real shame, but not to surprising.
Back before the civil war, slave apologists turned to the Bible and history. They found ample support for slavery in both the Old and New Testaments and pointed out that the great civilizations of the ancient world—Egypt, Greece, and Rome—were slave societies.
I never really understood how they could square that with
Matthew 22:36-40 (New International Version)
36″Teacher, which is the greatest commandment in the Law?” 37Jesus replied: ” ‘Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind.'[a] 38This is the first and greatest commandment. 39And the second is like it: ‘Love your neighbor as yourself.'[b] 40 All the Law and the Prophets hang on these two commandments.”
#162 Ralfie Malfie,
#160 Just one? No doubt, once you started googling the alleged contradictions you noticed these have all been refuted by Christians, somewhere.
Nope, the vast majority are legit. However, you can’t refute a single one, so no need to burden you with more.
Go forth and kill, as the bible has commanded you.
#165, Ayatollah1
You were supposed to refute the examples. I see no refutation in that post. In fact, it makes no sense.
Scott gave you an easy one, “Thou shalt not kill” and several examples of where people killed. You did not refute any of them.
How about when the Jews entered Israel. Did they not conquer the land and “smote” the people living there so they could steal their land? If your god wanted them dead he could have killed them himself without all the battles.
#163 – Malfie,
I thought you were going to explain away the contradictions, not add new ones. Sure slavery is one of the big ones. I just thought murder would be enough to make the point.
However, when you get through twisting your 3 neurons around trying to make murder both OK and not OK, then you can tackle your post with this from Leviticus Chapter 25:44-47.
King James OK with you?
Yup. Your wrong again. Slavery is most definitely allowed in the bible … and not allowed in the bible.
I call that another contradiction.