legov Posted April 12, 2013 Share Posted April 12, 2013 Its a strange kind of science magazine when it doesn't provide links to the data and/or published papers. It's a popular magazine, not a scientific journal. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
limpid Posted April 12, 2013 Administrator Share Posted April 12, 2013 Oh. Enough said then. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
legov Posted April 28, 2013 Share Posted April 28, 2013 Do atheists and agnostics live shorter lives than religious people? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ingram85 Posted April 28, 2013 Share Posted April 28, 2013 What happened to old gods like Zeus et al? Do they sit around waiting their turn to be believed in again? What about the old Norse gods? Why do all different parts of the world have different gods? Different stories? Why is it always 'my god is the only 'true' god? Why are religious beliefs from one or two particular religions so intertwined with modern day politics that rule our lives when we are an increasingly atheist society? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
limpid Posted April 28, 2013 Administrator Share Posted April 28, 2013 Do atheists and agnostics live shorter lives than religious people? Seeing as most people are dishonest when asked about their religious beliefs, I don't see how anyone can answer that question. What about agnostic atheists? In the spirit of your question. Atheists tend to live their lives knowing that there isn't an afterlife and (in my experience) do more with the time that they have then those who spend time in church in open defiance of Jesus's teachings (Matthew 6:5-7).. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
limpid Posted April 28, 2013 Administrator Share Posted April 28, 2013 What happened to old gods like Zeus et al? Do they sit around waiting their turn to be believed in again? What about the old Norse gods? Why do all different parts of the world have different gods? Different stories? Why is it always 'my god is the only 'true' god? Why are religious beliefs from one or two particular religions so intertwined with modern day politics that rule our lives when we are an increasingly atheist society? In the UK, Thor and Woden still get a weekly celebration. Julius Caesar and Augustus both get a month long celebration. The zombie gets a holiday season as does Ishtar/Eostre (although the zombie's believers have tried to usurp that one).. I'd say we are increasingly a secularist society rather than an atheist one. The (very rich and largely tax-exempt) churches are desperate to hang on to their power / privilege and are increasingly trying to leverage any advantage they can. Just look at the appalling situation with church control of education / indoctrination in the UK. 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mjmooney Posted May 3, 2013 Author VT Supporter Share Posted May 3, 2013 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
legov Posted May 18, 2013 Share Posted May 18, 2013 Saving only believers, but not the billions of non-believers who lead good moral lives, some of whom are the loved ones of believers. It's a abhorrent, sickening doctrine. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
limpid Posted May 18, 2013 Administrator Share Posted May 18, 2013 With all the chasing of multi-national tax dodgers, when is a politician going to have the balls to point out that we are still increasing tax subsudues for religions? 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
CrackpotForeigner Posted June 2, 2013 Share Posted June 2, 2013 American bloke at work (Southerner) was telling me about his fishing trip with "the preacher" and their respective wives. Apparently the preacher's wife is losing the short-term memory part of her brain, which isn't much fun. Bloke goes "I just thank God that my wife doesn't have that condition." Oh, the irony. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
legov Posted June 2, 2013 Share Posted June 2, 2013 American bloke at work (Southerner) was telling me about his fishing trip with "the preacher" and their respective wives. Apparently the preacher's wife is losing the short-term memory part of her brain, which isn't much fun. Bloke goes "I just thank God that my wife doesn't have that condition." Oh, the irony. I'm disgusted. Not surprised, of course. You're always God's chosen one eh, **** the rest. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
CrackpotForeigner Posted June 2, 2013 Share Posted June 2, 2013 American bloke at work (Southerner) was telling me about his fishing trip with "the preacher" and their respective wives. Apparently the preacher's wife is losing the short-term memory part of her brain, which isn't much fun. Bloke goes "I just thank God that my wife doesn't have that condition." Oh, the irony. I'm disgusted. Not surprised, of course. You're always God's chosen one eh, **** the rest. Yep. Although I should be be fair to him and say he was genuinely sympathetic, and apart from the strong belief in fairies he's a great guy. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
PussEKatt Posted June 3, 2013 Share Posted June 3, 2013 I find it hard to believe that people ( lots of people ) believe in talking snakes,that women are actually made from a mans rib and in less than 40 days you can sail around the whole world and have the time to collect 2 of every animal species ?! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dont_do_it_doug. Posted June 3, 2013 Share Posted June 3, 2013 I find it hard to believe that people ( lots of people ) believe in talking snakes,that women are actually made from a mans rib and in less than 40 days you can sail around the whole world and have the time to collect 2 of every animal species ?! There aren't many that genuinely believe that to be "fair". The stuff they genuinely do believe is mental enough without stretching the argument. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
PussEKatt Posted June 3, 2013 Share Posted June 3, 2013 I find it hard to believe that people ( lots of people ) believe in talking snakes,that women are actually made from a mans rib and in less than 40 days you can sail around the whole world and have the time to collect 2 of every animal species ?! There aren't many that genuinely believe that to be "fair". The stuff they genuinely do believe is mental enough without stretching the argument. If they believe in god then they MUST believe in the bible.It is supposed to be god`s word ?! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mjmooney Posted June 3, 2013 Author VT Supporter Share Posted June 3, 2013 I find it hard to believe that people ( lots of people ) believe in talking snakes,that women are actually made from a mans rib and in less than 40 days you can sail around the whole world and have the time to collect 2 of every animal species ?! There aren't many that genuinely believe that to be "fair". The stuff they genuinely do believe is mental enough without stretching the argument. If they believe in god then they MUST believe in the bible.It is supposed to be god`s word ?! If you're C of E it's all optional... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
PussEKatt Posted June 3, 2013 Share Posted June 3, 2013 Not being relegious and not being or understanding C of E I don`t know what you mean ? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mjmooney Posted June 3, 2013 Author VT Supporter Share Posted June 3, 2013 Church of England. Famously wishy washy and (some would say) more about socialising with like minded people than any deep religious conviction. I've known C of E vicars who admit they don't believe in the literal truth of virgin birth or resurrection, but regard it as all being allegorical and being nice to each other. Not true of all of them, but there's always been that undercurrent. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
lp_villa830 Posted June 3, 2013 Share Posted June 3, 2013 Does anybody else find that those who have recently found God/Religion the most irritable? I have a school friend on my Facebook who has converted to Islam and all his status are either God bashing or linking to others God bashing or barmy Anti-Establishment/conspiracy theories. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Chindie Posted June 3, 2013 VT Supporter Share Posted June 3, 2013 Does anybody else find that those who have recently found God/Religion the most irritable? I have a school friend on my Facebook who has converted to Islam and all his status are either God bashing or linking to others God bashing or barmy Anti-Establishment/conspiracy theories. Recent converts tend to be... overzealous... as they lack grounding and ties to the faith in the same way someone born into it does, so in effect they 'try harder' and become obviously a member of the faith/more stringently a believer. And of course theres a fair old whack of self verification there - at one and the same time making it obvious what group you're part of as well as reassuring yourself of the decision, training yourself into that path mentally and making that 'who you are'. The film Four Lions plays with the idea a fair bit - in a bunch of Islamist wannabe terrorists, the most 'hardcore' of the lot is a white guy called Barry... The conspiracy theory side of things is interesting - the particularly 'faithful' seem to have a predilection for conspiracy (presumably the same thing that makes you believe fairy tales also makes you believe tragic bullshit), and especially so in the Islamic side of things recently. It's an offshoot of the belief of being persecuted, methinks. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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