Poll shows atheism on the rise in the U.S., page 4

reply to post by AgentX09

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How many times have people cried wolf regarding the return of Jesus, etc?

There simply isn't an actual being.

reply to post by silent thunder

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It's a good sign, the less religion can drive us apart the better off we are in my opinion.

2nd line

Originally posted by VaterOrlaag
reply to post by AgentX09

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How many times have people cried wolf regarding the return of Jesus, etc?

There simply isn't an actual being.

You know the thing on that is this. I may even agree with you on the historical status of Jesus. I'm really not sold either way.

There it is though..... I can say the Easter Bunny isn't real because my adult logic and life experience tells me the idea is totally absurd and 99.9999 etc...% impossible. If I'm wrong on that .001 that sits somewhere out where only Pi dares tread, then I've lost nothing. I can sue the big fur ball for trademark infringement on my name and tell him to take his Unicorn with him.

On the other hand, if I assume that about Jesus and...the odds are a little better than Pi-land for being wrong when over 2 BILLION people believe it in this world....then I'm not laughing, He is.

I'd really rather not commit SO far, personally, that meeting the real thing someday in the ultimate proof of a bad assumptions can end with nothing good coming for me. It still costs me nothing to leave the door open. Just my thoughts on tolerance of religions.

reply to post by Vandettas

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I said higher intelligence seems more likely than randomness, you said based on what...

Let's start with the existence of human beings. The development of self conscious beings, with technology, in a specialized environment (Earth). We wrongly assume that life is based on the conditions of Earth and come up with terms like the "habitable zone." It could just as easily be the case that the conditions of Earth are based on life, or that life requires no condition. Anyway, the universe produced a dynamic creature in humans, a dynamic structure in the brain. Sometimes it's a matter of common sense over proof. The human brain, in all it's mystery and potential, is being reduced to the result of a random chemical process?

If your own existence doesn't convince you, how about the stability of the cosmos? Somehow we went from an infinitely dense and super hot ball of matter to extreme division and ended up with a rotating, fairly fixed, conglomeration of fire balls from which life arose without plan or purpose? That just seems ludicrous.

Are you a non believer in extra terrestrials as well?

It's just all so nice and orderly and pretty and stuff...

While my evidence fails the requirements of the scientific method, it is no less comprehensive than a lot of scientific theories (evolution, relativity) that hinge on no small amount of assumption, inference, and speculation.

There's also the paradox that the great historical scientists are often found to have a flourishing interest in mysticism. Take Newton, for instance. I'm sure he could convince you to entertain the idea of a higher power quite easily. I am not so well equipped, at the moment, and realize that any attempt to convince someone of the existence of God is futile, for that question is best answered by an individuals own discourse.

Originally posted by MassOccurs
reply to post by Vandettas

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Let's start with the existence of human beings. The development of self conscious beings, with technology, in a specialized environment (Earth). We wrongly assume that life is based on the conditions of Earth and come up with terms like the "habitable zone." It could just as easily be the case that the conditions of Earth are based on life, or that life requires no condition. Anyway, the universe produced a dynamic creature in humans, a dynamic structure in the brain. Sometimes it's a matter of common sense over proof. The human brain, in all it's mystery and potential, is being reduced to the result of a random chemical process?

A random chemical process that took millions of years.

If your own existence doesn't convince you, how about the stability of the cosmos? Somehow we went from an infinitely dense and super hot ball of matter to extreme division and ended up with a rotating, fairly fixed, conglomeration of fire balls from which life arose without plan or purpose? That just seems ludicrous.

So it seems ludicrous that out of trillions of stars and planets that we are not special?

While my evidence fails the requirements of the scientific method, it is no less comprehensive than a lot of scientific theories (evolution, relativity) that hinge on no small amount of assumption, inference, and speculation.

It actually is, and you can comprehend mathematics rather than struggling to comprehend a magical "thing" in the sky that has no limits.

There's also the paradox that the great historical scientists are often found to have a flourishing interest in mysticism. Take Newton, for instance. I'm sure he could convince you to entertain the idea of a higher power quite easily. I am not so well equipped, at the moment, and realize that any attempt to convince someone of the existence of God is futile, for that question is best answered by an individuals own discourse.

Without proper evidence he couldn't.

reply to post by VaterOrlaag

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Originally posted by VaterOrlaag
There simply isn't an actual being.

When he does return you're probably gonna wish he DIDN'T exist...

reply to post by Vandettas

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It actually is, and you can comprehend mathematics rather than struggling to comprehend a magical "thing" in the sky that has no limits.

Well, maybe I don't comprehend mathematics at it's highest levels. But I did score 730 on the math SAT and take AP calculus in high school. Odds on, my mathematic ability compares pretty favorably with yours.

Euclid, Pythagoras were both students of mysticism before becoming mathematicians... The thoughts that your world view are based on come from God fanatics and are now being interpreted in opposition to their original intent.

reply to post by dominicus

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Posted a thread this morning hoping to gain insight on the nature and origins of paradigm shifts, and what types of shifts in thought are currently happening and may happen down the line...

Atheism is clearly an idea that is gaining momentum, and barring further revelation, it's easy to see it overtaking belief when it comes to attitudes about God.

Paradigm Shifts

Originally posted by dominicus
Will all our problems go away with Atheism at the helm? Nope

When God is not, as Dostoyevsky wrote, anything is permitted.

"Atheists kill people in such vastly greater numbers than any religion EVER HAS in all of history!?"

"...secular ideologies were responsible for the murder of 100 million innocent people during the last century."

• Russian Civil War (1917-22): 7 to 10 million
• Soviet Union, Stalin's regime (1924-53): 20 million
• People's Republic of China, Mao Zed ong's regime (1949-1975): 44 to 72 million

Source

reply to post by Kharron

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we have moved so far away from religion but who has been enlightened? more war, more killing, people eating people, parent killing their kids...sure maybe it's the internet allowing us to know more at a glance but I'm not seeing people being enlightened....keep telling yourself relgion means nothing..just as we have corrupt people in police departments and in churches we cannot say they are all bad...

reply to post by chrismarco

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what a shock atheism on the rise and morals are at an all time low....

exactly!!!! Star for you!!!!

Neither religion nor atheism can solve the problems of the world.

It's gonna take some massive Divine Intervention. I'd like to think of it as forced Enlightenment. One day, everyone wakes up, and there is no more ego, there is only Oneness. If you kill or molest or rape or cheat someone, you immediately know your doing it to yourself.

That's my only solution. Forced Enlightenment. I think we're heading there no matter what, because we come from there

reply to post by SpearMint

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I was forced to study religion but still came to the conclusion that it's BS. I think it's more down to our discoveries about how we and other animals evolved and our ever increasing understanding of the universe.

Uni-verse = One Word. The Bible says God spoke the universe into existence with one word. Understand ?
Intelligence and consciousness come from God. Common courtesy and polite manners dictate that a thank you is in order.

That's intelligence and dignity.

reply to post by VaterOrlaag

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How many times have people cried wolf regarding the return of Jesus, etc? There simply isn't an actual being.

if your 100% sure of this, please prove it. Other wise its just hearsay.

Also some 90-odd percent of historians say that Jesus, as a historical figure did exist.

Your gonna need alot more fire power than just a 2 sentence reply

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