The Spiritual / Religious Makeup of the FFA (1 Viewer)

[cstu]

Did the results of this turn out about as you expected?

I think for me they did. The one thing I whiffed on though was I thought there would be more "I'm not religious but I am spiritual" component. Seems like I hear that a lot. But that's a good thing about a poll where you can actually count up all votes compared to things that are heard.

J

From what I remember of previous polls I thought there would be more believers.

 

[Ditka Butkus]

Let's say I am introduced to an impressive power of some sort. What attributes must it have in order to qualify as being "higher"? How am I to distinguish between higher powers and other sorts of powers? If I can't answer that question -- and I confess that I can't -- I don't see how I can vote in the poll.

I think what I'm trying to get at with that Maurile is the thought that there is something more than just our human existence. So "other" powers would apply too I guess. Or forget the powers part and just use the "spiritual realm" part maybe. I'm not very good at putting words to this.

J

The Mardukites....

 

[Binky The Doormat]

I marked the somewhat possible option - its more a hope of a long time spiritual existence I think. And the idea/hope that maybe there is something more based on how much we really don't know.

I was raised Presbyterian and married a devout Catholic girl. We are raising the kids Catholic and in Catholic schools. I don't attend church with them except if it is a special occasion for them (singing, school activity, religious significance - Christmas).

Like several here, over the years my views have moved on God, Jesus, the bible, afterlife, etc.

Early on, both kids asked why I didn't go to church with them and we simply told them that I was of another religion. After a while they asked where I went to church and I told them that I kept God in my heart and had a relationship with God without a church. I have prayed off and on over the years. It does seem to give me some sort of peace at times. I was turned off by the church at an early age, mostly by the want of money and later on the realization of what the church(s) have done over the years to exert power.

Though I don't take the same more dramatic view of the non-existence of God and the evilness of the church, this George Carlin bit has always rung familiar for me.

George - NSFW language ...but he loves you.

 

[jamny]

Not sure how to answer. I consider myself a hopeful agnostic. I would like to believe one day but at this point I can't say whether there is or isn't a higher power. I do respect what religion brings to people in need.

Raised Lutheran.

 

[lod01]

Interesting that leading the way is the group that believes it's lights out when your head bounces off the pavement. That's gotta suck.

 

[KCitons]

I think it's just people hedging their bets.

"I don't believe in religion, but if the apocalypse begins tomorrow, I still reserve the right to pray to God for forgiveness"

 

[mcintyre1]

Interesting that leading the way is the group that believes it's lights out when your head bounces off the pavement. That's gotta suck.

As someone in that group, I don't mind it. It motivates me to be inquisitive and observant of the life that I'm lucky enough to have. It makes me focus on improving the lives of the people I know. All because deep down I know that we don't get do-overs.

 

[joffer]

Interesting that leading the way is the group that believes it's lights out when your head bounces off the pavement. That's gotta suck.

I don't remember minding before I was born

 

[mr. furley]

why no "not at all religious, don't follow a religion, not spiritual, etc." option?

reading comprehension

 

[mr. furley]

Does it surprise you that people are voting the way they are and choosing the "Not a Believer / Follower of a Religion and feel there is no "higher power" or "spiritual" realm" option? (Currently at 37 votes [30.58%])

I don't think it's all that surprising. People on the internet are usually much less religious than people in real life.

heard something on NPR the other day about a study done on this topic... sort of

they found that people over-report their religiosity when asked. their actions say they aren't active participants but they profess, poll, vote as though they are much more involved.

human nature

 

[Eminence]

The majority of people who post here are atheist? This explains a few things.

 

[Steve Tasker]

Does it surprise you that people are voting the way they are and choosing the "Not a Believer / Follower of a Religion and feel there is no "higher power" or "spiritual" realm" option? (Currently at 37 votes [30.58%])

I don't think it's all that surprising. People on the internet are usually much less religious than people in real life.

heard something on NPR the other day about a study done on this topic... sort of

they found that people over-report their religiosity when asked. their actions say they aren't active participants but they profess, poll, vote as though they are much more involved.

human nature

I referenced that in the "can you explain your faith" thread....I heard that like a week or two ago. You have a link by any chance? I didn't bother looking.

 

[kwille]

The majority of people who post here are atheist? This explains a few things.

Such as?

 

[mr. furley]

Does it surprise you that people are voting the way they are and choosing the "Not a Believer / Follower of a Religion and feel there is no "higher power" or "spiritual" realm" option? (Currently at 37 votes [30.58%])

I don't think it's all that surprising. People on the internet are usually much less religious than people in real life.

heard something on NPR the other day about a study done on this topic... sort of

they found that people over-report their religiosity when asked. their actions say they aren't active participants but they profess, poll, vote as though they are much more involved.

human nature

I referenced that in the "can you explain your faith" thread....I heard that like a week or two ago. You have a link by any chance? I didn't bother looking.

hm, don't remember a title and/or researchers name

 

[mr. furley]

Does it surprise you that people are voting the way they are and choosing the "Not a Believer / Follower of a Religion and feel there is no "higher power" or "spiritual" realm" option? (Currently at 37 votes [30.58%])

I don't think it's all that surprising. People on the internet are usually much less religious than people in real life.

heard something on NPR the other day about a study done on this topic... sort of

they found that people over-report their religiosity when asked. their actions say they aren't active participants but they profess, poll, vote as though they are much more involved.

human nature

I referenced that in the "can you explain your faith" thread....I heard that like a week or two ago. You have a link by any chance? I didn't bother looking.

found it!

http://www.npr.org/2014/04/10/301242424/why-people-exaggerate-religious-behavior

"Social scientists have learned you can't always believe what people tell you. An analysis of 3 places in the Muslim world examines whether peoples' reports of religious behavior match what they do."

(full text for those who don't want to click through)

DAVID GREENE, HOST:

It's MORNING EDITION from NPR News. Good morning. I'm David Greene. Social scientists have learned over the years that they can't always trust what people tell them. Ask about their behavior and some people lie - even to themselves. You have to compare what people say to some measurement of what they actually do. That's what researchers did when looking at religious behavior in three parts of the Muslim world. Our colleague Steve Inskeep discussed this with NPR's Shankar Vedantam.

STEVE INSKEEP, HOST:

OK. So what places are we talking about here?

SHANKAR VEDANTAM, BYLINE: We're talking about Pakistan, Palestine and Turkey.

INSKEEP: OK.

VEDANTAM: These are very different places, as you know from your own reporting in Pakistan, Steve. Turkey is the most European and Pakistan is widely seen as the most religious. And the research comes to us via Phillip Brenner. He's a sociologist at the University of Massachusetts in Boston. He's conducted several studies that explore this contrast between what people say about themselves and their actual behavior.

One technique he uses is to track what people tell their diaries. It turns out if you ask people how often they exercise, for example, they'll tell you they exercise very often but...

INSKEEP: Oh, sure.

VEDANTAM: Right. But when you look at their diaries, people tell their diaries they exercise far less often than they tell pollsters. And it's the diary entries that match how often their gym membership cards get swiped.

INSKEEP: Now, here we're talking about religious behavior. What exactly was being measured in these three different places?

VEDANTAM: What he finds in these three different places is that people tend to be reporting that they pray more than they actually do. And this finding is very similar to the finding that Brenner made a couple of years ago when it comes to church attendance in the United States. And people in the United States say they go to church but large numbers actually don't.

And what's interesting is in both places the people who are over-reporting their religious behavior have something in common. Here's Brenner.

PHILIP BRENNER: The similarity between these two places is that it is the people who think that religion is important, it's important in their daily lives. Those are the people who are over-reporting. And those are the people who are over-reporting church attendance in the U.S. and those are the people who are over-reporting prayer in Turkey, Palestine and Pakistan.

INSKEEP: So we're talking about people who are effectively, if you ask how many times a week do you go to church or how many times a day does a Muslim pray - they're supposed to pray five times - the person will report their values or their aspirations. That's what they're saying. They're saying I wish I prayed five times a day.

VEDANTAM: That's exactly right, Steve, and it's very insightful because that's exactly what Brenner is saying. He isn't interested in these discrepancies between self-reported behavior and actual behavior just to say nyah-nyah-nyah-nyah-nyah, we caught you lying. He thinks that if we look at these discrepancies with curiosity rather than judgment, they can actually tell us something really interesting about these people. Here he is again.

BRENNER: These aren't really mistakes. They're motivated by something. And if we accept these errors as opportunities for understanding, in essence these respondents are telling us about themselves. They're telling us about what they value or perhaps who they want to be or who they think others want them to be.

INSKEEP: OK. So let's take the opportunity he's describing, Shankar. You've got studies of different people in different places, some Christian, some Muslim, and in every case you find certain types of people who are over-reporting their religious behavior. What can we learn from that?

VEDANTAM: Well, the simple thing we can say, Steve, is that maybe it's expected of people. In Pakistan, Turkey, and Palestine and in parts of the United States it's expected of you to be very religious, to pray very often, and so people are reporting it because that's just the social norm. Brenner thinks something interesting is going on here below the surface and he points to the fact that in Pakistan there is more over-reporting than in Turkey.

And Turkey is the most European of these three countries and this mirrors a larger pattern where we see much more over-reporting of religious behavior in the United States and far less in Europe. Brenner thinks what's happening in the United States and in these Muslim places is that there might be growing unease with secularization, that when people look out at their societies, they're uneasy with the fact not just that societies are becoming more secular than they were before, but they themselves might be becoming more secular than they used to be.

INSKEEP: Turkey is a place that has formally secularized for quite some time and so a lot of the population seems comfortable with that. Pakistan is going through more convulsions and questioning what the role of religion in society is. So you're suggesting that in Pakistan people are a little anxious and that gets reflected in their over-reporting of their religion.

VEDANTAM: Brenner's asking when do you tend to over-report something? You over-report it when you're anxious about wanting to appear a certain way when you really are not.

INSKEEP: Shankar, thanks very much.

VEDANTAM: Thank you, Steve.

INSKEEP: That's NPR's social science correspondent Shankar Vedantam. You can follow him on Twitter @hiddenbrain. Follow this program, as always, @morningedition, @nprinskeep and @nprgreene.

 

[Steve Tasker]

Does it surprise you that people are voting the way they are and choosing the "Not a Believer / Follower of a Religion and feel there is no "higher power" or "spiritual" realm" option? (Currently at 37 votes [30.58%])

I don't think it's all that surprising. People on the internet are usually much less religious than people in real life.

heard something on NPR the other day about a study done on this topic... sort of

they found that people over-report their religiosity when asked. their actions say they aren't active participants but they profess, poll, vote as though they are much more involved.

human nature

I referenced that in the "can you explain your faith" thread....I heard that like a week or two ago. You have a link by any chance? I didn't bother looking.

found it!

http://www.npr.org/2014/04/10/301242424/why-people-exaggerate-religious-behavior

"Social scientists have learned you can't always believe what people tell you. An analysis of 3 places in the Muslim world examines whether peoples' reports of religious behavior match what they do."

(full text for those who don't want to click through)

DAVID GREENE, HOST:

It's MORNING EDITION from NPR News. Good morning. I'm David Greene. Social scientists have learned over the years that they can't always trust what people tell them. Ask about their behavior and some people lie - even to themselves. You have to compare what people say to some measurement of what they actually do. That's what researchers did when looking at religious behavior in three parts of the Muslim world. Our colleague Steve Inskeep discussed this with NPR's Shankar Vedantam.

STEVE INSKEEP, HOST:

OK. So what places are we talking about here?

SHANKAR VEDANTAM, BYLINE: We're talking about Pakistan, Palestine and Turkey.

INSKEEP: OK.

VEDANTAM: These are very different places, as you know from your own reporting in Pakistan, Steve. Turkey is the most European and Pakistan is widely seen as the most religious. And the research comes to us via Phillip Brenner. He's a sociologist at the University of Massachusetts in Boston. He's conducted several studies that explore this contrast between what people say about themselves and their actual behavior.

One technique he uses is to track what people tell their diaries. It turns out if you ask people how often they exercise, for example, they'll tell you they exercise very often but...

INSKEEP: Oh, sure.

VEDANTAM: Right. But when you look at their diaries, people tell their diaries they exercise far less often than they tell pollsters. And it's the diary entries that match how often their gym membership cards get swiped.

INSKEEP: Now, here we're talking about religious behavior. What exactly was being measured in these three different places?

VEDANTAM: What he finds in these three different places is that people tend to be reporting that they pray more than they actually do. And this finding is very similar to the finding that Brenner made a couple of years ago when it comes to church attendance in the United States. And people in the United States say they go to church but large numbers actually don't.

And what's interesting is in both places the people who are over-reporting their religious behavior have something in common. Here's Brenner.

PHILIP BRENNER: The similarity between these two places is that it is the people who think that religion is important, it's important in their daily lives. Those are the people who are over-reporting. And those are the people who are over-reporting church attendance in the U.S. and those are the people who are over-reporting prayer in Turkey, Palestine and Pakistan.

INSKEEP: So we're talking about people who are effectively, if you ask how many times a week do you go to church or how many times a day does a Muslim pray - they're supposed to pray five times - the person will report their values or their aspirations. That's what they're saying. They're saying I wish I prayed five times a day.

VEDANTAM: That's exactly right, Steve, and it's very insightful because that's exactly what Brenner is saying. He isn't interested in these discrepancies between self-reported behavior and actual behavior just to say nyah-nyah-nyah-nyah-nyah, we caught you lying. He thinks that if we look at these discrepancies with curiosity rather than judgment, they can actually tell us something really interesting about these people. Here he is again.

BRENNER: These aren't really mistakes. They're motivated by something. And if we accept these errors as opportunities for understanding, in essence these respondents are telling us about themselves. They're telling us about what they value or perhaps who they want to be or who they think others want them to be.

INSKEEP: OK. So let's take the opportunity he's describing, Shankar. You've got studies of different people in different places, some Christian, some Muslim, and in every case you find certain types of people who are over-reporting their religious behavior. What can we learn from that?

VEDANTAM: Well, the simple thing we can say, Steve, is that maybe it's expected of people. In Pakistan, Turkey, and Palestine and in parts of the United States it's expected of you to be very religious, to pray very often, and so people are reporting it because that's just the social norm. Brenner thinks something interesting is going on here below the surface and he points to the fact that in Pakistan there is more over-reporting than in Turkey.

And Turkey is the most European of these three countries and this mirrors a larger pattern where we see much more over-reporting of religious behavior in the United States and far less in Europe. Brenner thinks what's happening in the United States and in these Muslim places is that there might be growing unease with secularization, that when people look out at their societies, they're uneasy with the fact not just that societies are becoming more secular than they were before, but they themselves might be becoming more secular than they used to be.

INSKEEP: Turkey is a place that has formally secularized for quite some time and so a lot of the population seems comfortable with that. Pakistan is going through more convulsions and questioning what the role of religion in society is. So you're suggesting that in Pakistan people are a little anxious and that gets reflected in their over-reporting of their religion.

VEDANTAM: Brenner's asking when do you tend to over-report something? You over-report it when you're anxious about wanting to appear a certain way when you really are not.

INSKEEP: Shankar, thanks very much.

VEDANTAM: Thank you, Steve.

INSKEEP: That's NPR's social science correspondent Shankar Vedantam. You can follow him on Twitter @hiddenbrain. Follow this program, as always, @morningedition, @nprinskeep and @nprgreene.

That's the one.

 

[Eminence]

The majority of people who post here are atheist? This explains a few things.

Such as?

The general demeanor of the way people post here. In my general experience, having attended a Christian University I have found devout Christians to be very nice and loving people. Maybe it's a huge farce but it is a religion that teaches forgiveness and to "love your neighbor as yourself". Not suggesting that every atheist is someone who can't forgive or doesn't believe in the golden rule.

But I am suggesting a forum full of "devout Christians" would not use a young man trying to grow up and make something out of his life as an opportunity for mockery and ridicule.

Maybe that makes me a little jaded. But with the knowledge that many of you do not ascribe to a religion, it drastically changes my expectations on how you all interact with each other. This is a product of religion subsiding. Gluttony, murder, false testimony, adultery, etc were things that thousands of years ago people were knew were wrong; things people knew would corrupt humanity. Yet in 2014, all of these things are growing in an alarming rate and it's no surprise that they have a direct relationship with the death of organized religion.

 

[rockaction]

The majority of people who post here are atheist? This explains a few things.

Such as?

The general demeanor of the way people post here. In my general experience, having attended a Christian University I have found devout Christians to be very nice and loving people. Maybe it's a huge farce but it is a religion that teaches forgiveness and to "love your neighbor as yourself". Not suggesting that every atheist is someone who can't forgive or doesn't believe in the golden rule.

But I am suggesting a forum full of "devout Christians" would not use a young man trying to grow up and make something out of his life as an opportunity for mockery and ridicule.

Maybe that makes me a little jaded. But with the knowledge that many of you do not ascribe to a religion, it drastically changes my expectations on how you all interact with each other. This is a product of religion subsiding. Gluttony, murder, false testimony, adultery, etc were things that thousands of years ago people were knew were wrong; things people knew would corrupt humanity. Yet in 2014, all of these things are growing in an alarming rate and it's no surprise that they have a direct relationship with the death of organized religion.

No, I consider myself very compassionate and not a bully at all. And Roman Catholic agnostic. And your suicidal stuff has made me unsympathetic, other than to suggest professional help.

I really dislike anyone who uses suicide as a vanity play. I must need more forgiveness, but you've been inexcusable in your mental hostagery.

 

[Mister Martie]

But I am suggesting a forum full of "devout Christians" would not use a young man trying to grow up and make something out of his life as an opportunity for mockery and ridicule.

Everything isn't about you.

 

[Eminence]

But I am suggesting a forum full of "devout Christians" would not use a young man trying to grow up and make something out of his life as an opportunity for mockery and ridicule.

Everything isn't about you.

Understandable, but a poster asked for explanation of a statement I made and I gave him an example. It would have been difficult to give him an answer to his question without offering personal experience.

 

[rockaction]

But I am suggesting a forum full of "devout Christians" would not use a young man trying to grow up and make something out of his life as an opportunity for mockery and ridicule.

Everything isn't about you.

Understandable, but a poster asked for explanation of a statement I made and I gave him an example. It would have been difficult to give him an answer to his question without offering personal experience.

And you can't address how threatening suicide multiple times in multiple threads without genuinely considering whether you need help is a Christian act, nor a humane one, of course.

Bump so I don't have to see your avatar.

 

[Binky The Doormat]

But I am suggesting a forum full of "devout Christians" would not use a young man trying to grow up and make something out of his life as an opportunity for mockery and ridicule.

Everything isn't about you.

OK. I have been here for 10 years and have only put 2 people on ignore (Blue Magic, DSP ...same guy). Eminence now makes three.

Please retire this guy.

 

[Eminence]

But I am suggesting a forum full of "devout Christians" would not use a young man trying to grow up and make something out of his life as an opportunity for mockery and ridicule.

Everything isn't about you.

Understandable, but a poster asked for explanation of a statement I made and I gave him an example. It would have been difficult to give him an answer to his question without offering personal experience.

And you can't address how threatening suicide multiple times in multiple threads without genuinely considering whether you need help is a Christian act, nor a humane one, of course.

Bump so I don't have to see your avatar.

I've never threatened to commit suicide. I made the comment,

"If you don't leave me alone, I'm going to blow my brains out."

A comment that I made after many polite and professional requests were made for people to stop making hurtful comments about my personal life. It was clear that there was no sensible way to end the mob without drastic measures taking place. That thread was very fun and actual insightful for a decent period of time before it became the "bash on Eminence thread".

...and without proper moderation, it got out of hand very quickly.

If anything, it is a perfect example of why FBG would be well served making me a moderator. Or at least giving me limited moderator privileges within my own threads.

http://forums.footballguys.com/forum/index.php?showtopic=702185&page=66

This is 66 pages of gold that would still be going today had I had some type of moderation ability.

 

[mr roboto]

Just stop replying to him. He'll get bored and leave.

 

[proninja]

Just stop replying to him. He'll get bored and leave.

Make him go elsewhere for attention

 

[Eminence]

Should I hop an alias so I can actually have a real discussion with you guys? Jesus. Thank god it's almost football season so I can recede into the Shark Pool. Sorry guys, I'll probably be posting here less in Football Season once the games start up. Be sure to check out my content. I'm going to write a few articles for you guys.

 

[cstu]

The majority of people who post here are atheist? This explains a few things.

Such as?

The general demeanor of the way people post here. In my general experience, having attended a Christian University I have found devout Christians to be very nice and loving people. Maybe it's a huge farce but it is a religion that teaches forgiveness and to "love your neighbor as yourself". Not suggesting that every atheist is someone who can't forgive or doesn't believe in the golden rule.

But I am suggesting a forum full of "devout Christians" would not use a young man trying to grow up and make something out of his life as an opportunity for mockery and ridicule.

Maybe that makes me a little jaded. But with the knowledge that many of you do not ascribe to a religion, it drastically changes my expectations on how you all interact with each other. This is a product of religion subsiding. Gluttony, murder, false testimony, adultery, etc were things that thousands of years ago people were knew were wrong; things people knew would corrupt humanity. Yet in 2014, all of these things are growing in an alarming rate and it's no surprise that they have a direct relationship with the death of organized religion.

Link

Criminal Behavior:

Citing four different studies, Zuckerman states: "Murder rates are actually lower in more secular nations and higher in more religious nations where belief in God is widespread." He also states: "Of the top 50 safest cities in the world, nearly all are in relatively non-religious countries."

Within the United States, we see the same pattern. Citing census data, he writes: "And within America, the states with the highest murder rates tend to be the highly religious, such as Louisiana and Alabama, but the states with the lowest murder rates tend to be the among the least religious in the country, such as Vermont and Oregon."

And these findings are not limited to murder rates, as rates of all violent crime tend to be higher in "religious" states. Zuckerman also points out that atheists are very much under-represented in the American prison population (only 0.2%).

 

[matuski]

The majority of people who post here are atheist? This explains a few things.

Such as?

The general demeanor of the way people post here. In my general experience, having attended a Christian University I have found devout Christians to be very nice and loving people. Maybe it's a huge farce but it is a religion that teaches forgiveness and to "love your neighbor as yourself". Not suggesting that every atheist is someone who can't forgive or doesn't believe in the golden rule.

But I am suggesting a forum full of "devout Christians" would not use a young man trying to grow up and make something out of his life as an opportunity for mockery and ridicule.

Maybe that makes me a little jaded. But with the knowledge that many of you do not ascribe to a religion, it drastically changes my expectations on how you all interact with each other. This is a product of religion subsiding. Gluttony, murder, false testimony, adultery, etc were things that thousands of years ago people were knew were wrong; things people knew would corrupt humanity. Yet in 2014, all of these things are growing in an alarming rate and it's no surprise that they have a direct relationship with the death of organized religion.

Link

Criminal Behavior:

Citing four different studies, Zuckerman states: "Murder rates are actually lower in more secular nations and higher in more religious nations where belief in God is widespread." He also states: "Of the top 50 safest cities in the world, nearly all are in relatively non-religious countries."

Within the United States, we see the same pattern. Citing census data, he writes: "And within America, the states with the highest murder rates tend to be the highly religious, such as Louisiana and Alabama, but the states with the lowest murder rates tend to be the among the least religious in the country, such as Vermont and Oregon."

And these findings are not limited to murder rates, as rates of all violent crime tend to be higher in "religious" states. Zuckerman also points out that atheists are very much under-represented in the American prison population (only 0.2%).

Em's personal experience trumps hard data you dolt.

 

[matuski]

Should I hop an alias so I can actually have a real discussion with you guys? Jesus. Thank god it's almost football season so I can recede into the Shark Pool. Sorry guys, I'll probably be posting here less in Football Season once the games start up. Be sure to check out my content. I'm going to write a few articles for you guys.

Pretty sure it is going to be hard for you to hide from now on. Obvious is obvious. But I'm just a gluttonous, murderous, adulterous, corrupt atheist... what would I know?

 

[Idiot Boxer]

Was raised Catholic, married a Catholic and 'raising' the kids Catholic, but - only recently - felt confident enough to tell my wife/friends (though not my parents/kids) that I haven't believed in any god of any religion since I was about 6.

I believe there exists some universal consciousness and power in the universe, but agree with Maurile that I'm not certain that qualifies as 'spiritual.' I firmly believe that each person's faith, such as it exists, is their own way of making sense of the universe and so long as they are treating people better for it, more power to them. But when they use it to justify hatred, bigotry, exclusion, war or other atrocities, then simply put, they're doing it wrong.

 

[KCitons]

Was raised Catholic, married a Catholic and 'raising' the kids Catholic, but - only recently - felt confident enough to tell my wife/friends (though not my parents/kids) that I haven't believed in any god of any religion since I was about 6.

I believe there exists some universal consciousness and power in the universe, but agree with Maurile that I'm not certain that qualifies as 'spiritual.' I firmly believe that each person's faith, such as it exists, is their own way of making sense of the universe and so long as they are treating people better for it, more power to them. But when they use it to justify hatred, bigotry, exclusion, war or other atrocities, then simply put, they're doing it wrong.

The bolded pretty much sums things up.

 

[joffer]

Should I hop an alias so I can actually have a real discussion with you guys?

we'd sniff you out after a few posts.

 

[butcher boy]

The majority of people who post here are atheist? This explains a few things.

Such as?

The general demeanor of the way people post here. In my general experience, having attended a Christian University I have found devout Christians to be very nice and loving people. Maybe it's a huge farce but it is a religion that teaches forgiveness and to "love your neighbor as yourself". Not suggesting that every atheist is someone who can't forgive or doesn't believe in the golden rule.

But I am suggesting a forum full of "devout Christians" would not use a young man trying to grow up and make something out of his life as an opportunity for mockery and ridicule.

Maybe that makes me a little jaded. But with the knowledge that many of you do not ascribe to a religion, it drastically changes my expectations on how you all interact with each other. This is a product of religion subsiding. Gluttony, murder, false testimony, adultery, etc were things that thousands of years ago people were knew were wrong; things people knew would corrupt humanity. Yet in 2014, all of these things are growing in an alarming rate and it's no surprise that they have a direct relationship with the death of organized religion.

This is an incredibly insulting post and I never even participated in the "mockery and ridicule" as you put it.

 

[The Commish]

Pet peeve: I don't follow a religion but I do follow God.

 

[butcher boy]

Pet peeve: I don't follow a religion but I do follow God.

Why?

 

[The Commish]

Pet peeve: I don't follow a religion but I do follow God.

Why?

Why what? Religion gets in the way of my relationship with God. I've found many churches who know their book of rules better than they know the Bible. I grew up in a "dead" Presbyterian church. I couldn't put my finger on it, while there, but after I left I realized that "something's not right" feeling I felt was the fact that God wasn't there. Since that realization, it's been very hard for me to find a church home. God's not in as many of them as he should be.

 

[butcher boy]

Pet peeve: I don't follow a religion but I do follow God.

Why?

Why what? Religion gets in the way of my relationship with God. I've found many churches who know their book of rules better than they know the Bible. I grew up in a "dead" Presbyterian church. I couldn't put my finger on it, while there, but after I left I realized that "something's not right" feeling I felt was the fact that God wasn't there. Since that realization, it's been very hard for me to find a church home. God's not in as many of them as he should be.

Nevermind. I misunderstood your post.

 

[matuski]

Pet peeve: I don't follow a religion but I do follow God.

Why?

Why what? Religion gets in the way of my relationship with God. I've found many churches who know their book of rules better than they know the Bible. I grew up in a "dead" Presbyterian church. I couldn't put my finger on it, while there, but after I left I realized that "something's not right" feeling I felt was the fact that God wasn't there. Since that realization, it's been very hard for me to find a church home. God's not in as many of them as he should be.

A personal god.