Posted on 08/15/2012 7:51:47 AM PDT by SeekAndFind
A new poll suggests that 1 in 20 Americans now call themselves atheists, a fivefold increase from the last time the survey was taken in 2005.
The Religion News Service reports that, to go along with the jump, just 60 percent of Americans now identify as religious, down from 73 percent the last time the Global Index of Religiosity and Atheism poll was taken seven years ago. The decline has also been felt in many other countries around the world, including double-digit drops in several European and North American countries.
Here's the question pollsters asked 50,000 or so people from 57 countries and five continents: "Irrespective of whether you attend a place of worship or not, would you say you are a religious person, not a religious person, or a convinced atheist?"
Overall, the WIN-Gallup International-conducted poll found about 13 percent of respondents worldwide consider themselves atheists, and also showed notable disparities in atheism among faiths.
The stark findings set off some expected resistance, including a theory that the poll shows less a rise in atheists than in people who are willing to identify as one, especially with the rise of popular, outspoken skeptics like Richard Dawkins.* Others questioned the poll's international standards.
(Excerpt) Read more at slatest.slate.com ...
Once in a workshop or study group an idea was presented “a person cannot do that which they believe is WRONG”.
The doer of a wrong act justifies the reasons why it is okay to do a bad/wrong thing. They believe they have been slighted, abused, insulted, something taken from them they thought was theirs, etc. Something to consider ...
A very shallow way to respond, but nevertheless it happens. An interesting idea.
Exactly..Its all part of the Falling Away..
Thats why I have an eerie feeling, no matter how excited I get about potentially beating Obama in this election..I just have a feeling he is America’s punishment for so many of our “citizens” mocking God.
“I have a few atheist friends who will object to equating their belief with “evil”.”
I’ve had the pleasure of knowing a married atheist couple whose children were baptized (Lutheran) before the parents left their faith. They live and behave like any other good Christians or other faith(s) in the neighborhood. Their kids are smart and are involved in organized sports and go to public schools. They’re all very good-looking people, not to mention their house and property being the envy of just about everyone on the block.
They say they’ve left it up to each of their children to decide on whether to subscribe to any religion or not, whether to marry, who to marry, whether to vote (R) or (D), whether to go to college or not, etc. I’ve had the oldest boy (14) babysit my youngest 3 or 4 times now and there have not been any issues...
So, what’s so terrible about atheists again?
On the other hand, it is a little disingenuous to say "Atheists aren't Jihadists or Crusaders," when Atheists played such a star turn in the mega-murderous 20th century. Atheistic Communism left 100,000,000 corpses on the ground across the Eurasian landmass, enough to make Torquemada blanch.
So, what’s so terrible about atheists again? ............................................ They’re not Jewish or Christian is my guess. I’ve known several, they were never a threat to anyone. Actually they were very peace loving and behaved like most other religions should. I personally don’t measure people by their religious label, I measure them by their deeds. If a person is evil, they will show it, if they are good they will show it. You don’t have to be religious to love your fellow man, if goodness is in your heart.
Here's something, though: preachers almost never justify adultery, even their own. When the truth comes out, they are shamefaced, they are usually deposed from their church calling, and they may very well repent and shed bitter tears over it because they know they were wrong. In the best cases, they ask forgiveness of those they have wronged, and try to get back on the right path with the help of god, or I would say, God.
Whereas --- and I don't have survey statisics on this of course, just what I've seen in life --- atheists, though possibly no more likely to transgress the moral code, are far more likely to say "Screw the moral code" --- to reject the very standard by which they were judged.
It's what I've observed amongst atheist University faculty. Amongst the atheist literati. And elsewhere.
You are dead wrong. I don’t care what your atheists friends say or think. God DOES see unbelief as SIN!!! No ifs, ands or buts about it. Unbelief will send all directly to the Lake of Fire at the Great White Throne. Don’t believe that? Don’t believe at your own peril and you will simply find out. Simple as that.
“Not defending the beliefs of the atheists, but I have a few atheist friends who will object to equating their belief with ‘evil’. Just sayin’.”
There are agnostics, who don’t positively believe in God, but don’t disbelieve, either. And then there are atheists who positively believe God does not exist and teach that doctrine. To the extent the atheists attempt to or do convert others to their beliefs, yes, I’d say they are evil.
Agnostics? Maybe not so much.
It is when you start making your own calls of “good” and “evil” based on your gut, or your reason, or whatever that one starts to cross into “evil.”
The Communists thought they were doing good by killing millions. Ditto the Nazis. They decided that what felt good was good.
THAT is the path to the most heinous evil.
Atheists have the luxury of living under a Judeo-Christian society, you take that away, and leave everyone to their own definition of morality, and they will understand the consequences of having such a world view.
Atheists ridicule the concept of faith, but the belief that there isn’t a God, is every bit an act of faith as in believing there is one.
I am reluctant to refer to atheists as evil, for at least a couple of reasons. First, and most important, I remain hopeful that at least some, hopefully most, and perhaps all (with God nothing is impossible) will someday come to believe in God. Our mission, as Christians, is to encourage and foster that belief. Calling atheists (as opposed to their faithless beliefs) evil, does nothing to further our Christian mission, any more than proclaiming that certain persons are bound for eternal hell’s lake of fire. I prefer sharing the love of Christ and the inherent logic in a loving God’s existence to name-calling and insults— the old catch more flies with honey concept.
Calling a sinner evil may be accurate, but are we not all sinners (some saved by grace). I remain a sinner, but atheism is not my sin. Should we single out atheists from the rest of us? What is the value?
True faith in God (as opposed to a mere relent to brow-beating by believers) cannot be ordered by others, or even willed by one’s self. It must be arrived at by searching within one’s soul and by life experience and observation. To us believers it may be intuitive, but to those who do not (yet!) believe in God, it is as difficult as believing that the blue sky is green— until that faith is received.
Exactly. There is no one righteous, no not one. That was kinda my point.
A very popular statement (got said loads of times in the old crevo debates), but the logic supporting it just isn’t there.
It takes faith to believe in something unseen. The opposite is not true. Unless you can make sense of the statement ‘it takes faith not to believe in something unseen’.
I’d love to know but don’t. I don’t suggest that others cannot know. Makes me a wishy washy agnostic I guess.
Trey Parker of South Park said it best:
“Basically ... out of all the ridiculous religion stories which are greatly, wonderfully ridiculous — the silliest one I’ve ever heard is, ‘Yeah ... there’s this big giant universe and it’s expanding, it’s all gonna collapse on itself and we’re all just here just ‘cause ... just ‘cause’. That, to me, is the most ridiculous explanation ever.”
I’d love to know but don’t. I don’t suggest that others cannot know.
Atheists insist that others cannot know. Sounds like an act of faith to me.
I think you are speaking about celebrity atheists. I tend to ignore them as their motives are suspect. Like, are you doing this just for attention?
JMO.
“Atheists ridicule the concept of faith, but the belief that there isn’t a God, is every bit an act of faith as in believing there is one.”
I completely agree. I don’t see how an honest atheist would not admit that.
By the way, I’m a Florida Gator, living in D/FW. Go Gators!
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