Posted on 03/22/2016 9:00:38 AM PDT by SeekAndFind
Fewer Americans say they believe in God or pray regularly — yet more people believe in an afterlife nonetheless, a new study finds.
It's a generational thing, with millennials the least likely generation to say they're religious or to take the Bible literally, the team at San Diego State University, Florida Atlantic University and Case Western Reserve University found.
"In recent years, fewer Americans prayed, believed in God, took the Bible literally, attended religious services, identified as religious, affiliated with a religion, or had confidence in religious institutions," the team wrote in the journal Sage Open.
"The large declines in religious practice among young adults are also further evidence that millennials are the least religious generation in memory, and possibly in American history," said psychologist Jean Twenge of San Diego State University, who led the study.
The team looked at the General Social Survey, in which up to 58,000 people are interviewed annually about a variety of factors, including religion.
They answered questions such as: "What is your religious preference? Is it Protestant, Catholic, Jewish, some other religion, or no religion" and "Do you believe there is a life after death?"
They found big changes since the 1970s and 1980s.
"In the late 1980s, only 13 percent of U.S. adults expressed serious doubts about the existence of God (choosing one of the less certain response choices such as 'I don't believe in God,' 'I don't know whether there is a God and I don't believe there is any way to find out,' or 'I don't believe in a personal God, but do believe in a Higher Power of some kind,'" the team wrote.
Fewer also believe the Bible is the actual word of God.
(Excerpt) Read more at nbcnews.com ...
“. . . yet still believe in an afterlife.”
Well, good luck with that.
Oldplayer
“Fewer Americans Believe in God — Yet They Still Believe in Afterlife”
hmmm... how would that work out?
I’ve met people like these morons, they don’t believe in God, but somehow humans survive death, and live in paradise after death. What it is is simple, they want a beautiful afterlife, but don’t want the responsibility of a God.
Oh there is an afterlife. Just not what they are expecting.
Culture of Zombies.
‘Fewer Americans Believe in God — Yet They Still Believe in Afterlife, ‘
Exactly what one would expect from the entitlement generation. God is a poo-poo head who is mean and says I shouldn’t do many of the things I wanna.
But after ignoring and ridiculing God’s rules, I still expect to survive this existence.
RE: I’ve met people like these morons, they don’t believe in God, but somehow humans survive death, and live in paradise after death.
So, they’ll all be with Osama Bin ladin after death? Or not?
Who gets to decide?
People no longer practice as they did 100 or 200 years ago.
Religion is more private now for many people.
Well, unless you’re ready for it, it won’t be a very nice experience.
Sometimes I wonder if theologians have gone off on a wrong tangent when they talk about a blazing hot hell... now hear me out before you call me a damned heretic here.
The bible talks about flames in hell. It never says hell is hot. Now Redneck how can that be? Flames are hot aren’t they?
Well yes, they are. But if you use a flame gun to clear the snow off of your driveway, the driveway is soon cold again.
What if the flames of hell were the same thing as the light of heaven, but damned souls were constantly chilly. It would be a matter of the perspective of the souls. People who have reported encounters with the damned side of the spiritual world (demons, ghosts) don’t report heat. They report chilliness. An embrace of Satan would be like a deep freeze.
So what is the smoke of torment? Well consider that some solid substances that we know, vaporize at well below the boiling point of water. Dry ice is a good example, and it produces an impressive fog.
And the bible complains about the faith of many “grown cold.”
It seems more logical to me, to posit a cold hell than a hot hell. And the bible never actually contradicts this.
[[Yet They Still Believe in Afterlife]]
They had better believe in an after life, because they are someday going to find out that BOTH God and an after life are a reality- It would be better for them to find out NOW that God is infact real, than to wait until judgment day when their fate will be handed down to them-
Pascal’s Wager:
Basicaly states:
[[The gist of the Wager is that, according to Pascal, one cannot come to the knowledge of God’s existence through reason alone, so the wise thing to do is to live your life as if God does exist because such a life has everything to gain and nothing to lose.]]
http://www.gotquestions.org/Pascals-wager.html
I would just point out though that simply living as though God exists isn’t enough for salvation- one must find Christ in order to be saved and spend eternity in Heaven rather than hell- so it would be wise to devote one’s life to finding Christ because finding Him means gaining everything and losing absolutely nothing except eternal damnation-
If anyone is putting off searching out God- please don’t wait too long- He can be found IF we allow Him to reveal His presence to us by simply beign open to the possibility that He exists and asking that He open our eyes- EVEN IF we currently don’t want it because here’s the great thing- He WILL give us the desire to want it- what we don’t want currently WILL pass away eventually, and we WILL come to the point where we want it- all He asks is that we be open to the possibility of eventually desiring it- He knows our hearts at this point don’t desire Salvation- just be honest with Him- He knows we don’t seek Him- Pray something along the lines of “God, if you’re up there- I don’t know You, and I don’t even want to know You at this point- but I do ask that You change my mind eventually, and make your presence known to me- Amen” I believe He will honor that
With all the televised preachers, and the major scandals that have visited some of them, along with the Olsteen wishy washies, it is no wonder.
With the government, and those elected by the millenials’ parents, taking the reins of parenthood, the need to define an ethereal deity becomes less, since government becomes the all in all, and lasts forever.
You either believe the Bible or you don’t.
Actually, they have the very same rebellious human flaw pointed out in Genesis: they want to be their own god, catering to their own selfish pleasure and desire. In so doing, most have very little concern for fellow man and those around them.
Typical Millenials. They want a reward, yet they don’t want to suffer through the hardships necessary to obtain the reward.
The MSM always bring this crap out at Easter and Christmas. Like clockwork.
They think they’re Jedi. The Force be with you.
Everybody wants to go to heaven,
but nobody wants to die.
Take the word "racist" for example. In our parents and most of our time, it meant somebody like a Nazi who declared certain races as supreme and targeted others for elimination.
Now it simply means anybody who doesn't buy into leftist orthodoxy or their particular brand of racism.
It is the people who aren’t ready for “it”,that go to hell.I doubt God created anything as place for torment,but the human soul always seems to aim in that direction.
My own view of Hell,would be as a silence eternal and final.
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