PoetPhiloso...

Ok class here is a pop quiz. What is the history of the word "atheists"? It seems that some individuals like to use the word, however, its history is really quite different from what someone might except. The first to get this right gets to use my iPod for five minutes. I know it is not the greatest prize, but it is all there is to offer at this time.

Pam

Can you point me to these ancient egyptian documents?

I hate to sound like the eternal cynic... but its simply too far fetched for me to fathom...

..cool post.

I recently saw a docu. about israeli archaeologist who tried to prove/disprove the events noted in the bible.

They came to the conclusion that Moses DID NOT lead the jews back to Israel, in fact they have not even been there during that time. they found absolutely no proof of that. Might have been made up to give a better story. Parting the red sea and all.
The bible says they conquered 5 cities when returning, but 3 of those cities have not been conquered
in that time period. Only one had ashes that the c-14 dated into that time.

..of course the scientists got all kind of death threats from orthodox jews.
It cannot be what must not be.

That will teach me to start a discussion and leave for a day...

Good discussion - what I thought was interesting (and maybe I should have actually added text) was in essence what the FIRST poster said.

I can accept that 90% of the population believes in God and Heaven. Nine in ten (roughly). Belief in religion is passed on from parents to children, it is accepted as "normal" to have faith in God, there are institutions to support belief (churches), and there is a great deal of human benefit that comes from it (purpose and meaning, support, hope, community).

What suprises me is that ONE THIRD of the population believes in Ghosts and UFOs! These beliefs are not supported by "mainstream" institutions, nor are they taught to children (hopefully).

What this leads me to believe is that roughly 1/3 of the population is... to put it bluntly...

D E L U S I O N A L

Bringing it full circle back to the chart on the left, assuming 1/3 of the population is mad (I will concede that it is maybe 1/4th) - what does this say about the population's literal belief in the Bible Stories? I wonder, what the crossover is between UFO belief and belief that the world was created in six days? Heheh.

And further, what does this say about our population as a whole? or humanity as a whole? I suppose it goes back to the old adage - people see what they want to see.

...altogether it sounds like the evolution of tthe yellow press has started way earlier
than i thought.

"Nowadays everybody wanna talk like they got somethin to say, but nothing comes out.
when they move their lips just a bunch of gibberish" Eminem.

and i think hes damn right. Majority of people sits on the couch and eiter joins an opinion group presented to him,
or constructs his own opinion from the gathered half-info. Then the person produces himself by sharing or voicing this opinion. But all that takes place on the couch, since no one is willing to stand up for their opinion anymore.
Cause deep inside themselves they realize that they cannot trust their own opinion, at all.

BAM!

Rab - The question was; what is the history of the world "atheists", not the dictionory's definition. Anyone could get a definition from a dictionary. The idea is to research the word to find what its true meaning is, and what the context of the word was when first used. Hint. . .It came about during Roman rule. Stop thinking in the terms of the now, and get into the past.

Pam

Age of respondents? Okay, as some who have read my blog know I work in an elementary school and I could find this chart totally believable if it were done in a grade school or junior high. But otherwise as an anal sociologist I have a million questions about this survey. Number of people polled, age range, time span, actual questions posed, etc. Cause as poetphilosopher pointed out, I guess I do believe in witches in the context that there are people who practice wicca or witchcraft...but do I believe there are a bunch of old green faced wart covered hags flying around on broomsticks terrorizing little kids...well, no.

Personal beliefs asside, I do find it possible that a large percentage of the population has been completely misled on certain things or else has not been presented with reliable sources of information. I recall in high school when a friend of mine went around with a notebook asking people who bombed pearl harbor and though about half of the people got it right, a disturbing amount responded "we did."

Most people I know are foolish in one area or another.

What I find distressing, however, is how people will blast religious people as being ignorant or stupid or whatever. I see a lot of foolish things written by people who are proudly atheist. Being religious does not imply idiocy or ignorance. Similarly, being left-wing doesn't mean you're stupid or ignorant either.

I wish I could admend my own comments to correct my spelling mistakes. Heh

Everyone knows one can spend a lifetime raping, murdering, and pillaging and then lay on the death bed and say. "Oh, precious baby Jesus save me" and go to heaven. What idiot doesn't know that? I can't wait to meet Hitler in heaven, and Custer, another good Christian follower.

It reminds me of the line from the 'Blues Brothers' "What kind of music do y'all like? Oh, we like both types, Country AND Western." (I know I paraphrased Brad&Co., so please don't call for cites or statistical proof). Guess I better change my beliefs to those Fox/CNN (or whatever nonsense media poll source) tells me are the most popular to believe these days. Okay now, the witch I live with does not exist, but some guy who was center for the 76'ers basketball team parted a Sea (sure it wasn't 'C' but got mis-translated?). What the heck, I'm just glad I'm not a typical Fox viewer.

Someone pass the plate quick before they leave.
Believe me, if Jesus comes back, he'll look like John Travolta and call himself, 'Swordfish'. And Bush better run and hide with the Pope.

One of the reasons that both atheists and the religous come under criticism is the refusal of mainstream followers to distance themselves from the extremists of their party. When Jerry Falwell said after 911 that "God continues to lift the curtain and allow the enemies of America to give us probably what we deserve" and then added "The ACLU's got to take a lot of blame for this" I am not aware that any Christian leader said "Jerry you are NUTS!" (See http://www.sullivan-county.com/nf0/nov_2000/falwell_911.htm for Jerry Falwell's full speech.) This leads to a feeling of "insanity by association."

Now I feel the same about militant atheists who aver their opinion without supporting evidence as well. Also Jewish religious fanatics who maintain a tribal superiority (I recommend "Postville: A clash of cultures in America's heartland" as a good read), Islamic extremists, in fact anyone that thinks that they have a direct line to wisdom that brooks no questioning.

I am surprised that a poll would generate so much discussion. I'm also surprised at the insults that have been written here. My opinion was that this site was superior to most--in that except for one person, we discussed our points of view rather than insulted other bloggers.

Many of you may know that I am religious. Proving the existance of God is impossible because everyone has to agree on what constitutes proof. Most of us live according to what works best for us. Reason, science and argument has nothing to do with it. I believe in God because I have seen people transformed from criminals to productive citizens. I have seen attitudes changes and hope given to those without it. This is not proof, only evidence.

Religion sucks.
That does not mean that "believers" are weak.
That also does not mean that all "believers" are not weak either.

I do not believe that a "supernatural being" exists because I find comfort in it. It actually disturbs me much more than I could ever find comfort in this belief.

There are those who are weak and rely on the idea that their is a "Almight God" that will carry them through tough times.
But there are just as many people of strong nature and convictions that believe as well.

Where belief goes wrong, and enters into hypocracy, is within the organized religions of the world.

You should never confuse belief with religion. Religion is politics in the guise of good will (or bad depending on what religion you adhere to). But beliefs on the other hand, are something that simply are...