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The Scandinavian countries have some of the highest suicide rates in the world. Higher than the US. They also have some of the darkest black metal music out there. So much for atheist society = happiness huh?
Black metal? Not sure what a music genre, for the purpose of entertainment, has to do with anything. Which countries produce the darkest movies and how does that reflect on your statistics?
For the record, true black metal only comes from Norway and basically died in the 90's. The groups that remain popular, remain so for nostalgic reasons. The blackened music style - slow tempo, tremolo picked distorted guitars, shrieking vocals - has amalgamated into other music genres, including a Christian themed genre, sometimes referred to as white metal.
And for all your rhetoric, the result isn't the same. You can't claim something as FACT simply because the evidence isn't there. That is being intellectually dishonest. An honest position keeps an open mind to the possibility of anything, yes including pink unicorns on Mars. But not the spaghetti flying monster because we have evidence that it was created as a point of mockery.
That's nonsense.
Of course here on a forum debate, you'll claim that you'll even keep your mind open to pink unicorns on Mars.
But you don't.
Not REALLY.
Not to toot my own horn, but I'm a pretty grizzled old salt when it comes to forum debates, and I know when someone is at the point of saying anything at all, no matter how bizarre, in an effort to rescue an argument that is quickly circling the drain.
You're the one who is being intellectually dishonest by claiming something you know isn't true. You don't keep your mind open about anything and everything. This can be easily proven by the fact that your mind is not open to being completely wrong about your religious beliefs.
Right there, you've disqualified yourself from having an open mind - at least not as open as you claim.
Even regarding the Flying Spaghetti Monster, you've dismissed it by saying it was created as a point of mockery. Really? That means anything "created" by the imagination of a human, regardless of WHY it was created, can be completely ruled out as being in existence.
Right?
Because that's what your argument is saying.
You do NOT live your life around anything else for which there is no tangible, testable evidence. You would be paralyzed with indecision; there would be too many "what ifs" that you would have to deal with. Most of us have filters through which all of the information we receive is processed. The information that there is no evidence for, things that are impossible based on what we know, usually gets ejected. Thus unless you have no filter - in which case you're probably insane - I'm reasonably certain that you are not going to answer "I don't know" if someone asks you if there are pink unicorns on Mars.
Location: In a little house on the prairie - literally
10,202 posts, read 7,916,433 times
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Quote:
Originally Posted by jeffbase40
The Scandinavian countries have some of the highest suicide rates in the world. Higher than the US. They also have some of the darkest black metal music out there. So much for atheist society = happiness huh?
Really?
Do you like making things up or is it a consequence of a deeply held belief in an invisible sentient omnipotent entity first fantasied by a bronze aged, superstitious, wandering desert tribe?
Do you like making things up or is it a consequence of a deeply held belief in an invisible sentient omnipotent entity first fantasied by a bronze aged, superstitious, wandering desert tribe?
Try sticking to facts, difficult as it may be for you.
There are numerous articles that note that these Scandinavian countries which are supposed to be so happy have an extraordinary suicide rate. Even in the link that you sent me, Finland rates higher than the US.
By the way, you have ZERO proof that my religious beliefs are nothing more than a fantasy. Why don't you try sticking to facts instead of being disrespectful?
Black metal? Not sure what a music genre, for the purpose of entertainment, has to do with anything. Which countries produce the darkest movies and how does that reflect on your statistics?
For the record, true black metal only comes from Norway and basically died in the 90's. The groups that remain popular, remain so for nostalgic reasons. The blackened music style - slow tempo, tremolo picked distorted guitars, shrieking vocals - has amalgamated into other music genres, including a Christian themed genre, sometimes referred to as white metal.
I believe this is one of the links I originally read that gave me this impression
Looks like almost all of Europe is in the red. You know, the countries where atheism is growing. Norway, Belgium, Finland and Sweden all rank higher than the US. Although it looks like the data is fairly old. I tried to find a recent study of worldwide statistics beyond wikipedia, but no luck so far. Not really worth the effort at this point. If I'm wrong then I'm wrong.
I wasn't aware that black metal had died out, but it is pretty much the only form of music that promoted burning down churches. That's a product of an anti-God society. That's hate, not love.
Well Nozz, I'm afraid that neither of our personal experiences can be useful here. Let us just know that theism in and of itself is not going to hurt your kid or anyone else's. By definition, it is just a belief in a deity, much like atheism is not necessarily harmful or helpful; it's just a lack of belief in a deity. That, would be a marvelous start.
Quote:
Originally Posted by Nozzferrahhtoo
And once again you bring to bear your usual MO of claiming I said something I never actually did.
Then what was that line about, if not your kid becoming a theist?
Quote:
Originally Posted by KCfromNC
Either god has some effects here in reality that leaves evidence or it doesn't interact with the world.
That's not necessarily true at all, and I think too highly of you to believe you didn't already know that.
Quote:
Originally Posted by KCfromNC
The new revelation is that Santa can now be selectively invisible. Or that god came to earth as a man-god to sacrifice himself to himself so he wouldn't have to destroy all of his creation again. Take your pick - people are making up stuff like this all the time. If you're going to reject new revelations about magical beings when it comes to Santa, the Jews might ask that be consistent in this approach as you evaluate Chrsitianity and Islam.
That doesn't even have anything to do with observable evidence. I for one am rejecting all of it. I don't believe in any sort of god or Santa. But I don't find it particularly honest to say that believing in one in the same as believing in another. Most concepts of god(s) are of an invisible being who does not directly play on our environment, and they've been that way from the start. Santa, on the other hand, is part of a package deal that doesn't seem to include invisibility but does necessarily include him directly playing on our environment - our immediate environments in fact! Rest assured, I find it all very illogical, but not to the same degree.
Location: In a little house on the prairie - literally
10,202 posts, read 7,916,433 times
Reputation: 4561
Quote:
Originally Posted by jeffbase40
There are numerous articles that note that these Scandinavian countries which are supposed to be so happy have an extraordinary suicide rate. Even in the link that you sent me, Finland rates higher than the US.
By the way, you have ZERO proof that my religious beliefs are nothing more than a fantasy. Why don't you try sticking to facts instead of being disrespectful?
I grant you Finland, however you claimed THE SCANDINAVIAN countries (meaning all of them) had high rates, when this clearly is not the case.
You were wrong. Period. You invented the claim without proof.
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