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What stats? The only basis of your counter argument is that it is there is no way to 100% prove my position. The stats consistently show that whenever there is a decrease in religion or faith, there is a huge increase in suicide. Logically it makes sense since there is NO HOPE in atheism and human beings only have a future of being maggot food to look forward to after dying which can happen at any moment of any day. Atheism is bleakness to the maximum.
Furthermore, you didn't even bother to offer an alternative explanation for the increase. Typical smoke and mirrors from you.
Well, I'm going to mirror the bolded.
Atheists have everything to live FOR, as we know this is the only life we have. We live it to the fullest, and know that being kind to our fellow human beings brings us fulfillment. I love, am loved, and living in the moment gives me immense satisfaction.
Not bleak at all on this end. And glad to be able to give back as worm and maggot food to have my atoms recycled for other living things. What a legacy!
And people wonder why our nation is self destructing!
Quote:
Originally Posted by Hulsker 1856
The United States was a lot more religious during the Civil War - now that was self-destructive.
Oh, and the whole slavery thing. Yeah, that came along with the 'more religious' bit. So too did the Jim Crow and lynchings that followed. But, hey, that's cool because at least the lynchers went to church a lot!
Quote:
Originally Posted by bryan85
That is your Rabbit trail that I'm not going down.
It's a very simple illustration of the absurdity of your point.
You claimed a correlation between decreasing religiosity and the (supposed) declining state of American society. I pointed out some of the horrors - and slavery and Jim Crow and lynching are undisputed horrors of great magnitude - that no longer exist but did exist when this country was more religious.
Don't like having the absurdity of your simplistic claims illustrated? Then you should stop making absurd claims.
The most any data chart can do is show a trend and potentially some correlation, which can be very spurious indeed*, hence the great adage - correlation doesn't imply causation. So then begins the long process of studying the data and attempting to determine if any relationships do in fact exist.
Excellent. I hope everyone took the time to visit the "Spurious Correlations" website linked above, where you can learn that:
* US spending on science, space and technology is strongly correlated (99.8%) with suicides by hanging.
* Per capita cheese consumption is strongly correlated (94.7%) with number of people who died by becoming entangled in their bedsheets.
* The divorce rate in Maine is strongly correlated (99.3%) with per capita consumption of margarine.
... thankfully, both divorce rates and margarine consumption are decreasing over time, which can surely be attributed to religiosity amongst dairy farmers who wear snowshoes... or something?
Atheists have everything to live FOR, as we know this is the only life we have. We live it to the fullest, and know that being kind to our fellow human beings brings us fulfillment. I love, am loved, and living in the moment gives me immense satisfaction.
Not bleak at all on this end. And glad to be able to give back as worm and maggot food to have my atoms recycled for other living things. What a legacy!
As to being as the likes of Jeff and destroying the planet because we think that an unevidenced supernatural deity gave us permission to do so.
What does that study reference? Yes, it does reference people who have religious adherence vs. those that don't.
What else does it reference Jeff? What is the disclaimer? What subset of the population was looked at? What did you omit from your assertion, Jeff? What other variable were or were not included? What qualifiers did the study outline in other countries?
Isn't omission a lie?
We'll wait while you actually read the study and conclusions and then come back to us.
Atheists have everything to live FOR, as we know this is the only life we have. We live it to the fullest, and know that being kind to our fellow human beings brings us fulfillment. I love, am loved, and living in the moment gives me immense satisfaction.
Not bleak at all on this end. And glad to be able to give back as worm and maggot food to have my atoms recycled for other living things. What a legacy!
Yes, exactly! As someone who is not a believer, my life is not bleak or meaningless. In fact, it is much more meaningful without the thoughts of God and what it may or may not want us to do. If I do something good, it is because I wanted to. If a religious person does good, it is because they think they are getting brownie points with God. I am able to think for myself, and live life without a crutch. I am much happier without religion.
As to the whole worm food thing, well.... I just don't worry about it. There are really only 2 possible outcomes after death. 1) Something. 2) Nothing. In the case of #1, if there is something, I am pretty certain it isn't hellfire and damnation, so I am not worried about that. As for #2, if there is nothing, then who cares? I won't know it if there is indeed nothing. I will just go back to wherever and whatever I was before I was born. So, I will continue to live my life to the best of my abilities, and hopefully leave enough behind that I am remembered.
But I think you're missing a major point in the article. The disdain with which many religious people look at suicide, and the admonition that if you kill yourself you will go to hell with no redemption, isn't a positive thing. It's living out of pure fear of torture. I see that as a huge negative...and hardly the image of an"ever-loving" god.
And, btw, the study was based on people who could be described as "major depressives". How come...if religion is so wonderful...you have major depressives. The most religious person I personally know is a depressive, obsessive compulsive, and perhaps bi-polar. Good work god!
Unfortunately, some people may not realize how they vote, worship and/or choose to govern their household is considered by some to be examples of trampling the rights and freedoms of others.
It's as if some people are begging for communism.
What difference does it make if "some" do not care for the way others vote, worship, or govern their households? What counts is whether or not all have the freedom to do those things as they personally see fit.
When somebody else pays your rent it’s much easier not to believe in god
What is this supposed to mean?
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