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Monotheism did not take power against freedom of Polytheism until 1,000 years ago. A new Millenium can start at any minute.
Many...a few...or one ---- "God Belief" (Theism) has been "The Standard" for all that time.
As compared to Atheism...which has not been standard, but a rare exception to the belief in the existence of God(s).
Don't hold your breath waiting for that to switch-up.
NO. You can't do it and the good news for you is that capitalism has already accomplished it for you. If that's not good enough, the next step is to impose forms of communism that remove choices in the interest of freedom and liberty.
Capitalism is already about removing choices and curtailing liberty. It would be stupid for Plutocracy not to take over for their own interests (capitalism), and remove competition (anti-online public tax filing laws thanks to Tax-company lobbies, "under God" thanks to Catholic lobbies), and line up the consumers and workers under Iron-clad Rule.
Hence the anti-Union laws, monopolies and conglomerations, "too big to fail," mobile home schemes, etc.
It's good you posted this on the R/S forum...it shows how open-minded you are... and that statement would have probably go unnoticed on the Athiest forum. And why shouldn't you judge the whole by whatever circles you've encountered? It certainly helps to save time and allows one to get back to whatever it is they are promoting.
Yet the poster you are criticizing is merely knee-jerk responding to Jeffbase (I think directly quoted by the poster you are criticizing) claims that he has never met any friendly atheists.
Are you saying that you can't objectively claim, with a VERY high degree of certainty and confidence, that the computer you are typing on right now does not exist? There is hard, tangible evidence right at your fingertips (literally and figuratively!), with which no one would argue. Surely that is a different kind of claim than one involving distant objects you have never seen or touched (the existence of Pluto, for example)... which is in turn different from the claim for a supernatural being for which there is no evidence?
All claims are not created equal.
Knowledge, and so-called "facts", are just our best info at the moment based on a probability curve.
Nothing can be "for sure"...because nothing is infallible.
You cannot even prove absolutely that all you perceive is even real, and not just a "Brain In A Vat" type scenario.
My perception of God is not "a supernatural being"....but I do perceive a God I believe does exist.
I don't acknowledge anything "supernatural". Natural things that are "super"...but not outside of Reality. Reality is all there is.
According to the chart on the original post, it looks mainly like the “nones” are growing at the expense of mainline Protestants. I’m not sure that is much of a “win” for atheists and agnostics. Mainline Protestants aren’t all that religious to begin with. They also tend to have more liberal political views and also dislike fundamentalists.
A real win would be “nones” growing at the expense of fundamentalists. That doesn’t appear to be happening.
This is certainly the case, and it bears repeating.
The fundamentalists need extreme help. Perhaps door-to-door help (Russian atheist clubs).
They also need help getting taxed fairly for their "small bit" of money-collecting (once Chinese Buddhist policy).
Even after that mark, me down as someone who still doesn't get the reference to communism in this thread.
There was and is a lot of propaganda in the United States that communism is inherently anti-religious because only atheists would wish to help each other through a SECULAR centralized VOTED power. And for some reason, they think that only Atheists would seek to help the excessively rich "trickle down" their wealth appropriately.
Many...a few...or one ---- "God Belief" (Theism) has been "The Standard" for all that time.
So has reacting to a noise that was not a tiger after all.
Quote:
Originally Posted by GldnRule
As compared to Atheism...which has not been standard, but a rare exception to the belief in the existence of God(s).
Rare? It has been mentioned in literature for over 2,500 years. And we do not know the percentage of atheists from those times, so your assertion lacks evidence.
Recognizing sarcasm may be a learned trait you should study a bit.
Don't you mean "verbal irony" rather than "sarcasm."
Sarcasm would entail that the responder to Jeffbase actually meant the opposite.
The verbal irony would be that Jeffbase is being "dishonest" by saying that all atheists he has interacted with (implying that would include in this forum) are unfriendly.
You want those, look yourself. That isn't the topic of this thread, so I will now bow out, and you can keep off topic if you like.
As for the topic at hand, the "nones" growing is certainly a good thing in the eyes of most non believers. We would much prefer someone who is "spiritual" or a "cultural Christian" than a fundie that is hellbent on shaping society using their preferred holy book.
The "spiritual" and "culturally Religious" will only give cover for the poisonous fungus of fundamentalism to grow to pandemic proportions in the shadows.
Do not provide cover for any of them, or seek to ignore them. Bring them all out into the Light of Day.
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