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Post by MissingNo. on Aug 12, 2013 15:38:07 GMT -5
As it turns out athiests are smarter than religious people according to 63 scientific studies spanning decades. Personally, in 20+ years of living, it didn't take much over a decade for myself to have realized this. Anyone who blames anything explained or otherwise on an invisible man in the sky rather than having the mind to simply express the universal truth of "We just don't know yet" is less intelligent than the guy who chooses not to worship his own creation and admit his life may be meaningless and he may be alone but his mind is his own and he is truly free.
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Xargen
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Post by Xargen on Aug 12, 2013 17:10:20 GMT -5
Yeah, I'm not entirely surprised by this, but of course I know some religious people that are smarter than some of the Atheists I know
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Post by Greenfire32 on Aug 13, 2013 9:12:18 GMT -5
Religion, by it's very nature, is a restrictive mindset. It (not so) cleanly defines "reality" and punishes those who question it. There's a reason why the last time religion took over the world, it was called "The Dark Ages".
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Lenrat117
A Hind D!?
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Post by Lenrat117 on Aug 14, 2013 11:56:10 GMT -5
Religion, by it's very nature, is a restrictive mindset. It (not so) cleanly defines "reality" and punishes those who question it. There's a reason why the last time religion took over the world, it was called "The Dark Ages".
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Lenrat117
A Hind D!?
I may have the body of a weak and feeble man but I have the Heart and Stomach of a Queen.
Posts: 557
Now Playing: probably Fallout New Vegas
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Post by Lenrat117 on Aug 14, 2013 12:28:09 GMT -5
I do wish people will stop attacking religion (extremism, on the other hand, should be deterred at all costs). In this day and age religion is less of an expansive "evil" organisation and more of a tradition. Religious people are not as intelligent as not so religious people? well yes that's a given but you could turn around and say the same thing about other groups of people like athletes or gamers (not to say anyone on this forum isn't intelligent, we're a pretty smart bunch). Also religion has done more good then bad. Islam invented maths, were excellent surgeons and doctors (the numbers we use today were the exact same ones the Turks used back all those centuries ago). Chinese monks were pioneer's of chemistry giving us gun powder. Christianity pulled Europe out of the dark ages by bringing Islamic knowledge back from the crusades. Christianity indirectly discovered america when Queen Isabella of Spain sent Christopher Columbus to find new land with people who could be converted to Christianity (it wasn't because they thought the world was flat and Columbus didn't, it was already widely accepted that the world was round). Who headed the campaign to abolish slavery in The British Empire? It was (wait for it...) Christianity. Religion gave us, morals to live by, standards to live up to and answers to questions that science, on it's own, couldn't answer for us. Not to imply that religion was perfect in every way. The Stuart kings of England caused a lot of terror with their witch hunts and Christian inquisitors. And despite Religion's dis-owning and denouncing them, extremism pops up all around. 9/11, the London underground, Boston, 5th of November and the Munich massacre just to name a few events that shed a long dark shadow on faith. But what I think we need to keep in mind is that the future is ours to shape, ours to mold into whatever we want. If our generation feels that religion has run it's course and it's up to other things to drive us along then so be it. But don't hassle people who want to have faith and keep a tradition.
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Lenrat117
A Hind D!?
I may have the body of a weak and feeble man but I have the Heart and Stomach of a Queen.
Posts: 557
Now Playing: probably Fallout New Vegas
Favorite Game: probably Europa Universalis 4
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Post by Lenrat117 on Aug 14, 2013 12:29:29 GMT -5
I would say I'm atheist or agnostic or whatever but I don't like the feeling of being classified. I like to be flexible.
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MMCC0203
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Post by MMCC0203 on Aug 16, 2013 0:41:10 GMT -5
Meh. Stupidity doesn't discriminate. There are plenty of dumb theists and atheists out there. The same thing applies for intelligence.
Personally, I think religion is rather harmless by itself; at best it's just silly wishful thinking. It becomes problematic when religious people (often fundamentalists) attempt to impose their beliefs on others via legislation or force. People need to understand that, in order to live in a free society, the right to believe (or not) in supernatural crap needs to be respected or at least tolerated.
This is coming from an agnostic atheist btw.
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Post by Blade Runner 07 on Aug 25, 2013 0:24:05 GMT -5
what lenrat said. Live and let live. Sure most religious people I know are nice, well adjusted, closet homophobes, and racist but that's no reason to hate them.
Seriously. Without Religion we wouldn't have a reason to be nice to each other once a year around December. If you follow that logic...
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Post by JMMREVIEW on Aug 25, 2013 4:30:15 GMT -5
Your family are nice to each other at christmas? Thats strange.
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Post by Blade Runner 07 on Aug 25, 2013 11:34:13 GMT -5
Oh hell no. Every Christmas it boarders on WW3. Strangers are nicer though.
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Xargen
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Post by Xargen on Aug 25, 2013 11:49:22 GMT -5
Gotta keep up appearances... Gotta make sure everyone knows you're having a better christmas than them... Even if you're not
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Post by JMMREVIEW on Aug 25, 2013 12:57:57 GMT -5
Who needs enemies when you have family!
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Lenrat117
A Hind D!?
I may have the body of a weak and feeble man but I have the Heart and Stomach of a Queen.
Posts: 557
Now Playing: probably Fallout New Vegas
Favorite Game: probably Europa Universalis 4
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Post by Lenrat117 on Aug 25, 2013 16:12:53 GMT -5
JMM the two are the same. My family is huge. Lots of siblings. by the end of next decade there will be enough of us to start a civil war. It's like game of thrones without the sex and murder. In fact one of my sisters is already planning to disown me. I thought that'd come between my mother's death and the civil war that will inevitably happen due to the death of the only person keeping us from tearing each other apart. I could rant about the different sphere's of influence in my family for hours so I think I'll stop here.
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Lenrat117
A Hind D!?
I may have the body of a weak and feeble man but I have the Heart and Stomach of a Queen.
Posts: 557
Now Playing: probably Fallout New Vegas
Favorite Game: probably Europa Universalis 4
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Post by Lenrat117 on Aug 25, 2013 16:16:20 GMT -5
"Enough of us" meaning my siblings getting married (which will add their other half's families to "the mix") and having children (my oldest sister had one two weeks ago).
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MMCC0203
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Post by MMCC0203 on Aug 26, 2013 14:21:33 GMT -5
A few more quick thoughts:
You have to be careful when generalizing an entire demographic. Remember that the likes of Newton, Copernicus, Kepler, and many other great scientists were theists. Yeah you could probably claim that these men were just products of the time period (they were), but often times religious belief can motivate people to do great things. Just look at the Abolitionist or Civil Rights Movements in the US.
My senior year of high school I had a Biology teacher who also happened to be a devout Christian (he attended church every Sunday). He always made fun of creationism/ID for the pseudosciences that they are and never let his personal beliefs get in the way of the facts. He was an awesome teacher and an extremely intelligent person who happened to be a theist. That's all.
As I said before, religion by itself is pretty harmless. As an agnostic atheist I see belief in God(s) as something comparable to belief in Santa Claus. Silly? Sure. Harmful? not really. However, it becomes a problem when fundamentalists/fanatics get a hold of it and try to impose their beliefs via legislation or force.
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