You're the most reasonable atheist I've run across yet, though, Besty. There's hope for you yet ;-)
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JoinedPosts by passwordprotected
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Are Most Scientists Atheists?
by passwordprotected injames leuba conducted a survey of scientists in 1916. they were asked a whether they believed in a god who actively communicates with humanity, to whom humans can pray and expect an answer.. to believe in this sort of god would mean you were a theist.
if you're a deist, or agnostic, you believe there's a god but he's not necessarily interested in humans and we wouldn't pray to this god.. the results of this survey revealed that roughly 40% of scientists believe in this sort of god, making them theists.
40% didn't, making them either deists/agnostics or atheists.
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As my interest wanes............
by AK - Jeff inall things jw and xjw and even xxjw are beginning to bore me.
tonight, in an effort to stimulate my interest, i cruised back thru threads of the past month or so.
while i found a couple topics of mild interest, and a couple more in which i found it worth effort to make personal comment, i was mostly bored.. i have come to grips with my past religious history.
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We were talking about JWN today in my household and we realise that this site doesn't really offer us what we once needed anymore.
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Are Most Scientists Atheists?
by passwordprotected injames leuba conducted a survey of scientists in 1916. they were asked a whether they believed in a god who actively communicates with humanity, to whom humans can pray and expect an answer.. to believe in this sort of god would mean you were a theist.
if you're a deist, or agnostic, you believe there's a god but he's not necessarily interested in humans and we wouldn't pray to this god.. the results of this survey revealed that roughly 40% of scientists believe in this sort of god, making them theists.
40% didn't, making them either deists/agnostics or atheists.
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Religion - systemised worship of higher power
Belief in supernatural - faith based understanding that intelligence exists beyond the confines of planet earth
Spirituality - deeply held desire to form a connection with entitites larger in scope than fellow humans
Those seem like both reasonable definitions and reasonable concepts. Shame some folks want them wiped out.
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eugenics anyone?
by ninja inthis is the brother of rahm emanuel not liking the spotlight being pointed at him.......we are in trouble folks.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ho-0shfeggo.
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Oh, Ninja. Those scientists are very, very intelligent. They have high IQs which equates with them knowing what's best for us. So, it's probably nothing to worry about.
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Atheists choose 'de-baptism' to renounce childhood faith
by whereami indo you think the wts would except this?.
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http://www.usatoday.com/news/religion/2009-07-21-atheists-debaptism_n.htm?csp=usat.me.
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I think that Atheism IS a religion. One definition of a religion is - ""a set of beliefs concerning the cause, nature, and purpose of the universe - a body of persons adhering to a particular set of beliefs and practices"". I am sure that our Atheist friends can produce a definition that better fits there ideas though! But each to their own - if thats what floats your boat then go for it.
Well said.
The longer I spend on JWN surrounded by such a great cloud of atheists, the more I realise that atheism is the new religion. Perhaps they could claim the title Dawkinists.
They have their preachers, they have their fundamentalism, they have their bibles, they have their conventions, and they get really, really angry when people question their faith.
As for getting de-baptised, that's bonkers. I thought atheists were the most intelligent people on the planet, or something like that. But getting de-baptised can't be a sign of large-domed braininess, can it?
Fantastic.
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Are Most Scientists Atheists?
by passwordprotected injames leuba conducted a survey of scientists in 1916. they were asked a whether they believed in a god who actively communicates with humanity, to whom humans can pray and expect an answer.. to believe in this sort of god would mean you were a theist.
if you're a deist, or agnostic, you believe there's a god but he's not necessarily interested in humans and we wouldn't pray to this god.. the results of this survey revealed that roughly 40% of scientists believe in this sort of god, making them theists.
40% didn't, making them either deists/agnostics or atheists.
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Will you use Google's 'define' search?
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If The Bible Is The Word Of God...
by XJW4EVR inmany here have abandoned the bible as "the word of god" and there are numerous reasons for said abandonment.
however what i am interested in finding out is if the bible is the word of god, then what would you expect to find?.
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"The moral of this story is...." be more like Jesus. Your life will be better and so will that of those whom you meet.
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Are Most Scientists Atheists?
by passwordprotected injames leuba conducted a survey of scientists in 1916. they were asked a whether they believed in a god who actively communicates with humanity, to whom humans can pray and expect an answer.. to believe in this sort of god would mean you were a theist.
if you're a deist, or agnostic, you believe there's a god but he's not necessarily interested in humans and we wouldn't pray to this god.. the results of this survey revealed that roughly 40% of scientists believe in this sort of god, making them theists.
40% didn't, making them either deists/agnostics or atheists.
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Paul, you're my friend, so I'm sure you won't mind me asking this;
A small child can have a measurably high IQ but no idea about the difference between spirituality, religion and belief in the supernatural.
Do you know the difference between spirituality, religion and belief in the supernatural?
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Are Most Scientists Atheists?
by passwordprotected injames leuba conducted a survey of scientists in 1916. they were asked a whether they believed in a god who actively communicates with humanity, to whom humans can pray and expect an answer.. to believe in this sort of god would mean you were a theist.
if you're a deist, or agnostic, you believe there's a god but he's not necessarily interested in humans and we wouldn't pray to this god.. the results of this survey revealed that roughly 40% of scientists believe in this sort of god, making them theists.
40% didn't, making them either deists/agnostics or atheists.
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What's your definition of "Atheist"? If Einstein didn't qualify, then I don't know if anyone does.
Why does my definition matter?
Here's what I found when I typed "define atheism" into Google;
Definitions of atheism on the Web:
- the doctrine or belief that there is no God
- a lack of belief in the existence of God or gods
wordnetweb.princeton.edu/perl/webwn - Atheism is the position that deities do not exist, or the rejection of theism. In the broadest sense, it is the absence of belief in the existence ...
en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Atheism - atheist - related to or characterized by or given to atheism; "atheist leanings"
wordnetweb.princeton.edu/perl/webwn - atheistic - rejecting any belief in gods
wordnetweb.princeton.edu/perl/webwn - Atheist are a technical death metal band from Florida, founded in 1984, whose music combined metal riffs with subtle latin music arrangements and ...
en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Atheist_(band) - The Atheist is written by Irish born playwright, Ronan Noone. His previous plays include The Lepers of Baile Baiste (Critics Pick, Boston Globe ...
en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Atheist_(play) - The Atheist is a horror comic book originally released in April 2005 and is published by Image Comics. ...
en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Atheist_(comics) - atheist - A person who does not believe that deities exist; one who lacks belief in gods; A person who believes that no deities exist; one who denies the ...
en.wiktionary.org/wiki/atheist - Atheism is a religion that believes that God does not exist in any form.
www.creationkid.org/dictionary.html - Atheists In modern times, those who do not accept the monotheistic Christian God or any god. It formerly signified those who did not believe in the accepted divinity or divinities of the State or populace.
www.theosociety.org/pasadena/etgloss/ass-atm.htm - A belief that there are no gods. Greek "a-theos": without-god. [see the 'Atheism' page for complete information]
www.reasoned.org/glossary.htm - Humanism Atheism & Secularism (www.Vexen.co.uk)
www.dpjs.co.uk/dictionary.html - This word comes from two Greek words, a the negator, and theos, God. Atheism teaches that there is no God of any kind, anywhere, anytime. Some atheists claim to "Excercise no belief in a god" the same way they would exercise no belief in pink unicorns. ...
www.spiritrestoration.org/Theological_Terms/A_Prior_%20to_Born_Again.htm - From Greek a- meaning without and theos, meaning God
And here's what Einstein said regarding his beliefs (as taken from his entry on Wikipedia);
"I have repeatedly said that in my opinion the idea of a personal God is a childlike one. You may call me an agnostic, but I do not share the crusading spirit of the professional atheist whose fervor is mostly due to a painful act of liberation from the fetters of religious indoctrination received in youth." He is reported to have said in a conversation with Hubertus, Prince of Löwenstein-Wertheim-Freudenberg , "In view of such harmony in the cosmos which I, with my limited human mind, am able to recognize, there are yet people who say there is no God. But what really makes me angry is that they quote me for the support of such views."
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So Einstein said that people may refer to him as an agnostic, meaning he did not believe in a personal God.
Here's the definition of agnostic, as ascertained by the above Google search;
Definitions of agnostic on the Web:
- someone who is doubtful or noncommittal about something
- of or pertaining to an agnostic or agnosticism
- a person who claims that they cannot have true knowledge about the existence of God (but does not deny that God might exist)
- uncertain of all claims to knowledge
wordnetweb.princeton.edu/perl/webwn - Agnosticism (α- a-, without + γν?σις gnosis, knowledge; after Gnosticism) is the philosophical view that the truth value of certain claims — particularly metaphysical claims regarding theology, afterlife or the existence of deities, spiritual-beings, or even ultimate reality — is ...
en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Agnostic - A person who holds to a form of agnosticism, especially uncertainty of the existence of a deity; Of or relating to agnosticism or its adherents; Doubtful or uncertain about the existence or demonstrability of God or other deity; A software component (or other entity) that is unaware or ...
en.wiktionary.org/wiki/agnostic - agnosticism - a religious orientation of doubt; a denial of ultimate knowledge of the existence of God; "agnosticism holds that you can neither prove nor ...
- agnosticism - the disbelief in any claims of ultimate knowledge
wordnetweb.princeton.edu/perl/webwn - agnosticism - the view that absolute truth or ultimate certainty is unattainable, especially regarding knowledge not based on experience or perceivable phenomena; the view that the existence of God or of all deities is unknown, unknowable, unproven, or unprovable; doubt, uncertainty, or skepticism regarding ...
en.wiktionary.org/wiki/agnosticism - Someone who claims that they do not know or are unable to know whether God exists.
www.abdn.ac.uk/philosophy/guide/glossary.shtml - A word first used by Professor Huxley, to indicate one who believes nothing which cannot be demonstrated by the senses.
www.theosociety.org/pasadena/key/key-glos.htm - agnosticism - [from Greek a not + gnostos known] The mental attitude denying the possibility of the real knowledge of truth and hence of the ultimate or fundamental nature of the universe. ...
www.theosociety.org/pasadena/etgloss/adi-ag.htm - agnosticism - From Greek, a- meaning without and gnosis, meaning knowledge, agnosticism is the contention that we cannot know whether or not there is a God. ...
www.thezenofsouthpark.com/Glossary_of_Terms.html - One who holds the theory that God is unknown or unknowable
www.innvista.com/culture/religion/diction.htm - comes from the Greek agnosia, which means ignorance; the opposite of gnosis, "knowledge". The agnostic is a person who holds the view that any ultimate reality (as GOD) is known and probably unknowable; broadly, it is one who is not committed to believing in either the existence or the ...
redentormio.exactpages.com/Terminology_A.html
I don't actually know what my IQ is, and I'm not terrible troubled about finding out as I quite like believing in God and I fear finding out that it may actually be quite high* which would lead to me having to relinquish such an existentialist view, but even I can see that there are one or two differences in the definition of what makes a person an atheist and what makes a person an agnostic.
But again, no one's saying my take on this is important.
* Don't worry, I fully acknowledge with cheer and mirth that I'm childlike and irrational.
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If The Bible Is The Word Of God...
by XJW4EVR inmany here have abandoned the bible as "the word of god" and there are numerous reasons for said abandonment.
however what i am interested in finding out is if the bible is the word of god, then what would you expect to find?.
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I believe the Bible is not a history or science book and that to use it this way is a big mistake. It is however, a vehicle to convey spiritual revelation. I believe that the Bible teaches the spiritual truths that God inspired for the sake of our salvation. This in no way implies that we are bound to a literalistic reading of the book, or that fiction, legend, myth, etc. are not valid vehicles for revelation.
I'm with you, Burns. Very, very well said. How high is your IQ?