Schools that teach creationism in the science class.

[AV1611VET]

I don't agree with everything he wrote but I agree with a some of it.

I agree that the religious countries in the world have a greater proportion of uneducated or under informed people in them,
also I agree that if religious people did not band together there is every likelihood they would lose their beliefs.

It is also my opinion that the USA would be even better than it is if there was less belief in the supernatural and more belief in reality.

Great.

Now all you have to do is say that under about ten different sockpuppets and, barring your better punctuation, you might fool some into believing you are consol.

(In fact, didn't I ask you at one time if you were consol?)

 

[whois]

I am not convinced there is no God?

that's what your last post implies

how could I possibly know either way?

that's right, how can you know.

Please tell me: Why would there be a God and who would need a God?
[please don't answer with a question]

like i mentioned in my last post, i find the proposition ludicrous.
that does not mean i discount it either.

i do not have the answers.

a question for you.
have you read, or heard of, the book "the selfish gene"?
when have you ever heard the term "selfish" being applied to a natural process because you didn't have any other word to describe it?
we are supposedly talking about natural laws/processes here.

 

[sandybay]

I don't agree with everything he wrote but I agree with a some of it.

I agree that the religious countries in the world have a greater proportion of uneducated or under informed people in them,
also I agree that if religious people did not band together there is every likelihood they would lose their beliefs.

It is also my opinion that the USA would be even better than it is if there was less belief in the supernatural and more belief in reality.

Great.

Now all you have to do is say that under about ten different sockpuppets and, barring your better punctuation, you might fool some into believing you are consol.

(In fact, didn't I ask you at one time if you were consol?)

I can not possibly be the only person on this forum that thinks religious countries have a greater proportion of uneducated or under informed people in them, or that the USA would be better than it is if less people believed in the supernatural and more believed in reality.

Yes you did ask if I was consol but at the time I dismissed it because I didn't understand what you meant.

 

[AV1611VET]

I can not possibly be the only person on this forum that thinks religious countries have a greater proportion of uneducated or under informed people in them, or that the USA would be better than it is if less people believed in the supernatural and more believed in reality.

That isn't the only thing you have ever posted here.

Yes you did ask if I was consol but at the time I dismissed it because I didn't understand what you meant.

You just remind me of him (or her).

Did you have this response in mind when you asked:

I hope you didn't mind me butting in with the answer?

And for the record, are you consol?

 

[bhsmte]

you write as if you are convinced there isn't a god.
although i find the proposition ludicrous, i can't say i'm convinced.

You find the proposition "ludicrous", but are not completely convinced a God does not exist???

To me at least, assigning the term "ludicrous" to the proposition of a God, is going farther than many atheists do on this board who claim, they see no evidence to believe in a God, but don't say; there is no God.

Yet, you have a chosen a cross to show your faith designation?

When it comes to "making sense", I can't say I am surprised.

 

[whois]

I can not possibly be the only person on this forum that thinks religious countries have a greater proportion of uneducated or under informed people in them, or that the USA would be better than it is if less people believed in the supernatural and more believed in reality.

Yes you did ask if I was consol but at the time I dismissed it because I didn't understand what you meant.

frankly, i find posts like this offensive, and i'm not a creationist.
how dare you to equate religion/ belief in god "un educated".

 

[sandybay]

a question for you.
have you read, or heard of, the book "the selfish gene"?
when have you ever heard the term "selfish" being applied to a natural process because you didn't have any other word to describe it?
we are supposedly talking about natural laws/processes here.

Yes I have heard of the book The Selfish Gene, but I have not read it.

Yes we are talking about natural processes.

The word "selfish" does not mean selfish as we would use it, it's more like a lion who kills another lion then kills it's young so that the female will only have his offspring, it's all done instinctively and there is nothing selfish about his actions, was that lion being selfish by not letting those young lion live? all the lion knows is that it must be done.
That might not be the best explanation but I hope you know what I mean.

 

[sandybay]

frankly, i find posts like this offensive, and i'm not a creationist.
how dare you to equate religion/ belief in god "un educated".

It's not me equating that, there are facts and figures showing that it's true, the more backward a country is the more religious it is.

http://www.timescrest.com/coverstory/why-are-backward-countries-more-religious-2555

 

[AV1611VET]

It's not me equating that, there are facts and figures showing that it's true, the more backward a country is the more religious it is.

You're seeing shadows.

A country that is 100% atheistic would be a country that worships science.

It stands to reason, then, that that country would excel in science over religion.

Inversely, a country that worships a deity would excel in religion over science.

 

[bhsmte]

It's not me equating that, there are facts and figures showing that it's true, the more backward a country is the more religious it is.

Why are backward countries more religious? | Cover Story | Times Crest

In general, the lower the education and quality of life in a country, the more religious (higher belief in a God) they are.

On the other hand, in countries with higher levels of education and qualities of life, belief in a God drops dramatically.

Now, there are some very intelligent folks who believe in a God, but the overall trend, is quite clear.

https://500questions.wordpress.com/...ef-in-god-decrease-as-intelligence-increases/

 

[sandybay]

You're seeing shadows.

A country that is 100% atheistic would be a country that worships science.

It stands to reason, then, that that country would excel in science over religion.

Inversely, a country that worships a deity would excel in religion over science.

Why should anyone worship anything?

 

[sandybay]

In general, the lower the education and quality of life in a country, the more religious (higher belief in a God) they are.

On the other hand, in countries with higher levels of education and qualities of life, belief in a God drops dramatically.

Now, there are some very intelligent folks who believe in a God, but the overall trend, is quite clear.

https://500questions.wordpress.com/...ef-in-god-decrease-as-intelligence-increases/

Yes there are and have always been very smart people who have been religious, which only goes to show that even smart people can be duped into believing nonsense.
Newton believed in alchemy, Sir Arthur Conan Doyle (Sherlock Holmes) believed in fairies.

Francis Collins is the perfect example, he is very open about his beliefs, he will tells everyone that he was raised by his parents to be a creationist and no matter what happens he is determined to die a creationist, he said that he will not allow anything to shake his faith.
Is he living a lie? it's his life and in his case he doe not let his beliefs dictate his actions, (he is a very smart man)
which can not be said for the majority of creationists because they let their beliefs dominate most of their actions.

 

[whois]

It's not me equating that, there are facts and figures showing that it's true, the more backward a country is the more religious it is.

Why are backward countries more religious? | Cover Story | Times Crest

okay, there are several things about this.
from the link:
These figures are estimates at best because of several factors: except for the advanced countries of western Europe, north America and a few others, large studies have not been conducted;people tend not to give direct answers - in fact often refuse to answer;and there are terminological problems ("absolutely not believe in god" or "I am not into religion"). Even so, the figures do provide a ballpark estimate.

estimates at best
IOW these are estimates at the very best, the next down the list is an outright guess.

also the term "ballparkfigure".
ballpark figures can be in error by 100%.

in my opinion, the above "survey" was constructed to show exactly what was wanted to be shown.

i would be afraid to even guess at how many statistical errors there are in this survey.

 

[bhsmte]

Yes there are and have always been very smart people who have been religious, which only goes to show that even smart people can be duped into believing nonsense.
Newton believed in alchemy, Sir Arthur Conan Doyle (Sherlock Holmes) believed in fairies.

Francis Collins is the perfect example, he is very open about his beliefs, he will tells everyone that he was raised by his parents to be a creationist and no matter what happens he is determined to die a creationist, he said that he will not allow anything to shake his faith.
Is he living a lie? it's his life and in his case he doe not let his beliefs dictate his actions, (he is a very smart man)
which can not be said for the majority of creationists because they let their beliefs dominate most of their actions.

Collin's obviously has a personal psychological need to believe in a God and I find nothing wrong with that. For some, it is the best thing for them, because it gives them hope and helps to make them a better person.

When it comes to things that are well evidenced like science though, Collin's can compartmentalize and separate his faith beliefs with science and he is not one to ignore, well evidenced science.

 

[AV1611VET]

Why should anyone worship anything?

We were created that way.

Ecclesiastes 12:13 - Let us hear the conclusion of the whole matter: Fear God, and keep his commandments: for this is the whole duty of man.

Isaiah 43:7b ... for I have created him for my glory, I have formed him; yea, I have made him.

Romans 11:36 - For of him, and through him, and to him, are all things: to whom be glory for ever. Amen.

Ephesians 2:10 - For we are his workmanship, created in Christ Jesus unto good works, which God hath before ordained that we should walk in them.

Revelation 4:11 - Thou art worthy, O Lord, to receive glory and honour and power: for thou hast created all things, and for thy pleasure they are and were created.

 

[whois]

In general, the lower the education and quality of life in a country, the more religious (higher belief in a God) they are.

On the other hand, in countries with higher levels of education and qualities of life, belief in a God drops dramatically.

Now, there are some very intelligent folks who believe in a God, but the overall trend, is quite clear.

https://500questions.wordpress.com/...ef-in-god-decrease-as-intelligence-increases/

from one of the references cited in the piece:
The researchers, who assessed participants’ belief levels using a variety of self-reported measures, found that religious belief decreased when participants engaged in analytic tasks, compared to participants who engaged in tasks that did not involve analytic thinking.
Analytic thinking can decrease religious belief, study shows -- ScienceDaily
i don't think this is an accurate gauge.
it does not take into account gut feelings or other such phenomena.
gut feelings do not involve "analytics" but they have been shown to be correct a significant number of times.

another thing, when dealing with statistics like this, you really need the raw data in order to gauge the accuracy of the conclusions.

 

[AV1611VET]

Now, there are some very intelligent folks who believe in a God, but the overall trend, is quite clear.

Yes, the Heaven's Gate cult demonstrated that intelligence can co-exist with religion.

Those guys were top-notch web designers.

 

[PsychoSarah]

i see.
i guess ol koonin was passing gas when he said darwin needs to be relegated to a museum.

i don't see how the shape of DNA inhibits mutation.
can you provide research that says it does?

support?
as in verified research results?
yes he does indeed have support.

He feels strongly about his position, so what? I could say the same of many people with opposing opinions, that comment is irrelevant.

I never stated that the shape inhibited mutation. I imagine you must be wondering why bacteria don't give rise to multicellular organisms or something. The answer is, there are actually a few, but for the most part, eukaryotes beat them to it, and most bacteria that ended up as multicellular couldn't compete with the already existing multicellular eukaryotes.

He has some, but not enough to be conclusive, and his position is not without problems. Perhaps you should read material from both sides before you decide on one.

 

[MoreCoffee]

Yes, the Heaven's Gate cult demonstrated that intelligence can co-exist with religion.

Those guys were top-notch web designers.

Yep, and they are all dead now because their religion was a little bit dangerous, right? Like the folk at Jones town are dead because their religion was a little dangerous, and the branch Davidians in Wako are dead now because their religion was a little dangerous. Yet there are still billions of religious people alive now because their religions are not dangerous in the same way that the ones mentioned were.

Being smart, well educated, and good at web design is no guarantee against being a bit dangerous.

 

[AV1611VET]

Yep, and they are all dead now because their religion was a little bit dangerous, right? Like the folk at Jones town are dead because their religion was a little dangerous, and the branch Davidians in Wako are dead now because their religion was a little dangerous. Yet there are still billions of religious people alive now because their religions are not dangerous in the same way that the ones mentioned were.

Being smart, well educated, and good at web design is no guarantee against being a bit dangerous.

So true!