Recent Studies: Atheists have, on average, higher IQs than religious people.

[Wild Cobra]

Then why do the es go to church?

Just because "church" is generally a Christian term, doesn't mean it's exclusively a christian term.

[GoodOdor]

Just because "church" is generally a Christian term, doesn't mean it's exclusively a christian term.

Church - a place of worship for christians.
Synagogue - a place of worship for jews.
A mosque - a place of worship for muslims.

Are you really this stupid?(rhetorical questions).

[redzero]

Just because "church" is generally a Christian term, doesn't mean it's exclusively a christian term.

Okay? What's that got to do with my question to Ginobilly?

[Wild Cobra]

Church - a place of worship for christians.
Synagogue - a place of worship for jews.
A mosque - a place of worship for muslims.

Are you really this stupid?(rhetorical questions).

Scientology is not Christian. What about the church of Scientology?

[Ginobilly]

Then why do the es go to church?

to meet s and assholes

I fingered and got my sucked from chicks from catechism. That was enough for me to keep ongoing to class.

This is stuff I use to do at mass when I went with my parents a kid.
pretend I was reading the bible or song booklet only to be reading the latest issue of PSM/Gamepro/EGM.
Looking at girls
daydream
eat candy,chew gum
go to the car midway through mass to take some bong rips(I did this when I was older 16,17) came back todo marijuano

[Clipper Nation]

dp

[Clipper Nation]

Here's a list of all the advantages to being an atheist.

Being smarter than evangelicals

Not being a bigot

Not being a dumbass redneck

Not worshiping a magical cult leader in the sky who endorses theft, murder, total destruction of the Earth, judging people, slavery, discrimination against black people and women, incest, human sacrifice, animal sacrifice, and burning all non-believers alive

[Ginobilly]

Being smarter than evangelicals

Not being a bigot

Not being a dumbass redneck

Not worshiping a magical cult leader in the sky who endorses theft, murder, total destruction of the Earth, judging people, slavery, discrimination against black people and women, incest, human sacrifice, animal sacrifice, and burning all non-believers alive

a lot evangelicals that live in my neighborhood are well off. A lot of them have good jobs and own companies. I don't think I would call them dumb. The only atheists I have known were dumb college students going to SAC/UTSA and the struggling artists/hobos asking you for a dollar on 6 street in Austin.

[howbouthemspurs]

Religion destroys societies and causes pointless wars

[Wild Cobra]

Religion destroys societies and causes pointless wars

Bull .

Religion is just used as an excuse. Nations will war anyway.

[AussieFanKurt]

Bull .

Religion is just used as an excuse. Nations will war anyway.

Even though I am anti religion I have to say I agree with you. Religions obviously contribute but they aren't 100% of the equation. Takes two to tango

[DMC]

Without wars and such the Earth would be overpopulated. It seems mankind's goal is to reach overpopulation since we don't want to ever die and don't want our reproduction limited. We will die like a herd of deer who overpopulate when predators are removed, and die from chronic wasting disease.

[Clipper Nation]

Religion is just used as an excuse. Nations will war anyway.

Not if they don't have bull justifications like oil, fake WMD's, and/or religious differences, tbh....

[Wild Cobra]

Not if they don't have bull justifications like oil, fake WMD's, and/or religious differences, tbh....

Justification, or reason? Wars are generally over land, resources, etc.

[Roger Freemason Jr.]

One reason why Atheists can read the Bible and further affirm that they're justified in not believing, is because the Bible in English, is very unlike the Bible in Hebrew, or in Aramaic I should say. (Of course there are other reasons as well)

I've heard Atheists say that the bible is bull , because it claims that God is omnipotent. So, that would mean God knows that in 3 minutes, this particular person will molest a child, & since he sits idly by when he knows and can prevent it, he is not in fact a loving God. The thing with that is.. The bible in English may say "omnipotent", but in it's original text in Hebrew, the word is "shadday" which simply means "almighty" or "all-powerful". "All knowing" is not one of the definitions of "shadday".

Also, another thing that Atheists find laughable is the concept of Heaven and . The destination for people of God, is not a realm in the sky or cosmos where God resides, in fact, the destination is Earth, or after apocalypse "New Jerusalem". What the bible says (from Hebrew text), is that when people die, they rest until judgement day. That's not acceptable for the Catholic church though, they want people to feel that they'll have instant results.

As far as " " goes. There are two Hebrew words, and two greek words that translate to the English " " in the Bible. Sheol (which means grave), Gehenna (which was an actual geographical location in the Judea area at that time, a place where they would take trash and burn it), the greek Tarturus (which means dark place, & is only used once when referring to the dwelling place of Lucifer), and finally Hades, which also means grave, or underworld. First of all, the common idea of is fiery torture, non-stop with crazy demons... No, that's Dante's version, which the Catholic church adopted. In the bible, it states that when someone is judged on the final day, if they led a wicked life, they receive the "second death" the death of the soul/spirit. That is that, there is no eternal torment, there is only annihilation. The first death is of the body, and the second death is of the soul, that is annihilation, ceasing to exist. It can't be any clearer.

These are two things that if I were to state to a priest or pastor, I'd be labeled a heretic. But that in fact is just fundamental orthodox Christianity.

I understand that those two aspects are not going to convert an atheist, nor would I want to. My religious values are important to me, but I think it's great that people can read the bible for themselves, and choose not to believe in what they read. All I'm saying is that with this information super-highway, people should know the truth of it before making their decision. I feel that it doesn't get a fair chance otherwise, although I know most Atheists would still consider it a joke, but at least know in this case, the devil is NOT in the details. :p

By the way, science is amazing, and we'd be nowhere without it.
I don't feel that not believing would make someone more intelligent or less intelligent.
I came from an unreligious household, but my mother became Christian when she approached old age, and I became a Christian when I actually began reading the Bible out of curiosity, and from then on I had to know everything about it, including reading it in Hebrew.

[BradLohaus]

I'm a Christian, and I don't doubt that atheists, on average, have higher IQ scores than religious people. I also don't doubt the IQ scores of different races. Jews are the highest (by quite a bit: around 115), northeast Asian descent is 2nd (around 105) and northern European descent is 3rd (100). Funny thing about stereotypes...

In the last few years evidence has come out that atheists have a higher rate of autism and Aspergers syndrome. Based on personal experience I don't doubt that either. And yes, there are always many exceptions to these averages.

[mouse]

One reason why Atheists can read the Bible and further affirm that they're justified in not believing, is because the Bible in English, is very unlike the Bible in Hebrew, or in Aramaic I should say. (Of course there are other reasons as well)

I've heard Atheists say that the bible is bull , because it claims that God is omnipotent. So, that would mean God knows that in 3 minutes, this particular person will molest a child, & since he sits idly by when he knows and can prevent it, he is not in fact a loving God. The thing with that is.. The bible in English may say "omnipotent", but in it's original text in Hebrew, the word is "shadday" which simply means "almighty" or "all-powerful". "All knowing" is not one of the definitions of "shadday".

Also, another thing that Atheists find laughable is the concept of Heaven and . The destination for people of God, is not a realm in the sky or cosmos where God resides, in fact, the destination is Earth, or after apocalypse "New Jerusalem". What the bible says (from Hebrew text), is that when people die, they rest until judgement day. That's not acceptable for the Catholic church though, they want people to feel that they'll have instant results.

As far as " " goes. There are two Hebrew words, and two greek words that translate to the English " " in the Bible. Sheol (which means grave), Gehenna (which was an actual geographical location in the Judea area at that time, a place where they would take trash and burn it), the greek Tarturus (which means dark place, & is only used once when referring to the dwelling place of Lucifer), and finally Hades, which also means grave, or underworld. First of all, the common idea of is fiery torture, non-stop with crazy demons... No, that's Dante's version, which the Catholic church adopted. In the bible, it states that when someone is judged on the final day, if they led a wicked life, they receive the "second death" the death of the soul/spirit. That is that, there is no eternal torment, there is only annihilation. The first death is of the body, and the second death is of the soul, that is annihilation, ceasing to exist. It can't be any clearer.

These are two things that if I were to state to a priest or pastor, I'd be labeled a heretic. But that in fact is just fundamental orthodox Christianity.

I understand that those two aspects are not going to convert an atheist, nor would I want to. My religious values are important to me, but I think it's great that people can read the bible for themselves, and choose not to believe in what they read. All I'm saying is that with this information super-highway, people should know the truth of it before making their decision. I feel that it doesn't get a fair chance otherwise, although I know most Atheists would still consider it a joke, but at least know in this case, the devil is NOT in the details. :p

By the way, science is amazing, and we'd be nowhere without it.
I don't feel that not believing would make someone more intelligent or less intelligent.
I came from an unreligious household, but my mother became Christian when she approached old age, and I became a Christian when I actually began reading the Bible out of curiosity, and from then on I had to know everything about it, including reading it in Hebrew.

That was one of a reply!

[Wild Cobra Kai]

Tweet of the day

Andy Borowitz ‏@BorowitzReport
Sunday Thought: I may waste a lot of time on Twitter, but I make up for it by not observing a religion.

[mouse]

But doesn't Twitter become your religion?

[Wild Cobra Kai]

One reason why Atheists can read the Bible and further affirm that they're justified in not believing, is because the Bible in English, is very unlike the Bible in Hebrew, or in Aramaic I should say. (Of course there are other reasons as well)

I've heard Atheists say that the bible is bull , because it claims that God is omnipotent. So, that would mean God knows that in 3 minutes, this particular person will molest a child, & since he sits idly by when he knows and can prevent it, he is not in fact a loving God. The thing with that is.. The bible in English may say "omnipotent", but in it's original text in Hebrew, the word is "shadday" which simply means "almighty" or "all-powerful". "All knowing" is not one of the definitions of "shadday".

Also, another thing that Atheists find laughable is the concept of Heaven and . The destination for people of God, is not a realm in the sky or cosmos where God resides, in fact, the destination is Earth, or after apocalypse "New Jerusalem". What the bible says (from Hebrew text), is that when people die, they rest until judgement day. That's not acceptable for the Catholic church though, they want people to feel that they'll have instant results.

As far as " " goes. There are two Hebrew words, and two greek words that translate to the English " " in the Bible. Sheol (which means grave), Gehenna (which was an actual geographical location in the Judea area at that time, a place where they would take trash and burn it), the greek Tarturus (which means dark place, & is only used once when referring to the dwelling place of Lucifer), and finally Hades, which also means grave, or underworld. First of all, the common idea of is fiery torture, non-stop with crazy demons... No, that's Dante's version, which the Catholic church adopted. In the bible, it states that when someone is judged on the final day, if they led a wicked life, they receive the "second death" the death of the soul/spirit. That is that, there is no eternal torment, there is only annihilation. The first death is of the body, and the second death is of the soul, that is annihilation, ceasing to exist. It can't be any clearer.

These are two things that if I were to state to a priest or pastor, I'd be labeled a heretic. But that in fact is just fundamental orthodox Christianity.

I understand that those two aspects are not going to convert an atheist, nor would I want to. My religious values are important to me, but I think it's great that people can read the bible for themselves, and choose not to believe in what they read. All I'm saying is that with this information super-highway, people should know the truth of it before making their decision. I feel that it doesn't get a fair chance otherwise, although I know most Atheists would still consider it a joke, but at least know in this case, the devil is NOT in the details. :p

By the way, science is amazing, and we'd be nowhere without it.
I don't feel that not believing would make someone more intelligent or less intelligent.
I came from an unreligious household, but my mother became Christian when she approached old age, and I became a Christian when I actually began reading the Bible out of curiosity, and from then on I had to know everything about it, including reading it in Hebrew.

Well, you're proving the IQ point, anyway.

Omnipotent means all powerful. That's it. No other meaning. If that's what the Bible translates into, it's the same as Hebrew or Greek. If you're looking for the word for All Knowing, it's omnisicent. Totally different word, totally different meaning from omnipotent.

Even were that not the case, don't you think it would be pretty stupid to have a God that is all powerful, and NOT all knowing?

"I smite thee"
"But Lord, we were building you a temple"
"Oh, It looked kind of Satanish. Sorry."

[Roger Freemason Jr.]

Why would it be stupid to be all powerful, and not be all knowing? In the bible, one of the most important things that a human possesses is their free will. Why would God stress free will, if he knows very well every single thing that you'll do with it? If he knows that you'll murder people your whole life, he'd do well to nip you in the bud, but that isn't the case.

& I made a mistake before, the word "shadday" BARELY translates into the word "almighty" for lack of a more accurate word in the English language. If you think that the Bible is 100% accurately translated from Hebrew to Greek (some texts starting out greek), Greek to Latin, & then Latin to English, then you sir are dense.

Now that information is flowing freely via the internet, it's time to abandon
the obsolete way that Christianity has been viewed. Now everyone can know what everything in the Bible truly means, everyone can now differentiate between allegory, metaphor, poetry and the literal. In the end, Christianity is still just another religion, even if it is the most popular in the world, and even if it has been used as a tool for mind control, it's still another religion. But it just so happens to be mine, and I like what kind of person I am because of it.

[DMC]

The Problem of Evil was addressed a long ass time ago.

[mouse]

The Problem of Evil was addressed a long ass time ago.

Link?

[mouse]

[Blake]

Why would it be stupid to be all powerful, and not be all knowing? In the bible, one of the most important things that a human possesses is their free will. Why would God stress free will, if he knows very well every single thing that you'll do with it? If he knows that you'll murder people your whole life, he'd do well to nip you in the bud, but that isn't the case.

Psalm 139:4 Young's Literal Translation (YLT)

4 For there is not a word in my tongue, Lo, O Jehovah, Thou hast known it all

& I made a mistake before, the word "shadday" BARELY translates into the word "almighty" for lack of a more accurate word in the English language. If you think that the Bible is 100% accurately translated from Hebrew to Greek (some texts starting out greek), Greek to Latin, & then Latin to English, then you sir are dense.

Now that information is flowing freely via the internet, it's time to abandon
the obsolete way that Christianity has been viewed. Now everyone can know what everything in the Bible truly means, everyone can now differentiate between allegory, metaphor, poetry and the literal. In the end, Christianity is still just another religion, even if it is the most popular in the world, and even if it has been used as a tool for mind control, it's still another religion. But it just so happens to be mine, and I like what kind of person I am because of it.

So god allowed generations of people to believe in inaccurate versions of the bible.

Neat.