by Fernando 191 Replies latest watchtower bible
Consider it the first dominoe to fall---but not the last one.
Yes, I considered using that analogy for you, knowing it was the tip of the iceberg and not the iceberg itself. But if the first domino was false, then the ones backing it up might be just as false. Same iceberg.
Peace,
tammy
Look at the Rothstein article above, that I posted. It looks like he has the same mind about polls and surveys that I do. I don't think you read what he said New Chapter. Very balanced it was.
I know there have been a lot of surveys done over the years about these questions (at least polls of scientists in the United States - I'm not sure how much it's been done in other countries). As with all surveys, their methodologies are open to question so it's not always easy to say how reliable the results are. I am aware of at least one survey published in the scientific journal Nature in the 1990's which showed that around 60% of American scientists (astronomers and otherwise) either do not believe in or doubt the existence of God. This definitely represents a greater rate of disbelief and doubt than the U.S. population as a whole. Personally, I am often skeptical of the detailed results of these surveys, simply because I think a lot of people's answers to the questions depend on how the questions are asked. It's possible to believe in God but yet still have doubts, and sometimes surveys don't seem to do a very good job making this distinction.
That quote is pulled from that article. Since it looks like you skimmed right past it, this is who wrote the above quote. For the whole article, scroll up.
Dave Rothstein
Dave is a former graduate student and postdoctoral researcher at Cornell who used infrared and X-ray observations and theoretical computer models to study accreting black holes in our Galaxy. He also did most of our website development.Here is a list of some questions answered by Dave R. (2000- ).
Okay FHN. You don't believe in statistics, and I don't believe in god. An impasse.
I didn't say that I don't believe in statistics. I said that surveys and polls are questionable.
17% of Americans are religiously unaffiliated. I think that in inaccurate.
I am thinking of everyone I know well enough to know if they are associated with a religion.
Of the 19 people that are family, 17 are unaffiliated. One slightly affiliated to religious services (any kind) and only one is a member of a church and she lives in the Bible Belt USA.
Statistics that you can count on. Batting averages. The US Census. How many days did you work this year compared to last year. That kind of thing. Surveys and polls: not the same thing as statistics.
A survey that questions whether scientists believe in God might be tipped a little toward inaccuracy. They might not have had the time to consider in depth whether God is real, but honesty, which is probably common among scientists, might cause them to say no because it's more honest than yes seeing that they give no consideration to a diety.
I have heard of believing atheists. They can't believe everything happened without design but they give no consideration to the possibility that God is aware and they don't care what god thinks of them.
How many people have said, including you, that once you saw that the bible was not infallable/inerrant... just another so-called 'holy' book... the entire thing fell? tec
Yes, but it is a more involved process than that. The only thing that proving the bible is inaccurate does is prove the bible is inaccurate. That is often the first step. It's what this leads to. It lead to me critically analyzing all forms of belief and ultimately the belief in any god. So it's not just that we have decided the bible was untrue, therefore there is no god. It's more like our critical thinking kicked in, and allowed us to ask all the questions--questions we had not honestly asked ourselves in the past. Consider it the first dominoe to fall---but not the last one.
NC
*nodding in agreement with NC*...
I haven't read the whole thread,sorry, so this point may have been made, but I think, in line with the thread title, we should be on the same team in a good number of areas, not the leading away from god bit, but the bits we do agree on.
Most of us who are without "religion",some without a god too, whatever label we put on ourselves, most of us agree that the way to live is by the "Golden Rule" and that wherever possible and within our power we should strive to make the World a better place.
I think in those areas of agreement we should be working together, and maybe we should be spending more time and effort on those areas.
A member of a Humanist group, who is also an atheist, as are nearly all in the group, said to me recently "For a group such as ours, we do waste an awful lot of time talking about god".
As a group here it is great to waste time on all sorts of things, its part of what JWN is, but maybe we can work unitedly for "good" quite a lot too.
Most of us who are without "religion",some without a god too, whatever label we put on ourselves, most of us agree that the way to live is by the "Golden Rule" and that wherever possible and within our power we should strive to make the World a better place.
I think in those areas of agreement we should be working together, and maybe we should be spending more time and effort on those areas.
Well said.
What I find unfortunate is that those people who want to follow the Golden Rule (whether they are atheists or people of any type of faith), who would respect people of varying faiths or non-faiths in the effort OF following that rule; are too often muted out by those who want THEIR way to be THE way, and all other ways to be shoved down and silenced.
There are peaceful people from all faith/non-faiths...going about trying to help, showing compassion to all, sincerely respecting other peaceful people following that Golden Rule... regardless of faith status. They're just quiet; much quieter than the ones shouting out 'my way; NOT your way'.
Peace,
tammy
