by breakfast of champions 173 Replies latest jw friends
Q - why isn't that your main focus.
A - because that isn't my main focus.
Q - why isn't that your main focus.
A - because that isn't my main focus.
Q - why isn't that your main focus.
A - because that isn't my main focus.
Q - why isn't that your main focus.
A - because that isn't my main focus.
erm ...ok thanks for clearing that up.
bored - anything else to see here....:-)
Well like Dawkins says---there is no such thing as a Muslim child, or a Catholic child---that is the religion of their parents. Being an Atheist is pretty intentional. It is not enough to just grow up around it. Children are born atheist---true because god concepts must be taught and are not instinctive---but the child doesn't make an intentional choice until they understand things.
My daughter generally identifies as an atheist---but she is not finished testing yet. Her curiosity pushes her to look into other religions---NOT Christianity. I don't know where she'll settle, but at least I know she felt pretty free to ask the questions. And I'm pretty sure she won't end up Christian, which I consider a good thing. She seems to like some of the things Buddhism teaches.
NC
Atheist retention rates? LOL!
This thread was worth opening for the cute girl on the first page however.
Uh, atheism is NOT a religion, much like someone who doesn't collect stamps cannot say that "not collecting stamps" is his hobby.
Atheists don't go to churches, don't meet in groups, don't try to convert others, or do those things normally expected when belonging to a social group. There's no one to baptize you into atheism, no one to DF you, no bodies to certify you as a member, no heads to count, etc.
Most who claim to be either atheists or agnostics don't even understand the difference, since there's no agreement on meaning of these words (the often-heard line is the difference between atheists and agnostics is what you "believe" vs "know", a distinction that is highly-qestionable, IMO: belief and knowledge are so interlinked, intertwined, that it's impossible to tease apart ideas (knowledge) from what you believe: it's a tangled Gordian knot. Further, most people act on reasons which operate on the sub-conscious level, so quite separate from knowledge or beliefs.)
I'm surprised no one has brought up the Pew Study from last year which found that atheists and agnostics have a greater knowledge of others' religious beliefs than most who profess to belong to one of the major faiths:
http://articles.latimes.com/2010/sep/28/nation/la-na-religion-survey-20100928
Of course, ignorance is par for the course, esp when you consider that more people can name the Three Stooges than can name the three branches of U.S. gov't.
LOL....I am still 'counted' as a catholic, by the catholic church ...there is no truth in that.
How exactly do they collect these figures. I don't remember anyone asking me...except for census. In which case half of NZ have no religion..LOL
Atheism is an extremely difficult concept to believe. You have to be okay with no afterlife in any form. It's not for everyone.
Gravity is an extremely difficult concept to believe. You have to be okay with the idea that you will die if you jump off a cliff. It's not for everyone.
-inkling
King Solomon:
I (respectfully :-) disagree that atheists do not try to convert others.
That may be more true of the 30% atheists who are raised as atheists, who take it for granted, than for those who "converted" to atheism after disillusionment with religion.
My experience is that exJW atheists do try to persuade others, especially exJWs, quite dogmatically in fact. On the other hand, I do not try to persuade neophyte atheists away from their perspective, since I believe they have made a fairly informed intentional decision.
God perspective has little to do with intelligence or education.
BoC:
Thanks for posting this. I probably would not agree with your religious view, but I think it is interesting (for what any poll is worth) that the indication is 70% of those professed to be raised atheists converted to a religion or perhaps theism/deism. Interesting!
~Binadub
Ha ...Same here stll thinking
I'm still counted as a JW and a Catholic.
I am an atheist, and so are the parents of my grandson, who has decided the same.
Polls are very subjective, I am thinking.
You have to make a belief your own. Personally I think you have to inoculate your children from belief. If you just say we dont believe they will rebel and try to believe. Too many athiests never tell their child anything.
That being said anicdotally I only know of one person who was raised as an atheist who converted, the rest remained the same....He converted for a girl.
