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Originally Posted by Flabbibulin
The problem is that these so called "new atheists" have become just as annoying as any religious zealot out there.
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So called "new atheists" are so called by religious people BTW, they didn't create the name themselves.
And why are they annoying? Because they're writing books? Trying to get equal consideration? Speaking out against bigotry and marginalization? Answering questions when people ask them? Expressing and discussing their views in venues of discussion?
Really, what precisely is the thing that all the "new atheists" do that's so annoying?
Quote:
Originally Posted by Flabbibulin
I am not offended, nor do I have a faith to feed any offense- My post is a general comment towards the increasing trend of atheism becoming preachy and aggressive- which is what I think inspired this graph, and inspires many of the religion threads on CP.
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Lol, you think this graph is a product of new atheism? One of the first works on Biblical inaccuracies is hundreds of years old. There's an entire area of scholarship dedicated to tracking the different versions of the Bible and trying to figure out what the earliest writings actually said. This graph is just a visual representation. Lots of people have no clue that the Bible actually has those kinds of problems, I certainly didn't when I attended church.
Again I'd like to see the examples of aggressive behaviour, certainly creating a graph for anyone interested isn't aggressive is it?
Quote:
Originally Posted by Flabbibulin
My contention is simply that many atheists have become increasingly dogmatic and preachy in recent years.
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Atheists can't become dogmatic, since there is no atheist dogma. They can't be preachy because there's no doctrine to preach. If you don't want to listen to something, don't listen to it. No one's forcing you to.
Quote:
Originally Posted by Flabbibulin
The religious have never really based their beliefs on science and reason, which is why putting together fancy graphs that attempt to discredit scripture with logic is useless- fine if it is meant to be a rallying tool for like minded non-believers. To expect it to spark the revelation in a Christian of a godless universe is silly.
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How can it be an attempt to discredit if it's merely pointing out what is written?
The graph can instruct, can be a point for discussion (i.e. this thread), can lead someone to think and research more...
You are definitely wrong about sparking the revelation in a Christian of a godless universe (though I wouldn't put it that way), I know a good number of people believers and pastors who have deconverted as a result of knowledge of the Bible and its history and content, or deconverted as a result of learning more about science and how it contradicted their worldview, or deconverted as a result of some of the things brought up recently in the books coming out.
Quote:
Originally Posted by Flabbibulin
Seriously though, I don't really think a person's intelligence quotient or education level has ever really given an indication on how likely they are to believe in fantastic ideas- 9/11 scholars for truth comes to mind.
Not to mention that many intelligent minds in history (and present) have acknowledged the existence of a higher being, while many idiots have undoubtedly believed the opposite. Even if this trend towards increased education and higher IQ's (the correlation of which is debatable) were true, there will always be an endless number of dummies in the world.
Interesting hypothesis though, and one I would love to see put to test in a scientific experiment?!
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There's an inverse correlation between how religious someone is and both their IQ and their eduction.. the higher the IQ or the more educated someone is the less likely they are to be religious.
A few links here:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Religio...d_intelligence
I don't think it's a causal relationship though, I think it has more to do with socioeconomic and cultural factors...
You are right in that there are lots of religious people who are educated, and lots of atheists who dropped out of grade school, so it's not a clear line, just a correlation.