[quote]ephrem wrote:
[quote]pat wrote:
[quote]ephrem wrote:
…ignorance and poorness are related through religion. There is no reason to assume they are related without religion. That should’ve been clear to you within the context i wrote that, pat…
…throughout much of history, the clergy were the only ones who were literate. They were the ones who read the bible and explained the peasants what it meant and how to live. They were the ones who explained, by way of Jesus, that poverty was better than being rich…
…it’s also not surprising to me that the anti-science movement in the USA is fueled by religious zeal. Nowadays it’s willful ignorance, inspite of overwhelming scientific progress, that keeps the flock manageable. If you tell a lie often enough, people will believe it’s true…
[/quote]
Care to back this shit up with any facts? Or are you going to keep repeating this lie until I believe it?
What you wrote is complete bullshit, whether spawned by the atheist propaganda you adhere to or you flatly pulled it out of your ass. Back your shit up with something other than your word. Because your facts do not pan out.
For right now, you based on what you just said, are practicing not only willful ignorance, but flat fucking bigotry.
How does religion “keep the flock manageable”, based on what facts are you getting this crap?
What is the “lie” you are claiming is being repeated.
If I say atheists are arrogant, intellectually lazy, murdering sociopaths, that doesn’t make it true, just because some have behaved that way, does it?
Back your statements up, quit trying to ram your pre-programed propaganda down my throat, I am not that stupid.[/quote]
…in medievil Europe the religious casts were literate, wealthy and political powerhouses. The kings and emperors were ordained by God to rule the land, but many a conflict arose when a royal house did not bend to the will of Rome. This is History 101 pat, quite elementary actually…
…one of the more potent instruments to keep the populace in check was religion. The Inquisition, witch hunts, the Crusades, Luther, iconoclasm, based on fear and division. We can see this still in effect today through the polarization of christianity/islam, christianity/atheism, christianity/science and so on…
…it’s impossible for an american atheist president to be elected in to office. The christian constituency is very powerful and, fractured as it may be, they follow the diffuse opinion of many church leaders on subjects like abortion, evolution, separation of church and state…
…the ruling elite gains nothing from a people that in majority is a free thinking, intellectual and religiously unfettered bunch. It’s much easier to control the populace if you can predict, and even manipulate, their thoughtpatterns and opinions. The only thing you have to do is to make that populace believe that what the ruling elite wants is what God wants; Manifest Destiny…[/quote]
Ok, letâ??s recap a bit. You present a chart that says that crime rates and religiousness correlate positively. I say that adding an income column would tell the real story as the chart topper; Mississippi is the poorest state in the nation. You say the people are poor because the churches brainwashed them into giving them all their money and hence they are poor because of that. I ask you to prove this point.
So…now you go all the way back to the theocratic regimes of the middle ages and the crusades to prove that people in Mississippi are so mind controlled by their respective churches that they become poor criminals? Really? Seriously?
Further, you say that atheists cannot be president of the United States? Where in the Constitution is that, I must have missed it? Or is it perhaps that no self proclaimed atheist made a serious bid at being president? Or maybe they are not smart enough, who knows?
How is being atheist equivalent to “free thinking”? If you must be an atheist to be considered “free thinking” then you are anything but. Because if you do conclude there is a God, you are no longer considered “free thinking”. We theists are all brain washed robots, do I have that right?
We have separation of church and state, a proposition brought forth by theists, deists to be specific. Our leaders are not allowed to use religion to control people. Perhaps you have us confused with Saudi Arabia.
