http://www.theglobeandmail.com/servlet/story/RTGAM.20080531.wgodpoll0531/BNStory/National/home

Quarter of Canadians don't believe in any god, poll says:...

Mr. Howard said his sense is that people who believe in a god increasingly imagine a nebulous but powerful force for good, rather than the traditional concept of a deity.

Indeed, he likened the concept to that of the Force in the Star Wars movies.

...only one-third of adult Canadians attend religious services at least once a month.

Mr. Howard said a recent survey done for the United Church rating the importance of religion in the daily lives of people around the world placed Canadians fourth, behind the United States, Mexico and Italy.
I would find this hard to believe we rate religion that important vs the rest of the world.. My street must be unique.

Yeah, I didn't know how to read that either, unless the UC survey was for Christianity only.

Did the poll ask how many people believed in the tooth fairy or something similiar? It would have provided a good baseline.

Mr. Howard said his sense is that people who believe in a god increasingly imagine a nebulous but powerful force for good, rather than the traditional concept of a deity.Makes sense: In these less-primitive times, a "nebulous" concept is easier to believe in and to adhere to, and easier to interpret and defend.

Interesting article indeed. Despite the increasingly secular state of our society the majority still place spiritual values above


"We are past the time of people trashing God," he said. "They are now trying to find a safe place where they can nurture that spirituality."

Apparently not everyone got that memo around here. Right Mr fitz?

Canadians over the age of 50 (82 per cent) were far more likely than those under the age of 25 (60 per cent) to say they believed in a god. More than one in three (36 per cent) of those under the age of 25 said they did not believe in any god.

Not at all surprising really when you consider the younger generation growing up in an increasingly secular school system that teaches apeman theories as matter of fact instead of a possibility despite all the flaws in it. Add to that living in a digital age with an endless barrage of tech toys to fill up all their leisure time with leaving little to no room to explore their spirituality.

English Canadians (73 per cent) were more likely than French Canadians (67 per cent) to say they believed in a god.

This one surprised me considering Quebec is a largely catholic society as far as religion goes.

Belief in a god is higher in rural Canada (76 per cent) than in urban Canada (69 per cent).

Not surprising either, city dwellers tend to live a busier faster paced lifestyle, i.e. rat race.

http://www.answers.com/topic/atheism

Early modern thinkers distinguished between theoretical or speculative atheism and practical atheism. The theoretical atheist was someone who claimed to believe that there was no God, but for whom this belief had no real pragmatic consequences. It was a philosophical position, not a moral, social, or devotional one, and it had little effect on his behavior. The practical atheist, on the other hand, was someone who, while probably not really denying "in his heart" the existence of God, nevertheless led a dissolute and immoral life and engaged in the overt mockery of religion. While there were undeniably many such libertines in early modern Europe, there was great debate at the time over whether there were, in fact, any sincere theoretical atheists. The idea of a providential God, some asserted, is innate in the human mind. René Descartes (1596–1650) argued as much in his Meditationes de Prima Philosophia (1641; Meditations on first philosophy). Although the concept of God may become obscured by the more vivid and compelling material from the senses, ultimately—in dire circumstances or as the end of life approached—all professed atheists were said to acknowledge God.

I'll bet most if not all professing atheists on this forum will suddenly find themselves looking for God when they are just about to draw their last breath. After all, who wants to die believing they will cease to exist forever? Another reason the elderly are in a high bracket of believers.

Not at all surprising really when you consider the younger generation growing up in an increasingly secular school system that teaches apeman theories as matter of fact instead of a possibility despite all the flaws in it...
Ah yes, the creation theory is so much better supported by evidence and stands up to rigorous testing. :rolleyes:

I'm not sure you understand the concept of a scientific "theory"; it is the best understanding of a hypothesis as supported by the evidence.

I'll bet most if not all professing atheists on this forum will suddenly find themselves looking for God when they are just about to draw their last breath...Oh please. You should read mountain climber named Joe Simpson's story, or watch the documentary "Touching the Void". He went through an ordeal that would've killed 99.9% of us, and never once cried out to god for help. He survived on his own wits and strength of will. The "no atheists in foxholes" argument is a crock of BS.

After all, who wants to die believing they will cease to exist forever?And with that statement you have clearly indicated the motivation for religious belief. Much more comforting than the endless black abyss of non-existence, which frightens you to death. Reality sucks, let's just deal with it and try to make this brief existence better instead of waiting for some imaginary being to do it for us. Face it, he ain't up to the task.

I'll bet most if not all professing atheists on this forum will suddenly find themselves looking for God when they are just about to draw their last breath.All this shows is that atheists - like other humans - are susceptible to irrationality in times of great stress. It in no way constitutes proof of the existence of god(s).

I'll bet most if not all professing atheists on this forum will suddenly find themselves looking for God when they are just about to draw their last breath. After all, who wants to die believing they will cease to exist forever? Another reason the elderly are in a high bracket of believers.

I have to agree with you on this one. No doubt the inevitability of death and the uncertainty of what comes next is the main pillar of religion. So, let's say atheists are cheaters and deny God all the time, but use the last few seconds from their conscious lives to accept him. A few questions come to mind.

1. Will God give them a free ride into eternity together with the righteous bunch? I know he's generous and all, but won't that be unfair to those who have dedicated a big chunk of their lives praising him?

2. What exactly are the current post mortal benefits that God extends to the righteous? Last time I heard it was heaven vs. hell (quite convincing), but in our recent discussion on The Bible you seem to be alluding to something else. What's the current incentive?

3. Since we are talking about converting in the last seconds of one's life (very narrow window of opportunity), which God-authorized institution is known to be the fastest and most reliable in delivering messages to Him?

To an atheist, wouldn't Heaven filled with all the self righteous of the one true faith look an awful lot like hell? If so how will we know where we are?


The thing I have noticed with death bed conversions is that they have a tendency to occur only in the presence of the preexisting faithful, Richard Dawkins swears the he will have his death recorded to avoid such exploitation.

Kurt Vonnegut often stated that the no atheists in foxholes was the exclusive domain of REMFs.

1. Will God give them a free ride into eternity together with the righteous bunch? I know he's generous and all, but won't that be unfair to those who have dedicated a big chunk of their lives praising him?

There's a flaw in this part of the theory of Christianity. Let's review:


God opens the gates of heaven to sinners who praise and love him.
But he'll bar atheists, even when they've lived exemplary lives.
Despite this, God is described as being "all powerful" and "all loving".


The only conclusion I can draw is that this version of God has a problem with low self-esteem. :rolleyes:

Ricketty

Shouldn't "God" judge us on the merits of our characters and not on whether or not we groveled at his feet and indulged his childish whimsy?

I'd like to think that if he exists, he wouldn't burn people in hell who otherwise lived exemplary lives and tried to be decent, caring, and compassionate individuals, but did not subscribe to the whole mental slavery thing.

From the responses I read here there is clearly a great deal of misinformation and misunderstanding on the subject. All I can say is keep an open mind and if the subject interests you, do your own research and forget the crap you've been led to believe by self serving evangelists and most organized religions, you may be surprised what you find if you keep an open mind, if you can't get past your preconceptions then don't bother. You're just wasting your time. If you want to discuss the subject seriously feel free to PM me. Otherwise I'm done discussing it here in this part of the forum. There's so much other stuff to read around here. :)

Apparently not everyone got that memo around here. Right Mr fitz? Hey, I'm not trashing anyone - I just think it's a little fishy that the survey came out on a Friday.