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25% of Americans in a recent poll believe JESUS will return this year, 2007
Posted on: April 29, 2007 - 1:38pm
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25% of Americans in a recent poll believe JESUS will return this year, 2007
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/cenk-uygur/25-of-the-country-is-cer_b_37581.html And when he comes back I'll be one of the first to crucify God again lol 
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LOL!
Silly fundies.
You'd think that after 2007 odd years of being wrong, they'd give it up. But then again, there's no science in religion.
Enlightened Atheist, Gaming God.
Reading this makes me feel as though I'm living in some kind of weird nightmare
But either those people are lying, joking around, or the people they called came out of a directory of ministers and preachers. It just doesnt sound right.
People who think there is something they refer to as god don't ask enough questions.
As Bill Mahr pointed out, this is similar to the percentage of Americans who still support Bush. Makes you wonder if these are the same people.
It's only the fairy tales they believe.
I would be laughing at this if it wasn't for the fact that these people not only vote but get elected and they have the power to biblically control your life through appointment of judges and legislations. Imagine a fundametnalist xtian judge finding out you're an atheist and he holds your life in his hands...how would that make you feel? These people need to be stopped.
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Funny how few christians have actually read the bible. In Matthew 16:28 Jesus says "Verily (that means in truth) I say unto you, there be some standing here, which shall not taste of death, till they see the son of man coming in his kingdom." (Italics by Largo) Now, if he was the son of any god, he knew better, so clearly here, Jesus was a deliberate liar. Now some fundys will no doubt claim that he appeared to his disciples three days later, but even if that was so (and of course, there is no evidence that it was), he was not in his kingdom. It seems that Jesus himself had no better idea of the time his second coming than the idiots in the recent poll.
C'mon fundys. Either back up your arguments or leave them home. You will always lose here. Atheists know the bible better than you do. That's why we are atheists.
He should come back, the execution methods have become much more benign. They would just lay him on a table, put a needle in his arm and let him fall asleep. Nobody, could say he SUFFERED for my sins then.
(This post is meant in humor, it in no way endsorses the death penalty. Everyone knows only an all loving can do that.)
Reminds me of that T-shirt:
Why yes, I can believe it's not butter!
I believe it was a recent bullshit episode that said "The definition of insanity is repeating the same activity and expecting different results"
Or something along those lines.
According to Sam Harris 22% thougth that he was comming back in their lifetime. Has this number really gotten worse? I do notice that the article didn't link to the actuall study so who knows how accurate it really is.
"It is far better to grasp the Universe as it really is than to persist in delusion, however satisfying and reassuring." - Carl Sagan
I don't doubt those figures, except that they may be even larger in reality. Polls always allow for inaccuracy, and the percentage may be off. In my own experience, among people who talk about religion (mostly fundys, admittedly) almost all believed that they would see the second coming. My guess is that the estimate of a poll is likely to be way too low.
The amusing thing is that a poll taken on almost any day for the last 2000 years would have yielded at least as many people who expected to see Jesus coming in the clouds. (I know, I know...that occurred to me, too. But we won't go there, will we!)
I don't remember where I heard this quote, but it's one of my favorites:
"Christians don't make good environmentalists."
Hey, Jesus is going to come back and blow up the world any day now. Let's suck up all our natural resources!
JESUS SAVES!!! .... and takes only half damage!
I think it would be interesting to do an experiment calling people randomly to find out if the caller can influence the outcome of a survey on the basis of conscious or subconscious nonneutrality.
Have 3 callers: a hardcore xian, a hardcore atheist, and a computer voice. Then compare the results to see if something in the vocal inflection and style causes bias. Also, there should be a variety of different voices.
In other words, perhaps there is a desired poll result where the polsters want the survey to lean towards a particular opinion and subconsciously or deliberately stage a survey that would draw out opinions they want to hear.
People who think there is something they refer to as god don't ask enough questions.
That's an interesting proposition. I believe that if the researcher portrayed bias, it would most definitely sway the survey. I would speculate that if a hardcore xian surveyed a moderate xian, the moderate may change his/her answers to be more in sync with the researcher (social desirability).
I read in a textbook that most people vote based on who their partners, family member, etc., vote for and not the information the get on the news. I believe it was called the two step flow theory
If god takes life he's an indian giver
I wouldn't doubt they are generally the same group. Any group that can buy the fundy way of looking at the bible (or any way really) and thinks that Jesus is coming back will also buy anything that the media (Fox especially) tells them about the government.
On a side note, wouldn't the upcoming return of zombie Jesus be his third coming and not the second? I mean he was born so thats one, died and then resurected so thats two, then he went up to heaven "bodily" (I want that superpower btw) and then wouldn't his coming "soon" be his third? Maybe I just misinterpret things but it seems like this would be three, not two.
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What's their excuse gonna be when it doesn't happen? notice it never changes their beliefs - witness all the end of the world predictions made by cults, and when it didn't happen they just said "oh well, it'll be in [x] year now."
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Yeah it will always come down to "Oh it was translated wrong." or it was interpreted wrongly but they have a new one already.
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Hey, according to Matthew 16:28, Mark 9:1, and Luke 9:27 Jesus should have come back about 2000 years ago... Glad Bible prophesy is so reliable - good thing to plan one's life around.
Why yes, I can believe it's not butter!
If jesus really did come back, those same christians would have him thrown into a mental institution, call him a cult leader, a blasphemer, converge on his "compound" to free his few followers, or just ignore him outright.
http://arlettaq.spaces.live.com
There are some that have already done this and they do have a usually small cult following. But your right, most would just ignore or say they are insane. However, if David Blaine (sorry, easy to pick on him cause of South Park in this context) were to claim he was Jesus and was able to perform "miracles" because of that, then there may be more than just a small following, which is stuff like that which scares me the most when it comes to theism and those who believe.
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This is a little off topic but I made a shirt recently with this on the front:
blasphemous...and fucking hilarious.
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On the back of the shirt I quote the bible. I have Jesus condemning people to hell, JEsus telling us to kill disobedient children, and the we should all kill gay people one.
The higher your IQ, the less likely you believe. THe most well reknowned intellectual societies and science organizations have overwhelming numbers of atheists and non-religoius people.
I can't argue with irrational people. But I can piss them the hell off lol
That's why I'm an atheist but not a RRS member. The great thing about atheism is that we're not all very similar. We all only believe in one thing, that there is no God or that God at least highly, highly improbable.
Making fun of religion and criticisizing it is my way of expressing my first ammendments rights and making a society where you do not have to be scared about your religious beliefs.
Your situation is analogous, but different. They had police protection and the backing of the courts. You, on the other hand will be facing an angry crowd with no protection, and you stand a good chance of getting your face pushed in. While I may agree that you have the right to be an asshole, I do not concede that you are right to behave like one. I say, you have the right, but you are not right. What you plan to do is juvinile, so I really don't expect you to listen to this. But if you reeally want to make the world safe for atheism you are going about it in the wrong way.
Ridicule is one of the most important weapons against theism. I fully support his position, and suggest that there's nothing childish about making fun of someone who believes in santa claus. The day people are embarrassed to admit they believe in god(instead of the opposite) will be a wonderful day indeed.
Enlightened Atheist, Gaming God.
I think you are mistaken, Vastet, but even if you are right, the time to ridicule and embarrass someone is when you are one on one. If you make fun of an individual you may achieve the effect of embarrassment you seek. But if you wear a t-shirt like that one that insults a whole crowd of xtians at once you won't get embarrassment from any of them, but you likely will incite an angry, if not violent reaction from them all. I'd say pick your opportunities and don't try to take on a slew of angry people all at once. Remember, your response should be rational, not suicidal.
Wow, Jesus keeps coming and coming and coming. Maybe he needs Viagra...or perhaps we should put his Energizer batteries in backward.
As for the "Jesus is coming soon" mentality, I can vouch that my mother believes in the rapture and Faux News. Her heroes include Pat Robertson, Jerry Falwell, Rush Limbaugh and Bill O'Reilly.
Fox Spews is usually playing at the gym I patronize.
That sucks, but sometimes I get so pissed I pump the stationary bike pedals harder. 
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I will not censor myself so that other primates that believe the historical truth of mythology can remain willfully ignorant and content with their surroundings.
No one's going to kick my ass. I practice Muay Thai and I usually have a lot of strong friends by me.
So far only women have come up to me upset. All the males who are strong enough to challenge me are too non-religious to care. And all the very religious christians here are a bunch of pussies and have WWJD stickers on their Ford Taurus's. I live in Los Angeles and God Bless it!
I agree that ridicule sometimes works. I also agree that an understanding approach sometimes works. While I wouldn't wear meshblorg's shirt in public (too chickenshit), I fully support his right to wear it. Were I to see someone wearing such a shirt, I would go out of my way to talk to him because I would be thinking, "Cool person!"
One of the benefits of identifying ourselves publically as atheists is it helps others to realize they aren't alone.
Currently I'm designing a bunch of bumper stickers and t-shirts that may get you lynched in the Buybull Belt. They aren't as provocative as meshblorg's shirt, but they would do the job, most likely. I myself will probably not use them because I have degenerative disc disorder and don't need either a personal pounding or a car accident caused by some asshole who can't control his temper.
I had a bunch of anti-bush stickers on my car before my neck surgery. The car had been vandalized once (mild damage) and just before my surgery date, I removed the stickers. I didn't and don't need more aggravation.
My point is that you can personally address the religion problem any way you like and it doesn't mean you speak for me or any other atheist. We can try to convince one another that a certain way is more productive and that's fine with me. From what I've seen, the soft sell isn't working. Being controversial is. The God Delusion, The End of Faith, RRS appearing on Nightline: all these triumphs represent instances of atheists saying, "No more Mr. Nice Atheist."
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That's ridiculously close to the 28% of Americans that believe Bush is doing a good job.
http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/18505030/site/newsweek/
Coincidence?
The Atheist Breakfast Pastry.
Apathy is never a good thing when it comes to social issues and conflicts.
Astonishingly nearly 50% of Americans are below average intelligence. I wonder if you were to ask the people who believe Christ is coming back this year some other questions like "Who is the Prime Minister of Ireland?" or "How do you determine the length of the longest side of a right angled triangle?" if they would know?
I doubt most of them would.
As for the T-shirt, apathy is indeed a bad thing - except when sitting in bright sunshine, having a beer and watching cricket (I mean who cares what happens when you're that close to paradise?) - but being a dick is worse.
You can draw your own conclusions from that statement.
Freedom of religious belief is an inalienable right. Stuffing that belief down other people's throats is not.
It is easy, but unfair, to call people unintelligent when they believe foolishs things. Gullible people may indeed be stupid. But they may be merely misled. Those who believe that Christ is about to return have been taught absurdities since infancy, and they get those absurd notions refreshed every Sunday. I have known a great many people in my lifetime whom I have regarded as "otherwise intelligent." They cannot get past the religious teachings of their childhood, yet they are otherwise bright, sometimes even brilliant in other aspects of their lives.
50% of EVERYBODY are below average EVERYTHING.
That's what an average means, it's the number in the middle, with about 50% above and about 50% below.
If 75% of Americans are ever above average intelligence that just means there are some REALLY REALLY dumb people throwing off the curve. Heck, even in a MENSA meeting about 50% of them are below average intellect for the room...
No shit, Sherlock.
I think you kind of missed the point.
Freedom of religious belief is an inalienable right. Stuffing that belief down other people's throats is not.
Just to point out the silly, the average isn't always the number in the middle. If you have a set that contains the value "1" 50 times and the value 2000 once, the average is 1025, which means that over 98% of the values are below average. However that's not how IQ works, as the outliers there don't have that much impact (the standard deviation on my example set is sort of insane, so the average is pretty much meaningless anyway).
/* The above post is meant to be a joke */
Why yes, I can believe it's not butter!
*Thinks about typing out a reply explaining median, mean and mode*
*Thinks better of it*
*Has a beer instead*
Mmm... beer.
Freedom of religious belief is an inalienable right. Stuffing that belief down other people's throats is not.
I don't think anybody missed your point. Your point was that people who don't see things your way are stupid. That kind of thinking will win you all kinds of arguments here, there and everywhere. Boy. I wish we could all be like you. Sixty-four posts in only two days. You really are in a hurry to impress people, aren't you. Well rest easy, son. This old guy is soooo impressed!
EDIT:
Ah forget it. Think what you like.
You are completely oblivious to the context apparently. It's in Canada, not Georgia. While we may have a few christian zealots, 99% of them reside south of the border. Those few that are here know better than to start some stupid fight, since all the moderates would help stop it. Canadians can be snarky without starting a war. We've been doing it for almost 200 years now. Not to mention that it's not only christians. There are moslems and jews too. I bet there'll be wiccans there as well. When considering the number of faiths in attendance, I imagine there'll be a lot of cops keeping an eye out too. Wearing a challenging piece of clothing is nothing more than a conversation starter.
I recommend you spend a couple weeks in Newfoundland. Actually, I recommend all Americans spend a couple weeks there. Maybe the temperature of the country will go down a few notches.
Enlightened Atheist, Gaming God.
You might be right, Vastet. Maybe violent reactions to a stimulus like that disgusting T-shirt are more likely in America than in Canada. But the principal I was trying to make, that inciting people is not the best way to convince them, is still true in my opinion. Do you really think that walking down the street wearing what most people anywhere would regard as obscene is the way to open civil discourse? I think it's an infintile attempt to get attention which will produce only negative results. Again, just my opinion.
Though I agree that anyone should definitely have the right to wear this shirt wherever they want, I also agree with you, Largo, that it may not be entirely appropriate. It also may not present a good picture of "atheists". It's a really funny shirt (I'd where one around friends or generally around the house), but it seems it would just make Chritians more close minded about what atheists have to say (e.g. "they're all so hateful, look how they treat other people's religions!" or whatever)
[Edit: cleanup]
Why yes, I can believe it's not butter!
Meshblorg, where I applaud your wanting to fight Theism, I think personally you are going about it the wrong way. How are we any better than them if we demeen and destroy their beliefs? We would be doing the same thing we condemn them for doing. I imagine the best way to defeat Theists is with irrefutable evidence, logic, and reason. As well as a hint of kindness. If you quietly destroy Theist's arguements without so much as insulting them, or getting angry or raising your voice... I gurantee you it will have a greater effect than your "Jesus fucking christ" Shirt.
"Why would God send his only son to die an agonizing death to redeem an insignificant bit of carbon?"-Victor J. Stenger.
I'm not trying to convince them. Just wanting to piss them off. I get a kick out of it. They don't even know I'm atheist. When they ask I say "Yes I am a Kazak, I worship the Hawk" in a Borat accent.
They're a cult. I don't believe in "getting through to them." I don't care if they ever liberate their minds. Just seeing gigantic churches and crosses irritates me a bit. They build them to be big and giant to show off their power and to help recruit/indoctrinate. Well I'ma make fun of them. Just like I would make fun of adults who believe in Santa Claus and the Easter Bunny or have imaginary friends.
As George Carlin said "I would never want to be a member of a group whose symbol is a man nailed to two pieces of wood."
Well at least you're doing it for the right reasons then.
Freedom of religious belief is an inalienable right. Stuffing that belief down other people's throats is not.
To quote my father (who quotes the Bible):
"For yourselves know perfectly that the day of the Lord so cometh as a thief in the night." Thess 5:2
In other words so-called Christians aren't even aware of the fact that no-one will know when their (non-existent) God will return. Good job on keeping on top of your own collection of short stories people!
If perhaps the theists weren't even more obscene then I would definately agree with you. But the way I see things, if someone is willing, able, and active in violating my rights, I have every right to return the favour. Especially on a lower scale. I think walking past a church sign suggesting I'm going to hell for not believing in god is far worse than ridiculing the saviour of the same religion in such a way as Meshblorg is doing. In my experience they don't listen to reason, that's why they're theists in the first place. Some of them need to be shell shocked out of it. All of them need to realize that it hurts and scares people when they tell them that they're immoral and demon lovers and going to hell and other nonsense. I've seen too many theist horror stories to condemn any action that is taken against theism as long as it isn't violent. I'm fully against any violent action to be taken. It is the only thing that would actually make things worse.
Enlightened Atheist, Gaming God.
See 53% of Americans still think that the earth is the center of this solar system thus proves the majority of Americans are dumb as shit.
Now the only way i could possibly fathom that Jesus would return not in human form but in the form of genetics. Remember the archaeologist that said they found jesus's tomb a while ago, this is a perfect example of what could be a chance for some Sue-do scientists to do some bullshit test to were jesus actually lived and his genetic code does not match any other human. Its basically like this guy who got his degree from walmart in geology and said that the grand canyon was formed in the flood of Noah when its common knowledge that if every peace of ice on earth melted it would only cover about 40% of land that exists today or the other shit heads that came up with the idea of "intelligent design".
"Freedom of religion, means freedom of religion"
-ME
You're kidding?!? Could you provide links to where you got that number, please?
Does that mean my divinity degree from Target is worthless, too?
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