Libs are the first ones to whine about "paranoia" and "fairness".

Then, when they don't believe, want pot to be legal, whatever,

everyyyyybody else is supposed to be agreeing to change

how the libs want things changed and overruled.

So, while libs are "fearful" of intimidation by the TEN COMMANDMENTS being on display

in some gov building, they lash out at folks who don't want pot legalized, by calling them

"paranoids".

Again, words and principles have no meaning, except for the warped meanings that libs keep

changing to suit their emotional kneejerking.

Plus you can watch football any day of the week. I don't think it would kill us to take one day and kick back being thankful for what we have with our friends and family.

(seeing as how the Democrat liberal union members spend so much time insisting on time off, right?)

WSS

the church believes they were written first to an obstinate people who continually failed to live up to Gods law

believers in Jesus Christ would tell you that it simply reminds them that the ten commandments are a

constant reminder of our sinful state and our need for a savior...

Sorry - if your argument is wrecked - it is not a mandatory rule to do any of this - like I said earlier,

free will allows everyone freedom and liberty to choose for themselves.

but I would say choose wisely

@westside-steve said:

Actually can anybody think of a reason the country would not be better off if we all believed in and tried to adhere to the Ten Commandments?

WSS

On a high level? Sure. Don't murder, don't steal, respect your parents, etc.

But "I'm the only god", "only worship me", etc can lead to some issues. Anyone that chooses not to would be disobeying the 10 commandments, and in a society where this is the law, that means punishment. That also leads to a literal interpretation of the bible, which would set our country's scientific advancement back.

Not to mention no one could do anything on Sunday. No where to get food, no services, and most importantly.... No football!

WSS

@mld-woody said:

Is Christianity the only religion you find civilized?

No. I was merely comparing Christianity to Islam.

@mld-woody said:

I group all religion together because, at the end of the day, they are all very similar.

No Woody, they may start out very similar but at the end of the day they end up very different.

@mld-woody said:

Being more educated in the sense that we know why the tides go in and out (well, some of us do). We don't need to pray for health, we have medicine. We seem to all be in agreement ancient religions with Sun gods and what not are ridiculous, but apparently more modern ones are not? Why not? Do we really think 2 of every animal fit on a boat? Do we really think some guy came back to life 3 days later? How are these any less ridiculous?

How petty and superficial....how does any of that harm you Woody? How is any of that a detriment to society? A wife praying at the bedside of her seriously ill husband needs to stop? Saying a prayer for the troops is bad?

You're an idiot.

@mld-woody said:

As we become more educated as a society we can realize the ridiculousness of religion. It was used as a way to control the uneducated masses in the past. We should be past that by now. From backwards 3rd world country muslims killing gays to US Christians denying evolution. We should be passed all of it.

So Muslims killing gays = Christians denying evolution? Yeah, I can see that.

Again, how is Christians denying evolution harmful to society? How does it harm you? Because you're offended? Too fuckin bad.

As you become older you may realize the ridiculousness of liberalism...it is a greater harm to society than your petty whining about Christianity, and it is liberalism that needs to go away.

You're just an angry and spiteful little guy. It bothers you to see conservatives and Christians content and happy with their lives. Face it Woodly, the only religious threat to society in this day and age is Islamic extremism.

@mld-woody said:

I never said churches don't influence. I am saying, that if you would go to your clergyman for political advice, than you are probably already taking the "religious" side on some social issue.

WTF??? You wanna try that one again? If you are already taking the religious side on some social issue why go to a clergyman?

@mld-woody said:

Oh, I agree. I am not going to force anyone to stop being religious. I don't think we should take that away a person's right to choose.

That doesn't change the fact I think society would be better off without it.

All you can do is educate each new generation, and let the change happen naturally.

People will always find a reason to fight and kill each other. People will always find a way to impose their beliefs on others.

@oldbrownsfan said:

Oh, I agree. I am not going to force anyone to stop being religious. I don't think we should take that away a person's right to choose.

That doesn't change the fact I think society would be better off without it.

All you can do is educate each new generation, and let the change happen naturally.

@westside-steve said:

nvr said equal

@oldbrownsfan said:

You could argue that the North Koreans have religion forced upon them to deify their dictator. It has been awhile since any other religion has seen god they are lucky enough to see theirs on TV

North Korea is a nation like that. I think we are better off when people have the choice and freedom on these matters.

@mld-woody said:

Unless you're in recovery or prison!

I think we are better off as people with spirituality but I agree indoctrination is a slippery slope

Yep, seems about equal to me.

WSS

@westside-steve said:

Opinions an beliefs may sway some as more info is put into the equation.

But to go from non-religious to religious is a pretty big swing. That is going to be a very small exception. I would be willing to bet the trends I posted above will continue, and today's younger generations won't all of a sudden become religious.

and to the net negative, The Westboro Baptist church is a thing.

I stick by my statement, that as a whole, we are better off as a people without religion.

But to the net plus Hitler Stalin and Mao crushed the churches.

WSS

@westside-steve said:

Right, anything a young person does is just a "fad", got it. We will all find the lord soon enough...

Correlation does not imply causation. The idea that bad things happen because people aren't religious is hilarious.

But yes, I believe there will be a net plus from religion fading away.

@oldbrownsfan said:

Yeah kind of a buyer beware situation. If you are homosexual and choose to go to personal one on one counseling sessions with a Christian you have to expect that person's version of the doctrine. If you don't like his/her stance you just go somewhere else.

WSS

@diehardbrownsfan said:

1) You don't poll "billions of people". That isn't how surveys like these work

2) I was using the US as an example. Compared to a lot of other developed countries in the world, we're actually much, much more religious

3) You may not like the poll results, but that doesn't make them true. You fit into the older demo polled here, so I can see why you'd disagree.

@westside-steve said:

the Center for the Study of Global Christianity at Gordon Conwell Theological Seminary in Massachusetts.

or

Pew Research Center

hmmmm....

If there are places in Africa or the Middle East that will become "more religious" going forward, we need to work as a whole to further educate those areas of the world.

@oldbrownsfan said:

Religion has less of a hold on society than it did 50 years ago, which was less than it has 200 years ago. Its influence is fading as society as a whole becomes more educated and we learn the answers to our questions, instead of taking them from whichever book you believe in.

One important factor behind the growth of the religiously unaffiliated is generational replacement, the gradual supplanting of older generations by newer ones. Among the youngest Millennials (those ages 18-22, who were minors in 2007 and thus not eligible to be interviewed in Pew Research Center surveys conducted that year), fully one-third (34%) are religiously unaffiliated, compared with about one-in-ten members of the Silent Generation (9%) and one-in-twenty members of the World War II-era Greatest Generation (5%). Older Millennials (ages 23-30) also are substantially less likely than prior generations to be religiously affiliated.

But generational replacement is not the only factor at play. Generation Xers and Baby Boomers also have become more religiously unaffiliated in recent years. In 2012, 21% of Gen Xers and 15% of Baby Boomers describe themselves as religiously unaffiliated, up slightly (but by statistically significant margins) from 18% and 12%, respectively, since 2007. The trend lines for earlier generations are essentially flat. Not only are young adults less likely to be affiliated than their elders, but the GSS shows that the percentage of Americans who were raised without an affiliation has been rising gradually, from about 3% in the early 1970s to about 8% in the past decade. However, the overwhelming majority of the “nones” were brought up in a religious tradition. The new Pew Research Center/Religion & Ethics NewsWeekly survey finds that about three-quarters of unaffiliated adults were raised with some affiliation (74%).