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The internet: A place Religion comes to die
April 1, 2012 at 10:39 pm
Would you Agree or disagree that the internet has been a big help in the decline of religion and the rise of free-thought and atheism and a place were religion has come to die.
"Religion is regarded by the common people as true, by the wise as false, and by the rulers as useful" - Edward Gibbon (Offen misattributed to Lucius Annaeus Seneca or Seneca the Younger) (Thanks to apophenia for the correction)
'I am driven by two main philosophies:
Know more about the world than I knew yesterday and lessen the suffering of others. You'd be surprised how far that gets you' - Neil deGrasse Tyson
"Sometimes I wonder whether the world is being run by smart people who are putting us on or by imbeciles who really mean it." - Mark Twain
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RE: The internet: A place Religion comes to die
April 1, 2012 at 10:41 pm
Do we have any stats to support this or are we just flexing neurons to develop a hypothesis?
"The Universe is run by the complex interweaving of three elements: energy, matter, and enlightened self-interest." G'Kar-B5
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RE: The internet: A place Religion comes to die
April 1, 2012 at 10:46 pm
(April 1, 2012 at 10:41 pm)KichigaiNeko Wrote: Do we have any stats to support this or are we just flexing neurons to develop a hypothesis?
More opinion and a hypothesis.
"Religion is regarded by the common people as true, by the wise as false, and by the rulers as useful" - Edward Gibbon (Offen misattributed to Lucius Annaeus Seneca or Seneca the Younger) (Thanks to apophenia for the correction)
'I am driven by two main philosophies:
Know more about the world than I knew yesterday and lessen the suffering of others. You'd be surprised how far that gets you' - Neil deGrasse Tyson
"Sometimes I wonder whether the world is being run by smart people who are putting us on or by imbeciles who really mean it." - Mark Twain
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RE: The internet: A place Religion comes to die
April 1, 2012 at 11:01 pm
(This post was last modified: April 1, 2012 at 11:02 pm by KichigaiNeko.)
Opinion?
Yeah it would seem like the more people who get on the Net, the more you find (thanks to anonymity) atheistic views being expressed and lay person research into what science has to offer and is currently looking into.
Hypothesis?
That the Internet is a 'place' that will erode the sense of community that religion has traditionally supplied to people and so by extension erode religion over time.
I think there are studies being conducted now to answer this...You'll have to GFGI.
my2c
"The Universe is run by the complex interweaving of three elements: energy, matter, and enlightened self-interest." G'Kar-B5
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RE: The internet: A place Religion comes to die
April 1, 2012 at 11:15 pm
The Internet is also a valuable resource for people like me who live in a strongly religious rural area. Atheism is a taboo subject here. If it weren't for the materials I have found online, I would hardly know anything about atheists, much less be one! Thanks, Internet!
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RE: The internet: A place Religion comes to die
April 2, 2012 at 12:06 am
I could not point to any hard data but one of the problems in a printed environment is that there is an element of control when books are involved. Libraries have directors who decide which books will be carried. Professional journals have committees which determined which articles got published. Publishers determined which books were likely to sell and which were not.
The internet has offered other avenues for writers....which is both good and bad but it is far more democratic than the other system. Moreover, even with the best of intentions it is almost impossible for one library to carry EVERYTHING which means learning is still hit or miss. The internet gives ways around that and makes more information available.
I was 20 before I found tangible evidence that the jesus stories were bullshit but now I see kids showing up here at 14 and 15 who have already surpassed what I knew then.
Keep up the good work, young'uns. The future is yours.
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RE: The internet: A place Religion comes to die
April 2, 2012 at 7:16 am
I'm sure it probably works both ways. Those looking to question their faith will find what they need, but so will those looking to reinforce their faith.
Even if the open windows of science at first make us shiver after the cozy indoor warmth of traditional humanizing myths, in the end the fresh air brings vigor, and the great spaces have a splendor of their own - Bertrand Russell
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RE: The internet: A place Religion comes to die
April 2, 2012 at 9:05 am
Agree. The internet is a vehicle that spreads knowledge and fosters enquiry. These things are the enemy of religion . . .simple !!
Regards
Grimesy
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RE: The internet: A place Religion comes to die
April 2, 2012 at 9:13 am
Hey Grimesy, I could be wrong but I think you never did post about your last day on that course? I enjoyed reading it.
You are currently experiencing a lucky and very brief window of awareness, sandwiched in between two periods of timeless and utter nothingness. So why not make the most of it, and stop wasting your life away trying to convince other people that there is something else? The reality is obvious.
