Why do Christians sound stupid?

[Minimalist]

I love it when xtians argue over whose pile of shit smells better.

[Cyberman]

When do we release the lions?

[Faith No More]

To do so as it should be would be insulting a mod.

[Angrboda]

I'm of agreement with pad that theists on atheist forums are likely atypical. What I notice more are two factors, a) the tendency to stereotype, and b) domain specific effects.

First off, yes, especially in the United States, there is a tendency toward less education and somewhat lower intelligence among believers, but two facts stand out.

First, both lesser education and lower intelligence are correlated with poverty, and it's well known that poverty correlates with religiosity. So for any given religious person of your socioeconomic class, it's questionable whether they are more likely to be less intelligent or less well educated than you. Moreover, while there certainly appears to be some systematic differences, the overlap between the groups is far greater than the differences. As with questions of race or sex and intelligence, the overlap makes dealing with individuals of a particular class according to those differences little more than irrational stereotyping. The difference between the average intelligence of the mongoloid races and that of the caucasoid and negroid races is in the same ball park as that between atheists and theists, yet I doubt many of you caucasians compare yourselves to Asians with that in mind.

Second, and this applies primarily to America, as I haven't studied the situation globally, but there appears to be a distinct knowledge gap between theists and non-theists. First, even after controlling for education and similar factors, theists seem less knowledgeable about both religion in general and their own religion. And this is likely the main area where these groups self-identify. (And I've noted in the past that vocal atheists in particular, are driven to learn about religion in ways that many religious are not.) So on that score alone, the theists may appear less intelligent when talking about their religion, but not necessarily about other subjects. On top of that are a whole host of effects resulting from cognitive bias in which people look upon people they disagree with as inferior to them (aside from them actually having inferior intellect or education.) These cognitive biases tend to polarize people into already polarized belief communities even beyond any differences otherwise. And that theists and non-theists both draw on literature, arguments and standards which are completely divergent, the atheist witnessing a theist engaging in a form of reasoning she considers illegitimate, appealing to such a source, and so on, is likely to solidify the image of incompetence in the non-theist's mind.

I've met very intelligent and knowledgeable conservative theists. I've also spoken with the other kind. Do I think there are systematic differences? Yes, of course there are, but the cause is unclear. Does this mean that any given theist we meet is likely to be less intelligent or less well educated than you as a non-theist are? Not sufficiently significantly to use as a basis for stereotyping.

[greneknight]

So when you, a known heretic, tell me that I'm not a Christian when my Apostolic Succession church accepts me as an altar boy attending to the holiest of rituals at the altar of God, I can't help but laugh at your audacity.

In short, you are a heretic and you are not in the position to tell an altar boy of the Established Church whether he is or is not a Christian.

When is your sabath, Pagan? Sunday, right?

Hi catfish,

Everyone knows the Sabbath is bunkum. It's sheer nonsense and probably superstitious garbage. Whether a day is Pagan, Jewish or Christian or Muslim or Buddhist or Hindu, it's all bunkum. But we only call Sunday the Sabbath for historical reason. Only insane Presbyterians stop working on Sunday because they're Sabbatarians but the sane Presbyterians don't care two hoots about Sunday. I suspect in the US, Baptists who are all insane will just stop working when it's Sunday.

I know we read the Ten Commandments in church on some days but that's purely traditional. Nobody cares two straws about it. The Jews picked Saturday. Christians then chose Sunday and the Muslims probably thought of Monday and they didn't like it cos nobody likes Monday and so they picked Friday. And so we have 3 different Sabbaths by the 3 Abrahamic faiths (as they call them). It's a good thing the other religions didn't join in our nonsense.

[Oldandeasilyconfused]

. It's sheer nonsense and probably superstitious garbage

I agree that the religious reasons are nonsense. I also think that the idea of everyone (including women and other beasts of burden) having one day of rest in seven is a good one. Tomb builders in the Valley Of The Kings worked a ten day week.

The Aussie attitude to days off is reflected in this: New Zealand is know as "'the land of the long white cloud". Australia is known as "the land of the long weekend."

[jonb]

There are two ways tot answer this question. The traditional psychophysical approach was that an integral part of sound was the listener. Thus we get the question if a tree falls in a forest and nobody is there to hear it does it make a sound. Given this way of thinking, the answer is- because you listen to them.
But modern physics would disagree with this as sound is an actual physical process. As such the answer to the question would be - because it is written in their bable

[Godscreated]

[quote='Godschild' pid='333726' dateline='1347094015']
Oh goody goody your an alter boy of a church that doesn't even believe in Christ the Messiah, yet you want to claim Peter as your hero. You do know Peter was a follower of Jesus Christ, no I guess you don't since you think the scriptures are a bunch of nonsense.

The Church of England confesses Jesus as the Messiah, the Son of God. But we are a progressive church and not a stick-in-the-mud superstitious church like the Baptists who look back with pride to their old witch-hunt days in Salem when innocent old women were burnt alive because they believed in one stupid verse written by bloodthirsty ancient Israelites who really didn't know better.

Yea, they confess a Jesus and a God they do not believe exist, so what kind of reasoning is that, sounds more like a cult that uses religion as a feel good thing.

Our church consists of all kinds of people. There are the duffers (and they probably have the same childish understanding of the faith and very much like Baptists but at least they aren't fundies) and there are people who are really progressive. One example is our previous Archbishop of York who was a great scholar. He even questioned the historicity of Jesus. He said there was never a bloke called Jesus - I mean the one we mean (but of course there might have been all kinds of rascals named Jesus in those days but we aren't talking about those). I do believe our Jesus existed in history so in a sense, I'm not as progressive as that Archbishop. But our church is a progressive church and we allow people to think. We don't chain the minds of parishioners the way Baptists do it. Reason is one of the main tenets of the Church so we encourage doubts and scepticism.

Now you must be lying one way or another, either Christ is real or not your so called church needs to make a determination and quit straddling the fence.
It's very apparent you know nothing about the Southern Baptist Church, we teach that everyone needs to study scripture and find answers and not to hold our leaders up as gods like your church apparently does. By the way the God you do not believe in finds churches that teach false doctrine such as yours, a church unworthy, read the scriptures.

Well if you want to do a little comparison deal we can, I'm an ordained deacon of the church, and deacons were part of the original church, they were doing work in the church long before there were Archbishops.

Ho Ho Ho! I am tickled pink. Who, pray tell, ordained you? You are all self-appointed priests and no doubt you were ordained by a self-appointed bishop who was installed by another heretical self-appointed archbishop. You see, if you are cut out from the Apostolic church, you can't do any ordaining. Don't you see it? You can only trace your church to the first time someone became a heretic and decided to spurn the holy baptism of mother church and there you have the first Baptist. I read somewhere he baptised himself and others!!! What a heresy!!!

Is this what St. Peter said, that only your church can ordain, a church that has thrown away all that the Apostles taught. Oh, wait you do not believe in the Apostles do you, then tell us how is it you say you identify with Peter.
Proof you know nothing about the Southern Baptist Church or have ever read about us. We have no priest nor bishops or archbishops, we believe all are equal and hold no power over others, all have equal access to God, we have no one to rely on except Christ.
As far as ordination we need no approval from a disbelieving church such as you portray, I was ordained by God through the church.
Who is he, do not tell me you believe a man named Baptist founded the Southern Baptist Church, really!

The Baptist church baptizes with water as a symbol of our acceptance of Christ, the symbolism is identifying with the life of Christ in His death, burial and resurrection. The real baptism comes from the Holy Spirit, anointing true believers into the church of Christ ie. the family of God.

In the first place, all churches use water for baptism. The Baptist church just copied the mode used by the apostolic church, ie mine.
It's heresy to say there is another baptism. There is ONE baptism for the forgiveness of sins. That's in the Creed that even heretics like you recite.

You have no idea what that verse even means, we as Southern Baptist do, we know that water baptism is not required for salvation, the water baptism is to honor Christ and show that we believe in what He did for us.

Son you have a lot to learn, I suggest you get with it and find the truth about Christ. I can see that all you are interested in is being noticed, of coarse I guess that is what pimple faced prepubescent boys do.

As they say, sticks and stones....
Prepubescence is only a short-lived thing and in my case, it sure is going to be VERY short-lived. I don't think I need to be any more specific. Even the church pulled me out from the choir together with other boys. If prepubescence were a permanent feature, we'd be singing soprano all our lives. Read a biology book if you don't know this.

You'll sing soprano all you life, you have no truth in you, you are nothing more than an atheist in disguise, come out of the closet little one and admit it. Your parents force you to go to church and resent it, so instead of standing up for what you want to believe you run down the true church from behind the mask you have placed on yourself, you little pup, are afraid, and I see through your little disguise.

---

Oh, this is sweet: inter-christian fight in an atheist forum!

He is not a Biblical Christian, he's like a lot of people of all manner, a want-a-be.

What? Someone from a heretical church dares to call an altar boy from the Holy Apostolic Church a wanna-be? I've seen baptist churches. They're much smaller than a tiny chapel within a typical cathedral. A Baptist who enters one of my churches will probably gasp at the splendour of a real church and for the first time in his life, he'd be thinking what a rotten deal he had for being cut off from the Apostolic church. But we accept heretics and fundies who repent of their sin of fundyism. There's no greater sin than fundyism.

Sin, you talk about sin, hypocrite, you do not even believe there's a God so how is it anyone could sin if there's no God. No God, no one to sin against, you should grow up before arguing with adults.
We do not really care about the splendor of cathedrals, the splendor of our Lord and Savior is what's important to us. As far as the Southern Baptist Church goes in numbers, we have more members. We are actually glad not to be associated with nonbelieving churches such as you describe.
Oh yea, you are a want-to be, but it's not a Christian you want to be.

[Minimalist]

If being a xtian means being like you, G-C, I can see why people would want to escape the term.

[greneknight]

If being a xtian means being like you, G-C, I can see why people would want to escape the term.

He's a Baptist, a registered fundy. They're all like that. He's claims to be an "ordained" priest but when I questioned him further, it turns out they have no bishops. So, he's not an ordained priest but a SELF-APPOINTED shaman.