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Interesting survey of Australians religious views
November 22, 2011 at 1:31 am
http://www.theage.com.au/national/spirit...1nr11.html
A writer in The Age newspaper reported on the results of a survey done on the religious views of Australians. One thing I noticed about the results of this survey as reported is that 31% of people identify as having no religion or spiritual belief, compared to 40% who considered themselves christian and 19% who were spiritual but not religious. It was also noted that half those who considered themselves Christians actually actively practice their faith.
So I can infer that maybe 31% of Australians are perhaps atheist, deist, apathetic or agnostic and only 20% are actively practicing Christians.
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RE: Interesting survey of Australians religious views
November 22, 2011 at 1:38 am
Wow. That's pretty nifty. I'm jealous.
That will never hold up in court...
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RE: Interesting survey of Australians religious views
November 22, 2011 at 2:04 am
For some reason this made a joke pop in my head only with a religious connotation instead of a racist one.
Three Americans, an atheist, a deist, and a Christian are flying on a plane when the pilot comes on the intercom and says the plane is too heavy. They are going to have to lighten the load if they want to stay afloat. The Christian looks at the cargo, sees a crate full of science books, and throws them out of the plane. "We have plenty of these at home," he says. The deist sees a a crate full of Justin Bieber cd's and throws them out of the plane. "We have plenty of these at home," he declares. The atheist pauses, thinks for a second, gets up, throws the Christian out of the plane saying, "We have plenty of these of these at home."
It's not as funny as it should be becaus I reworded it on the spot to fit the context of religion, but the point is we have a surplus of Chrsitians if you need any.
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: Interesting survey of Australians religious views
November 22, 2011 at 2:56 am
(This post was last modified: November 22, 2011 at 2:57 am by Darth.)
And yet both parties listen to, vote to please and creates laws/programs aimed at a mere proportion of that 20%.
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RE: Interesting survey of Australians religious views
November 22, 2011 at 3:09 am
(This post was last modified: November 22, 2011 at 3:14 am by Willpower.)
(November 22, 2011 at 2:04 am)Faith No More Wrote: For some reason this made a joke pop in my head only with a religious connotation instead of a racist one.
Three Americans, an atheist, a deist, and a Christian are flying on a plane when the pilot comes on the intercom and says the plane is too heavy. They are going to have to lighten the load if they want to stay afloat. The Christian looks at the cargo, sees a crate full of science books, and throws them out of the plane. "We have plenty of these at home," he says. The deist sees a a crate full of Justin Bieber cd's and throws them out of the plane. "We have plenty of these at home," he declares. The atheist pauses, thinks for a second, gets up, throws the Christian out of the plane saying, "We have plenty of these of these at home."
It's not as funny as it should be becaus I reworded it on the spot to fit the context of religion, but the point is we have a surplus of Chrsitians if you need any.
The doctrine of Christianity demands that Christians strive to live lives of virtue.
It asks whether or not we can live our lives according to virtue, and live a life that reverberates waves of positive energy, building people up, as we believe Jesus perfectly exemplified. We can choose lives of virtue as is God's will, or to choose lives of selfishness, arrogance, and other vices which have led to the plague of humanity we have found on earth. If people choose vice, that is their choice. But Christians believe that God sent Jesus as a prime example of virtue so that we could see the light and choose it, instead of poisoning the earth with lives of darkness. Nonetheless, many, including even "Christians," have failed in this regard. Nevertheless, religion is supposed to the message of hope, faith, unity, and virtue, that creates heaven on Earth.
It is unfortunate that it often fails to be such. It is unfortunate that may people claim to be Christian, yet do not act with loving virtue. Christianity isn't supposed to be just a belief, but rather a mentality, philosophy--a way of life that demands acting with virtue.
It is unfortunate that many Christians fail to live up to this.
It is even more unfortunate that many self-proclaimed "Christians" do not even care to attempt to live up to this doctrine.
But I don't say we should throw overboard those whom sincerely try.
"Always be prepared to give an answer to everyone who asks you to give the reason for the hope that you have. But do this with gentleness and respect." (1 Peter 3:15)
The "Test of Life" is not whether you can blindly "worship and praise God”. The test in life is whether or not you can live your life according to virtue, and live a life that reverberates waves of positive energy, building people up, as Jesus His son perfectly exemplified. We can choose lives of virtue as is God's will, or to choose lives of selfishness, arrogance, and other vices which have led to the plague of humanity we have found on earth. If people choose vice, that is their choice. Do not judge them (1 Corinthians 5:12 ). But He sent Jesus as a prime example of virtue so that we could see the light and choose it, instead of poisoning the earth with lives of darkness. Many, including even "Christians," have failed in this regard. But Christianity is supposed to be the message of love, hope, faith, unity, and virtue, that creates heaven on Earth.
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RE: Interesting survey of Australians religious views
November 22, 2011 at 3:30 am
(This post was last modified: November 22, 2011 at 3:31 am by Faith No More.)
The problem is not Christians failing to live up to the virtue expected of them. The problem is Christians believing they have figured out the ultimate way to behave and that everyone else should follow suit. Don't piss in my cheerios and I won't throw you overboard. 
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: Interesting survey of Australians religious views
November 22, 2011 at 4:01 am
(November 22, 2011 at 2:56 am)Stue Denim Wrote: And yet both parties listen to, vote to please and creates laws/programs aimed at a mere proportion of that 20%.
I am guessing they are an important voting bloc in the electorates which decide elections.
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RE: Interesting survey of Australians religious views
November 22, 2011 at 4:04 am
I don't think Aussies should be allowed views.
But why does the Australian government suck off religious minorities??
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RE: Interesting survey of Australians religious views
November 22, 2011 at 4:55 am
(November 22, 2011 at 4:04 am)5thHorseman Wrote: I don't think Aussies should be allowed views.
But why does the Australian government suck off religious minorities??
There are many reasons, also at the moment we have an Atheist PM who in the past expressed quite left wing views. However right now wants to out conservative the conservatives parties and their catholic leader Tony Abbott.
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RE: Interesting survey of Australians religious views
November 22, 2011 at 7:23 pm
(November 22, 2011 at 4:04 am)5thHorseman Wrote: I don't think Aussies should be allowed views.
But why does the Australian government suck off religious minorities??
I'd say mainly because they're the loudest and appear to represent the majority, and nothing tickles a politician's fancy more than appeasing the majority.
They base a lot of policy decisions on figures from the Australian census, which asks the leading question, "What is the person's religion?" (with the answer "No religion" at the very bottom of the list) and as of 2006 more than 60% answered some kind of xtian. Whether or not those figures are the most accurate they can be is irrelevant, because all the government sees is 60%.
I'm looking forward to the results of the 2011 census because there was a big campaign run by the Atheist Foundation of Australia to encourage people to give more consideration to their answer, rather than simply marking the religion they figured they probably belonged to. Hopefully we'll see a marked improvement in accuracy when the results come out.
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