What is Digg?337 Comments
- Kratisto, on 10/12/2007, -30/+146Yes. America is too damned religious. I mean, I don't care if people are religious... But America itself (the country) is too religious. What happened to Seperate of Church and State? Things like Stem Cell Research, Abortion, and Gay Marriage are now being decided by the Bible: A book two millenia old that also includes advice and treating your slaves and selling your daughter into prostitution.
- inactive, on 10/12/2007, -33/+124As long as people believe in absurdities they will continue to commit atrocities. -Voltaire
Pretty much sums up american christian fundamentalists. - gmarks, on 10/12/2007, -44/+127The answer: YES! We need an atheist in the white house.
- GeneralFailure0, on 10/12/2007, -15/+84We've probably had one, but it'd be political suicide for them to admit it.
- stonebear, on 10/12/2007, -31/+96What a closed minded and cynical thing to say.
- Plasmatica, on 10/12/2007, -20/+70The whole world is too damn religious. America is dealing with rampant Christian fundamentalism, and on the other side of the world they're dealing with violent Islamic fundamentalism and everything in between is caught up in the *****.
- RG13, on 10/12/2007, -13/+56Christianity is not the problem
I quote a friend:
"I don't have anything against Jesus. It's his fan club that pisses me off." - sotopheavy, on 10/12/2007, -25/+67From one of the master debators for religion and state mixed: "Religious Americans, unlike what you have heard from our worthy opponents are not — repeat not — a threat to our liberties. An overwhelming majority of religious Americans practice what one eminent scholar has termed a quiet faith. It is private rather than public. Tolerant and inclusive, moderate rather than extreme and above all, non-judgmental."
Has this guy ever been outside an abortion clinique and seen some of the signs people are holding? Any law that takes away your ability to do something because it hurts only yourself and not others is usually put in place because the religious crowd thinks it is immoral or they need to protect you from yourself.
Here in texas old Slick Rick Perry is requiring that ever middle school girl be vaccinated for HPV a common vinerial disease these days that leads to cirvical cancer and anal warts. Great news right? It may seem a little intrusive, but less VD in the world is what we all want right? NO, long story short the religious crowd is protesting saying that if girls are vaccinated there will be less penalty for having pre-merital sex. Thats right they think since god doesn't want you to have pre-merital sex having it should give you a vinerial disease as punishment. - Mofassa, on 10/12/2007, -39/+78Organized religion can make people closed minded and cynical,
religion or spirituality in general there's nothing wrong with - Mousse, on 10/12/2007, -4/+34synystar,
In that quote Einstein is talking about Spinoza's god, which certainly doesn't have as much to do about faith as it does about his expression for his awe for the universe.
"I believe in Spinoza's God who reveals himself in the orderly harmony of what exists, not in a God who concerns himself with the fates and actions of human beings." - Einstein - MrFlesh, on 10/12/2007, -11/+38Actually in a lot of european countries where christianities violent past is well documented and actually taught in schools and remembered by the populance religion is a personal prefrence..........there isn't a giant movement by one group to push thier religion on someone else.
- YourDoom123, on 10/12/2007, -16/+42off the top of my head, thomas jefferson... and i'm sure there are more but i can't remember.
- baalzebub, on 10/12/2007, -51/+77religion tends to make people closed minded and cynical...
- schroeder, on 10/12/2007, -6/+25@dle5
"Say nothing of my religion. It is known to my god and myself alone.
-- Thomas Jefferson, in a letter to John Adams, 11 January 1817, in Lester Cappon, ed. The Adams-Jefferson Letters, (1959) p. 506, quoted from Jeremy Koselak, "The Exaltation of a Reasonable Deity: Thomas Jefferson’s Critique of Christianity"
I am of a sect by myself, as far as I know.
-- Thomas Jefferson, letter to Ezra Stiles Ely (June 25, 1819), quoted from Dickinson W Adams, ed, The Papers of Thomas Jefferson, Second Series (Princeton University Press, 1983; note that attributions saying "Ezra Stiles, president of Yale University (June 25, 1819)" are incorrect, as that Ezra Stiles died in 1795) ††
Ignorance is preferable to error; and he is less remote from the truth who believes nothing, than he who believes what is wrong.
-- Thomas Jefferson, considering three different explanations for why sea shells would be found at higher elevations than one should reasonably expect an ocean to have existed, in Notes on the State of Virginia ††
What all agree upon is probably right; what no two agree in most probably is wrong.
-- Thomas Jefferson, Jefferson's Axiom, in a letter to John Adams, 11 January 1817, quoted from Lester Cappon, ed. The Adams-Jefferson Letters (1959) p. 445"
These were from the link provided by coasters2k. See the sources? You know, right after every damn quote? If you don't believe the quote read the source. Seriously, there is nothing worse than someone blinded by faith (or whatever you're on) that they won't believe anything they don't want to or doesn't agree with them. And these are the same people running the country... - Mousse, on 10/12/2007, -3/+22"But he believed that the Universe exists necessarily by means of a force that we don't understand, and that it came into existence by design."
I don't know how you came to this conclusion. If anything, Einstein believed that we can understand the universe and its formation by understanding its operation. He was opposed to any explanation that would deny the an elegant description of the universe as he perceived it (randomness in quantum physics being one of his points of protest).
Here are some more of his quotes to think about:
"The religious feeling engendered by experiencing the logical comprehensibility of profound interrelations is of a somewhat different sort from the feeling that one usually calls religious. It is more a feeling of awe at the scheme that is manifested in the material universe. It does not lead us to take the step of fashioning a god-like being in our own image-a personage who makes demands of us and who takes an interest in us as individuals. There is in this neither a will nor a goal, nor a must, but only sheer being. For this reason, people of our type see in morality a purely human matter, albeit the most important in the human sphere."
"It was, of course, a lie what you read about my religious convictions, a lie which is being systematically repeated. I do not believe in a personal God and I have never denied this but have expressed it clearly. If something is in me which can be called religious then it is the unbounded admiration for the structure of the world so far as our science can reveal it." - AniceAtheist, on 10/12/2007, -7/+26@dle5
How about you go and buy The Jefferson Bible. You can get it at Amazon.com if you want.
Thomas Jefferson wrote it. He took the gospel of jesus and got rid of all the stupid miracles and divinity. Jesus dies at the end and is buried. Instead of trying to take a quote out of context He wrote a whole damn book as proof that he did not believe in the supernatural nor in a personal god that cares at all what people do. He turned Jesus into Forrest Gump, a guy with good morals and some nice advice. - inactive, on 10/12/2007, -4/+22@jimmygoon
you act like its illegal for someone on digg to not be atheist. - nyx210, on 10/12/2007, -12/+28It's not wrong for people to be religious but when it comes to government, your religion shouldn't be involved. At all.
- totorototoro, on 10/12/2007, -12/+27"Citizens of religious commitment are among the most enthusiastic supporters of a secular government"
Uh, she's joking, right? - xutopia, on 10/12/2007, -3/+15"Lets all become Atheist Socialists like Europe and be overrun by Muslims within 50 years like them."
Have you ever stepped out of your own country? Have you ever lived in Europe? - digitaldarkage, on 10/12/2007, -3/+15"Atheists owe their pleasant existence to the Bible and Protestant Reformation and they should never forget it. "
That is the funniest thing I have read in quite a while. The idea that those who do not believe were somehow created by a religion that has only existed for 2000 odd years and an offshoot of said religion that was created less than 500 years ago is amazing to me. I bet you have the whole flawed logic thing down. Are you Pro-Life? Pro War? Love your neighbor? Attack the middle east? Hate the gays? Love a man above all else? I would love to hear your response... Looking at your past diggs I can pretty much tell you are phobic of anything middle eastern. And for that, I hand you the hypocrite of the day award. - 88Chevy, on 10/12/2007, -25/+37A small mind is easily filled with faith.
- javip, on 10/12/2007, -5/+16Atheists hostility is an intellectual one.
I'll speak only for myself, but as an atheist, I'm smart enough to realize that violence accomplishes nothing. - Beelzebub, on 10/12/2007, -14/+25The great FSM won't be pleased with this.
- fooboarder, on 10/12/2007, -2/+13@ fac3less:
You are right to some extent about science being man’s attempt to explain the unbelievable, more accurately; it is the attempt to explain what has yet to be explained. Science discovers.
“Man's been explaining [the unexplainable] for thousands of years in the form of the Bible. It isn't our fault that you suddenly believe the next best thing to come out of someone's mouth.”
I do not blame Christianity for me becoming an atheist. Science is certainly the cause of that. I will not attempt to say that science has proved God to exist or not to exist, but it has proved Christianity to be wrong, and even more certainly so in the fundamentalist understanding of the word. Science is not the next best thing to come out of someone’s mouth. Science is performed following a particular method, it is testable, its results must have validity and be reproduced, and it is peer reviewed. Science did not simply come out of someone’s mouth. The same cannot be said of Christianity. More importantly if we are to follow your line of reasoning wouldn’t we all be worshipping Greek or Roman gods?
“At least *our* doctrine has been around thousands of years. It might be a tad outdated but yours is brand new and untested.
I'll stick with my faith :)”
This is horribly inaccurate. The Bible as any sort of definitive doctrine was not canonized until around 1545 C.E. Christianity itself as any sort of religion has been around for…oh…..about 2007 years……. our system of dating is Christian in origin. Science, however, has been around in a quite well tested and documented form since at least 400 B.C.E. with the works of Socrates, Plato, and Aristotle. I’m sure there were many scientists before them.
“The fact that we have things in common with all living creatures on the planet doesn't mean we descended from them either.”
The facts on evolution are in. Humans did descend from other living creatures that used to inhabit earth. This does not mean that we descended from any animals currently still living on earth. This also certainly undermines any creationist account. Whether or not there are bigger fish to fry, Christians are certainly imposing on the rights of others in this country. You are right that Bush is not a Christian and he does live by the sword. I do not however hope that he dies by it. I would rather see him and this country change their ways, or at least that he would acknowledge his mistakes and resign. This would be a much greater victory on the side of freedom.
Your response is at best ignorant. I am glad to be seeing people debate, but think before you speak. - Kratisto, on 10/12/2007, -9/+19I'm an Atheist, which means the likelihood of my totalitarian dictatorship of pure evil being overrun by any religious group is absolute zero. Your comment is ironic, ignorant, and grossly generalizing.
Aside from that, I only support socialism in theory - It doesn't work in real life (wouldn't it be nice?). - BJanis, on 10/12/2007, -11/+20The answer is a big YES. The whole WORLD is too religious. Everyone has forgotten that religions are MAN'S attempt to explain the unexplainable. Now we are killing each other for having different illusions about what we can't really know? I guess it's been going on for a LONG time actually. But come on. Time to stop this embarrassing nonsense.
- metaknite, on 10/12/2007, -0/+9The Christian religion, when divested of the rags in which they [the clergy] have enveloped it, and brought to the original purity and simplicity of it's benevolent institutor, is a religion of all others most friendly to liberty, science, and the freest expansion of the human mind.
-- Thomas Jefferson, to Moses Robinson, 1801, ME 10:237 - geekitechture, on 10/12/2007, -2/+10What I'm against is religion used as an excuse for self-rightousness. I live in the American South and it's coming out of Christian's ears. Six days a week they're screwing up just as bad as every person on Earth, but on the seventh day (Sunday) they come out of church with their fancy Sunday clothes on and fancy attitudes to match and descend on the unwashed masses to eat out and shop and literally "lord" it over the rest of us that they are better just because they went to church and got their sins washed away (implication -- the rest of us are running the businesses they frequent on Sundays, so we're not as holy, thus we can safely be sneered at). I lived over 20 years in the North and never once encountered the attitudes I get in the South over religion, which is used as both a class definer (if you don't work on Sunday you probably have more money and a better life than those who must) and an excuse to look down on people for not being "as good" (that is, as holy) as them.
Don't get me wrong -- Christianity is a beautiful religion if you understand the true meaning of it and attempt to live the message behind it, but few people do. People organize behind it and other religions -- Islam, for instance -- as a way to mask their insecurities and weaknesses, with no understanding of what religion means. For instance, Christianity is based on just four concepts: forgiveness, love, being non-judgemental, and accepting Christ, and on just one example: doing unto your neighbor as you would have them do unto you. You could never read another word about Christianity and it wouldn't matter because I just explained it for you. How many people who call themselves Christians really live by those concepts and that example, though, or have enough love and forgiveness inside of them to be Christians at all?
I'm against religion for the sake of appearances and social standing, but I'm not against religion. I'm a free spirit--I don't care how you go about finding or ignoring God, but I'd prefer it if people could live together in more harmony than they do now. - cr4ft, on 10/12/2007, -17/+25In order to be an evangelical you have to be intolerant of all other religions. They are, according to the Bible, the enemy:
Death to Followers of Other Religions
Whoever sacrifices to any god, except the Lord alone, shall be doomed. (Exodus 22:19 NAB)
Kill Nonbelievers
They entered into a covenant to seek the Lord, the God of their fathers, with all their heart and soul; and everyone who would not seek the Lord, the God of Israel, was to be put to death, whether small or great, whether man or woman. (2 Chronicles 15:12-13 NAB)
Kill False Prophets
If a man still prophesies, his parents, father and mother, shall say to him, "You shall not live, because you have spoken a lie in the name of the Lord." When he prophesies, his parents, father and mother, shall thrust him through. (Zechariah 13:3 NAB)
The thing I hate most is when they believe that we are all "lost" and in need to be "saved." They ASSUME we all believe that God wrote a Bible, despite it's obvious fallacies.
My notion is this: Believe what you want and practice what you want. if you however try to force your beliefs down my throat you should be sent away to a place where they could zoo all the Christian Fundamentalists. - ltmon, on 10/12/2007, -5/+13My take on your question:
1. The section of society that socialises on the internet as a whole is less religious than general society, I don't know why. Digg is reflecting that.
2. Diggers probably often feel the same in real life that you are feeling here - pro-religious bias abounds throughout American society from the very low key ("god bless you!") to the overt and insulting. Christians are given a very special place in society, that often leave non-christians feeling a little second class. Having a place like Digg where the tables can be turned is very satisfying in this way. - inactive, on 10/12/2007, -9/+17Teddy: Oh, I can tell how open-minded YOU are!!! Jesus, you think you're more important because you DON'T believe in God or organized religion? You'll meet your maker soon enough. Is it warm down there?
Threatening people with hellfire and brimstone because someone doesn't believe in your version of god? If your god sent the unbaptised, jews and unbelievers to hell, I think I'd prefer to burn alongside Confucious, Socrates, Plato, Einstein and more than 4/5 of the entire human population then spend time in heaven with ***** like you... - Misesean, on 10/12/2007, -0/+7/Some/ early colonists came to America to "escape" intolerance - and proceeded to institute really amazing levels of intolerance themselves; far worse than anything that ever existed in Britain. "You do the rest."
- syriusblack, on 10/12/2007, -2/+9**insert crazy "nut" flame here**
I find that being religious, dosen't really change alot of peoples perspective about me at all. Most of my friend are religious or not religious, we don't really care about that portion of each others life......in fact mostly we just work together, watch football games and drink beer.....party....etc.etc. I dont really recall to many theological debates. Hmmmm...... I am so NUTZ! - nick111, on 10/12/2007, -3/+9@ dle5
America has more people in prison than any country on earth - take a look at the figures sometime, they're staggering. In this respect, America is worse than Iran, Korea... everywhere that is famous for lack of freedom.
The US now has privately owned prisons that hire lobbiests to try to get minimum mandatory sentences, so they can make even more money out of taking away freedom.
Today in the US, the Incarceration rates of non-white males is about 4 times worse than it was in South Africa under apartheid.
It isn't Liberals that have done this. It's Conservatives. - dgblackout, on 10/12/2007, -19/+25rather plain example, George W Bush.
- SquareOne, on 10/12/2007, -5/+11The irony: Early Americans came to America to escape religious intolerance....You do the rest...
- SkittlesUSA, on 10/12/2007, -0/+6Actually, America is the most religious industrialized nation in the world. Churches in America are still funded by the practitioners, which is not so true in Europe.
You don't know what you are talking about. - inactive, on 10/12/2007, -2/+8Ethics is not based on religion. Humanity and society has evolved specific ethical norms to allows society to work. Non-Judeo-Christian religions have very similar abhorence to killing, stealing etc.
If you decide to follow the ethics as expoused by the bible, you'd be allowed to kill your children, have slaves, stone adultress and other things that society evolved away from accepting. - kuzotz, on 10/12/2007, -1/+6well its easy to exploit those who are religiious followers, and religious leaders righ tnow are doing just that in the US.. I keep telling other christains that God wanted us to question things, and think for ourselves, and not be blind sheep..
Of course I get called a heretic.. I got kicked out of my original church the one I grew up in for saying that when I was 16. - Ao21, on 10/12/2007, -4/+9As Europe slides under the domination of Islam? Do you know anything about European politics at all? That's not actually possible in most eu countrys, we dont really have two party systems, they don't really work that well. and European culture has survived the last 7000 years, with a population varying between 10,000 and 455,000 people, I'm sure we'll cope.
Not to mention your birth/death rate information was based on probability stat's from 1998, which are flawed in the first place since up until 1996 most European country's were all still running campaigns to cut birth rates down since they were unsustainable, kinda like chinas one child per family laws only less strict, they're all pretty much gone now but they've all slowly stabilised birth/death rates in the ten main EU country's, and theres insane birth rates in the new EU countries.
Oh and atheisms first defined origins come from Ancient Greece, not to mention how long it could have been in existence before it was defined in 5BC, atheism, as in the rejection of gods, existed long before modern Christianity and quite possibly before ancient christianity, never mind the printing press . - Thex1138, on 10/12/2007, -0/+5Check out how many countries have religious text on their currency...
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_currencies
:-) - ButterBuddha, on 10/12/2007, -1/+6Its all a matter of perception....I mean, all the people in the media who are labeled as "religious" are often the Jerry Falwell, Pat Robertson, or Jihadist....you know, *****......but since most Americans are at least spiritual in someway, its hard to define what is a tolerable amount of religiosity. What annoys me the most are those Pat Robertson/Jerry Falwell whose social commentary is merely stating the obvious, it's delivered in such a know-it-all ***** way...who cares??
The constant struggle between the crazy fundamentalists and the non-religious creates a nice, broad, middle ground...I agree with the first speaker in that the religious right is a political movement...rather than a religious movement...an organization that seeks to control government and therefore controlling where tax dollars are funneled....America is NOT religious enough...I feel that too many of us are too weak spiritually to stand up to the few ***** who hijacked a church to do some social climbing..... - Vincep1974, on 10/12/2007, -3/+8Here's a link showing a Highway sign in Saudi Arabia saying only Muslims allowed.
http://travel.webshots.com/photo/1508010196081585367OLgxSt - uberdesigner, on 10/12/2007, -2/+7America is not too religious. There are numerous countries that are far more religious than us (eg Italy). The problem is that Americans go about religion the wrong way. Our religious folk (a lot of the South and most small towns) are intolerant and they do not understand the importance of the seperation between Church and State. In other words: They're not good Americans.
- fac3less, on 10/12/2007, -1/+6@fooboarder,
It was a tad late when I wrote my initial message. I'll be honest it probably did detract from my statements
more than it helped. Definitely a silly way to win an argument.
Jesus taught in parables because the world would not understand the direct truth. God is a tad too big for our small minds to handle 'as is'.
I don't take the stance of creation being 'literal'. It's literal in a sense that 'God said' and it was. How we got to this point is most likely too big for us to fathom.
Our smallest cells are more complex than most of the stuff we shell out today as top of the line. A bees brain can process more than most supercomptuers -- and faster. Science does an excellent job at deencrypting life but don't use science to detract from God.
Rather use it as a way to understand that phew -- Damn everything God put on this planet was simply *amazing*. How the smallest objects can be so intricate. God's one amazing creator.
If you think we descended from apes back in the day -- you're more than free to think that.
Christians aren't here to denounce everyone else. We're not here to judge.
We're not here to stone.
Jesus said it himself:
Joh 8:2 And early in the morning he came again into the temple, and all the people came unto him; and he sat down, and taught them.
Joh 8:3 And the scribes and Pharisees brought unto him a woman taken in adultery; and when they had set her in the midst,
Joh 8:4 They say unto him, Master, this woman was taken in adultery, in the very act.
Joh 8:5 Now Moses in the law commanded us, that such should be stoned: but what sayest thou?
Joh 8:6 This they said, tempting him, that they might have to accuse him. But Jesus stooped down, and with his finger wrote on the ground, as though he heard them not.
Joh 8:7 So when they continued asking him, he lifted up himself, and said unto them, He that is without sin among you, let him first cast a stone at her.
Joh 8:8 And again he stooped down, and wrote on the ground.
Joh 8:9 And they which heard it, being convicted by their own conscience, went out one by one, beginning at the eldest, even unto the last: and Jesus was left alone, and the woman standing in the midst.
Joh 8:10 When Jesus had lifted up himself, and saw none but the woman, he said unto her, Woman, where are those thine accusers? hath no man condemned thee?
Joh 8:11 She said, No man, Lord. And Jesus said unto her, Neither do I condemn thee: go, and sin no more.
God just wants us to stop sinning. That's all. Most of the stuff we lust after is oh-so-temporary anyways.
If I spend the next 15 years working my ass off for that gorgeous m5 I see pass me by everyday at work I'll have gained nothing.
Yet if I spend it helping others I'll make the world of a difference. These aren't "Christian" feelings -- they're simply human.
Help others, treat others like you would want to be treated yourself and don't hate.
That's what Christianity is. Christianity isn't the pious thinking they're above you.
Christianity rather teaches that we're ALL unworthy. We're DIRT.
Have a great day. - scheper, on 10/12/2007, -2/+7I agree.
If you compare Digg to Slashdot, Slashdot is much more diverse and respectful of other people's faith and beliefs. On digg, most religion bashers are behaving just like they claim the religious behave.
@xutopia
The article might not be anti-Christian, the summary certainly is, and serves no other purpose than to incite FUD and intolerance. - javip, on 10/12/2007, -5/+9I'm curious, why do you feel so threatened by this tiny insignificant minority?
And don't say you don't, you've gone to the trouble of making several comments on this article alone, including some research with regards to statistics.
PS: It's 2007 not 2001 - starmanjones, on 10/12/2007, -2/+6please god... take your people home. they are killing too many in your name... there are kids starving... leave us in peace so we can think about curing poverty... my firend the religious nut was trying to win me over... he showed me your new multi million dollar house. he thought i'd be impressed. but i saw children starving. how many multi millin dollar houses do you need in one town... something is ***** up. why are you so ***** up?
- JEmerson, on 10/12/2007, -4/+8I've seen links here about stupid people of all groups, democrats, republicans, americans, germans, christians, and all the other flavours that humans come in. Does digg have a bias against anyone it allows on the front page with negative implications, or is it just that Christianity is overun by a higher percentage of stupid than most other high profile social groups?
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