Health and Religion

[CoinCube]

The number of Atheists is not correct.  

There are more than 138 million Atheists in China alone.
...

Probably just a difference in counting methodology or limiting the definition of atheism to only hard atheism. It can make a large difference in the numbers for this kind of question. For example recently (2017), Pew found that only 3 percent of Americans say they are atheists. However the same study found that a much larger group — around 9 percent — said they do not believe in God or a universal spirit.

https://www.google.com/amp/s/www.vox.com/platform/amp/science-and-health/2017/4/13/15258496/american-atheists-how-many

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[af_newbie]

The number of Atheists is not correct.  

There are more than 138 million Atheists in China alone.
...

Probably just a difference in counting methodology or limiting the definition of atheism to only hard atheism. It can make a large difference in the numbers for this kind of question. For example recently (2017), Pew found that only 3 percent of Americans say they are atheists. However the same study found that a much larger group — around 9 percent — said they do not believe in God or a universal spirit.

https://www.google.com/amp/s/www.vox.com/platform/amp/science-and-health/2017/4/13/15258496/american-atheists-how-many

More like not counting methodology.

There were 61% of "convinced Atheists" in China in 2015 as per Gallup poll:
https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Irreligion_in_China

That is a lot more than the reported 10+ million (3%) in the US.

According to global Win-Gallup International studies, in 2017, 9% of the global population was in the "convinced Atheist" category:
https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Atheism

That is more like 700 million, not 138 as reported in the article you posted.  I suspect the author of the article lowered the numbers not to cause panic among Christian readers.  

Christianity gets more followers in poor countries, where average IQ is low, the education system is of poor quality or non-existent,
countries in Africa, Latin America are good examples.

On the other hand, in developed countries, the US, Canada, Japan, European countries the numbers fall and Atheism is on the rise.

It just proves my earlier point that religions will die eventually once people become more educated.

[BADecker]

The number of Atheists is not correct.  

There are more than 138 million Atheists in China alone.
...

Probably just a difference in counting methodology or limiting the definition of atheism to only hard atheism. It can make a large difference in the numbers for this kind of question. For example recently (2017), Pew found that only 3 percent of Americans say they are atheists. However the same study found that a much larger group — around 9 percent — said they do not believe in God or a universal spirit.

https://www.google.com/amp/s/www.vox.com/platform/amp/science-and-health/2017/4/13/15258496/american-atheists-how-many

More like not counting methodology.

There were 61% of "convinced Atheists" in China in 2015 as per Gallup poll:
https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Irreligion_in_China

That is a lot more than the reported 10+ million (3%) in the US.

According to global Win-Gallup International studies, in 2017, 9% of the global population was in the "convinced Atheist" category:
https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Atheism

That is more like 700 million, not 138 as reported in the article you posted.  I suspect the author of the article lowered the numbers not to cause panic among Christian readers.  

Christianity gets more followers in poor countries, where average IQ is low, the education system is of poor quality or non-existent,
countries in Africa, Latin America are good examples.

On the other hand, in developed countries, the US, Canada, Japan, European countries the numbers fall and Atheism is on the rise.

It just proves my earlier point that religions will die eventually once people become more educated.

Of course there are going to be large numbers of people in China that say they agree with the Chinese Government's party line. They want to live, and be relatively free from oppression. They don't know if the pollsters are secretly documenting their names and locations to hand over to government. They are playing it safe. Polls in China mean nothing.

[bananacue]

Health and Religion

Religion and IQ

High IQ is usually regarded by those that possess it as an unmitigated good. Those gifted with superior intellect are not only smarter, they are statistically more likely to be taller, healthier, and more athletic than average. In his 1920 study on high IQ children Lewis Terman noted that despite these advantages high IQ is not always beneficial. He found that the very brightest often grew up maladjusted in some way suffering from anxiety, depression, personality disorder, or nervous breakdowns.

In Mensa Magazine Bruce G Charlton posited three fundamental disadvantages of high IQ .

Charlton’s triad:
1)   Socialism
2)   Atheism
3)   Reduced Fertility

Charlton argued that IQ is associated with a tendency to embrace socialism, a rejection of religious teachings, and ultimately a declining fertility. The purpose of this essay is to evaluate Charlton’s triad in the context of religion and health. Specifically we will look closely at the potential health effects of atheism.

Religion Health and Wellbeing

Is the lack of religion bad for your health? In a large survey of over 600,000 people Frank Newport and colleagues showed that the very religious not only report higher levels of overall wellbeing they are also more likely to have healthy eating and exercise habits.

https://content.gallup.com/origin/gallupinc/GallupSpaces/Production/Cms/POLL/z1upxzv-xkgpuw2tgm-qzw.gif

Every religion reported superior wellbeing to that of atheist but the largest differences were found in the Mormons and the Jews. These are minority religions each comprising about 1.7% of the US population. Examining these two groups will help us better understand the impact of religion on human health.

Mormon Demographics

Demographically Mormons differ greatly from society at large. Nearly two thirds of Mormons 66% are married compared with just over half 48% of the general population. Mormons have large families with a fertility rate of 3.4 children per woman double that of atheists.

https://www.pewresearch.org/wp-content/uploads/2015/05/FT_15.05.21_RLSmormon_married640px.png

Mormons may also have some immunity the detrimental effect IQ on fertility. In the general population increasing income (highly correlated with IQ) is associated with both declining fertility and declining religious commitment. In Mormons the reverse is true. Mormon fertility is positively correlated with income and Mormons with higher levels of formal education tend to be more religiously committed.

On multiple religious measures Mormons stand out for having exceptionally high levels of religious commitment. More than nine-in-ten Mormons report a belief in God and that the Bible is the word of God. Mormons are also very observant in their religious practices with more than eight-in-ten praying daily. Mormons strongly support a strict interpretation of their faith and the preservation of traditional beliefs and practices.

Are these demographic differences actually due to the Mormon religion? How can we be confident these are not just population level differences that happen to correlate with religion? To better answer lets take a look at Jewish demographics.

Jewish Demographics

Unlike Mormons who are a young religion and can be looked at as a single group Judaism is one of the oldest religions and has splintered into many subgroups. There are many different branches of Judaism each with unique features. These branches can mostly be grouped into 5 major categories. From most conservative to most liberal these are Ultra-Orthodox, Modern Orthodox, Conservative, Reform, and Secular Jews.

Orthodox Jews believe their sacred scriptures the Torah is the word of God and should be studied and followed. Their customs and behavior is guided by observance of halakhah (Jewish Law). Conservative Jews acknowledge that Jewish writings come from God, but believe that the Law should adapt, absorbing aspects of the predominant culture while remaining true to Judaism's values. Reform Judaism does not hold that the Torah was written by God. The movement accepts the critical theory of Biblical authorship: that the Bible was written by separate sources and redacted together. Reform Jews do not believe in observance of commandments as such, but they retain much of the values and ethics of Judaism. Secular Jews do not affiliate with any major religious group they may or may not believe in God. A more detailed description of these difference can be read here.

When people think of the Jews they often think of famous figures like Allen Greenspan or presidential candidate Bernie Sanders both secular Jews. Secular Jews are often liberal, democratic voters. Orthodox Jews on the other hand tend to be socially conservative, and are more likely to be republican voters.

The Jews as a group are incredibly smart. They consistently rank highest in the world on IQ studies significantly higher than even Asians who are their nearest competitors. If Charlton’s triad of IQ disadvantages is correct then the Jews should be particularly susceptible. Is this the case?

American Jewish Fertility by Religious Current

Religious Sect	Average No. of Children per Woman
Ultra-Orthodox	6.72
Modern Orthodox	3.39
Conservative	1.74
Reform	1.36
Secular	1.29

As Jews leave orthodoxy it appears their fertility plummets. The Ultra-Orthodox are a group who are similar to the Amish in that they have partially separated themselves from the outside world choosing to live in isolated communities. They have a fertility rate of 6.72 which is similar to Amish fertility rates . Modern Orthodox Jews strictly adhere to their faith but simultaneously advocate engaging with the outside world especially higher education. The Modern Orthodox fertility rate 3.39 is nearly identical to that of Mormons. The Modern Orthodox have a similar philosophy to that of Mormons in that they advocate engaging with the outside world as much as possible while maintaining strict adherence to their religious code. As Jews move away from their historic religious tradition their fertility plummets. Secular Jews have a shockingly low fertility of 1.29 among the lowest in the world. For the Jews it appears the detrimental effects of high IQ are very real and that traditional religion offers some protection.

Toxicity of the Modern World

In Brave New World, Aldous Huxley envisioned a future where the masses were rendered infertile and controlled with pleasure and drugs. Is that the world we live in now? Anyone over that age of 25 may not realize how far traditional courtship and dating has been undermined by modernity. The tinder generation is being conditioned to swipe right on their onscreen app and meet up later for random sexual gratification. This phenomena has been described by Vanity Fair as nothing less than a dating apocalypse.

In Colorado long acting implantable contraceptives which a render women infertile for up to 10 years and require a doctor’s visit to remove have been implanted in 26% of young women age 15-24 as of 2013.

In 2015 an advisory body to the US Department of Health and Human Services recommended that Medicaid examine how often doctors are using “most effective” or “moderately effective” contraception. Only contraception deemed “highly effective” or “moderately effective” (Long acting implantable or long acting injections) would be included in the proposed measurement. Doctor’s with a low percentage of young patients using such contraception would presumably be rated as giving lower quality care.

We appear to be living in a “Utopia” of declining fitness and capability. An age of existential exhaustion manifested by an ageing, hedonistic society characterized by declining marriage, and near zero children.

Sin is the Situation

Sin is the situation where how we feel is ultimate human reality, and how we feel is known to be contingent and means nothing.
Sin is to embrace this nothingness as reality, to propagandize that nothingness is reality, to denigrate anything which saves us from nothingness.
*
And that is the reason we need to be ‘saved’.
And this is the reason why we cannot save ourselves.
We need to be saved from nothingness, and from those who brainwash us into a belief in nothingness, and from ourselves who propagate that reality is nothingness.
*
Sin is to embrace nothingness

Modern society is a mechanism for inculcating bad habits, especially the habit of seeking instant pleasure, intoxications and distractions; a habit of regarding ourselves as passive recipients for ‘entertainment’. A devout life is not so much about a flash of understanding but is mostly a matter of using insights into truth in building-up good habits; and this can be influenced by our will. A devout life enables one to build these habits and most importantly successfully pass them on to our children.

Whatever sense we make of this world, whatever value we place upon our lives and relationships, whatever meaning we ultimately give to our joys and agonies, must necessarily be a gesture of faith. Whether we consider the whole a product of impersonal cosmic forces, a malevolent deity, or a benevolent god, depends not on the evidence, but on what we choose, deliberately and consciously to conclude from that evidence… If we decide to leave the questions unanswered, that is a choice; if we waver in our answer that too is a choice: but whatever choice we make, we make it at our peril.

What we choose to embrace, to be responsive to, is the purest reflection of who we are and what we love. That is why faith, the choice to believe, is, in the final analysis, an action that is positively laden with moral significance.

In the end you must make a choice:

Wallow in the degradation of modernity

Or

Celebrate purity of the human spirit

Your choice is one that echoes through time influencing not only your life but the lives of your children and grandchildren as well.
Choose Wisely


Edit: It is clear that a few posters were angered by the original title of this post. As the goal of this post is not to attack or denigrate but to inform and share knowledge I have selected a new and less inflammatory title.

Edit #2: For the vast majority of my adult life I have been agnostic perhaps even borderline atheist. I never considered God in any serious way or let thoughts of God or religion have any meaningful impact on my plans and actions. Over the last three and a half years I have gradually come to realize that I was very mistaken. I was not evangelized or converted in a house of worship. I never would have responded to such overtures for my mind was closed to them. Instead God entered my life by opening my eyes to the simple logic and reason of his existence. It was a journey that started in a desire to understand the unhealthy aspects of our modern society and ended with the clear realization that a genuine faith and acceptance of God is not only necessary but a logical conclusion for any self-aware consciousness. On what grounds do I make this bold claim? Well if you are curious I have linked the reasoning in a chain of ten posts. The first link is immediately below.    

See Religion and Progress for more.

Everyone has their own belief. Everyone has the right to believe in anything and a right not to believe. I think religions do not require IQs in order to understand the teachings as long as you believe. No one can ever top the One above for He is perfection. I believe in God and I don't know how much my IQ is cause I dont try to measure such. Can you suggest a reliable test for IQ? 

[af_newbie]

...
Can you suggest a reliable test for IQ?  

I am not sure about being reliable, but you could try

http://test.mensa.no/

It should reliably measure IQ between 85-115.

If you score outside of this range, you will get a message saying that your IQ cannot be reliably measured by this test.

Join your local mensa society.  Mensa offers reliable tests to prospective members.

[BADecker]

...
Can you suggest a reliable test for IQ?  

I am not sure about being reliable, but you could try

http://test.mensa.no/

It should reliably measure IQ between 85-115.

If you score outside of this range, you will get a message saying that your IQ cannot be reliably measured by this test.

Join your local mensa society.  Mensa offers reliable tests to prospective members.

How did you do on the test?     

[CoinCube]

Join your local mensa society.  Mensa offers reliable tests to prospective members.

Ah Mensa.

I was a member back in my undergraduate days.

We were really organized and even managed to get enough people to start an official Mensa club at the university. That’s harder than it sounds when the admissions test excludes 98% of the population. I was the treasurer which in reality meant I managed the pizza money and picked up the pizza for the monthly meetings which were interesting.

I still remember my feelings of smugness when I got in. I was a shallower person back then and felt IQ to be much more important than I do now. Not sure how it’s done today but back then the official test was a timed paper and pencil exam with a proctor and you got the results via mail a while later.

Good memories overall but I let my membership expire after I graduated. I understand the appeal but am no longer a fan of it’s exclusionary nature centered as it is around an inherent biological variance.

What we do with the gifts we are given is much more important than the exact abundance and quantity of what we are born with. With the benefit of age I am now much more interested in groups that focus on the former not the latter.

[BADecker]

Join your local mensa society.  Mensa offers reliable tests to prospective members.

Ah Mensa.

I was a member back in my undergraduate days.

We were really organized and even managed to get enough people to start an official Mensa club at the university. That’s harder than it sounds when the admissions test excludes 98% of the population. I was the treasurer which in reality meant I managed the pizza money and picked up the pizza for the monthly meetings which were interesting.

I still remember my feelings of smugness when I got in. I was a shallower person back then and felt IQ to be much more important than I do now. Not sure how it’s done today but back then the official test was a timed paper and pencil exam with a proctor and you got the results via mail a while later.

Good memories overall but I let my membership expire after I graduated. I understand the appeal but am no longer a fan of it’s exclusionary nature centered as it is around an inherent biological variance.

What we do with the gifts we are given is much more important than the exact abundance and quantity of what we are born with. With the benefit of age I am now much more interested in groups that focus on the former not the latter.

It doesn't seem like you are losing your Mensa qualities at all.

----------

Solomon in the Bible, had 700 wives, and 300 concubines. Most Bible scholars will tell you that the reason why he had so many women, was because he was marrying into ruling families of the various nations, to make peace with them, and wisely rule the world. But there is something else...

Ecclesiastes 7:27,28:

27“Look,” says the Teacher, “this is what I have discovered:

“Adding one thing to another to discover the scheme of things—

28while I was still searching

but not finding—

I found one upright man among a thousand,

but not one upright woman among them all.”

This passage seems to bother women. They think that Solomon must have been some kind of masochistic woman-hater to write a proverb like this. And the idea of him having a thousand women seems to back it up.

What the women don't realize is that Solomon was talking about himself and his women, not about them or other women. But since they don't realize this, maybe Solomon WAS talking about women in general.

I guess old af-newbie will never understand things like this, even if he is not a woman.

[CoinCube]

I guess old af-newbie will never understand things like this, even if he is not a woman.

Interesting choice of scripture there.

af-newbie has stated he was deeply influenced by the overt and gross corruption he witnessed peddled by a nominally religious leader in his youth. Witnessing corruption and abuse he rejects religion prima facie.

This is understandable and an example of the tremendous harm that can results from violating the commandment of taking the name of God in vain aka committing evil in the name of God. Hypocrisy is incredibly destructive.

I once wandered away from Christianity but I never had anything like that kind of hurdle to overcome while finding my way back. The religious people I interacted with in my youth were to the best of my knowledge genuine and acting with goodwill.

My path back started with the realization of the practical necessity of Christianity. That sparked a later deeper introspection into the fundamentals.

The decline of Christianity is seriously damaging society, atheists acknowledge
https://thebl.com/us-news/the-decline-of-christianity-is-seriously-damaging-society-atheists-acknowledge.html

How the West was won – by Christianity
https://www.mercatornet.com/features/view/how-the-west-was-won-by-christianity/23109

[af_newbie]

I guess old af-newbie will never understand things like this, even if he is not a woman.

Interesting choice of scripture there.

af-newbie has stated he was deeply influenced by the overt and gross corruption he witnessed peddled by a nominally religious leader in his youth. Witnessing corruption and abuse he rejects religion prima facie.

This is understandable and an example of the tremendous harm that can results from violating the commandment of taking the name of God in vain aka committing evil in the name of God. Hypocrisy is incredibly destructive.

I once wandered away from Christianity but I never had anything like that kind of hurdle to overcome while finding my way back. The religious people I interacted with in my youth were to the best of my knowledge genuine and acting with goodwill.

My path back started with the realization of the practical necessity of Christianity. That sparked a later deeper introspection into the fundamentals.

The decline of Christianity is seriously damaging society, atheists acknowledge
https://thebl.com/us-news/the-decline-of-christianity-is-seriously-damaging-society-atheists-acknowledge.html

How the West was won – by Christianity
https://www.mercatornet.com/features/view/how-the-west-was-won-by-christianity/23109

Religion is a two-edged sword.  On one hand, it can stop people from committing heinous crimes and on the other, it facilitates, makes it easy to justify other heinous crimes.

Corruption and structural abuse in all of the major religions is just one aspect that I could not bear.

Supernatural claims, scientific nonsense, outright contradictions, rejection of any progressive thought, the subjective, cultural context in the "holy" scriptures is something I could not accept as divine.

Cell death is a non-reversible process.  When your DNA and RNA fragments, there is nothing that would reassemble them and rebuild each and every cell in your body to make you alive again.

A cracker and wine during your Sunday's mass cannot possibly turn into human flesh and blood. That is not chemically possible.

The universe was started most likely out of nothing via quantum fluctuations, the initial inflation was a result of non-symmetry in the matter-antimatter formation and destruction, and we are the result of it.

Scientific ignorance of religious people is appalling.  Their schizophrenic, hypocritic rejection of science and acceptance of technology is
all the proof you need to know that people running this con job are ruthless, evil psychopaths who will do anything and say anything to separate fools from their money.

Any company that would offer a non-existing product, charge you in advance and would promise that the product works after you die would end up in court for fraud.

The vast majority of the human population remains ignorant so I am afraid religions will be a necessary evil for few more generations to come.

The main function of religion is to instill fear, establish control and provide answers to ignorant people and stray them from killing each other.

[IadixDev]

On the other hand, in developed countries, the US, Canada, Japan, European countries the numbers fall and Atheism is on the rise.

It just proves my earlier point that religions will die eventually once people become more educated.

It show that religion is getting forgotten in developped country, but in the same time everything become ugly, with concrete bars, high ways, with opioïd crisis, school shooting, suicide rate in japan, there are more and more burn outs and lost people who dont even know why they wake up in the morning. There is not really much anything inspiring or beauriful that comes out of those society anymore that much.

I dont really see religion in opposition to progress, originally religion also bring some progress in society organisation, and were able to stand for certains values and change the system.

Historically in Occident the catholic mornarchy was very dogmatic and prevented society evolution but its not really for theological reasons deeply grounded in the bible either.

[IadixDev]

Religion is a two-edged sword.  On one hand, it can stop people from committing heinous crimes and on the other, it facilitates, makes it easy to justify other heinous crimes.

Religion advocate forgiving and redemption no ?

Corruption and structural abuse in all of the major religions is just one aspect that I could not bear.

Religion is not about sticking to corrupt structures. All religions warn about the wolf in sheep clothe and corrupt structures.

Supernatural claims, scientific nonsense, outright contradictions, rejection of any progressive thought, the subjective, cultural context in the "holy" scriptures is something I could not accept as divine.

Science cannot explain everything either, but religion is not really about being dogmatic or against progress, on the contrary most religion have their own eschatology and hope for better future.

The universe was started most likely out of nothing via quantum fluctuations, the initial inflation was a result of non-symmetry in the matter-antimatter formation and destruction, and we are the result of it.

This doesnt explain much either.

Scientific ignorance of religious people is appalling.  Their schizophrenic, hypocritic rejection of science and acceptance of technology is
all the proof you need to know that people running this con job are ruthless, evil psychopaths who will do anything and say anything to separate fools from their money.

Lot of great scientist if not all were religious.

Any company that would offer a non-existing product, charge you in advance and would promise that the product works after you die would end up in court for fraud.

Its not a company, you know what jesus said about marchants in the temples etc.

The main function of religion is to instill fear, establish control and provide answers to ignorant people and stray them from killing each other.

Fear is a powerfull tool to influence people, but religion is not about fear normally its more about faith and hope.

[BADecker]

I guess old af-newbie will never understand things like this, even if he is not a woman.

Interesting choice of scripture there.

af-newbie has stated he was deeply influenced by the overt and gross corruption he witnessed peddled by a nominally religious leader in his youth. Witnessing corruption and abuse he rejects religion prima facie.

This is understandable and an example of the tremendous harm that can results from violating the commandment of taking the name of God in vain aka committing evil in the name of God. Hypocrisy is incredibly destructive.

I once wandered away from Christianity but I never had anything like that kind of hurdle to overcome while finding my way back. The religious people I interacted with in my youth were to the best of my knowledge genuine and acting with goodwill.

My path back started with the realization of the practical necessity of Christianity. That sparked a later deeper introspection into the fundamentals.

The decline of Christianity is seriously damaging society, atheists acknowledge
https://thebl.com/us-news/the-decline-of-christianity-is-seriously-damaging-society-atheists-acknowledge.html

How the West was won – by Christianity
https://www.mercatornet.com/features/view/how-the-west-was-won-by-christianity/23109

Religion is a two-edged sword.  On one hand, it can stop people from committing heinous crimes and on the other, it facilitates, makes it easy to justify other heinous crimes.

Corruption and structural abuse in all of the major religions is just one aspect that I could not bear.

Supernatural claims, scientific nonsense, outright contradictions, rejection of any progressive thought, the subjective, cultural context in the "holy" scriptures is something I could not accept as divine.

Cell death is a non-reversible process.  When your DNA and RNA fragments, there is nothing that would reassemble them and rebuild each and every cell in your body to make you alive again.

A cracker and wine during your Sunday's mass cannot possibly turn into human flesh and blood. That is not chemically possible.

The universe was started most likely out of nothing via quantum fluctuations, the initial inflation was a result of non-symmetry in the matter-antimatter formation and destruction, and we are the result of it.

Scientific ignorance of religious people is appalling.  Their schizophrenic, hypocritic rejection of science and acceptance of technology is
all the proof you need to know that people running this con job are ruthless, evil psychopaths who will do anything and say anything to separate fools from their money.

Any company that would offer a non-existing product, charge you in advance and would promise that the product works after you die would end up in court for fraud.

The vast majority of the human population remains ignorant so I am afraid religions will be a necessary evil for few more generations to come.

The main function of religion is to instill fear, establish control and provide answers to ignorant people and stray them from killing each other.

Religion is only right when it is the Holy Spirit acting through the religious person. This makes the religion of your life to be wrong wherever you turn with it... except if you change, that is.

[af_newbie]

Religion is a two-edged sword.  On one hand, it can stop people from committing heinous crimes and on the other, it facilitates, makes it easy to justify other heinous crimes.

Religion advocate forgiving and redemption no ?

Corruption and structural abuse in all of the major religions is just one aspect that I could not bear.

Religion is not about sticking to corrupt structures. All religions warn about the wolf in sheep clothe and corrupt structures.

Supernatural claims, scientific nonsense, outright contradictions, rejection of any progressive thought, the subjective, cultural context in the "holy" scriptures is something I could not accept as divine.

Science cannot explain everything either, but religion is not really about being dogmatic or against progress, on the contrary most religion have their own eschatology and hope for better future.

The universe was started most likely out of nothing via quantum fluctuations, the initial inflation was a result of non-symmetry in the matter-antimatter formation and destruction, and we are the result of it.

This doesnt explain much either.

Scientific ignorance of religious people is appalling.  Their schizophrenic, hypocritic rejection of science and acceptance of technology is
all the proof you need to know that people running this con job are ruthless, evil psychopaths who will do anything and say anything to separate fools from their money.

Lot of great scientist if not all were religious.

Any company that would offer a non-existing product, charge you in advance and would promise that the product works after you die would end up in court for fraud.

Its not a company, you know what jesus said about marchants in the temples etc.

The main function of religion is to instill fear, establish control and provide answers to ignorant people and stray them from killing each other.

Fear is a powerfull tool to influence people, but religion is not about fear normally its more about faith and hope.

Apparently it is not only about faith and hope. LOL.

https://metro.co.uk/video/this-bishop-thinks-make-penises-bigger-1370991/?ito=vjs-link

Meanwhile, scientists might have discovered a fifth, yet unknown force:
https://www.businessinsider.com/physicists-discovered-new-fifth-force-of-nature-dark-matter-problem-2019-11

Independent, experimental evidence is needed to confirm this discovery.

What has religion accomplished in the last 100 years?  Diddly-squat.

[IadixDev]

What has religion accomplished in the last 100 years?  Diddly-squat.

And we have destroyed 90% of our ecosystem and lost social cohesion, with two world war and a cold war, plus Hiroshima and all,but at least we have xannax and know how many rings there is on saturn and how many forces there is in the universe.

[BADecker]

Religion is a two-edged sword.  On one hand, it can stop people from committing heinous crimes and on the other, it facilitates, makes it easy to justify other heinous crimes.

Religion advocate forgiving and redemption no ?

Corruption and structural abuse in all of the major religions is just one aspect that I could not bear.

Religion is not about sticking to corrupt structures. All religions warn about the wolf in sheep clothe and corrupt structures.

Supernatural claims, scientific nonsense, outright contradictions, rejection of any progressive thought, the subjective, cultural context in the "holy" scriptures is something I could not accept as divine.

Science cannot explain everything either, but religion is not really about being dogmatic or against progress, on the contrary most religion have their own eschatology and hope for better future.

The universe was started most likely out of nothing via quantum fluctuations, the initial inflation was a result of non-symmetry in the matter-antimatter formation and destruction, and we are the result of it.

This doesnt explain much either.

Scientific ignorance of religious people is appalling.  Their schizophrenic, hypocritic rejection of science and acceptance of technology is
all the proof you need to know that people running this con job are ruthless, evil psychopaths who will do anything and say anything to separate fools from their money.

Lot of great scientist if not all were religious.

Any company that would offer a non-existing product, charge you in advance and would promise that the product works after you die would end up in court for fraud.

Its not a company, you know what jesus said about marchants in the temples etc.

The main function of religion is to instill fear, establish control and provide answers to ignorant people and stray them from killing each other.

Fear is a powerfull tool to influence people, but religion is not about fear normally its more about faith and hope.

Apparently it is not only about faith and hope. LOL.

https://metro.co.uk/video/this-bishop-thinks-make-penises-bigger-1370991/?ito=vjs-link

Meanwhile, scientists might have discovered a fifth, yet unknown force:
https://www.businessinsider.com/physicists-discovered-new-fifth-force-of-nature-dark-matter-problem-2019-11

Independent, experimental evidence is needed to confirm this discovery.

What has religion accomplished in the last 100 years?  Diddly-squat.

You're not considering the things that God wants most... more people so that more can be saved. Anybody who enhances sexuality so that there are more kids, is doing part of what God wants. Of course, God would rather that it were done in a kosher way. But results are results.

The greatest thing that religion has accomplished in the last hundred years is a great number of people. And among them are those who are saved so that Heaven is growing. If Hell is growing, too, too bad. The Hell-goers chose it for themselves, and God is good at this kind of freedom of choice for people.

So, the religion accomplishments over the last 100 years are great.

[af_newbie]

What has religion accomplished in the last 100 years?  Diddly-squat.

And we have destroyed 90% of our ecosystem and lost social cohesion, with two world war and a cold war, plus Hiroshima and all,but at least we have xannax and know how many rings there is on saturn and how many forces there is in the universe.

If you don't like progress, go live in Afganistan.  You will get all the social cohesion you so desperately desire.

The ecosystems are being destroyed because we reproduce like rabbits.  That is the root cause of our environmental issues.

To stop the destruction, we need to have a negative population growth rate or at least a near-zero growth rate.

But religious lunatics reproduce like there is no tomorrow.  You know, because that is what God (aka them) wants, LOL.

[BADecker]

What has religion accomplished in the last 100 years?  Diddly-squat.

And we have destroyed 90% of our ecosystem and lost social cohesion, with two world war and a cold war, plus Hiroshima and all,but at least we have xannax and know how many rings there is on saturn and how many forces there is in the universe.

If you don't like progress, go live in Afganistan.  You will get all the social cohesion you so desperately desire.

The ecosystems are being destroyed because we reproduce like rabbits.  That is the root cause of our environmental issues.

To stop the destruction, we need to have a negative population growth rate or at least a near-zero growth rate.

But religious lunatics reproduce like there is no tomorrow.  You know, because that is what God (aka them) wants, LOL.

https://i.imgur.com/CZBehOl.jpg

If you don't like progress, don't deviate your engineering from the scientific theories in the least.

[CoinCube]

What has religion accomplished in the last 100 years?  Diddly-squat.

And we have destroyed 90% of our ecosystem and lost social cohesion, with two world war and a cold war, plus Hiroshima and all,but at least we have xannax and know how many rings there is on saturn and how many forces there is in the universe.

If you don't like progress, go live in Afganistan.  You will get all the social cohesion you so desperately desire.

You are correct af-newbie when you stated that the vast majority of humanity is ignorant.

The most dangerous manifestation of that ignorance is our insane and ill conceived push for power and technological supremacy. As a species we constantly ask can it be done? A wiser species would ask should it be done?

Our willingness to use violence on our fellows in the form of war coupled with the power technological supremacy provides makes the current human trajectory both unchangeable and tenuous at best. It does not take a genius to see that our society is in very deep trouble an out of control train running out of tracks.

It is insanity to work so hard to make this possible:
"Slaughterbots" | Presented by ALTER
Or this:
New Robot Makes Soldiers Obsolete (Bosstown Dynamics)

And those things are just the beginnings of what we are on the verge of unleashing on ourselves in our blind quest for power without wisdom.

The Amish essentially have it right on this issue. We should be far far more selective and thoughtful with regards to our technology and technological advancement. Sadly the majority of humanity not only fails to understand their wisdom they often mock them for it.

This Is How And Why The Amish Live Off The Grid
https://www.makeuseof.com/tag/this-is-how-and-why-the-amish-live-off-the-grid/

[af_newbie]

What has religion accomplished in the last 100 years?  Diddly-squat.

And we have destroyed 90% of our ecosystem and lost social cohesion, with two world war and a cold war, plus Hiroshima and all,but at least we have xannax and know how many rings there is on saturn and how many forces there is in the universe.

If you don't like progress, go live in Afganistan.  You will get all the social cohesion you so desperately desire.

You are correct af-newbie when you stated that the vast majority of humanity is ignorant.

The most dangerous manifestation of that ignorance is our insane and ill conceived push for power and technological supremacy. As a species we constantly ask can it be done? A wiser species would ask should it be done?

Our willingness to use violence on our fellows in the form of war coupled with the power technological supremacy provides makes the current human trajectory both unchangeable and tenuous at best. It does not take a genius to see that our society is in very deep trouble an out of control train running out of tracks.

It is insanity to work so hard to make this possible:
"Slaughterbots" | Presented by ALTER
Or this:
New Robot Makes Soldiers Obsolete (Bosstown Dynamics)

And those things are just the beginnings of what we are on the verge of unleashing on ourselves in our blind search of power without wisdom.

The Amish essentially have it right on this issue. We should be far far more selective and thoughtful with regards to our technology and technological advancement. Sadly the rest of humanity not only fails to understand their wisdom they often mocks them for it.

This Is How And Why The Amish Live Off The Grid
https://www.makeuseof.com/tag/this-is-how-and-why-the-amish-live-off-the-grid/

Amish are wrong on many things, including their abuse of women and children.  Their insistence on freezing their communities in the 1850s is hilarious and tragic at the same time.

Trust me, you don't want to live off-grid.  I tried it.  You will break your back just to prove a point to yourself that you can do it. 
Not to mention you will drop a shitload of money to set it up. Completely worthless exercise.

I agree with you that we have to be careful when adopting new technology.   
However, we have no choice.  The Luddite position or religious refusal is just silly.

We have to find a way to live with technological progress, be left behind or in the worse case be replaced by it.

Progress will happen whether we like it or not.