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ifmaz -> RE: Freedom From Atheism! (2/6/2016 10:10:20 AM)
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quote:
ORIGINAL: bounty44
there are millions of Christians in the world. none of them are born Christian, at some point in their life they make a volitional choice. some are raised in Christian families and have the benefit of being exposed to god in that regard. others, come from non-believing families, or become believers as adults. the amount of people who "convert" to atheism from Christianity, as opposed to the reverse, is so miniscule as to not seriously invite comparison.
Many people are raised in a certain religion and never question it.
A Pew Study would seem to disprove your assertion that more people are switching to religion from atheism as "3.1% of American adults say they are atheists when asked about their religious identity, up from 1.6% in a similarly large survey in 2007".
quote:
ORIGINAL: bounty44
and no, it does not follow that if Christians are desirous of sharing the gospel, that other religions or even atheists would desire to do the same. for one, Christians are heavily admonished by scripture to do it. second, no other faith carries with it the same imagery and narrow positioning (see mt 7:13-14 for instance) that make sharing the Christian worldview more vital.
but so what if it does---im not complaining about atheists promulgating their beliefs. again, I was just sharing a phrase to help people understand why Christians share theirs.
I believe the goal of any religion, cults included, is to increase its membership. Certain religions are more "pushy", for lack of a better word, about it; I don't see many Jewish people knocking on doors on Sundays asking if the homeowner has been saved.
quote:
ORIGINAL: bounty44
of course its subjective and that in no way makes it any lesser. however, there's been plenty of work done from an "outsiders" (or objective/measurable) perspective showing Christians have a better life in many regards compared to non-believers.
Anecdotal, but I know quite a few atheists who are happier living without religious dogmas.
quote:
ORIGINAL: bounty44
lastly, no one's claiming Christians have a monopoly on positive life experiences but in keeping with my statement above, Christian/church going kids abuse alcohol and drugs less, get better grades in school and are more socially connected. on the whole, Christians are generally happier, have more peace, less mental illness, live longer and are more giving than their non-believing counterparts. however, that said, those are not necessarily fundamental reasons as to why Christian's share; it is rather because they understand that before god in their lives, they were lost, and they want others to seek and be saved.
I would ask for unbiased (or reasonably unbiased, what with journalism today) sources for each of your assertions.
A recent study has shown "children who were the most altruistic came from atheist or non-religious families". Another study indicated religious people are more likely to become depressed than non-believers. Still another study shows non-believers as having higher IQs than their religious counterparts.
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