Atheists 'have Higher Iqs

[baa99]

The Catholic Church opposition to birth control has killed many people.

 

 

[Mekong]

TTM

 

On your scale of 0-10 where would you place an agnostic?

 

Whilst on your scale of 0-10 most people would place me as a level 0 atheist I also respect what the church has done for my Father and also helped me out in early life so I would judge myself as a level 3-4 agnostic, as an Engineer everything to me is based on mathematical probabilities but conversely i grew up in a convent and was adopted by a devout catholic father.

 

I have no problem with religion as long as it is not forced down my throat, I am actually the muslim godparent equivalent of a nice girl in Egypt and a fine boy in Syria having worked with their respective fathers in the past.

 

But I do agree with the survey that individuals who do not have an affinity to any religious belief do, on average, perform a lot better at their chosen profession . Maybe it is my Anti-Christ thoughts but IMHO it seems to hold true.

[dean]

I'd have to say that I am an agnostic. I was raised a Catholic, going to a Catholic grade school, Jesuit High school and graduating from Creighton University, a Jesuit college. My parents were not fervent Catholics, going to church most Sundays but claiming "vacation exemption" while on holiday. I quit going regularly at College and now only go to Mass for weddings and funerals. I have no intention of sending my 5 yer old son to Catholic schools but, just to be on the safe side I may baptize him at some point (possibly even doing it myself). I come from a large, extended Catholic family (98 first cousins) and two had become Priests (fortunately, my older brother dropped out of the Benedictine order before becoming a Priest). They both left the Priesthood; one moving to the Philippines with his partner and the other leaving amid accusations concerning improper actions with children. Growing up, I didn't know many Priests that either didn't have a problem with alcohol or were gay. Not exactly an organization that I want to turn over the development of children to.

[baa99]

So Dean you must have passed this Catholic School initiation many times!

 

A police investigation has been launched after a series of disturbing photos emerged showing schoolchildren licking whipped cream from the knee of a Polish priest.

The images - which are apparently part of an 'initiation ceremony' at Salesians High School in Lubin, southern Poland - show both male and female 13-year old pupils taking part in the bizarre practice.

Father Marcin Kozyra, who is also the school's principal, has defended his actions by saying such ceremonies for first year pupils have been an annual event for many years.

 

 

Read more: http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-2206008/Probe-launched-Polish-priest-gets-young-children-lick-whipped-cream-knee-creepy-school-initiation.html#ixzz2cMNd48z2

Follow us: @MailOnline on Twitter | DailyMail on Facebook

 

[dean]

For being part of a group that tied a fellow student to a bathroom stall in elementary school (he also thought it was funny and went along with it), I had to knell for one day at school, the whole time (not even a lunch break). By the time I got to High school, I had one Jesuit Priest whose discipline consisted of walking around your desk and, when you weren't watching, took his book and smacked you fairly hard on the back of your head. My favorite story out of High school was cruising downtown with a couple of friends and seeing one of the Jesuits Priests/teachers coming out of an adult theater. I wish I had my camera for that.

[baa99]

[Redbaron]

Logically Atheists must have higher IQ's - they, along with ,it could be argued, Agnostics, have somehow become the only "religions" (or non-religions?) who can freely sprout their beliefs on forums, social media and traditional media without being scrutinized. If a Catholic, Anglican, Mormon, etc tried the same on any forum/website/tv/radio/newsprint other that their own (especially here) they would be shouted down, and flamed ad nauseum.

 

Pure genius.

[baa99]

[JaiRai]

I was kicked out of Sunday School when I was 5 for questioning the existence of God.

 

Got to go to SUnday matinee movies after that - good deal...

 

I was a bit of a problem child (in retrospect was one of the only sane people in the family), but they used to ship me off to a Baptist church on Sundays for awhile, around age 13. My grandfather had a heart attack around the same time - I was there at the house when it happened - and his neighbor, an old Vietnamese dude named Nick Nguyen came to the rescue and drove him to the hospital (grandma was at the grocery store). So Nick was a Buddhist or whatever.

 

Next week in Sunday School the teacher was leaning hard on me to 'accept Christ as my personal lord and savior.' So I asked her, what if you don't? Well, you go to hell. What if you're a good person? Doesn't matter, you reject God, you go to hell. Typically I'm a clown or just fucking around (asking questions like - did Jesus ever have an erection?), but this was one of those rare moments of clarity, because I thought about Nick, that guy who came over and helped my family through this awful nightmare. I thought about him burning for eternity because he wasn't a Christian. Didn't make any sense. So the lady asked - do you know where you're going to go when your time on Earth is up? I said yes I do.

 

Was the last time I took it serious. A few months later never went back. Got no beef with religion and am sure it does help people or give them a sense of purpose. But there's also a lot of hatefulness. It's one of those issues I personally feel conflicted about because I see - in the lives of most people I know - a spiritual vacuum. A lack of meaning, everything is meh.

 

Have no idea what the fucking answer is. But in general do believe that those who gravitate to religion, need religion.

[Flashermac]

I got stuck in a Southern Baptist Sunday school for a while as a kid - nice people but very intolerant. The preacher's wife saw my mother one day and asked her to join the church. She replied that she wasn't a Baptist; she was raised Methodist. The preacher's wife scowled at her and snapped, "Well, some people just don't know what they want!" My mother never went back.