New research reveals what Americans really think about the Bible.

originally posted by: Atsbhct
a reply to: Gothmog

Hey man, your circus, your monkey in regard to your signature.

By what metric is society in decline?

Well, I'm mean life spans have increased, violent crime is constantly dropping, instant global communication, instant global travel, smart phones, computers, abolished slavery/segregation, and quite a few other undeniable improvements...


However, I would trade them all if gays couldn't get married....

Lol sarcasm...gotta love when people roll out the "good ole days myth."

originally posted by: schuyler

originally posted by: Atsbhct
a reply to: Gothmog

Hey man, your circus, your monkey in regard to your signature.

By what metric is society in decline?

If you read someone like Steven Pinker, who's a dyed in the wool rationalist and materialist, we're not in decline at all. Indeed, in his book, "The Better Angels of our Nature" he puts forth the case that we have less violence, more education, better medical care, and an overall better life than we have ever had before. He's not just talking western civilization, but the entire world and its prospects for future growth. This is one of the most optimistic books out there.

I suspect the 'people of faith' are seeing a decline in people adhering to their own fantasies, and that is understandably upsetting to them. But that's overall a good thing. If science can help belay these crazy beliefs such as Jesus died for your sins, or worse, 72 virgins will be waiting for you in Heaven if only you will blow yourself and this busload of school children to smithereens, then I see that as a good thing. It might be bad for believers of Allah, but that's not high on my list of traits to preserve.

They have been brainwashed to base their ENTIRE world view around a 100% good vs 100% evil world view of the bible..

Anything "of God is only good" and anything "not of God" is considered evil.

There are no grey areas.. If some anti Christian policy would save the world, they would still consider that policy evil.

originally posted by: whereislogic

originally posted by: Raggedyman
A form of godliness but denying it's power, 2 Timothy 3 5

Thanks, you're the first person who at least semi-quotes something from the bible in a thread about the bible, I was gett
ing a little worried there that no one would quote something, as if it's forbidden, even in a thread that actually has "bible" in the title, if there ever was a good excuse to let loose...

Of course the full topic in the title is as such that perhaps it's not so conducive to quoting from the bible actually, I dunno, I found a way. You found a way. Where there's a will there's a way they say (not that I'm saying any of this as if it's somehow a requirement for making comments or anything, I just liked you finding a way as well).

Here are some bible quotes for ya!



Deuteronomy 20:10-15 – When you march up to attack a city, make its people an offer of peace. If they accept and open their gates, all the people in it shall be subject to forced labor and shall work for you. If they refuse to make peace and they engage you in battle, lay siege to that city. When the LORD your God delivers it into your hand, put to the sword all the men in it. As for the women, the children, the livestock and everything else in the city, you may take these as plunder for yourselves. And you may use the plunder the LORD your God gives you from your enemies. This is how you are to treat all the cities that are at a distance from you and do not belong to the nations nearby.




Leviticus 25:44-46 – Your male and female slaves are to come from the nations around you; from them you may buy slaves. You may also buy some of the temporary residents living among you and members of their clans born in your country, and they will become your property. You can will them to your children as inherited property and can make them slaves for life, but you must not rule over your fellow Israelites ruthlessly.





Exodus 21:20-21 – "If a man beats his male or female slave with a rod and the slave dies as a direct result, he must be punished, but he is not to be punished if the slave gets up after a day or two, since the slave is his property."


Colossians 3:22-24 – "Slaves, obey your earthly masters in everything; and do it, not only when their eye is on you and to win their favor, but with sincerity of heart and reverence for the Lord. Whatever you do, work at it with all your heart, as working for the Lord, not for men, since you know that you will receive an inheritance from the Lord as a reward. It is the Lord Christ you are serving."


Ephesians 6:5 - "Slaves, obey your earthly masters with respect and fear, and with sincerity of heart, just as you would obey Christ."



1 Peter 2:18 - "Slaves, submit yourselves to your masters with all respect, not only to those who are good and considerate, but also to those who are harsh."






1 Timothy 6:1 - "1 All who are under the yoke of slavery should consider their masters worthy of full respect, so that God's name and our teaching may not be slandered."

originally posted by: JoshuaCox

originally posted by: Atsbhct
a reply to: Gothmog

Hey man, your circus, your monkey in regard to your signature.

By what metric is society in decline?

Well, I'm mean life spans have increased, violent crime is constantly dropping, instant global communication, instant global travel, smart phones, computers, abolished slavery/segregation, and quite a few other undeniable improvements...


However, I would trade them all if gays couldn't get married....

Lol sarcasm...gotta love when people roll out the "good ole days myth."

Don't forget other improvements like having a national weather system. People forget the sheer terror of having hurricanes and tornadoes blindside communities without warning. Even flash floods and straight line winds were catastrophic. For example, the 1900 hurricane in Galveston, Texas killed between 8,000 and 12,000 people.

Then there were the barbaric and sometimes ridiculous medical practices of the time. And the widespread use of toxic materials like lead, asbestos, and mercury. There's no way I'd want to go back to that crap, especially not permanently.

originally posted by: enlightenedservant

originally posted by: JoshuaCox

originally posted by: Atsbhct
a reply to: Gothmog

Hey man, your circus, your monkey in regard to your signature.

By what metric is society in decline?

Well, I'm mean life spans have increased, violent crime is constantly dropping, instant global communication, instant global travel, smart phones, computers, abolished slavery/segregation, and quite a few other undeniable improvements...


However, I would trade them all if gays couldn't get married....

Lol sarcasm...gotta love when people roll out the "good ole days myth."

Don't forget other improvements like having a national weather system. People forget the sheer terror of having hurricanes and tornadoes blindside communities without warning. Even flash floods and straight line winds were catastrophic. For example, the 1900 hurricane in Galveston, Texas killed between 8,000 and 12,000 people.

Then there were the barbaric and sometimes ridiculous medical practices of the time. And the widespread use of toxic materials like lead, asbestos, and mercury. There's no way I'd want to go back to that crap, especially not permanently.

Yup, by every measure except the Christian bigotries and the war on drugs maybe,the woe world has only improved.

a reply to: JoshuaCox
You remind me of the scene with George at 23:55 in the video below (couldn't find a shorter version of just that scene):

It was also pretty predictable some bible critic was going to do that after what I said and the way I phrased it (when typing it I thought about whether I should try rephrasing it to prevent it, but I guess it wouldn't have mattered much).

Its good to see that in the U.S. the majority believes in God and this is a good thing. Here at ATS you would think it was the other way around, which it isn't.

a reply to: DeathSlayer

ATS is, in general, a conspiracy website. From my obersvations, people who enjoy conspiracys are the type that are open-minded, curious and questioning.

The bible is not open-minded, curious or questioning. It's absolute dogma. Therefor, it's easy to see why there is a lot of atheists, skeptics, or non-beievers that criticize the bible on ATS.

As someone who often critizes christianity or other religions on ATS, I can say that it has nothing to do with hate. It's not about hate against this religion or that.

I just find christianity, and many other theologys absollutely absurd. I think many theological beliefs are programmed into us at young ages, and then we accept them as adults.

Anyway, most people are not conspiracy theorists, atheists, or skeptics. Luckily there are websites, like ATS, that welcome open-minded discussion and questioning things like "God".

a reply to: DeathSlayer

Also, I get the impression that you avoid logic and reasoning by calling non-believers hateful and bitter. Thats not an insult. Thats just the tactic that iv'e been faced with many believers, and I'm seeing the same pattern in your post.

LOL I look forward to your next thread DS sourcing the KKK research societies survey on the increase number of Nazis living in America.

DS your threads show nothing but hared for Atheist or Pagans or anyone different to yourself.
You claim these people are hateful, but it is simply a projection of your own behavior and thoughts, YOU are the hateful person here.

It really is terrible to read what you post, it hurts my heart to see someone so angry post vitriol towards cultures or beliefs just because they are different to you.
You are the most opposite behavior to the Christianity my parents taught me.

a reply to: Atsbhct

The research found the reasons included a decline in the number of Americans who believe the Bible is sacred literature from 86% in 2011 to 80% in 2016.

It is no wonder the numbers have declined. If you realize the number of what has been allowed to live in the united states and who allowed them to live here then were lucky that it's only 6%. The decline is during whose watch?

originally posted by: blueman12

Its good to see that in the U.S. the majority believes in God and this is a good thing. Here at ATS you would think it was the other way around, which it isn't.

a reply to: DeathSlayer

ATS is, in general, a conspiracy website. From my obersvations, people who enjoy conspiracys are the type that are open-minded, curious and questioning.

The bible is not open-minded, curious or questioning. It's absolute dogma. Therefor, it's easy to see why there is a lot of atheists, skeptics, or non-beievers that criticize the bible on ATS.

As someone who often critizes christianity or other religions on ATS, I can say that it has nothing to do with hate. It's not about hate against this religion or that.

I just find christianity, and many other theologys absollutely absurd. I think many theological beliefs are programmed into us at young ages, and then we accept them as adults.

Anyway, most people are not conspiracy theorists, atheists, or skeptics. Luckily there are websites, like ATS, that welcome open-minded discussion and questioning things like "God".

You know bluman you couldn't be any more wrong if you had planned to be
The bible is open to question and understanding, be it theology, trinitarianism, dogma, basic understanding. God has given every human a capacity to reason with thought
You blindly infer that Christians don't have choices just dogma.

Surely, surely you are smart enough to see the different branches of christianity, the different theologies, surely?

Hate, you yourself are guilty of it, I have no doubt the end of religion would give you and many here a caus to celebrate, hate unto death, death being the only outcome for many here abouts to religion, over and over again I see it stated and implied. That's a common atheist dogma, hate and destruction of religion, mantra of atheistic faith, "we are right and you are wrong and will be destroyed"

God doesn't deny christians the right to question, never.
Many lazy and ignorant people suggest that God denies questions, to blunt the difficult questions Christians have towards God, His response is often to just have faith
We wouldn't be called to have faith if we didn't question.
Do you see how silly your reasoning becomes.
Lots of questions, few solid answers, but you miss that in your arrogance
You are smarter than us silly believers arnt you?

so YES I am allowed and encouraged to question God, it's people like yourself who thinks they understand christianity who think otherwise at our detriment

Why I reply, so christians don't think that what they read in your words holds any truth, no truth at all

We Humans are free to question God, all the way back to the Old Testament

Sorry, you got it really wrong

a reply to: Raggedyman

God has given every human a capacity to reason with thought

Yet, God created human beings that will think God and Religion is illogical.

That's a common atheist dogma, hate and destruction of religion, mantra of atheistic faith, "we are right and you are wrong and will be destroyed"

From my observations, most athiests do not hate religion. They think it is nonsense. They don't all want to destroy religion and make sure everybody knows that existance is without a God being. The general thing that brings atheists together is the disbelief in religion or God.

We wouldn't be called to have faith if we didn't question. Do you see how silly your reasoning becomes.

Yes, I'm sure God allows questioning. Yet, if your questioning ends up leading to non-religion, a differnt religion or anything but faith in the lord, you're going to hell.

In other words, questioning is futile. You don't have free will if one's logic can lead them to hell.

I could go on and on, but you seem very bias in this debate. Like most christians, you are probably unable to think in another person's perspective and logic.

originally posted by: JoshuaCox

originally posted by: enlightenedservant

originally posted by: JoshuaCox

originally posted by: Atsbhct
a reply to: Gothmog

Hey man, your circus, your monkey in regard to your signature.

By what metric is society in decline?

Well, I'm mean life spans have increased, violent crime is constantly dropping, instant global communication, instant global travel, smart phones, computers, abolished slavery/segregation, and quite a few other undeniable improvements...


However, I would trade them all if gays couldn't get married....

Lol sarcasm...gotta love when people roll out the "good ole days myth."

Don't forget other improvements like having a national weather system. People forget the sheer terror of having hurricanes and tornadoes blindside communities without warning. Even flash floods and straight line winds were catastrophic. For example, the 1900 hurricane in Galveston, Texas killed between 8,000 and 12,000 people.

Then there were the barbaric and sometimes ridiculous medical practices of the time. And the widespread use of toxic materials like lead, asbestos, and mercury. There's no way I'd want to go back to that crap, especially not permanently.

Yup, by every measure except the Christian bigotries and the war on drugs maybe,the woe world has only improved.

To be fair, bigotry exists in every demographic and on every continent. But even that is much lower than it was even just a century ago (look at the genocides committed in the different European colonies during Imperialism, for example).

Also, the "War on Drugs" sucks incredibly. But make no mistake, other civilizations have had even worse anti-drug policies before. For example, China used to have a death penalty for drug possession before the Opium Wars w/the West (early and mid 1800s). In fact, China still has the death penalty for drug trafficking (as do at least 20 other countries). And Singapore has mandatory death penalties for incredibly small amounts of drug possessions.

originally posted by: enlightenedservant

originally posted by: JoshuaCox

originally posted by: enlightenedservant

originally posted by: JoshuaCox

originally posted by: Atsbhct
a reply to: Gothmog

Hey man, your circus, your monkey in regard to your signature.

By what metric is society in decline?

Well, I'm mean life spans have increased, violent crime is constantly dropping, instant global communication, instant global travel, smart phones, computers, abolished slavery/segregation, and quite a few other undeniable improvements...


However, I would trade them all if gays couldn't get married....

Lol sarcasm...gotta love when people roll out the "good ole days myth."

Don't forget other improvements like having a national weather system. People forget the sheer terror of having hurricanes and tornadoes blindside communities without warning. Even flash floods and straight line winds were catastrophic. For example, the 1900 hurricane in Galveston, Texas killed between 8,000 and 12,000 people.

Then there were the barbaric and sometimes ridiculous medical practices of the time. And the widespread use of toxic materials like lead, asbestos, and mercury. There's no way I'd want to go back to that crap, especially not permanently.

Yup, by every measure except the Christian bigotries and the war on drugs maybe,the woe world has only improved.

To be fair, bigotry exists in every demographic and on every continent. But even that is much lower than it was even just a century ago (look at the genocides committed in the different European colonies during Imperialism, for example).

Also, the "War on Drugs" sucks incredibly. But make no mistake, other civilizations have had even worse anti-drug policies before. For example, China used to have a death penalty for drug possession before the Opium Wars w/the West (early and mid 1800s). In fact, China still has the death penalty for drug trafficking (as do at least 20 other countries). And Singapore has mandatory death penalties for incredibly small amounts of drug possessions.

No I was being sarcastic(?).


Saying that gay marriage, divorce, bastards, abortion and all the other things Christian conservatives think are evil , have changed.


Not that those things are actually negatives, nor do they trump the atrocities of the past.

So much list in text :p