Religious Activity Does Not Lower Blood Pressure.

Lol a guy I work with is one of the most uptight bible humping mormans youl meet and this guy has had several panic attacks at work all ready, and probaly one random bikini top wearing girl walking in the front door away from a huge brain annorism <sp>. so yea if anything it probaly causes more stress than anything. People just need to relax and enjoy them selves and life

So true moon!!

I can understand that some people may have had experiences in their life that put them off when it comes to religion... The thing is it's shortsighted to lump everyone, even in the same belief structure, let alone anyone who practices some sort of religion throughout the world and place that same connotation on them as well... It amazes me how many people on these boards openly attack and put down anyone that associates themselves with a religion... Also it seems like some look for ways and "studies" if you could actually call this one... to just put it down even more or try to prove that its not a good or smart thing....

I've met quite a few people in my life and many of them have had different beliefs in life. Some I've disagreed with others not so much but most if not all of them were not stupid/crazy/etc. A lot are just normal every day people that choose to believe there is something more than we can explain...

Anyways I could go on about this for awhile but I guess my point is that it seems like some of the people here actually understand very little about religion or more importantly anyone who practices/believes/etc... It seems like people pick up on any bad thing and push only that and then generalize for anyone involved... You can really do that about anything if you want to...

Edit: I don't get people's need to put others down.

I agree completely.

The amount of atheists who discriminate against freedom of thought is boggling and ironic to me.

A discussion about Atheism, or quoting studies against religion doesn't necessarily mean an attack on people who consider themselves religious. Debate about topics are fine, and there always will be some idiots saying things to get a rise. But to claim that all people who support atheism on these forums is doing it to be a jerk is a little unfair.

I suppose it's simply because freedom of thought is difficult to respect when it is brought to such a confining nature.
You believe in God, and that's cool but... Why?
I have yet to see a Christian of sorts that has their own "freelance" form of faith so to speak. More often than not it's the orthodox, by the book, strict-as-hell and condescending of other creeds/race/sex/etc.
Perhaps it's because the jerky types are the most outspoken.
Is it self-consciousness that keeps the chill religious folks so quiet? I know I'd keep my trap shut if a group of crazies portrayed as a majority of what I follow gave it a bad name.

It was more just a general response to the current discussion. I think I started typing before you posted.

I don't have a problem defending either side, there are pro's and con's to being religious. If either side is going to stonewall the other then you really should at least try to understand what is going on. It's fine to end up respectfully disagreeing, you don't have to win an internet debate lol

People like Jeta, Refreshtwo and Elana who consistently preach freedom of thought and then condemn it when it's not something they believe in particularly.

I was always under the assumption before I joined AH that atheists were happy in non belief, but the fact that they push their thoughts on people here really confuses me as to why.

Why do you feel the need to respect or question it?

No-one is forcing anything onto you and I've never understood why people feel the need to immediately defend a belief system.

Because by attacking their belief system you are attacking them. They have subscribed to that belief and made it their truth, by attacking their truth, you are attacking them..

Defenses immediately come up when you attack most anyone, it's no different when it comes to a philosophical debate.

Just as there are philosophical reasons to believe that the world is a better place with a divine entity, there are philosophical reasons to believe that it is not.

I don't know if the goal here is to improve the world by winning one more over to their side.

I have heard atheist's feel threatened by being the minority and therefore try and to defend their position fiercely. I don't know how much merit there is to the argument but it might explain some of the hostility.

Why wouldn't I feel the need to question?
To have an urge for knowledge is often mistaken for provoking attacks against another's belief system.
From a scholarly point of view, it's as interesting to understand why others feel the need to believe in something supernatural as for those who feel it is unnecessary.

You could imagine it being frustrating when you ask "why?" and the response given is either "Why not?" or kept shrouded in secrecy, for personal reasons or otherwise.

Well I don't get it.

I'm happy in my belief system and I doubt I'll ever feel the need to push my thoughts onto someone else.

Do I find overly zealous Christians a little OTT?

Yes, sure do.

Do I find overly zealous Atheists OTT?

Yes, sure do.


And don't say I don't understand how hard it is to be in a Christian family, my grandad and cousin are priests, I've been immersed in Christian ideals for a long time, even though I'm not one myself.

Prove you're better than a pushy Christian by allowing freedom of thought.

Perhaps a desire for knowledge and understanding is often misunderstood as an attempt to attack, alienate or otherwise discredit something other than your own.
Though it is understandable, as a belief system, regardless of how simple or complex, is extremely personal. However, I would like to think people would be more open and intellectually open about where they stand and explain it to others in a manner that is respectful.

My uncle Chris (whom I was named after) was very eccentric and scholarly. Everything fascinated him and he always wanted to learn more and philosophize with it. During this time, he out of a desire for knowledge signed up for a communist newsletter during the early 70s, and subsequently became a targeted enemy of the nation in Nixon's little black book. Does wanting to learn about a contrasting political/government system make you a bad person? Does being a communist make you a bad person? Too many things are simply misunderstood and misinterpreted when motives couldn't be any more simple.

Nothing short of rape and murder makes you a bad person.

I think intellectual freedom is a little more lenient in the U.S. today. I'm sorry to hear your uncle had trouble just because he wanted to do some learning. I'd like to think as a society we've moved passed the era of McCarthy witch hunts.

Eh it wasn't anything serious. Just amusing really.
Similar to the story of my Aunt (successfully) enlisting me into the NRA at age 2. I even had my own card mailed to me apparently.
She obviously did it for the lulz and to show how *** up such an organization is for accepting a two year old lol.

What I wanna know is, who the **** EVER thought religion lowered blood pressure?

Spirituality and meditation have been shown to do so.

I wouldn't count on it, witch hunts are still popular.