Test your savvy on Religion

http://www.nytimes.com/2010/10/10/opinion/10kristof.html?src=me

 

How ironic:

The New York Times reported recently on a Pew Research Center poll in which religious people turned out to be remarkably uninformed about religion. Almost half of Catholics didn’t understand Communion. Most Protestants didn’t know that Martin Luther started the Reformation. Almost half of Jews didn’t realize Maimonides was Jewish. And atheists were among the best informed about religion.

 

Yaaaay, atheists are awesome! :

 

I'm not awesome. I'm not atheist either. I'm agnostic and I failed.

I read all those questions and I had to ask myself regarding the answers ...who cares?

I think I'm just bitter because I didn't know any of the answers! ;D

 

+1. However, I am definitely atheist in terms of the biblical god and his description.

 

What is the difference between atheist and agnostic?

 

I don't believe in any of the gods Man created,and yes Man created ALL his gods,i.e.Allah,Jesus,Elohim,Pele,etc.Last time I checked the number of imaginary gods there were in the world is approximately 5800,and that was 3 years ago.I'm sure that number would be higher today.Many religions actually believe that their god will return to Earth.I think it was in 1840 when Joseph Smith said,"God is at the door,He's coming",and so here we are 150 years later and the god still hasn't arrived.But yeah,I know,he's coming,LOL.
It's unfortunate that Man cannot create a maggot,yet He creates gods by the dozens.

 

The dictionary states that an atheist denies the existence of god(s).An agnostic believes that the existence of god is unknown or unknowable.
My own definition is that an atheist knows with certainty that god(s) do not exist.An agnostic is a fence sitter,not entirely sure whether god(s) do or don't exist.

 

Thanks for the answer BYB.

 

I think "denies" is too strong - for me it's just an absence of belief.

 

Yeah,I can agree with that.

 

I failed.

They didn't have options for "Question is Misleading" "Taken out of context," "With a qualifier," "None of the above" and "N/A" as answers. I would surmise that 'real' Christians had similar answers to mine.

Most practicing Roman Catholics, in fact all that attend catholic grade school, understand the reason for communion. Not all who claim to be 'catholic' are indeed catholic.

Most Lutherans, in fact all those that have attended Lutheran grade schools, know that Martin Luther is the father of the Reformation. Most Protestants aren't Lutheran.

100% of all pastors, priests and practicing Roman Catholics and Protestants know that Jesus is the Savior of all mankind. 100% of atheists don't believe that, nor do they understand the most basic tenants of the Christian faith. Without that foundation, the bits of data they have accumulated about 'religion' have no real contextual meaning. Therefore this survey, obviously written by those who haven't the foggiest idea about the Christian faith, is invalid.

"New York Times" - hmmmm.

 

You appear to be very much like Sarita in your beliefs. It is no wonder the two of you gravitate toward the same threads.

 

I most definitly believe in God!!!!!!!

 

I am not the Omniscient. I do not possess all the knowledge of the universe, but I do possess the portion that reveals that God exists. So you are mistaken.

 

Thanks! I'll take that as a compliment as she is a smart woman.

I don't think that NY Times quiz is out to prove anything, it's not like you have to "pass" to go to Heaven. Just an interesting pop quiz.

I think your suggestion that 100% of atheists don't understand the most basic tenants (sic) of the Christian faith is an inaccurate and sweeping generalisation. Many atheists were raised Christian or have explored Christianity and understand its tenets perfectly well. Understanding and non belief are not mutually exclusive.

 

You mean non-beliefs,don't you?

 

It’s slanted, therefore meaningless. An unproductive use of time. Much like this thread.

If atheists understood that Jesus IS the Savior of all mankind, they would be believers (have faith in God). Faith and unbelief are mutually exclusive.

 

yes, many of the people who may claim to be catholics, for instance, aren't practicing catholics and are likely to have less awareness than those (of any denomination) who practice their faith

your other assumptions I don't agree with at all--nearly every atheist (or agnostic) with whom I have interacted has a substantial understanding of the tenets of Christianity--my sample is skewed in that most of the people I have discussed this with are educated, and I think this correlates with knowledge of religion whether or not one claims to be a Christian--however, these folks not only don't hold the same beliefs you and other devout Christians do but also they don't "feel" the way you do about it--without the belief and faith, they are likely incapable of feeling that way--that does not in any way validate the notion non believers lack knowledge, just that they see things in a different way

your last line is typical--discredit the source, those liberal Godless shits at the NY Times--the problem is that the NY Times is not the source, the PEW survey is, and they are not a heathen political arm of the atheist movement in America--they conduct good social research and there is no evidence whatsoever they have an agenda--see the thread, Are We Religious--the link I provided months ago is to the comprehensive survey conducted by PEW--most readers of the survey would infer that the answer they provided was a fairly resounding yes, we are a religious country--but instead of that being seen as common ground, the people at this site turned it into a shit storm of controversy, perhaps proving we are not as tolerant as the initial survey I referenced suggests we are

find their research, read what it says, and draw your own conclusions--Americans don't know squat about geography, they have no idea about the distribution of wealth, or how many people live on the planet and how we live better than 98% of them, 60 million think the Christian president is a Muslim, and the National Inquirer still sells millions of copies to people who actually do believe Elvis is still alive and that the government is hiding live aliens in Nevada--why would you think they would know much about religion?

 

barnyardbird,
I don't consider myself a fence sitter. I simply do not know whether there is a supreme being or not. I am open to the idea, just haven't seen anything that would convince me as yet. I would venture to say that no one actually knows whether there is a supreme being or not. They may believe one way or the other, but they don't know.