Atheism Test

Originally posted by Lana
This is something I've always honestly wondered about myself - why are the gods of ancient religions passed off as myths but the Christian god (and the gods of other modern religions) is taken as real by many people? What makes them better or more credible?

It's all a matter of shelf life with these religions. Thousands of years ago, the ancient Greeks might have looked at, say, ancient Egyptian beliefs and regarded them as mythology while they go to worship services of Helios or Apollo. Christians, as a matter of fact, do the very same thing. They look at the ancient religions and stories/myths of Greece and Rome and call it mythology, while they go to sunday worship and praise their god. Modern religion is the endtrail of modern mythology. I'm sure that, in time, Christianity will be regarded as mythology a few thousand years down the road.

And since no significant new religions have been created in the past millenia and a half. I have a feeling once these go, thats it.

Originally posted by Imperial_Samura
Uh... what is wrong with them having animal heads?

Hey, if YOU wanna bow down to something with an animal head, then be my guest, pal.

Originally posted by Imperial_Samura
Numbers don't validate something.

I never said they did. However it effects World opinion and how people discuss the religions.

Originally posted by Imperial_Samura
In there heydays the Pagan religions had huge numbers to.

I really can't think of any pagan faiths that have had over 2 billion adherents.

Originally posted by Alliance
And since no significant new religions have been created in the past millenia and a half. I have a feeling once these go, thats it.

You wouldn't consider Pagans/Wiccans a significant religion?

It's not.

But considering how much in the last century that it has emerged, would you say that Wicca and Paganism have the potential to become one?

Pagan simply means not-Judeo-Christian iirc.

Hinduism has around a billion adherents.

Pagan can mean that, yes, but Hinduism is hardly categorized in such a class, IMO.

Paganism (from Latin paganus, meaning "a country dweller" or "civilian"😉 is a blanket term which has come to connote a broad set of western spiritual or religious beliefs and practices of natural or polytheistic religions, as opposed to the Abrahamic monotheistic religions. "Pagan" is the usual translation of the Islamic term mushrik, which refers to 'one who worships something other than The God of Abraham'. Ethnologists do not use the term for these beliefs, which are not necessarily compatible with each other: more useful categories are shamanism, polytheism or animism. Often, the term has pejorative connotations, comparable to heathen, infidel and kafir in Islam.

I think that it's an unfair categorization, if you ask me.

Umm...I believe paganism is on the list. And no, I don't think Wiccanism has made a global impact.

Originally posted by Impediment
You wouldn't consider Pagans/Wiccans a significant religion?

Well, that aren't strictly "new" but rather reimaginings of older religions. But pagan is on the list.

Hey, if YOU wanna bow down to something with an animal head, then be my guest, pal.

I honestly don't see what the problem is with it. I actually like the symbolism of such things. And then there are those who worship gods that look completly like animals.

I really can't think of any pagan faiths that have had over 2 billion adherents.

A limit that only existed due to the fact there wouldn't have been two billion people in the world probably. But they were major in there day, just as Islam and the like are major in this day.

Just like I say to JIA, just because there are a lot of Bibles in the world doesn't make the Bibles claims true.

No, Wica isn't the official religion of any country and shows no signs of becoming anything in the neigborhood of Christianity or Islam.

Its practiced by a few followers who dress up, light candles and dance in the woods at midnight.

Originally posted by Quiero Mota
Its practiced by a few followers who dress up, light candles and dance in the woods at midnight.

Huh. Sounds like most Christians. Sitting on poles, cutting themselves, wearing rags, and singing. Not to mention lighting candles.

Polytheism makes a lot more sense when you think about it. Delegation of specific tasks and sharing of responsibilities etc. Much more plausible.

Originally posted by Quiero Mota
No, Wica isn't the official religion of any country and shows no signs of becoming anything in the neigborhood of Christianity or Islam.

Its practiced by a few followers who dress up, light candles and dance in the woods at midnight.

You say that as if it is a bad thing that doesn't deserve respect.

Originally posted by Alliance
Huh. Sounds like most Christians.

Um, no not really.

You're confusing Christianity for something else, ese

Originally posted by Imperial_Samura
You say that as if it is a bad thing that doesn't deserve respect.

How did I imply that its a bad thing?

I basically described Wica accurately.

The term pagan is from Latin paganus, an adjective originally meaning "rural", "rustic" or "of the country." As a noun, paganus was used to mean "country dweller, villager."

Originally posted by Quiero Mota
Um, no not really.

You're confusing Christianity for something else, ese

Actually everything he mentioned are things Christians have done at some point.

[b]How did I imply that its a bad thing?

I basically described Wica accurately[b/]

Well you were quite light on facts "Its practiced by a few followers who dress up, light candles and dance in the woods at midnight."

Wicca is much more then that. It would be the same if I said "Christianity is practiced by a lot of followers who sit around, worship dead man, drink wine, light candles and have stange ideas" - I wouldn't be giving much credit, now would I?

Originally posted by Alliance
2.1 Billion Christianity
1.3 Billion Islam
1.1 Billion Atheism/Agnosticism
0.9 Billion Hinduism
0.7 Billion Buddhism
0.4 Billion Chinese Traditional
0.3 Billion Pagan
0.1 Billion African Traditional
Nothing more even close.

So, I don't see any correlation.

?? That is more people then there is in the world. That adds up to 6.9 Billion. I could be wrong, but I thought there was 6.5 billion people on the planet.

Originally posted by Shakyamunison
?? That is more people then there is in the world. That adds up to 6.9 Billion. I could be wrong, but I thought there was 6.5 billion people on the planet.

The figures are probably rounded up.