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Added a section to: "The European Union: Democratic Values, The Euro, Crises and Migration" by Vexen Crabtree (2007) on religion.
46% of European people attach no important to religion, according to a survey of 30,000 people in 27 EU member countries.
11.1. Belief in God
On average throughout the 27 EU countries, only half of its people believe in God. There is much variation from country to country. Only 16% of the populace of Estonia belief in God, but 95% do in Malta. Scandinavian countries are highly atheist. Two main social groups are particularly prone to belief in God; those over 55 years old and those whose education did not proceed beyond the 15-year-old stage. Finally, females are more likely to believe in God than males.
11.2. The Waning of Religion in a Modern Continent
Life without religion has become the norm for most Europeans. About 30% of the population state that they don't believe in God, but still put down an official religion on paper. This is a common trend amongst secularising peoples, as people forget what religion is about. The bigger the religious institution, the quicker it is likely to be shrinking. This has caused structures such as the Anglican Communion to topple as African Bishops, representing African churches that are growing in size and making money, prise the union apart as the weakening West loses its ability to promote its own (slightly) more tolerant version of Christianity.
“When asked what values they "cherish above all", respondents overwhelmingly chose "peace" (52%), "respect for human life" came second (43%). Democracy got 24%. Way down at the bottom – 11th out of 11 – was "religion" with a meagre 7%.” [National Secular Society]
My collection of statistics on the UK highlight the loss of power and influence of religious ideas in Britain. Less than half of the British people believe in God, and two thirds have no connection to religion. "Between 1979 and 2005, half of all Christians stopped going to church on a Sunday".
11.5. European Law and Values on Religion
Of the Union's 27 states, according to Wikipedia, only five have an official state religion. Cyprus (Cypriot Orthodox Church), Denmark (Danish National Church), Greece (Church of Greece), Malta (Roman Catholic Church) and England (Church of England). Some states have close relationships with various religious bodies that are not enshrined in law.
European Law institutionalizes equality and religious freedom. This means that religions are not free to discriminate against each other; anti-discrimination laws mean that employers are sometimes forced to accommodate a persons' religious beliefs as long as it is practical to do so (this is especially the case in some countries such as the UK), and in others many private and local agreements allow some religious people special privileges at work. But the overall attitude is that, due to the multiple religions that make up the European Union, Law cannot impose religious rules. The ethos that brings most tolerance and equality, therefore, is strict secularism. This goes to its extreme in countries like France, where, according to the EU Monitoring Center, "religion is very rarely taken into consideration within companies' diversity initiatives and the majority of the population would seem to adhere to the idea that religion belongs to the private sphere of life".
When it comes to religion, the following values and customs are pertinent to keep in mind, in Europe:
- Religion is a private affair, and a personal choice.
- There is no compulsion in religion under law.
- People have a freedom to change their beliefs (to convert) whenever they want.
- Western culture is critical and skeptical, and religious ideas are frequently questioned and challenged.
- Freedom of speech overrides religious sensibilities about blasphemy.
- People attempt to accommodate religious practices were practical. This is enshrined in European law.
There are secularising trends towards some of the following areas of tolerance, in a multi-faith Europe:
- State buildings and events should not support any particular religion.
- Public events, especially more important ones, should avoid emphasis on any particular religion.
- Religious education in schools should be optional.
- Religious theories should not be taught in schools as fact, not even by faith schools.
These values ensure that official culture does not indirectly discriminate against anyone by enforcing one brand of faith over another, and ensures people are free to pursue their own religions at will, but, not at the expense of other people's freedoms. Tags: europe, god, religion, secularisation
Current Location: Monchengladbach, Germany
Listening To: "The Funeral of Hearts" by HIM
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As Jewish Christianity began to develop its own character, Jesus was no longer considered to be just a man. He had a special relationship with god, and was perhaps conceived of by God before anything was created. But he was not an eternal man nor a god. My page on Arianism continues: “Arianism describes the pre-trinitarian doctrine of a holy, but not a godly, Jesus. It is not always adoptionism and not always monotheistic, either. It was defined by a negative principal (that logically Jesus can't be God and still suffer on the cross). If Jesus was God (i.e., perfect), Arians realized, what chance would any Human have of imitating him? Although Arian-sounding theologies existed from the second century onwards, it only became a wide point of contention after the third century. In the third century Origen of Alexandria, the greatest theologian of his time, had declared that the Father was Greater than the Son. This principal was later named after its principal proponent and most articulate defender, Arius (256-336 CE). It was opposed by Athanasius, who became a Nicene Christian from 325 CE. In the Roman Empire, Arian Christianity was supplanted by intolerant Nicene Christianity by the 5th century, but remained the most popular form of Christianity amongst the tribes surrounding the empire, until the 8th century. [...] The eventual victory of the Cappadocian Nicene faith from 380 CE meant that as the Empire collapsed, the Christianity that was left behind was the dark, violent, centralized type that did not tolerate dissent. By the late fourth century, a recognizable Roman Catholic Church had emerged. The doctrine of the Trinity had been created, and the vengeful violence of Nicene Christianity was in full, open, bloody view. Anti-semitism was given its official sanction. The edited Nicene Creed was the only form of belief that was to be tolerated. Inquisitors began reviewing religious beliefs, condemning victims to imprisonment, torture and public execution for failing to believe the right things. This state of affairs persisted and plunged Christian societies into a 1000-year long dark ages. If the Arians had survived the onslaught and been the religion that the Empire left behind, we would have been left with a Christianity that would have left a glowing legacy of Jesus. Instead, the Nicene's violence and intolerance won out, and the 'ages of faith' that resulted darkened humanity from the fifth until the fifteenth century. ”"Arian Christianity" by Vexen Crabtree (2008) Tags: christianity, god, history, jesus, religion
Current Location: Afghanistan
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"The Divine Number 12: 12 Gods, 12 Disciples, 12 Tribes and the Zodiac" by Vexen Crabtree (2007)):
The conclusion reads (briefly; many interesting tid-bits are iterated through first!):
When you see the number twelve, watch out. If the number is employed in a practical sense to divide time, measurements, or angles, then the chances are it makes awesome mathematical sense to utilize such a factorable number as the number twelve. But if you see it used in a superstitious, religious, magical, paranormal, holy or weird way, be warned that it is based on ancient sun-worship, star warship, and ridiculous astrology. As a species we have been using it to divide the solar realm into twelve divisions, assuming that each one is ruled by a personification, a god, a divine being, a teacher, a prophet or a son of the sun. Now we understand what stars, planets and stellar objects are, it makes no sense to retain the mystical, nonsensical connotations of the 'holy', 'perfect', 'divine' or 'special' number 12. Such superstitions have made their way into major religions; there are 12 tribes of Israel as founded by the 12 sons of Jacob, the 12 disciples of Mithras and Christ, the 12 Gods of Olympus and according to Shi'a Muslims, 12 successors to Muhammad. The number 12 is useful because we use a base 10 numbering system (using 10 digits: 0123456789). It makes no sense to say that Gods would use a base 10 numbering system: Therefore gods would not divide the skies, their sons, their chosen ones or the message into twelve parts just because we have ten fingers! So applaud the usefulness of number 12... but watch out for those who are deluded by the pagan, irrational, magical and nonsensical claims made about it! It is, after all, only a number. Tags: 12, astrology, disciples, god, gods, israel, jacob, mathematics, olympus, religion, superstition, tribes
Current Location: Mönchengladbach, Germany
Listening To: Wumpscut's "Totmacher" by Haujobb
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New Page: "The Four Dimensions and the Immutability of God" by Vexen Crabtree (2007) - Two, Three and Four Dimensional Objects
- Existing Outside of Time
- The Immutability of God
I haven't got access to any of my physics books (like John Gribbon's books) that no doubt have some commentary on issues like these... so for now this page is merely a bit of a rant. Tags: 2d, 3d, 4d, dimensions, eternity, everlasting, fourth dimension, god, omniscience, philosophy, physics, theology, time
Current Location: Starbucks, Hammersmith, London, UK
Current Mood:  tired
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"What Causes Religion and Superstitions?" by Vexen Crabtree (2007) Tags: belief, beliefs, experiences, faith, fantasy, god, illusion, irrationality, myth, religion, science, sociology, supernaturalism, theology
Current Location: Germany
Current Mood:  happy
Listening To: "Aiges Mortes" by Ataraxia
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"Religion and Intelligence" by Vexen Crabtree (2007) Tags: anti-religion, astronomy, belief, biology, education, god, intelligence, iq, national academy of sciences, nobel prize, physics, religion, royal society, science, scientists, statistics, stupidity, theism
Current Location: Germany
Listening To: "Pushing Me Away" by Linkin Park
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New statistics on belief in God in the UK (and 4 other European countries), which I've added to my page on "Religion in Brtain: Belief in God", resulting in the following table:
| Date | Details | Belief in God |
|---|
| 2006 | 12507 people were polled, finding that only 35% in Great Britain believe in any kind of God or supreme being, compared to 27% in France, 62% in Italy, 48% in Spain, 41% in Germany and 73% in the USA.18 | 35% |
| 2006 | Poll of 4000 older teenagers in Cornwall found that only 22% could affirm that they believed in God, and 49% said they didn't.12 | 22% |
| 2003 | 1001 British adults surveyed9 | 60% inc. those unsure |
| 2003 | 55% of the British public do not believe in a higher being1 | 45% inc. those unsure |
Tags: god, religion, secularisation
Current Location: Germany
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Added the following text on 1 Chronicles 21:1-2 and 2 Samuel 24:1-2 to "The Biblical Christian God is Evil":
As various authors copied copies of the Hebrew Scriptures, changes accumulated in the stories. Sometimes, the same story appears twice. There are even two accounts of the Creation that contradict each other in the details. One such doubled story shows us clearly that the Old Testament God is evil, and Satan itself is not a separate being, but is actually part of God, a face of God. There is one occasion when David took a census of his men in order to count how many could fight in the armies of Israel. 1 Chronicles 21:2 and 2 Samuel 24:2 both contain a copy of the exact same text:
| “So David said to Joab and the commanders of the troops, "Go and count the Israelites from Beersheba to Dan. Then report back to me so that I may know how many there are."” [1 Chronicles 21:2]
| “So the king said to Joab and the army commanders with him, "Go throughout the tribes of Israel from Dan to Beersheba and enroll the fighting men, so that I may know how many there are."” [2 Samuel 24:2] |
What had happened is that God had a rule: That David was not allowed to 'number' Israel. But, for some reason, David went ahead and done so. As a result, God punished them all for breaking his rule. But, it is very telling when we examine the preceding verse: Who inspired David to count Israel's fighting men? | “Satan rose up against Israel and incited David to take a census of Israel” [1 Chronicles 21:1] | “The anger of the LORD burned against Israel, and he incited David against them, saying, "Go and take a census of Israel and Judah."”[2 Samuel 24:1] |
In one copy of the story, we are told Satan told David to do so. In the other, it was God. How can this be? It is because in the Old Testament, Satan and God are the same being. Satan in the old testament is merely the face that God puts on when it is testing it's people. "The anger of the Lord" is Satan. It was common in old religions (Hinduism, Roman religions, etc) for gods to have multiple faces, each associated with different emotions. In the Christian Bible, Satan is God. It is not just the Old Testament that contains such revealing truths, the New Testament tells the same story, God is Evil. Tags: christianity, evil, god, religion, satan
Current Location: Germany
Current Mood:  busy
Listening To: "Dying Freedom" by Paradise Lost
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"God and Pronouns: God has no gender" by Vexen Crabtree (2006) Tags: english, female, feminine, gender, god, male, masculine, philosophy, pronouns, religion, semantics, theology, tradition
Current Location: Germany
Current Mood: busy
Listening To: "Country" by Synthetic
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"God does not need prayer, religious buildings, prophets, evangelists, souls" by Vexen Crabtree (2004). Organized religion is pandering to secular, humanistic needs in a delusional way when it takes on social roles. Tags: god, monotheism, omnipotency, omniscience, prayer, religion
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*excited rarrrr* I haven't had a decent dream for ages!!! So here it is: Arctic ZombiesWe're on an expedition. There is snow and snow dunes in every direction forever. There are occassional trees. To survive, we build a camp by digging a hole a few feet deep and store our stuff and sleep there. It acts as a wind barrier. One day one of us dies with a look of horror on his face. When we came to marking a grave, we couldn't find the body. It unnerved us. We travelled in a snow jeep to a new location and made a new camp. After a few days we realize our dead friend has crawled across the snow, his flesh black and purple, to come get us. He bites one of us. It's like a zombie film, anyone who is bitten or shares blood with one of the dead becomes one of them. We all run away a long way and form a new camp. We keep lookouts and call for help. Help arrives, and they decide to stay to study what is going on. Time and time again we're all forced to flee, as the numbers of the living dead increase around us. Anyone who dies becomes one of them. We decide to retreat to the medical center, the antarctic main base. On the way we are constantly besieged by the restless dead, including a child and a dog. We fight and evade constantly. All of us are eventually overwhelmed, stabbed, bitten or suffocated by the dead. I go the rest of the way alone and get to the station. Inside, there is blood on the walls and only the undead to greet me. I wonder around aimlessly, avoiding them all. In the front reception, a nurse and a tramp and arguing. The tramp attacks me with a drawing pin that he was cutting himself with. I can't hold him off, and he breaks my skin. Then he laughs and staggers away. The nurse shouts at him and tells him to go tidy his room, and they both laugh. There is no-one alive in this station. The last undead are running out of energy and dropping to the floor; now all the living are dead, their job is done. It's getting very quiet. I produce a Christmas card, and as I'm writing it a living friend, Orinoco, is with me. He sniggers at my black humour as I address and finish the simple card: "Dear Hellraiser and God: I hate you From Vexen & everyone" Throughout the dream I had felt that Hellraiser & his subservise pleasures were the cause for the humans losing thier lives. It was only a bit scary... maybe if this heat continues, I'll have some better ones :-) Arctic Zombies (Online) Tags: death, dreams, god, hellraiser, zombies
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