Comments by Spartan88

Comment #68962 by Spartan88 on September 9, 2007 at 9:36 am

"God-denier"? Why do I have the impression that this sounds just a little nastier than "atheist"?

"God-denier" makes me think of other times when someone could be said to be a "denier". All that came to mind initially was "Holocaust-denier". Thinking of the second made the first seem worse by association. Perhaps it's a word association game.

I tapped "denier" into google to see what other deniers it might bring up and found mention of "Climate-change deniers". I'd heard of "Climate-change skeptics" but I guess that can sound like a relatively reasonable position, at least until the evidence is overwhelming. A "denier", however, sounds like someone who has seen the overwhelming evidence but flat-out refuses to accept it. A bit like the "Creationists", i mean "Evolution-deniers".

2. PZ Myers sued for a negative review in a blog post

Comment #64659 by Spartan88 on August 21, 2007 at 7:06 am

As the judge was intending to wear the suit for work I think the newspaper headline should have read,

"Judge files lawsuit over lost law suit"

3. The Out Campaign

Comment #60350 by Spartan88 on August 1, 2007 at 4:34 pm

BillySands RE : Scottish Christian Party

Their policies actually look quite appealing, well at least if you are either a recording artist or a sand eel.

4. The Flea Circus Invites a Newcomer!

Comment #60254 by Spartan88 on August 1, 2007 at 11:49 am

The Wee Flea

..my own book sold out within four weeks of going on sale.

You should have stretched the print run to Two Copies!

5. OUT Campaign Launched, 'Scarlet Letter' Shirts Now Available!

Comment #59800 by Spartan88 on July 30, 2007 at 5:15 pm

Comment #59755 by Henri Bergson

If you think those stats are purely representative, you then believe that a substantial proportion of Britons actually follow the Jedi Knight religion.

No I do not believe the stats are purely representative. A very small proportion of people responded as Jedi Knight. I notice now that these were added to the "No Religion" count. The Jedi Knight response was quite obviously a joke, most likely made by the Non-Religious.

The important stat is church attendance, not self-labeling.

Like I said, the census is an important record upon which decisions can be based. I also questioned whether this was "self-labeling" or an imposed label which had stuck.

Obviously most respondents wrote the religion that they were baptised as (without realising the consequences), so your objection is irrelevant (as you actually concede Spartan).

If there are consequences to writing the religion you are brought up in without any more thought than that, then the objection is not irrelevant. I didn't concede that my point was irrelevant

I asked why, if these responders are not Christian, as you suggest they are not, did they tick the box "Christian". Maybe they were baptised as a baby and then never thought about it again.

This is possibly something the OUT Campaign can help clear up. Maybe people can be made/helped to think about their religion or lack of in a more informed environment. Maybe then the next UK Census (2011) will be more representative.

Bonzai,

You say you would put yourself as an Atheist but say that you are "Officially" a Catholic. I am an Atheist but through my baptism might be "Officially" a Protestant. In some places, at some times, that might well have made us enemies!

6. OUT Campaign Launched, 'Scarlet Letter' Shirts Now Available!

Comment #59717 by Spartan88 on July 30, 2007 at 11:37 am

Henri Bergson,

These figures are from the 2001 census. My own response as I remember was "No Religion" despite the fact that I WAS baptised as a baby.

The Census information is incredibly important as it informs many decisions by government as to the provision of services for the population. Someone defending the position of Bishops in the House of Lords, for example, might use these statistics as part of their argument. If you are not a Christian but refer to yourself as Christian you give support to those who refer to the UK as a "Christian Nation" or having a "Christian Foundation" or any argument for the position of Christianity in society.

If people are referring to themselves as Christian simply because they were baptised as a baby it suggests that to label a child as being of a particular religion is to label them for life.

Either they really are Christians or they are non-Christians who for some reason cannot cast off the religious label. If they cannot/will-not cast off the label: WHY?

7. OUT Campaign Launched, 'Scarlet Letter' Shirts Now Available!

Comment #59706 by Spartan88 on July 30, 2007 at 10:19 am

Comment #59692 by Henri Bergson

In northern Europe atheism is default.

In the UK(in 2001) 71.6% of people described themselves as Christians and 76.8% as belonging to a religion. Only 15.5% described themselves as having "No Religion". Atheism certainly doesn't look to be the default position in the UK.

Source: National Statistics website: www.statistics.gov.uk