Comment by Robert Karp on May 31, 2011 at 8:42am

Great response Katie, although I would've left out the whole unicorn thing. Not sure that was ever a viable theory on mammalian evolution ;- )

Comment by InfinityImpetus on June 3, 2011 at 12:12pm

Studies have shown that people who go to Church and believe in God live longer and are said to be "happier" and "healthier".  Maybe Church could be a positive influence on you. 

Science claimed that world was flat and the sun revolved around it.  Those ideas/theories evolved just as religion, science, and people. What does that have to do with going to Church with your family? You have better things to watch on television? 

I think you need to realize that being an "atheist" is more than not going to Church and that Church is more than just going.  Hopefully, your Grandfather continues to ask/pester you.     

Oh, and unicorns exist (in the mind).

Comment by Steve on June 3, 2011 at 12:27pm

Religious people are happier in the sense that a drunken person is happier than a sober one

Comment by InfinityImpetus on June 3, 2011 at 1:01pm

Steve, good one. I don't agree and you are obviously entiltled to think - but you should probably try doing alittle more of it (thinking) before posting unsubstantial rhetoric.  You sound like you are happier with a superiority complex.

Comment by AntiChristianLeague on June 3, 2011 at 1:16pm

"Billions of people can't be wrong!" Argumentum ad populum! I LOVE logical fallacies!

Comment by Nelson on June 3, 2011 at 2:43pm

Studies have shown that people who go to Church and believe in God live longer and are said to be "happier" and "healthier".  Maybe Church could be a positive influence on you.

don't mischaracterize and/or overstate what those studies tell us (assuming you're not just ignorant of what they tell us).

research shows that what's going on is that people are happier when they have a sense of belong to a community of like-minded others. it's the sense of belonging that makes people happier. it doesn't matter that it's belonging to a faith community or not. it just so happens that what was studied was people that belong to a faith community. it just so happens that faith communities are some of the largest and strongest communities.

and sometimes when the studies are done with an eye to other factors the happiness effect disappears or is so small that you can do other way more significant things to make you happier and healthier.

more research shows that this happiness effect only works when the majority of people in the country believe as an individual does. there's no reason to think that if a Christian goes to church in Saudi Arabia they experience the happiness effect. this of course is just what we would expect in light of the previously mentioned research.

and then there's research that shows that the happiness effect is very much localized to specific groups within the greater population making it seem questionable whether or not the effect is from going to church or something else either entirely different or related.

but the biggest problem for your argument on the basis of this happiness effect is that research also shows that the least religious societies are those that are the healthiest according to any number of indicators (cf. United Nations HDR 2005 as referenced in Harris 2006)

so... yeah. would be nice if all it took to be happy was to go to church but arguing that someone should go to church because it will make them happy is, though not as wholly unevidenced as the existence of gods, still pretty flimsy.

Comment by Ida Claire on June 3, 2011 at 10:36pm

@ InfinetlyImpetus

Actually, it sounds like you are the one with a superiority complex.

And science claimed the Earth was flat and the sun revolved around the earth at a point in time when religion controlled science and government.  What was that called again.... OH YEAH. The Dark Ages.

We don't have better things to watch on television, but we do have our bodies to recharge, other people to help, and families to nurture and spend time with.  Minus the fairy tales and empty threats.

And unicorns exist in the same way that a deity does- in the mind.

Insubstantial rhetoric?  I think not.

Comment by Kairan Nierde on June 4, 2011 at 2:55am

Thank you Ida, Nelson.  And way to give your Gramps something to think about, Katie!

Comment by Jason on June 4, 2011 at 6:38am

50 million Frenchmen cannot be wrong

Comment by choSenfroZen on June 4, 2011 at 6:39am

I wish I had said something like that 45 years ago, would have saved a lot of trouble.

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