>> ^smooman:

it would be like invading Italy after WWII........
except Italy didnt enslave its own people, Italy didnt suppress womens civil rights, stoning them to death for adultery, they didnt execute homosexuals, they didnt put to death Italians who didnt agree with or left roman Catholicism (or whatever major religion it was in Italy in that period), and Italy didnt repress higher education.
Ya but besides all that, its totally like invading Italy.....or something


Mussolini(you know, the Italian dictator) INVENTED fascism, he not only wrote a book about it, he wrote THE book. He even used the ideas in seizing power BEFORE Hitler did the same in Germany.

The analogy fails, but not for the reasons you point out. The real question is if we are during or after the war ended, and to point out the allies absolutely DID invade Italy DURING WWII.

it would be like invading Italy after WWII........

except Italy didnt enslave its own people, Italy didnt suppress womens civil rights, stoning them to death for adultery, they didnt execute homosexuals, they didnt put to death Italians who didnt agree with or left roman Catholicism (or whatever major religion it was in Italy in that period), and Italy didnt repress higher education.

Ya but besides all that, its totally like invading Italy.....or something

>> ^Morganth:
It's not a decline of religion (as the title suggests), but rather the middle ground or in-between people. Roman Catholicism and Evangelical Christianity are both on the rise, as well as Atheism.
It means people are becoming more polarized.



It's hard to tell, at least from what I've read from the actual survey. The last time they did this survey they didn't ask people some of the questions they asked in this one so it's difficult to tell how all of the numbers changed.

Does anyone know if the total percentage of people claiming to be religious relative to the total population went up or down? What I read seemed to indicate that it went down, even though certain denominations went up in certain places.

It's not a decline of religion (as the title suggests), but rather the middle ground or in-between people. Roman Catholicism and Evangelical Christianity are both on the rise, as well as Atheism.

It means people are becoming more polarized.

I think I'll weigh in on this because I like philosophical arguments. After reading all of the responses so far, I've decided to answer your original question and ignore the correlaries you've proposed; feel free to ask followups here or in my profile if you want more answers. I have also decided to present my findings in list format to fit my fickle whims.

Why is life sacred to me?

1. I'm Roman Catholic. The fifth commandment is pretty clear: Thou shalt not kill.
2. Each person has their own viewpoint and experiences, and when they are dead all that is not recorded is lost.
3. Death is irreversible. If a conflict ends in death, then those killed have no recourse left in this world.

Why isn't life sacred to me?

1. Various religious, ethnic, and national groups have throughout history sanctioned the death of other humans. Although I note above that Roman Catholicism demands that one not take other lives, during the Crusades they not only sanctioned the death of Arabs, but stated that any faithful who fall in battle during a crusade are immediately absolved and borne up to heaven. Given the varying historical context, there's no reason to believe that our current viewpoints are any more correct.
2. The universe is a vast place, and humans are tiny specks in comparison to all of creation. Even if we make a large impression on the world now, it's almost certain that it will be gone in one million years. Given that scope, any life is worth surprisingly little.
3. Death is a part of nature. Animals kill each other for various reasons, humans kill each other for various reasons, and this has always been the case.

God doesn't agree. Or at least God decided to take him up to heaven early.

Anyone read this total bullsh-t challenge? What kind of coward makes these bold claims of reward to anyone who can answer the questions and then does this:

This is a rough draft. The Challenge will be formally available to everyone the same day i53 releases the first installment of its new reality series "The Great Commission."

Ok, so your contest will never be "official".. bravo.

1. To receive the $5,300, you must answer the question(s) without contradicting yourself.

define "contradict".

6. All responses cost $1.00. This cost is not to generate revenue but rather to curb excessive and superfluous responses.

Ok, nice challenge. Surely they will receive thousands of entries to their bullsh-t challenge. So they aren't even putting up their own money. BUt I agree it is helpful to limit entries especially if people have to read them.

11. Only one $5,300 prize will be allotted. This prize will go to the first individual who can answer the question(s) below without contradicting him or herself.

Ok, again is it first one submitted? First one submitted after the contest becomes "official". What lying cowards.

8. At the top of your response, please state your ultimate epistemological authority... You must be extremely specific when stating your ultimate epistemological authority. That is, you will need to explicitly tell us the one religious text or the one living person that you consider to be ultimately authoritative.

How is this a challenge to atheists or agnostics??? Also, the rules state:

If in your submission, you give ultimate authority to any other living person other than yourself, your submission will be automatically invalidated, and you will lose your $1.00.

So by definition of the contest you must state the ONE religious text you follow. What kind of morons are these? Note that the "Bible" is not in fact one religious text even.

Now the questions immediately invalidate the contest because you cannot answer them all by definition without contradiction. They only apply to different belief systems.

Question 1 & 2
These two questions are for the atheist, postmodernist, or any individual who thinks that man constructs his truth rather than discovers a transcendent truth outside of himself.

Question 3
This next question is for the agnostic, for anyone who does not hold to a formal system of thought, for anyone who holds himself to be ultimately authoritative, or for any non-Christian who believes that truth is discovered rather than constructed ... Please note that this question pertains to all individuals who believe in a god, but their belief stems from their own mind, rather than from some divinely revealed text.

Question 4
This question is for the Hindu, the Buddhist, or any adherent of an (eastern) religion that denies the existence of propositional truth on an ultimate level.

Question 5
This next question is for any adherent of Islam, Roman Catholicism, Judaism, Mormonism, Jehovah Witness, or any monotheistic religion which possesses an authoritative text (or revelation) that claims its (infinite) God has characteristics of justice and mercy.


This is the biggest joke and exercise in mental masturbation. By the contest's own rules even the Christian author of the challenge has failed and cannot collect the money. I'm glad God decided to smote this charlatan

>> ^quantumushroom:
hehehehe...I love your thick ignorance. <---No need to get gay, comrade.
Atheists worldwide have murdered over 100 million people. Since you're going to lump all religious folks together, don't y'all deserve to be thrown in with other atheists?


Such an old, tired, disproven argument. Name one -- just one -- violent act committed in the name of atheism.

*crickets*

Now try to think of a few that were committed in the name of some deity -- you'd probably already come up with a dozen examples before you even finished reading the question. Sorry to invoke Godwin's Law, but here goes . . . Hitler may have committed a terrible genocide, but it wasn't in the name of Roman Catholicism (his religion). He just happened to be a Roman Catholic, just like Stalin happened to be an atheist. If anything, Stalin had created the Soviet Communist Party as a new religion and committed atrocities in the name of his pseudoreligion, Communism. However, hundreds if not thousands of dictators throughout history have committed countless atrocities in the name of their respective religions.

And, by the way, this country was founded largely by those who considered themselves skeptical of religion. Show me one Judeo-Christian reference in the Constitution. One.

*crickets*

I "graded" your quiz

1. What do you do when you are not at the computer?

• Paint - That figures
• Watch DVDs - Wow you don't leave the house?
• Attend movies - By yourself most likely
• Work Sudoku puzzles - Afraid of real math?
• Get together with friends - Free meals at the soup kitchen don't count as "get together with friends
• Dine at restaurants - Translation: Dig in the dumpsters behind restaurants
• Attend art presentations - Staring at the back tattoo of a tranny prostitute hardly counts as "attending art presentations"
• Attend Mac meetings - ...
• Visit art museums/exhibitions - You already said that, but then again you probably don't have much going on in your life
• Take digital photos and videos - Draw "cave paintings" on the walls of the overpass you live under.
• Attend parties/receptions - Always the crasher never the invitee?
• Read books on art - Read...books...on...art. hmmm...fascinating

2. What is your favorite of your posted videos?

“MANtage” - you spelled "MANspooge" wrong

3. How many avatars have you had since being a member? What were (are) they?

Ten
• dot art – levee break waves
• dot art – 40 shades of blue
• dot art – green Chinese lion
• dot art – purple design from plaster relief
• dot art – leopard-like patterns
• dot art – eye shapes orange on black
• rainy windshield photo
• Dutch Alley blur
• pond goldfish photo
• Chinese dragon float profile photo (current one)
^Just can't quite encapsulate your mediocrity through visual aids, eh?

4. What non-self-involved site do you visit most often?

Apple Movie Trailers - To look at coming attractions nobody will ever invite you to see

5. If you had a time machine would you keep it clean?

Clean?!? What does that mean?!? - You know, clean like how you feel after your bimonthly dip in the sewers

6. What is your ratio of pairs of shoes to underwear?

1: 21 - Make that 1/2 : 1

7. Is that underwear boxer, brief, or birthday?

Boxers - Women's panties

8. Do you run a Mac OS, Windows, or Linux?

Mac OS - Coincidently Mac & Cheese is your main source of nutrition too

9. Would you most prefer to be involved in a monumental one-of-a-kind hiking expedition, working on a breakthrough cure for a debilitating illness, or presenting the discovery of a revolutionary new way to parse data?

presenting the discovery of a revolutionary new way to parse data - Pretending to have a girlfriend while dry humping his semen encrusted matress

10. What is your favorite ice cream topping? Favorite (non-ice-cream-related) spice?

Topping – chocolate syrup - By the time you get to the ice cream, it's already melted
Spice - saffron - Dried eucalyptus leaves

11. Are you a tits, ass, or legs man?

Yes - Translation: "I'm desparate"

12. What kind of pet(s) do you have? Include name(s).

Used to have cats:

Red (orange tabby) - killed and ate it
Storm (gray tabby with white socks – picked out Spring 1991 during Desert Storm) - Road kill that you found and dragged around on a leash for the summer of '91
Pierre (peppered fur mix) - Make believe animal that keeps me company during those lonely nights

13. What kind of pelt(s) do you have? Include name(s).

None. However, a former girlfriend brought me The Australian Lucky Pouch when she returned from her trip her trip Down Under. - Hahahaha! girlfriend...that's rich

14. What is your favorite kind of soup?

Turtle with a splash of sherry - Whatever's being served at the shelter

15. What is your most frequented source of news?

WWL Radio - 2 week old newspapers that you use to wipe your ass

16. What is your beverage (poison) of choice?

Iced Tea - "...you know how I know you're gay?"

17. Have you ever been arrested?

No. - The Phantom Pooper still hasn't been caught

18. What’s your go-to move for making a good first impression?

Get a person talking about her/himself and pray its not over my head. - Try not to get close enough to the person to be smelled

19. How would you describe your coif: bangs, balding or rug?

Thinning - HAHAHAHAHA

20. Is your face clean-shaven or do you have a beard, a goatee or a mustache?

Beard - Translation: I can't afford a razor

21. List your five most cherished possessions.

• House - Cardboard box
• Volvo - Shopping Cart
• Mac - & Cheese
• Camera - Old crayon or feces drawn on walls and sidewalks
• DVD player - "I can't play it, cause I don't have a TV but it sure is pretty and it'll score me a couple crack rocks"

22. What religion, if any, did you practice as a child?

Roman Catholicism - suppressed memories

23. What about now?

Same. - Translation: I do to little boys what was done to me

24. What is your favorite memory?

Surprise trip to Disneyworld even though us kids were told to pack for Gulfport, MS - Finding a quarter on the ground

25. What was your favorite childhood television show?

“Speed Racer” - It was really "My Little Pony"

26. How would you describe your personal style/sense of fashion/taste for life/artistic flair?

personal style – put my stamp on what I do - Translation: I fart wherever I am
sense of fashion – I like color, except the days I prefer black - "OH, woe is me I'm such a DEEP artist type"
taste for life – take time to appreciate whom I’m with, where I am and what I’m doing - Translation: Sit in an alcove yelling at people who don't give me spare change
artistic flair – experimentation and reinvention - Translation: Crap nobody will like and stealing other people's work

27. What is a reason not to go to Burning Man?

I already live in a hot climate. - No transportation, no friends, no car, no water, you're missing a shoe

28. Who is your favorite Sift Hero?

Fedquip - Translation: Rottenseed

29. Do you have any image(s) of yourself online that you're willing to share?

‘Will link shortly. - "uh...er...well you see is, I'm horribly disfigured and I hope everybody will forget about this question"

30. What goal to you have while a Videosift member?

Contribute to the “good of the order.” - Find somebody that'll love me for the stinky, poor, pseudo-artist I am

31. Do you upvote comments more for their originality, sense of humor, or self-deprecation?

I upvote on impulse, PERIOD. - "I can't read."

And now for the rest of the story . . . The ANSWERS to all things dot . . .

1. What do you do when you are not at the computer?

• Paint
• Watch DVDs
• Attend movies
• Work Sudoku puzzles
• Get together with friends
• Dine at restaurants
• Attend art presentations
• Attend Mac meetings
• Visit art museums/exhibitions
• Take digital photos and videos
• Attend parties/receptions
• Read books on art

2. What is your favorite of your posted videos?

“MANtage”

3. How many avatars have you had since being a member? What were (are) they?

Ten
• dot art – levee break waves
• dot art – 40 shades of blue
• dot art – green Chinese lion
• dot art – purple design from plaster relief
• dot art – leopard-like patterns
• dot art – eye shapes orange on black
• rainy windshield photo
• Dutch Alley blur
• pond goldfish photo
• Chinese dragon float profile photo (current one)

4. What non-self-involved site do you visit most often?

Apple Movie Trailers

5. If you had a time machine would you keep it clean?

Clean?!? What does that mean?!?

6. What is your ratio of pairs of shoes to underwear?

1: 21

7. Is that underwear boxer, brief, or birthday?

Boxers

8. Do you run a Mac OS, Windows, or Linux?

Mac OS

9. Would you most prefer to be involved in a monumental one-of-a-kind hiking expedition, working on a breakthrough cure for a debilitating illness, or presenting the discovery of a revolutionary new way to parse data?

presenting the discovery of a revolutionary new way to parse data

10. What is your favorite ice cream topping? Favorite (non-ice-cream-related) spice?

Topping – chocolate syrup
Spice - saffron

11. Are you a tits, ass, or legs man?

Yes

12. What kind of pet(s) do you have? Include name(s).

Used to have cats:

Red (orange tabby)
Storm (gray tabby with white socks – picked out Spring 1991 during Desert Storm)
Pierre (peppered fur mix)

13. What kind of pelt(s) do you have? Include name(s).

None. However, a former girlfriend brought me The Australian Lucky Pouch when she returned from her trip her trip Down Under.

14. What is your favorite kind of soup?

Turtle with a splash of sherry

15. What is your most frequented source of news?

WWL Radio

16. What is your beverage (poison) of choice?

Iced Tea

17. Have you ever been arrested?

No.

18. What’s your go-to move for making a good first impression?

Get a person talking about her/himself and pray its not over my head.

19. How would you describe your coif: bangs, balding or rug?

Thinning

20. Is your face clean-shaven or do you have a beard, a goatee or a mustache?

Beard

21. List your five most cherished possessions.

• House
• Volvo
• Mac
• Camera
• DVD player

22. What religion, if any, did you practice as a child?

Roman Catholicism

23. What about now?

Same.

24. What is your favorite memory?

Surprise trip to Disneyworld even though us kids were told to pack for Gulfport, MS

25. What was your favorite childhood television show?

“Speed Racer”

26. How would you describe your personal style/sense of fashion/taste for life/artistic flair?

personal style – put my stamp on what I do
sense of fashion – I like color, except the days I prefer black
taste for life – take time to appreciate whom I’m with, where I am and what I’m doing
artistic flair – experimentation and reinvention

27. What is a reason not to go to Burning Man?

I already live in a hot climate.

28. Who is your favorite Sift Hero?

Fedquip

29. Do you have any image(s) of yourself online that you're willing to share?

‘Will link shortly.

30. What goal to you have while a Videosift member?

Contribute to the “good of the order.”

31. Do you upvote comments more for their originality, sense of humor, or self-deprecation?

I upvote on impulse, PERIOD.


Answer you that!

Alice Texas??? Got some friends from there......Nowhere USA, you'd think a mayor could get away with a Panchito-snatch....crazy frikkin' toy-dog obsessed Hispanic lady, I can believe it......same kinna freak sees Hay-Zeus in baked goods....Roman Catholicism can fuck you up, man.....

......no shit, this is like someone that wants the same kinda attention his mommy gave em', when he cried, dry diaper, just to push her buttons....

You gotta give it to the wop twist on Roman Catholicism, it's an irationally, overly emotional culture, and they got the perfect, national religion to go with it....

oh, an for all you reactionaries, I'm 1/2 Italian....
fuck catholicism, and fuck drama, for the sake of drama, or diversion.......