An excellent question. The answer is, Japan has a religion, and that religion is Japan itself (nationalism). Yes, Shinto is there, but AFAIK, it's mostly ceremonial.

The Japanese have a very strong family-oriented culture with clearly defined roles and a nearly homogenous society. They also have a concept of honor unheard of in the West. Disgracing one's family name by stealing or rioting would be inexcusable.

Unfortunately, the Japanese are, IMO, still too trusting of authority in times of crisis.

I never claimed that Christianity is the only way to instill values, but because a tenet of generic Christianity is that it's the "ONLY" way, I can see why one might think so.

When God is "killed" the State becomes God, and a murderous one at that. The only majority atheist countries spared mass slaughter have traditionally religious cultures or strict cultural values. Right now England has neither, and because the population is unarmed, they are subjects of the crown, not citizens.


>> ^SDGundamX:

>> ^quantumushroom:
I agree with this guy 99%. He is not a cock. Of course, watching an atheist angered by a lack of morality in the populace is hilarious. People didn't regularly act this way 40 years ago. What changed?
Not everyone proclaiming to be a Christian follows Thou shalt not steal all the time, but more of them have values than the ones raised with....NOTHING.
Sorry Atheists, without those funny Bible stories/sermons/morality plays, you have no vehicle to deliver your values, which oddly mirror Christian values in so many ways.

Riots don't happen in Japan, either--a country where less than 1% of the population is Christian. Don't you think the Japanese have 1000 times more reasons to riot than these guys? Many people in the tsunami hit areas are still living in school gyms, without air conditioning in 90+ degree weather. They have no work, no homes, and not a whole lot of hope. Meanwhile, a 20km radius in Fukushima is uninhabitable and will likely remain that way for the foreseeable future. The people who used to live there are basically homeless--they can't claim insurance on their homes because technically their homes haven't been destroyed. And it's not just people in northern Japan that are being affected--radioactive food is "accidentally" getting through inspections and being consumed by the general populace.
Most have never heard of the ten commandments here. 80% of the population are atheist. Yet there are no riots, no looting, no violent demonstrations. People are angry, but they are working peacefully towards solutions to the problems through grassroots campaigns. So my question for you is, how do you reconcile these facts with your belief that only Christianity can instill morality in people?

>> ^quantumushroom:

I agree with this guy 99%. He is not a cock. Of course, watching an atheist angered by a lack of morality in the populace is hilarious. People didn't regularly act this way 40 years ago. What changed?
Not everyone proclaiming to be a Christian follows Thou shalt not steal all the time, but more of them have values than the ones raised with....NOTHING.
Sorry Atheists, without those funny Bible stories/sermons/morality plays, you have no vehicle to deliver your values, which oddly mirror Christian values in so many ways.


Riots don't happen in Japan, either--a country where less than 1% of the population is Christian. Don't you think the Japanese have 1000 times more reasons to riot than these guys? Many people in the tsunami hit areas are still living in school gyms, without air conditioning in 90+ degree weather. They have no work, no homes, and not a whole lot of hope. Meanwhile, a 20km radius in Fukushima is uninhabitable and will likely remain that way for the foreseeable future. The people who used to live there are basically homeless--they can't claim insurance on their homes because technically their homes haven't been destroyed. And it's not just people in northern Japan that are being affected--radioactive food is "accidentally" getting through inspections and being consumed by the general populace.

Most have never heard of the ten commandments here. 80% of the population are atheist. Yet there are no riots, no looting, no violent demonstrations. People are angry, but they are working peacefully towards solutions to the problems through grassroots campaigns. So my question for you is, how do you reconcile these facts with your belief that only Christianity can instill morality in people?

I agree with this guy 99%. He is not a cock. Of course, watching an atheist angered by a lack of morality in the populace is hilarious. People didn't regularly act this way 40 years ago. What changed?

Not everyone proclaiming to be a Christian follows Thou shalt not steal all the time, but more of them have values than the ones raised with....NOTHING.

Sorry Atheists, without those funny Bible stories/sermons/morality plays, you have no vehicle to deliver your values, which oddly mirror Christian values in so many ways.

Your video, Hardcore Bible Stories, has made it into the Top 15 New Videos listing. Congratulations on your achievement. For your contribution you have been awarded 1 Power Point.

I think it's an apt comparison. There's spmething in her sneering commentary that reminds me of her. This isn't a girl who is disillusioned about the bible, this is someone who hates God. For all you idiots know she could be a satanist. There are quite a few satanists who put out this kind of commentary to smear God, knowing full well He exists..but just playing to the religious beliefs of secular humanists.

Hell is for sinners who won't turn from their sins. You don't seem to care where you're going so I don't why you are acting so outraged. You don't want to spend an eternity with God; He'd be giving you what you want..eternal seperation from Him. And when it does happen you won't be able to act surprised or claim no one tried to warn you either.

>> ^MaxWilder:
>> ^shinyblurry:
>> ^MaxWilder:
Guys, you are talking to a brick wall. If you are enjoying watching the logic bounce off, then by all means continue. Just remember you will never get him to budge an inch, much less change his mind. Remember, in his eyes, this intelligent young woman is "one of the least well adjusted girls I've ever seen". He also has no problem with anyone who doesn't worship his god spending eternity in hell. Because that is what well adjusted means to him.

she's about as well adjusted as gogo from Kill Bill. And you're missing the point, entirely. The only people who go to hell are the ones who deserve to be there. No one is going to be in hell going "hey, you've got the wrong guy!" If you end up there, its entirely your fault, and nothing I can do or say will change that.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=x9iIKn1Bl6c
You are seriously comparing this girl to a raging psychopathic murderer? Because she sees the bible stories for the myths that they are? Man, you are fucked in the head.
And don't mince words about your beliefs about entering heaven. You either get down on your knees and worship the invisible, unprovable fascist dictator, or you spend eternity in hell. Because he loves you, and that's what you deserve even if you lived your entire life as a good, honest, loving, caring, giving person. Well, it's your own fault, right?

>> ^shinyblurry:

>> ^MaxWilder:
Guys, you are talking to a brick wall. If you are enjoying watching the logic bounce off, then by all means continue. Just remember you will never get him to budge an inch, much less change his mind. Remember, in his eyes, this intelligent young woman is "one of the least well adjusted girls I've ever seen". He also has no problem with anyone who doesn't worship his god spending eternity in hell. Because that is what well adjusted means to him.

she's about as well adjusted as gogo from Kill Bill. And you're missing the point, entirely. The only people who go to hell are the ones who deserve to be there. No one is going to be in hell going "hey, you've got the wrong guy!" If you end up there, its entirely your fault, and nothing I can do or say will change that.


http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=x9iIKn1Bl6c

You are seriously comparing this girl to a raging psychopathic murderer? Because she sees the bible stories for the myths that they are? Man, you are fucked in the head.

And don't mince words about your beliefs about entering heaven. You either get down on your knees and worship the invisible, unprovable fascist dictator, or you spend eternity in hell. Because he loves you, and that's what you deserve even if you lived your entire life as a good, honest, loving, caring, giving person. Well, it's your own fault, right?

Oh boy, you have been "educated" on the bible, havent you. Too bad its all wrong.


Atheist error #1Translation upon translation has corrupted the original bible so now we don't know what it actually said
The truth: Today there survives more than 25,000 partial and complete, ancient handwritten manuscript copies of the New Testament alone, not to mention hundreds of Old Testament manuscripts that survive today dating back to as early as the third century B.C. These hand written manuscripts have allowed scholars and textual critics to go back and verify that the Bible we have in our possession today is the same Bible that the early church possessed 2,000 years ago.

This isnt really relevant, the bible could be the most accurately translated book of all time, and I'd still be an atheist.(its not, but I dont really care)

Atheist error #2 The bible is only confirmed by the bible, there is no outside external verification
The truth: There are over 39 sources outside of the Bible that attest to more than 100 facts regarding Jesus’ life, teachings, crucifixion, and resurrection. External sources verify that at least 80 persons from the bible were actual historical figures, 50 people from the Old Testament and 30 people from the New Testament. This includes Pontius Pilate, Caiaphas the High priest, and King David.


Again, not really relevant. The bible, along with the outside sources, were all written by superstitious desertdwellers some 2000 years ago, who gives a shit if these sources confirm eachother. Most of it confirms things like historical facts (Names of kings, major events , who lived where, and so on) None of it confirms the truth of any of the metaphysical claims, so at best, the bible is historically accurate(again, its not, but this is a long discussion)

Atheist error #3 The bible is unscientific
The truth: The bible contains no scientific errors. In fact, it reveals a number of facts about the Universe that simply were not known at the time. For instance, the bible states that the Sun is on a circuit through space, yet scientists at the time thought it was stationary. Even more amazing, the bible states the Earth is round when everyone else thought it was flat:
Isaiah 40:22 says, “It is He [God] who sits above the circle of the Earth." Job also talked about the earth being round.
This was 300 years before aristotle. The bible was over 2000 years ahead of its time. It was also widely thought at the time that the Earth was carried on the back of something else, like a turtle or the greek god Atlas. The bible taught the truth: Job 26:7 “He [God] hangs the Earth on nothing.” Scientists did not discover that the Earth hangs on nothing until 1650.
Another amazing fact that the bible uncovered far before man discovered the facts is that the number of stars is as the sand in sea.
Jeremiah 33:22 “The host of heaven [a reference to the stars] cannot be numbered, nor the sand of the sea measured.”
Before the telescope was invented, man was able to number the stars. The count was usually just over 1000. That was the prevailing scientific knowledge until the telescope was invented. The bible revealed though that there were more stars than anyone could count.

Oh boy.. Where to start here... Only a really religiously distorted mind could write this nonsense.

And nonsense like it has been written to "confirm" the accuracy of other holy texts as well. I was hit with a list of "facts" from the Quran much like this in a discussion once, one such "fact" was some nonsense about the "mountains securing the firmaments of the earth" was somehow confirmed by modern Plate-tectonics. I wonder whether you religious nuts can see through eachothers claims, can you see for instance, whats wrong with that Quran-argument, or does that seem reasonable to you? If not, why do the above arguments from the bible about god "hanging the earth in its place" seem like good decriptions of astronomical fact?

Atheist error #4 The history of the bible is made up, it is just mythology
The truth: In every instance where the Bible can be, or has been checked out archaeologically, it has been found to be 100% accurate.

Wow, thats almost 100% inaccurate. Israeli archiologists have, with great religious entusiasm and eagerness, for decades tried to document the 40-year travel through the desert from Egypt that the Jews are said to have done. One of the most famous bible stories, and, one would think, one of the best candidates to be proven true by archeology, yet they have all come up empty handed. It is, for all intends and purposes, as if it never happened.

I'm going to go out on a limb here but, in the time of old when people built stone structured churches like this one, people could not read. The whole point of this, now its a speculation, was to point out that this was a sin to the poor who did not have access to education and were less likely to be able to read. I only know this because thats what I was told in France at Notre Dame only it has bible stories depicted on its walls. Can't remember if there were anything like this obviously not or I would remember.

>> ^visionep:
Zzzz...
He might as well be telling a bible story since there is no mention of the experiments or calculations that give rise to any of these theories.
It would be very interesting to me to see a footnote section to each of these stated theories which there are about a thousand. Anyone want to try? Go ahead and start with the first 10 to the -43rd second and explain why someone thinks the temperature was 10 to the 32nd degrees (C, F, Kelvin?).


It's either celsius or farenheit, because kelvin isn't measured in degrees. If anyone says "degrees kelvin", tell them they're wrong.

As for the video itself, i don't really like it. It sounds more or less correct for the standard model, but the explanations are really poor, he just throws stuff in.

Look, this is very different from a Bible story. The evidence exists, you just need to look further than a youtube video. If you need more information about the subject, try wikipedia. If you need more information, try a book meant for a layman. If you still need more information, try text books or physics classes. The information is accessible, but there probably isn't even a single experiment to point to, and it would probably take advanced physics knowledge to even understand some of them.

Also, keep in mind, this isn't a video that claims to be describing an absolute truth. It's a video describing the standard model. The standard model is a very successful model, but it isn't even a complete theory. As admitted in the video, it doesn't even explain gravity.

But I have to say, this series of videos are some of the best visualizations I've ever seen, and fills a gap by not treating the viewer like a complete idiot.

>> ^visionep:
Zzzz...
He might as well be telling a bible story since there is no mention of the experiments or calculations that give rise to any of these theories.
It would be very interesting to me to see a footnote section to each of these stated theories which there are about a thousand. Anyone want to try? Go ahead and start with the first 10 to the -43rd second and explain why someone thinks the temperature was 10 to the 32nd degrees (C, F, Kelvin?).

visionep:
Zzzz...
He might as well be telling a bible story since there is no mention of the experiments



I think you might be confusing popular science with academia. This is a nice little refresher and a different perspective on what you get in physics courses. Footnotes are usually in books. You know? Reading. The non-comic book kind.

[...]the temperature was 10 to the 32nd degrees (C, F, Kelvin?).



At that temperature level, does it really matter if it's degC, degF or K?


(Edited to fix quoting markup)

Zzzz...

He might as well be telling a bible story since there is no mention of the experiments or calculations that give rise to any of these theories.

It would be very interesting to me to see a footnote section to each of these stated theories which there are about a thousand. Anyone want to try? Go ahead and start with the first 10 to the -43rd second and explain why someone thinks the temperature was 10 to the 32nd degrees (C, F, Kelvin?).

Your video, Messed-Up Bible Stories 6: Sodom and Gomorrah, has made it into the Top 15 New Videos listing. Congratulations on your achievement. For your contribution you have been awarded 1 Power Point.

>> ^hpqp:
Yeah, the double cherry on top incest finale is sorely missing from this epic tale of morality!

Yeah, I mean wtf is he going to do with a pile of salt for a wife?!!!11 Good thing he had daughters, I guess? But really, he's the only guy in town who's not gay and god can't even give him a son. What's is up with that?

"As for the woman, her name is Pamela Pilger, and amusingly enough, she's actually wearing a IDF (Israeli Defense Force) t-shirt. Talk about an oxymoron."

There happens to be a lot of Anti-semites that support the state of Israel, seems crazy but a lot of Christian right wingers that hate the Jews support their state because of some Bible story or something.