I wish I could upvote this more... but I can't.

nice post. here's is some more info on Einstien and his religious beliefs (I personally disagree with him on his thoughts about Jesus and Atheism). But i feel too often his comments are taken out of context by fundies to support their views.

Becoming a Freethinker and a Scientist
http://www.einsteinandreligion.com/freethink.html

No Personal God
http://www.einsteinandreligion.com/personal.html

Short Comments on God
http://www.einsteinandreligion.com/godcomments.html

Also Dawkins has some illuminating thoughts about Eistien and his beliefs about god in The God Delusion

Watch Zeitgeist part I

I can't upvote this due to the bit about the cause of the big bang. The cause is still widely unknown and the idea that two objects collide directly disagrees with the whole concept in the first place. The spiral shapes of galaxies are due to the gravitational differential between the centre and outer edge of spinning galaxies, combined with its effect on stella formation.

The statement in the video about the speculated cause of the big bang is incorrect - the author is confusing two objects colliding with M-theory branes colliding in higher dimensional space, giving rise to a big bang.

The statement about Einstein's blunder is also incorrect, the blunder being referred to is Einstein's fudge of the cosmological constant - which was since proved wrong, then proved correct, then proved wrong again. 'Empty' space in the universe is in fact expanding exponentially.

The origin of the spin of galaxies (and all particles in nature) is inherited from the spinning of the entire universe - this is a controversial theory but can be demonstrated mathematically.

The domestication of the banana info is completely accurate!

There has never been, nor will there ever be, a functioning civilization without religion. Every time the State has tried to slay God and make itself the ultimate power it has failed, leaving millions murdered and millions more underfed and living in fear.

In their great hurry to tear everything down, the atheist "freethinkers" haven't quite thought it through.

When religion dies, the civilization dies with it.

thor and odin forever man!!!

Wow mushroom, you've been eating too much of yourself. Most of Europe is currently very peacefully and prosperously atheist. Sure there are some still going to church but they are a minority and their numbers are shrinking every year.

The state isn't trying to slay god, at least not directly. You see the more educated and intelligent people are the less likely they are to believe in god. The US has a crap education system so most people believe in God, Canada, Europe (most of it anyhow), Japan, Korea have good education systems and their populations are increasingly turning away from religion.

Even though he is fictional, God is the most destructive force on earth.

Upvote for bananas. I'm glad though that the errors re the Big Bang and general relativity are clarified in comments above.

Re Einstein's religiosity:

"Buddhism has the characteristics of what would be expected in a cosmic religion for the future: It transcends a personal God, avoids dogmas and theology; it covers both the natural and spiritual; and it is based on a religious sense aspiring from the experience of all things, natural and spiritual, as a meaningful unity." -- Albert Einstein

Wow mushroom, you've been eating too much of yourself.

I wish.

Most of Europe is currently very peacefully and prosperously atheist. Sure there are some still going to church but they are a minority and their numbers are shrinking every year.

Europe is losing its identity and culture, and with the influx of Muslims, don't expect it to remain 'atheist' for very much longer.

The state isn't trying to slay god, at least not directly.

In Europe, the State already runs at the expense of the individual. Socialism is just fascism where they ask you nicely...the first time. I assume you don't run around killing people when you need money or food. Those values had to be culturally transmitted and probably by way of religious principles, even if the faith had no name...

You see the more educated and intelligent people are the less likely they are to believe in god.

That's a bold opinion you've got there. Unfortunately, people are emotional creatures no matter how intelligent, and therefore the Periodic Table of Elements isn't as effective or meaningful as "Love thy neighbor".

The US has a crap education system so most people believe in God, Canada, Europe (most of it anyhow), Japan, Korea have good education systems and their populations are increasingly turning away from religion.

I agree the US education system is crap, but that's because it's socialist. And in case you don't know about it, the socialist US schools are scared of God and refuse to allow any mention of religion. Birth control for 6th graders is OK tho.

The USA still has a greater economic output than the entire EU. Maybe our higher education, despite its overabundance of marxist-hippie professors, is doing something right.

I can't speak for all the other nations, but I know Japan's only indigenous religion was Shintoism, a form of nature worship. Yet even these advanced peoples imported religion into their closed society. Strange.

Even though he is fictional, God is the most destructive force on earth.

Religion is based on faith, not facts. It has given meaning and reverence for life to billions more than it has killed. Stalin and Mao (yeah, I know, you're neither one of those guys) thought of themselves as gods, with 100 million murdered in 50 years as a result.

It's good to live in a time when sickness is not caused by evil spirits and superstition is no longer king, but my original statement stands. Kill the religion and you kill the civilization. Nietzsche the Atheist proclaimed God is Dead, but he wasn't in denial about what would happen to society if everyone agreed with him.

So Kirk Cameron and this goofball are making silly claims. They've provided entertainment value and caused discussions. Is that so bad?

I can't believe the crap those guys are trying to pass off as evidence for religion.

For fun, watch the video again, and every time they say "banana", think "penis".

Quantummushroom is confusing religion with the belief in God, which are not the same thing.

There has always been a belief in 'the other', 'the cosmic attractor', 'the goddess', and even the worship of the mushroom, the moon and mother earth/Gaia. This is religion in the ancient shamanic sense and is more than 12,000 years old. It is almost certain that it has its roots in the psychedelic experience and is **boundary dissolving**.

Religion as we experience it today has only existed for 2,500 years and is a social control mechanism employed by governments everywhere in the world. With the decline of religion in most of the western world, governments have now invented 'terrorism' as the fear factor. Religion in this sense is **boundary building**.

Existentialism as proclaimed by Nietzsche is a third 'way' that denies both the very real religious/psychedelic experience AND the existence of a god, goddess, or higher cosmic attractor. Atheism does not necessarily equal existentialism, again Quantummushroom is confusing these things.

The third confusion here is 'kill the religion and you kill the civilization'. Almost right - kill the religion and you kill the culture would be more accurate.

Killing religion as Neitzsche says would lead to the death of culture and a descent into chaos. We know something today that Nietzsche didn't know, a little mathematical theory called Chaos Theory which is likely the most important discovery since the wheel. From the natural chaos a new order would arise, one free of culture and boundaries. Chaos is the source of imagination and all creation.

Religion is not based on faith - it is based upon the religious experience. The very real power of this experience has been seized upon and hijacked, and turned into something which takes a lot of faith to swallow, whilst retaining all of its original social power.

Finally, the US education system being crap has absolutely nothing whatsoever to do with socialism. I agree with QM that socialism is facism in slow motion. I live in a country where people have fought and died for socialism and we have one of the best education systems in Europe. The reason the US education system is crap is because it is entirely culture bound.

Umm... The description of Friedrich Nietzsche that you gave is incorrect. "God is Dead" is not an atheist statement, but the assertion that an increasingly secular society has made God obsolete. This won't lead to societal collapse, but the total lack of a universal truth.

Socialist? I'm too lazy to refute your arguments, but I don't think our country nor our education is Marxist.

"God is dead, and no one cares"
Trent Reznor

I'll love my periodic table way more than I'll love my neighbor...

...and let's leave Nietzsche out of this.

-Thus spoke Rottenseed

For fun, watch the video again, and every time they say "banana", think "penis".

"... it's chewy and easy to digest"

Your thinking scares me cheesemoo.

God made them that way. Obviously that's how He in His infinite wisdom intended them to be used.

"Nietzsche is dead." - God

(Yeah, I dig that one.)

QM, it wasn't the atheism of those states that led to wanton murder and hunger. It was the lack of freedom and tolerance -- look at Europe. Europe is, with a few exceptions, nonreligious. And they are doing a hell of a lot better than we are, as our freedom continues to wane and our government becomes more and more intolerant.

This video and the commentary are both full of stupidities. Well, the original video slightly more so. Why aren't they marveling at the efficiency of the HIV virus.

There has never been, nor will there ever be, a functioning civilization without religion.

Actually, Sweden has over 3/4 of its population identify themselves as either atheist or non-religious, and they're doing just fine.

with the influx of Muslims, don't expect it to remain 'atheist' for very much longer.

Somehow I don't think Sweden is headed that way...

I assume you don't run around killing people when you need money or food.

That's called the thrill of the hunt!!

this is amazing

Ok, where the hell do you get this Europe is mostly non religious? Seriously someone site something. If anything the majority is Catholic, not Atheist or Agnostic. I could see where people think that because most Europeans don't actively attend worship services, but honestly I don't buy the 'majority of Europeans are atheist' bullshit.

Belief in God by percent in European countries

Good link rottenseed, for those who are paying attention, look where the more prosperous, well educated and tolerant countries lie in the colour scheme.

Most atheists still don't get it-in this, they juxtapose perfectly, with most Christians, Muslims, etc.

ATHEISTS:
"Screaming at the idiocy of God, because they are tired of screaming the same, in the mirror."

Seriously, watch Zeitgeist part I ... it explains the flaws of religion in the most profound light.

Religion is all made up from a string of various fables that have phenomenal parallels with ancient egyptian fables and how those fables even came into existence... it really makes complete sense, just have some patience and watch it for 45 min. It's really quite amazing and will give you a different "outside the box" perspective on the issue.

once again, I agree completely with CHoggie. I'm not an atheist but I was raised atheist and therefore appreciate their POV. What I don't appreciate is the hypocrasy they exhibit by evangelizing their position. If there is no god, what's there to talk about? Methinks they doth protest too much.

...and being as the only info that was correct was the banana info, I can't, in good conscience, upvote it. Find something better and more correct.

damn... them Czechs Republicans, are some god-hatin' motherfuckers!!!!

lol at the pretty map.

read below...
Shown here is the percentage in each country which chose the response "I believe there is a God" above other possible answers (not included in this image), which were: "I believe there is some sort of spirit or life force", "I don't believe there is any sort of spirit, God or life force" and "don't know".

Then read the conclusion of the report:
Looking at the results of the survey we have firstly seen that in Europe religion and spirituality are still important: four in five EU citizens have religious or spiritual beliefs and only 18% declare that they don’t believe that there is any sort of spirit, God or life force. Nevertheless this spirituality is heterogeneous and is felt with different intensity across Europe: there is seemingly a move away from religion in its traditional form - “I believe there is a God” - which seems to affect the Protestant countries as well as countries with a strong secular tradition. At the same time, there is an affirmation of traditional religious beliefs in countries where the Church or Religious Institutions have been historically strong, as well as in some Eastern European countries. The third tendency is the development of a new kind of religion characterised by the belief that “there is some sort of spirit or life force”. This new religion or spirituality is more marked in certain Protestant countries, such as Sweden or Denmark as well as in the Czech Republic and Estonia.

Lithuania's low score for "belief in god" is probably something to do with the fact that they are basically pagans.

So, pretending this report is accurate and not in any way political, what conclusions shall we draw now? What wikipedia graphic shall we link to next?

pah. statistics. bunch of leading questions and people saying "urrrm...." but never saying "i don't know".

"only 18% declare that they don’t believe that there is any sort of spirit, God or life force."

Try again, I'm not convinced.