Thursday, November 02, 2006

Euphemisms for ignorance

Hey, I thought nearly half of America believes the earth (or is it the universe) is less than 10,000 years old. Now another survey says a little less than half aren't sold on theism.
Nearly half of Americans are not sure God exists, according to a poll that also found divisions among the public on whether God is male or female or whether God has a human form and has control over events.

The survey conducted by Harris Poll found that 42 percent of US adults are not "absolutely certain" there is a God compared to 34 percent who felt that way when asked the same question three years ago.

Among the various religious groups, 76 percent of Protestants, 64 percent of Catholics and 30 percent of Jews said they are "absolutely certain" there is a God while 93 percent of Christians who describe themselves as "Born Again" feel certain God exists.

When questioned on whether God is male or female, 36 percent of respondents said they think God is male, 37 percent said neither male nor female and 10 percent said "both male and female."

Only one percent think of God as a female, according to the poll.

Asked whether God has a human form, 41 percent said they think of God as "a spirit or power than can take on human form but is not inherently human."

As to whether God controls events on Earth, 29 percent believe that to be the case while 44 percent said God "observes but does not control what happens on Earth".

The survey was conducted online between October 4 and 10 among 2,010 US adults.

P.Z. Meyers of Pharyngula has already nailed part of the problem with regards the gender of their deity.
How do they know he's male? Does he he have a penis? How big is it? What does he use it for?
Tsk, tsk. You really aren't up to speed, are you, Dr. Meyers? That supernatural entity's mission in life is to screw virgins. Ring a bell? For that you need a piece. Of course, how his superpenis could bore its way in, give Mary the big O, squirt a million tiny Jeebuses, and leave her still a virgin, well, that's a mystery.... Or maybe not. One mundane and more parsimonious explanation is that he has a supermicropenis, approximately a protein molecule in diameter. Never doubt god's omnipotence (or a theologian's creativity in writing fiction).

Getting back to the survey, let's also ask those who say their god's a "spirit" to tell us what the fuck "spirit" is. Please, tell us. I for one am all ears. Will it come as a surprise that they can't define/describe what it is, let alone provide a way of detecting and testing the presence/existence of this gobbledygook they tack the label "spirit" to?

Not content with "god" they pass the buck to "spirit." What next? "The Force"? Oh I know: "Mystery" aka, "Beats me; I have no idea." If ultimately they can't tell us what the hell g o d and s p i r i t are and what they refer to then what in tarnations are they really talking about in the first place? Why is it that faith-heads can't first get a handle on what it is they're so gaga over? (And if ever they do, ask them for evidence. That always sends them over the edge).

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