<DIV>Chas,</DIV> <DIV> </DIV> <DIV>If you say so, I guess. Of course it could be because the more wealthy atheistic countries are taking advantage of them economically because they lack God in their decision making process. China, an atheist nation, people cannot even breath and is one of the worst human rights places to live. More people live there than all the western world. </DIV> <DIV> </DIV> <DIV>Best Regards,</DIV> <DIV> </DIV> <DIV>Donovan<BR><BR><B><I>Chasuk <chasuk@gmail.com></I></B> wrote:</DIV> <BLOCKQUOTE class=replbq style="PADDING-LEFT: 5px; MARGIN-LEFT: 5px; BORDER-LEFT: #1010ff 2px solid">This particular thread ( sub-thread?) started when you asserted the following:<BR><BR>"[Atheists] have made God very unpopular in this country."<BR><BR>I pointed out that God is significantly more popular in this country<BR>than He is in<BR>any country in the Western world. In other words, I was saying that<BR>God isn't unpopular in this country
at all, especially if we are only<BR>comparing countries in the Western World. Relative to all countries<BR>in the Western World, God is very popular indeed.<BR><BR>You replied:<BR><BR>"Most countries and people in the world celebrate and include God to a<BR>greater extent then the US and Western World."<BR><BR>I agreed with you. Outside of the Western World, there are many<BR>countries in which God is more popular. I then tried to point out<BR>that that this was hardly a good advertisement for belief in God, as<BR>most countries (outside the Western World) which have increased levels<BR>of religiosity are worse places to live, rather than better.<BR><BR>You responded:<BR><BR>"So are the Athiests of China, better of than the Christians of America?"<BR><BR>This confused me, and I asked for clarification. You provided this<BR>clarification:<BR><BR>"My understanding is that you are saying that Atheist oriented<BR>Western World is better than most the rest of world which
believes in<BR>God. I disagreed."<BR><BR>I then wrote this response, retracing the thread and amplifying<BR>anything that I had apparent;y left unclear.<BR><BR>To respond, finally, to your clarification, yes, I believe that the<BR>atheist-oriented Western World is better than most of the rest of the<BR>world which believes in God.<BR><BR>"Better" is a troublesome word, so I will elaborate bit. By<BR>"better," I mean simply that the US (and the rest of the Wester World)<BR>is a safer, more comfortable place to live than the rest of the world<BR>which more fervently believes in God.<BR><BR>Afghanistan, Iraq, Iran, Syria -- all countries in which belief in God<BR>is more profound than it is in the US or the rest of the Western<BR>World. I posit that any Western country is "better" than my example<BR>countries.<BR><BR>My belief has some backing. In a complex study of prosperous, Western<BR>World democracies, comes this conclusion:<BR><BR>Higher rates of belief in and worship
of a creator correlate with<BR>higher rates of homicide, juvenile and early adult mortality, STD<BR>infection rates, teen pregnancy and abortion."<BR><BR>And:<BR><BR>"A striking example of this is the US, which has the highest degrees<BR>of religious faith and the highest rates of homicide, abortion, STD<BR>infection and teenage pregnancy. The least religious countries -<BR>Japan, France and Scandinavia - have the lowest rates of violent<BR>crime, juvenile mortality and abortion."<BR><BR>http://moses.creighton.edu/jrs/2005/2005-11.html<BR>http://www.smh.com.au/news/opinion/correlation-of-christian-ethics-social-ills-knocks-advocates-fromknees-to-backside/2005/10/03/1128191653994.html<BR><BR>Another relevant study:<BR><BR>(least religious countries of the world)<BR>http://www.gadling.com/2007/08/23/least-religious-countries/<BR><BR>And:<BR><BR>(the US as one of the most religious countries in the
world)<BR>http://www.ur.umich.edu/0304/Nov24_03/15.shtml<BR><BR>Chas<BR><BR>=======================================================<BR>List services made available by First Step Internet, <BR>serving the communities of the Palouse since 1994. <BR>http://www.fsr.net <BR>mailto:Vision2020@moscow.com<BR>=======================================================<BR></BLOCKQUOTE><BR><p> 
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