On Atheism

The Newton Project ^ | 3-28-06

[Conservative Coulter Fan]

PING..

[Dark Skies]

...just two eyes & no more on either side the face...

I recommend the flounder, Sir Isaac. And is that a centipede on your lapel.

[TBP]

Atheists re trying to force their religion on the rest of us.

[ThePythonicCow]

Atheists re trying to force their religion on the rest of us.

I don't see where this article involves atheists forcing their religion.

This article seems to be a traditional explanation by Newton as to why there must be an "Author", or as we call Him recently, an Intelligent Designer.

[Izzy Dunne]

Did blind chance know that there was light & what was its refraction & fit the eys of all creatures

I give up - who's talking about blind chance?

And who suggested light came about to fit the eyes?

That's about as silly as suggesting that it's lucky we have two eyes, or our glasses wouldn't make sense.

[mugs99]

Atheism is so senseless & odious to mankind that it never had many professors.

According to a survey posted on the National Catholic Reporter, here are the percentages of people who say that torture is never justified:
26% Catholics
31% White Protestant
31% White evangelical
32% Overall Population
41% Secular (Atheist/Agnostic)

The Federal Bureau of Prisons statistics on religious affiliations of inmates:
Catholic......39.164%
Protestant....38.208%
Atheist..........0.209%

Looks like I have more to fear from Catholics and Protestants than Atheists.
.

[Conservative Coulter Fan]

Well...I guess you're like the Red Cross, which condemned Gitmo alleging torture because terrorists being held there weren't getting proper "nutrition" according to their "standards."

[From many - one.]

Interesting numbers. Is there a website you could point me to?

[mugs99]

National Catholic Reporter Torture Survey

Federal Bureau of Prisons Statistics Religious Affiliation
.

[mugs99]

No, I'm not like the Red Cross, but I follow Culture Wars and know what you're up to.

Atheists are only 3% of our population. Your Culture War battle cries have turned Conservatism into a national joke. Adding Atheists to your demons list will only garner more votes against Conservatives in November. Why don't you work to build a Conservative Limited Government instead of trying to start a religious war?
.

[jennyp]

Methinks your Federal Bureau of Prisons link is pointing to the wrong page.

[mugs99]

Methinks your Federal Bureau of Prisons link is pointing to the wrong page.

Works for me...Bureau of Prisons statistics are in PDF format. Here's two links from the top of the Google list for non government sources:
Prison Inmate Religion

Holysmoke.Org Prison Religion
.

[Verginius Rufus]

I wonder about the reliability of those figures. The Holysmoke outfit appears to be anti-religious and perhaps specifically anti-Catholic. They have Catholics at 39% (by excluding the approximately 20% that they don't have data on--if those were included the Catholics would be under 1/3 even by their counting).

If you compare the other set of figures, from the questionnaire, there are 65% Christians and 50% Protestants, which would put Catholics at 15%...quite a difference.

The only Catholic group which likely has a much higher than average rate of incarceration would be lower-income Hispanics (esp. illegals), but they aren't a big enough share of the population to account for that 39% rate. Something is fishy about the numbers.

[Amadeo]

Do you really think people in prison are religious? So much for government stats.

[mugs99]

All numbers derived from government statistics are suspect, IMO.

The point is that Atheists do not have a high proportion of criminals and killers. The National Catholic Reporter survey I linked to shows that Atheists are less suportive of torture than Catholics or Protestants.

Atheists are only 3% of our population. They cause us no problems. Attacking Atheists is no different than attacking Christians or Jews, and should not be tolerated by any American Patriot.
.

[mugs99]

Do you really think people in prison are religious? So much for government stats

Many are. Why would you think otherwise?
Do you really think Atheists are evil?
.

[Doctor Stochastic]

More Newton from his notes; most of these are searchable.

"A Historical Account of Two Notable Corruptions of Scripture".



[Newton on I John 5:7]


[Newton states that this verse appeared for the first time in the third edition of Erasmus's New Testament.]
"When they got the Trinity; into his edition they threw by their manuscript, if they had one, as an almanac out of date. And can such shuffling dealings satisfy considering men?....It is rather a danger in religion than an advantage to make it now lean on a broken reed.

"In all the vehement universal and lasting controversy about the Trinity in Jerome's time and both before and long enough after it, this text of the "three in heaven" was never once thought of. It is now in everybody’s mouth and accounted the main text for the business and would assuredly have been so too with them, had it been in their books.

"Let them make good sense of it who are able. For my part, I can make none. If it be said that we are not to determine what is Scripture what not by our private judgments, I confess it in places not controverted, but in disputed places I love to take up with what I can best understand. It is the temper of the hot and superstitious art of mankind in matters of religion ever to be fond of mysteries, and for that reason to like best what they understand least. Such men may use the Apostle John as they please, but I have that honour for him as to believe that he wrote good sense and therefore take that to be his which is the best."

[Tench_Coxe]

Entering Darwin Central Emulation Mode:

"Newton wasn't a Real Scientist© "

[Verginius Rufus]

I'm not sure exactly what Newton is arguing, and haven't looked at the different editions of Erasmus' New Testament, but it's not that that verse was never seen before Erasmus included it in his third edition--the problem is that there are different readings in various early manuscripts of the Greek and in the early translations into Latin and other languages.

I have a Greek NT which has at 5:7 "that they are three who testify"

5:8 reads "the spirit and the water and the blood, and the three are one"

That's my translation of Aland's text in the UBS Greek New Testament. He has in the notes a different version of the Greek text found in some manuscripts, in which 5:7 reads:

"testifying in the heaven, the Father, the Word, and the Holy Spirit, and these three are one." (There are no capitals in the Greek text.)

It appears that some of the early Latin translations have in 5:8 the combination pater, verbum, et spiritus = Father, Word, Spirit).

Whether these two verses are about the Trinity may depend on which manuscript reading you accept.