Religious folks: Ever wonder why you tend to be less intelligent and less educated?

I am actually a practicing Roman Catholic. Anyway, the argument that religious people are somehow less intelligent or less educated than the non-religious/atheist/agnostic is, I can assure you, the product of a bad survey and/or personal bias. It is an indefensible position.

Consider history. Who do you think founded most of the colleges and universities in the western world? Or for that matter, the Muslim world?
Atheists will need a millennia to match the contributions to humanity made by "religious folks".

Anyway, the vast, vast majority of boxers have been and are religious. Being a preacher is one thing (Foreman and Flowers) but Latin America is very Catholic and they are steeped in its traditions. It is these men who are the dominant ethnic group of the current era. Watch Duran at the opening bell against Hagler -he makes the sign of the cross. Watch Alexis step into the ring on the tapes. He taps the top rope and then makes the sign of the cross and then steps inside the ring. I've seen fighters and you have too who cross themselves before every round.

Robinson the Great thanked Jesus after defeating Fullmer (then went home and beat his wife, but no one, including God, said you have to be sinless to be religious).

It is said that there are no atheists in foxholes. Similarly, I suspect that the naked exposure to pain and injury and death in the ring encourages, and perhaps cultivates, the boxer "looking up" to rely on something greater than flesh and bone.

Every fighter knows that their fate is not actually in their hands. One wrong punch and it's over. They are trained like Spartans to be sure, but Spartans too weren't too "intelligent" to rely on a power greater than themselves.

Those of us with bloated educations and arrogance enough to deceive ourselves into thinking that we are 'master's of our own destinies' should take a page from Virgil and

"...come forward, lace on the gloves and put up his hands."



---And I'll see you in church.

 

Horrors, you say?

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It's all part of God's plan, and God knows better than the purposely ignorant things he created!

 

Quote Nietzsche " GOD is Dead"

Quote GOD " Nietzsche is Dead"

Nietzsche was the enemy of Christians ,Jews and GOD because he said it was founded by the Jews, he hated God and most felt that he was as brilliant as a man could be but Nietzsche had a mental breakdown and suffered before his death at the age of 56 some, including Georges Bataille and René Girard, argue that his breakdown may have been caused by a psychological maladjustment brought on by his philosophy. EITHER WAY he was a man that made such quotes as "God is Dead" and "what dont kill you makes you stronger" but he died a weak and UNBLESSED MAN and in his end he was helpless and as weak as a man could be

 

George Foreman, Evander Holyfield, and Aaron Pryor are ordained ministers. They don't strike me as unintelligent.

 

Having so much hate will ultimately poison a person to their very core. It amounts to a life filled with unhappiness, poor health, and a shortened life in the end.

It is quite sad such a brilliant fellow as Nietzsche never realised this. Regarless of "religion", hatred only hurts in the long term.... and probably hurts the hater far more than those they hate.

 

Yeah, you don't seem like you're trying to drive home your OWN personal point any harder than old Nietzsche there, Bum.

 

Where's your argument regarding what he (Bummy) said? I can't find anything that takes away from his own view of Nietzsche.

 

It is useful to distinguish between religiosity and faith in God.

Faith in God does not descend into fanaticism. It is the simple confidence that comes from looking to the Creator for strength, and certainly most of the very greatest fighters ever had a humble faith in God that spurred them on to the heights.

In the boxing world today, the most obvious example of what faith in God can do to a man is to see the astounding metamorphosis of George Foreman from a rudderless youth to a peaceful man who developed into all he could and left an exemplary mark of inspiration on the sport.

Faith in God makes you a better man.

 

"but he died a weak and UNBLESSED MAN and in his end he was helpless and as weak as a man could be"

He flat out stated a man was weak and helpless because of his lack of faith.

That's not better than completely denying God's existence in the first place.

Everyone's free to choose, and you're not "weak" either way, nor would I tack a label like that onto a dying man because his viewpoints didn't jive with me own.

 

Well I tell ya, faith never hurt.

Look at Evander and Foreman. Marciano and Louis. Ali too. Miracle workers.

 

Well he did suffer from a "mental" breakdown according to what was written. If one chooses to attribute this breakdown to a lack of faith, or anything else, the simple point made was he did end up weak and helpless.

I think Bummy was fairly clear regarding G-d and His importance at the beginning of the paragraph. While the argument was somewhat a counter, I can't see where you would conclude what Bummy wrote was in any way similar.

Yes we are all free to choose. However, I can't even begin to fathom how a person pointing out another's belief/idea constitutes a label as you suggest. As far as I can see, Bummy was only pointing out a flaw in reasoning, as he perceived it.

 

"I believe in God" is fine.

"If you don't believe in God you're going to end up bum**** crazy and destitute, and you'll deserve it" is another.

That's what I got out of his post. That the man was somehow being held responsible because he didn't believe in God.

 

Yet you typed this:

"That's not better than completely denying God's existence in the first place." That's what you typed.

Seems to me that everthing you have typed in the quote above is one person's own support of G-d. So how does that jive with your earlier post? Simple fact of the matter is, it doesn't. Bummy pointed out a person against G-d, and now you are trying to say that he (Bummy) is denying God in the same breath??? The statement makes zero sense.

 

What is this sudden explosion of religious talk anyway? The lounge is plastered wall to wall with this stuff.

Believe what you want and move on. Crikey.