Religion is a cultural system that creates powerful and long-lasting meaning by establishing symbols that relate humanity to beliefs and values. Many religions have narratives, symbols, traditions and sacred histories that are intended to give meaning to life or to explain the origin of life or the ...
-4
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0answers
82 views
Is mythology fiction? [closed]
Are the stories in any form of mythology true? Did the events in those stories really occur or are they just interpretations for actual events?
14
votes
3answers
629 views
Does going to church add up to 3 years of life expectancy?
According to the New York Times:
ONE of the most striking scientific discoveries about religion in recent years is that going to church weekly is good for you. Religious attendance — at least, ...
28
votes
2answers
1k views
Are atheists barred from holding public office in Texas?
I saw the following claim in B3ta newsletter #574 (possibly NSFW), under "US Postal Service hates Atheists".
Awful, but then Atheists are not allowed to hold
public office in six US states, ...
1
vote
0answers
133 views
Is Jesus a disciple of Budha [closed]
I have heard that Buddha preceded Christ by approximately 500 years and that it may have been possible for the teachings of Buddha to have reached the ears of the young Christ and inspired his ...
17
votes
1answer
639 views
Does the South Park episode “Trapped in the Closet” accurately depict the beliefs of Scientology?
The South Park episode Trapped in the Closet contained a dramatized explanation (you can skip the first 50 seconds) of the beliefs of Scientology. The video contains in the bottom the disclaimer:
...
-2
votes
3answers
352 views
Does this creation model conflict with modern science? [duplicate]
Does this timeline, loosely based on the Bible, conflict with what the Bible or modern science teach about the age and order of the universe?
Creation Timeline Table
From the Moment of Creation to ...
0
votes
0answers
73 views
Does DHARMASYA means 'of religious' in Bhagavad Gita [closed]
In the famous Bhagavad Gita verse:
yada yada hi dharmasya
glanir bhavati bharata
abhyutthanam adharmasya
tadatmanam srjamy aham
Does DHARMASYA means 'of religious' or 'of justice' or something ...
0
votes
0answers
153 views
At which age children can be meaningfully labeled as having a religion? [closed]
Richard Dawkins: There no such thing as a Muslim child, only a child of Muslim parents.
In different ages children can learn different concepts. It's a popular belief that children before the age ...
-1
votes
1answer
476 views
Is a religious upbringing psychologically damaging to a child? [closed]
On his web-site in 2006, noted skeptic and atheist Professor Richard Dawkins wrote:
Odious as the physical abuse of children by priests undoubtedly is, I suspect that it may do them less lasting ...
3
votes
1answer
335 views
Is the “Reader voices strong opinion on atheists” letter a hoax?
I've seen on Facebook the following image being shared:
Letters to the Editor
Reader voices strong opinion on atheists
It's time to stomp out atheists in America. The majority of ...
11
votes
1answer
685 views
Did a banned treatise claim Leonardo da Vinci converted to Islam?
I found this to be strange, if not absurd:
Morteza Khalaj Amirhosseini, the author of the book "Leonardo Da Vinci's Drawings", went on to say that the book presents a complete biography of Da ...
15
votes
1answer
987 views
Are these claims about Christmas true?
This picture* is a little tongue-in-cheek but it makes claims to the real origins of several modern Christmas related traditions such as the tree and carols.
Anyone have the skills to find out if ...
7
votes
1answer
378 views
Can Tummo yoga practitioners withstand extreme cold?
I have heard, and seen in TV, that many gurus do meditation in the Himalayas, without wearing any garments.
An example is Tummo which is a meditation method from Tibetan Buddhism.
It's been claimed ...
4
votes
1answer
1k views
Was Joseph Smith (founder of Mormonism) a convicted con-man?
I frequently hear claims that Joseph Smith was a convicted con artist. While looking into this, the claim is usually in reference to being driven from New York for taking money to find some treasures ...
12
votes
1answer
470 views
Is this movie an accurate representation of secret Mormon rituals?
In the hidden-camera clip BEHIND THE VEIL: Never-Before-Seen Footage of Secret Mormon Temple Rituals we supposedly see never-before-seen footage of secret Mormon Temple rituals.
A longer version of ...
8
votes
0answers
262 views
Are the Claims of Edward Carpenter (and others) historically accurate regarding the Zodiac and biblical interpretation?
In Edward Carpenter's, "Pagan & Christian Creeds : Their Origin and Meaning" one of the claims is made that the golden calf story in Exodus is allegorical due to the astrological turning of the ...
7
votes
0answers
255 views
Is prophet Mohammed's “Last Sermon” an accurate translation?
The poorly-cited Wikipedia article states:
The Farewell Sermon (Arabic: خطبة الوداع, Khuṭbatu l-Wadā), also
known as Muhammad's Final Sermon or The Last Sermon, was delivered by
Muhammad on ...
5
votes
0answers
252 views
African Pentecostal Witch Hunting Guide real?
I found this online: "The African Pentecostal Church's Guide of Inquisitions of Witches and Magicians in the African Continent - 1989 (Translated from the Swahili Manuscript of the late Bakari Sudi ...
4
votes
0answers
534 views
What is the historical evidence that the Prophet Muhammad existed?
What contemporary historical records of the existence of Muhammad, the
prophet of Islam, exist or are known to have existed at some point?
7
votes
1answer
5k views
Does putative Islam convert, Robert Guilham, exist?
A widely broadcast story on Islamic sites claims that a Jewish genetics expert from the Albert Einstein College of Medicine converted to Islam as a result of scientific evidence supporting the Quran. ...
5
votes
1answer
955 views
Is the Bible (Christian and Hebrew) the first one to suggest that the Earth is a sphere?
This website claims that the bible is the first to suggest that earth is a sphere way before the Greeks.
A literal translation of Job 26:10 is “He described a circle upon the
face of the waters, ...
22
votes
3answers
2k views
Does the Quran advise men to beat their wives if they disobey them?
I found this post on Reddit in which it is mentioned that the Quran advises men to beat their wives if they do not obey them.
This is a quote from the link:
Surah 4:34: "Men are in charge of ...
5
votes
3answers
492 views
Does Gallup assume people answer honestly in their creationist vs. evolution polls?
A recent Gallup poll claims that 46% of Americans believe :
God created human beings pretty much in their present form within the last 10,000 years or so
It seems to me possible that, when asked ...
2
votes
3answers
751 views
Do the key Abrahamic holy books claim that their god is omnipotent, omniscient and omnibenevolent?
The claim that the Abrahamic god is omnipotent, omniscient and omnibenevolent is popular among theologians, practitioners of Abrahamic religions and atheists alike (I am referring to the idea of god, ...
-1
votes
1answer
134 views
What does “more likely to be disbelievers” mean in this article? [closed]
With reference to this article: http://www.psychologytoday.com/blog/the-new-brain/201204/religion-and-reason
My question is, when the experimental group turned out to be composed of more disbelievers ...
14
votes
1answer
1k views
Was Jesus crucified?
Assuming Jesus was a real person, it is a generally accepted fact that he died on a cross. On the other hand, Jehovah's Witnesses are of the belief that the crucifixion of Jesus is a mistranslation ...
8
votes
0answers
988 views
Do Wiccan energy balls exist?
I have friends who are Wiccans. I've always been a skeptic.
Besides crystals, orbs, spells, potions and other things, they have what they call "energy balls".
Here's how they build that "energy"1: ...
18
votes
1answer
4k views
Is atheism the fastest growing “religion” in the history of the United States?
First of all, yes, atheism isn't a religion. Taking from the Wikipedia link, atheism is defined as
Most inclusively, atheism is simply the absence of belief that any deities exist.
Penn Jillette ...
11
votes
1answer
325 views
Does the name of Easter derive from a goddess called Eostre? [closed]
As I write this, the Easter holidays are just beginning. In their honour, I have a question about Easter:
I've widely heard that the name of the festival has its roots in its pagan origins, and ...
6
votes
0answers
291 views
Was there an organized early Jerusalem church?
In the period between AD 30 and AD 70, many historians claim that there was an Early Jerusalem Church active and preaching in Palestine. The mainstream historical narrative can be found in this pdf. I ...
14
votes
1answer
907 views
Did George Bernard Shaw convert on his death bed?
I've seen this quote floating around all over the place. It's often used in popular Christian-lite reading (see the first page of the Google Books search for the quote), but is it true? I have never ...
15
votes
2answers
551 views
Have 98% of Catholic women used birth control?
An NPR article on the debate about contraceptive coverage makes the following claim:
In fact, 98 percent of Catholic women use birth control at some point in their lifetimes.
Is this claim true?
...
19
votes
2answers
22k views
Did Mahatma Gandhi say “I like your Christ, I do not like your Christians."?
I have widely heard that Gandhi has said,
"I like your Christ, I do not like your Christians. Your Christians are so unlike your Christ."
Is there any evidence of this? Where is this recorded?
2
votes
0answers
409 views
Do Thetans exist? [closed]
Ron Hubbard asserted that thetans are observable within human bodies. For example, according to Wikipedia:
According to Hubbard, body thetans cling to a body because they have
lost their free ...
18
votes
1answer
20k views
Is there a place in the world where two oceans meet and they don't mix?
This picture is currently being spread virally:
Some Muslims were saying that this is mentioned in the Quran where it is said:
He has set free the two seas meeting together. There is a barrier
...
8
votes
1answer
255 views
Does Santa Claus get more mail than any other fictional or divine entity?
Source
I was listening to the 2008 Christmas Special of the BBC radio programme The Unbelievable Truth, where the following was said to be true:
Santa has more mail than any other fictional or ...
8
votes
1answer
421 views
Are there no camels in the Qur'an?
It seems to be an often-repeated saying that "there are no camels in the Koran".
But I just repeated this factoid in the presence of a guy from Syria who insisted it's not true and that there is a ...
-3
votes
3answers
686 views
Are pet RFID chips (eg: “HomeAgain”) capable of fulfilling Revelations 13:16-17?
Regardless of the veracity of the Christian bible in general, could the technology behind the microchips (RFID tags) implanted into pets--used to re-unite lost pets with their owners--be used to track ...
14
votes
2answers
2k views
Are men “wired differently” so that they “can't control themselves”?
It seems like such an obviously false claim, but I keep running into the claim that men are "Wired differently" than women and therefore can't control their lust.
The claim in conversation was ...
13
votes
2answers
949 views
Does the Torah-encoded age of the universe match science?
Dr. Gerald Schroeder published an article in Aish.com about the age of the Universe and the Jewish bible:
So the only data I use as far as Biblical commentary goes is ancient
commentary. That ...
4
votes
1answer
775 views
Is Islam based on a Moon Worshiping Cult?
I've heard this claim many times, mostly from anti-Islamic sources. A quick google netted this:
http://www.biblebelievers.org.au/islam.htm
Basically, they refute the the way Islam views itself as an ...
21
votes
1answer
1k views
Are non-religious people smarter than religious people?
There are quite a few studies that confirm this, the most recent one:
http://onefuriousllama.com/2011/09/11/another-study-links-intelligence-to-lack-of-religiosity/
Are non-religious people smarter ...
1
vote
0answers
295 views
Is “Jesus” based on the Egyptian sun god Horus? [duplicate]
Possible Duplicate:
Claimed similarities between Jesus Christ and Horus and other Gods
I've seen and read a lot of information about this. Take this article for example, and this video.
I ...
17
votes
1answer
1k views
Do the majority of Americans take the Noah's ark story from the Bible literally?
From Most Americans take Bible stories literally:
An ABC News poll released Sunday found that... ...Sixty percent believe in the story of Noah’s ark and a global flood
This claim is often ...
16
votes
1answer
2k views
Do the Salvation Army policies discriminate against homosexuals?
I have seen several articles and read several blogs stating that the Salvation Army is "homophobic", and that they actively discriminate against gay and lesbian people:
The Salvation Army does not ...
12
votes
3answers
5k views
Fasting for 40 days - is it possible?
According to Deuteronomy 9:9, Moses did not eat or drink anything for 40 days.
When I was gone up into the mount to receive the tables of stone, even
the tables of the covenant which the LORD ...
23
votes
2answers
1k views
Do atheists have a better knowledge of religion than believers?
A Pew Survey from 2010 seems to indicate that this could be the case, with the atheist/agnostic group outscoring all others on a 32-question quiz of religious knowledge.
Obviously, this lone survey ...
1
vote
1answer
214 views
Is the custom in some cultures of having to marry your cousin based on religion? [closed]
I have repeatedly heard of immigrants here in Europe where the children are supposed to marry their cousin, and where there is very strong pressure from the family for this to happen. In some cases ...
4
votes
3answers
624 views
Is radiometric dating performed on sacred relics?
Having read St. Philip the Apostle Tomb's discovered in Turkey, I wondered about the claims of antiquity of similar relics.
Are radiometric dating tests (i.e. like radiocarbon dating, but for 2000 ...
24
votes
2answers
2k views
Is Christianity responsible for the scientific method?
I've heard at least a few times now from apologists that Christianity is responsible for science. For some examples:
From a commercial for the site, Catholics Come Home (video LINK that opens right ...
