To Bridean [for Terry re population figures]

Brian Dean bridean@worldnet.att.net
Mon, 4 May 1998 00:27:24 -0400 (00894277644, 19980504041622.AAA3532@briandea) 


>TERRY

>Yes, everybody does believe something for a reason and skeptics totally

>ignore the reason that million and millions of other people accept.  The

>point I am making Bridean is very simple if a person is skeptical enough

>then he will not believe any evidence no matter how credible or non credible

>it is. I stand by that statement. And I will agree not all  99% of the

>people in the world  believe in God the way I do.  However 99% of the people

>in the world do believe in God.  They believe in God for what ever reason.

>And since I feel I know the reason there are various different beliefs this

>only strengthens my believe in God. The bogus claims being made are by the

>1% not the 99% So don't preach to me about bogus claims.  At any rate I have

>some things for Shumake to consider and I will give them to him, and I will

>be curious as to how he response.



CREA 
    From the above I can see that your assertions of high critical standards
is an obvious fabrication.  It would seem that you've been reading Xian
apologetic literature with near total credulity (and no inclination to
pursue verification).  

   Let's assume, for the sake of argument, that one accepts Ron's definition
of "God" as "the creator of the universe".  Based on that definition, and
utilizing a reputable source like the  __1996 Britannica Book of the Year__,
we find that the number of reported atheists stated as totalling some
219,925,000.  Adding to that figure the reported totals for Buddhists
(approximately 323,894,000) and Jains ( around 8,886,000), who do not accept
the concept of a universe creating deity, and we come up a grand total of
about 548,705,000.  The same source reports the total world population as
being near to 5,716,425,000.  Thus, a reasonable, though approximate, value
for the percentage of the world's population which do not believe in a
creator deity is 9.6%, a value nearly 10 times greater than the figure you
would wish us to accept.  Next time do your homework -- and maybe, just
maybe, you won't end up with your foot in your mouth.

BRIDEAN
And it is important to note that Terry rejects the reason why 548,705,000
believe the way they do.