in reply ,society need's to learn what other beleafs mean, the preacher's of all beleafs need to come together ,for society to apreshiate them all.

The subject is Atheism in a Christian view of God or Christianity, so other beliefs or non beliefs are not relative. I note Foxy earlier listed nations as predominantly non Christian.
1. Sweden
2. Vietnam
3. Denmark
4. Norway
5. Japan
6. Czech Republic
7. Finland
8. France
9. South Korea
10. Estonia

These must be old findings as South Korea is now predominantly Christian, housing the largest Christian Churches in the World. They have associated the techologically advanced development of the West with Christian faith and practise, and have adopted Christianity as they too advance in this technological age.

Polycarp
I understand what you think you are saying :).

However the reference point you speak of isn't working for some Christians so why would it work for atheists? This reference point can be obtained in law or via religion as I have previously stated - the point is that is still requires adherence.

In both cases there will always be those who stray from the law and these issues can probably be dealt with more by improvements in social justice than via religion or the legal system alone.

My point about your example with Mosley is that it would be like me saying that when a Christian priest stays that means that all Christians are bad which is obviously not so. That was the implication you gave in your earlier post.

One cannot turn their back on God when there is no God. An atheist is not a God-hater, if there is no God to hate.

Dear Pelican,

You apparently have accepted Polycarp's assumption that Mosley is an atheist. Polycarp seems to have disapproved of Mosley's conduct and therefore assumed that he was an atheist. He presented no evidence to support this assertion. I think Polycarp played fast and loose with the truth.

Dear Philo,

The South Korea major study given in my previous post
was taken from the Daniel Miessler article of
August 23rd 2007.

However, be that as it may...

The South Korean Constitution bans designating any
faith as a state religion. Nearly half the country's
47 million people disavow any religious affiliation.
And with good reason.

In a recent article taken from the International
Herald Tribune (The Global Edition of The New York
Times) by Choe San-Hun, published October 14, 2008,
the headline read, "Religious peace threatened in
South Korea."

In August, tens of thousands of Buddhist monks and
lay people marched in central Seoul, accusing
President Lee Myung Bak and his government of
discriminating against Buddhists ...

This was a very unusual rebuke according to the article from
the country's once-docile and normally apolitical
Buddhists.

As the article states,
"This protest, the first of its kind here, signaled
an awakening of political activism among South Korea's
Buddhist clerics. It also raised the prospect of
sectarian strife, something the country has not seen in
its modern history."

"What we see is unusual, because this country - although
frequently torn by wars, idealogy-driven violence
and factional politics - has always maintained
religious harmony," said Song Jae Ryong, a professor
of the sociology of religion at Kyung Hee University.

Christianity, and its churches, may represent modernisation
in South Korea, and the beautiful Buddhist temples may
stand for the 1,600 year old culture of the past.

However, as the International Herald Tribune article
points out,

"...its the Christian churches that have irritated many
Koreans - not just Buddhists - with their assertive
proselytizing and alleged disregard for other faiths."

Dear David F....

it's a fine point but you are correct... I did not say Mosley was an atheistm but I certainly suggested it..Nevertheless his conduct illustrated where it (or a rejection of Gods authority in personal affairs to the Priest or believer) can lead.

In a later post I also said that such behavior can be from either a denial of the the God who IS there..or a denial of the existence of God.

Mosley's conduct is a clear indication of one of those categories.

If he believes in God, it must be a very strange God which allows such goings on.... if he does not...then he will simply see nothing morally wrong with such things.

It should be emphasized that to put things this way, does not imply that all atheists will do such things, simply that there is no moral barrier to them feeling quite ok about them.