Seriously? You anger yourself and think your religion is idiotic?
Think about your first sentence, and then look at the entire paragraph.

Lol, i have no religion buddy... it's all laughable too me. I see the real world as it is, i don't need a phase of ghosts and spirits behind it :)

Try as I may to avoid these threads because of my dislike for confrontations, I eventually jump in somewhere because I do read and follow them.

I have seen such studies also and have made a point of learning more about them because of my own feelings of organized religion.
A factor in why many atheists "tend to be more moral" is because they are given the freedom to choose.

Many, most strict religious homes do not give children the option of choosing their religion. It is a thing that they are taught as soon as they can walk. They are drug off to church kicking and screaming. The fear and guilt is implanted from day one. That doesn't go away until they get older and find it's time to work out those issues...we all have had them from this guilt and fear concept that Christianity teaches.

For those who want to say..Oh no, my life is great, I never had issues, I liked church, my parents didn't make me go, I was never taught fear..I was taught love. Be honest with yourself at least, no need to post such things. Bottom line is we ALL have issues to deal with. No one can be taught such things as "hell" "fear" "sin" "satan"...just to name a few without it affecting us somehow, it's done at a sub-conscious level.

They are put threw some sort of baptism at very young ages. When the time comes to ask questions, many times they are hushed and just told again "this is the truth, if you don't follow this, you'll be at risk of damnation". It isn't resonating with their inner being, their higher self...they rebel, they fight against it, they want to choose their own truth.

An atheist is given the freedom to look at ALL religions, do their own research, come to their own conclusions, follow their hearts. They come to peace with themselves that way. The self destructive behavior isn't necessary. The dulling of pain isn't necessary, the acting out isn't necessary. No one wants to be told what to believe.

Those given the choice will rarely act out with behavior issues that eventually lead to crimes as they move into adulthood.
This isn't rocket science. It's a simple concept of freedom to choose what resonates with yourself. Well intending adults do this to their children, always have...hopefully not " always will".

It is the domestication of humans being passed on generation after generation. It is the greatest lie being passed on and on.
As a parent I understand the responsibility we have to teach our children. The best thing we can do is give them the opportunity to look at ALL religions, ALL traditions, ALL cultures. Not force our own belief system on them.

My boys have been to several Christian churches, a Buddhist Temple, A Krishna Temple, and they see me practice my Shamanism. They have been exposed to all. They get to pick for themselves which resonates in them, I don't force them to practice Shamanism with me. They don't get in trouble, don't drink, don't do drugs...hell, my almost 19 year old is still a virgin. They don't have a desire to dull an ache and pain from being oppressed, living in fear and they don't pack guilt around with them.

I believe in God, my faith is not lost. IF I disrespect someone concerning their 'religious' beliefs or lack of , I hope they will bring it to my attention. You will hardly ever see me ATTACK or initiate some belittling of someone for not believing as I do, although you will see me quite often RESPOND to those who do.

This forum is here to discuss religion but yet those on both sides continue to just BELITTLE others for not believing the same thing they do. I respect everyones right to believe what they will, I dont consider them stupid, or lost, or any thing less than I am for their belief. The only difference I see, when it comes to religion, is that some will seek and never find, some will seek and find but deny, and some will refuse to even seek. Those are all personal choices, I begrudge noone theirs .....

I respect ur peaceful heart and always will, and believe it or not, those who know me consider me extremely peaceful as well. I know we often compare what WE have been through with others,, and when we are young we believe it is normal and what everyone goes through. However, I was indeed given a choice, there was no beating or guilt or any of that used to make me believe what I believe. I also dont drink, dont do drugs, and dont get in 'trouble'. I was a virgin until 17. These were all choices I made because they set in my heart as the right thing to do. As I have stated in these threads before,, there is ALOT of information in the bible. AT younger ages it is hard if not impossible to grasp ALL of it. But as a child,, my parents were already instilling certain values and principles in me that made sense and felt right, I trusted my parents completely and they didnt let me down. I had no reason to believe they would ever tell me anything that would harm me or set me back,,,this is all WITHOUT church

What church did was reinforce what my parents were already teaching me, about balance, about actions and consequences, about the power of thought, about loving others and respecting elders..etc..

As a child, the Lord was the star of the bible for me. His ability to guide(like my parents did us), his ability to love(like my parents did us), and his willingness to sacrifice for my good(like my parents did). The Lords life was one that I respected and chose to try and emulate. His words, (loving God, loving your neighbor as yourself, and doing to others as you want done). It was my PARENTS who taught me valuable lessons and church and the bible re inforced those lessons and explained their purpose even further.

Right, but you do that which you claim angers you. There's a phrase for that...

Too me, it's insane to believe that all matter just appeared from nothing. That's kinda like believing in magic, don't you think?

You are right msharmony about faith in God or Big Bang theory. The difference being that the Big Bang theory has physical and calculable evidence. That's why it's easier for me to believe in science, even though it doesn't explain everything, and is wrong on occasion.

Of course, God ultimately equates to magic. God, by my logic, must always have existed. No begining, no end, the cause of everything.

A true religious person doesn't create answers, that person seeks answers or the "truth".

I don't just make crap up but I can't speak for anyone else, including the authors of the Bible. But if you look at the Bible, you will see an astounding amount of scientific claims about the Earth, space and time that people from 3000 years ago would have called "made up".

What is also intriguing is the study of numerology and the Old Testament.

The Bible instructs people to seek the truth, so ask your questions.
Do your own research and find your own answers. Don't allow anyone else to control your mind.

I'm not telling you to go look up those examples, I'm just giving you ideas for questions...

Oh my. Then what about the Aztecs? They had the stars tracked for the next 5000 years... does that mean their religion is right as well?

Or does it mean the space overlords planted us here and each one we came into contact with we considered a god.

There is a thing called truth, you think that truth is Jesus, some other person thinks that truth is the Flying Spaghetti Monster... but reality doesn't point to either :). I of course respect your decision to believe whatever you want, however, what you choose to believe i have virtually no respect for :D