Countdown to Crapture - Page 3

Kinich Ahau · 03-08-2012, 07:43 AM

Irr, amongst white evangelists the figure is 67%. I suppose they are the majority in the states and bring the figure up. Other types of Christians are below the 43%. I got it from the Denver Post, I don't really know how reputable they are.

Davin, Most polls we see in the press rely on only a thousand or so respondents.

Kinich Ahau · 03-08-2012, 07:49 AM

I went and found the other graphic.

Davin · 03-08-2012, 07:54 AM

Quote:

Irreligious wrote

I'm assuming your ex was obsessing over the whole Mayan calendar thing. If so, what has that got to do with "End Times," which is a very specifically Christian thing? Surely, your ex was not in fear of a wrathful Jesus returning to Earth, was she?

I guess it depends on the question that was asked in the study. I've seen it before where they ask one question like, "do you think that the end of world might be soon?" then interpret it to mean "End Times" because hey, it's essentially the same thing. But no, she had no fear of a wrathful Jesus, but a fear of the end of the Earth.

I see what you mean, maybe I was just too forgiving of the graphic.

Davin · 03-08-2012, 07:55 AM

Quote:

Kinich Ahau wrote

Davin, Most polls we see in the press rely on only a thousand or so respondents.

Yeah, that is one of the reasons I don't like them. They're not useful for anything but pretending to get the "pulse of public opinion."

Kinich Ahau · 03-08-2012, 08:10 AM

Not as quite as bad as those yes/no/don't know questions that are so popular in the media now, but I know what you mean.

Irreligious · 03-08-2012, 08:11 AM

Quote:

Kinich Ahau wrote

Irr, amongst white evangelists the figure is 67%. I suppose they are the majority in the states and bring the figure up. Other types of Christians are below the 43%. I got it from the Denver Post, I don't really know how reputable they are.

I understand, but they claimed to have polled the "general public" and, in essence, found it to be more Christian than it actually is. That's fishy. While the public is overwhelmingly Christian, it is not entirely so. Hence, the question remains: Why would non-Christians start subscribing to Christian theology? It doesn't make sense.

As for folks fearing some sort of cataclysmic event that portends the end of the world, well, that worry has been with the species since, like, forever, particularly when people's anxieties are piqued, as ours are on a daily basis. For anyone with access the plethora of media out there, the perpetual feeling of doom is practically inescapable.

Anyway, the ostensible end of the world and "End Times" are not nearly the same thing.

Kinich Ahau · 03-08-2012, 08:39 AM

What is the percentage of Christians in the States, I can't remember exactly but it's well over sixty percent isn't it. which would make the figure reasonable wouldn't it?

You are right about the wording. It is always very important to these polls and can instill bias. Unfortunately I don't know if they explicitly used the term "end times".
I wouldnt be surprised if the memes of global warming, the nuclear threat, new age prophesies as well as Hollywood sensationalism have all entered into it.

I suppose we shouldn't take it all that seriously.

Eternal · 03-08-2012, 09:05 AM

Not many things spread as quickly or as easily as fear.

Irreligious · 03-08-2012, 09:16 AM

Quote:

Kinich Ahau wrote

I suppose we shouldn't take it all that seriously.

I'm not going to.

Notice how the pollsters (or the creators of the graphics for the poll results) put the words "End Times" in quotes? Why would they do that?

I have no idea how they actually worded the poll question, but it's clear to me that they want to telegraph that a majority of the public subscribes to this specific brand of Christian theology in which an alleged Jesus is close to returning to Earth on a cloud and with a sword in his hand, ready to embrace the lambs and slay the goats.

That, more or less, is what "End Times" means, along with a belief by "some" that the right kind of Christians will be magically swept up into the skies (or raptured) when the appointed time comes.

In the absence of better evidence than this polls claims to present, I don't trust that this a belief system subcribed to by a majority of Americans. I'm highly suspicious that it is embraced by non-Christians at all.

Smellyoldgit · 03-08-2012, 09:18 AM

Wouldn't the Salt Lake Tribune be infested by Morons?

Irreligious · 03-08-2012, 09:29 AM

Quote:

Smellyoldgit wrote

Wouldn't the Salt Lake Tribune be infested by Morons?

Is it possible to be both a Mormon and a member of the alleged, liberal media elite? That's like an oxymoron, no?

Kinich Ahau · 03-08-2012, 10:04 AM

There is something about Mormons in the small print.

Irreligious · 03-08-2012, 10:15 AM

Quote:

Kinich Ahau wrote

There is something about Mormons in the small print.

I was being cheeky. Or attempting to be, anyway.

Anyway, the Salt Lake Tribune was founded by a group of ex-Mormons over 140 years ago. It was later sold to a Roman Catholic U.S. Senator and his business partner, and after a succession of owners over the years, it's currently owned by Denver, Colorado-based MediaNews Group, which is not a Church of Latter Day Saints-affiliated business.

However, I suppose that wouldn't necessarily keep the paper from pandering to its target audience.

Kinich Ahau · 03-08-2012, 10:21 AM

Maybe by keeping them out of it.

Smellyoldgit · 03-08-2012, 11:19 AM

I was wondering if 'end times' bullshit was a similar load of crap with the morons as it is with some christ-stains - and Mr Wiki tells me Latter-day Saints are frequently counseled to watch for the "signs of the times" but not to fear them. What this does to a retarded poll, fuck knows - but it would have been a good one to pharyngulate!