My 1000th Post: A Poll — Do You Believe In...

pdurrant · 06-13-2009, 03:31 PM

This being my thousanth post, so I thought it only appropriate that it be a poll. What what could make a better poll topic than beliefs?

Multiple Choice. Try not to select self-contradictory items, unless your beliefs are self-contradictory!

For the purposes of this post:
Belief the conviction that something is very likely to be true. You don't need 100% certainty. 99% (or even 98%) will do.

Theism The belief that a supernatural intelligence created or controls the Universe and has interacted with humans within the past 10,000 years. (Or more than one.)
Deism As Theism, but without the interaction.
Atheism The belief that god(s) do not exist.
Life after Death The survival of the essence of a person ('soul') in a form that can still experience events, as a natural event.
Heaven A place of reward for good 'souls'
Hell A place of punishment for bad 'souls'
Reincarnation The re-birth of a 'soul' in a baby, such that at some point (perhaps between lives) the 'soul' remembers old lives.
Ghosts The 'souls' of dead people interacting with the world
Spiritualism The belief that the living can talk with the 'souls' of the dead.
Astrology The belief that the position of the planets in the solar system at the time of your birth, combined with the location of your birth, have some bearing on your subsequent life.
Alien Visitations The belief that beings from another planet (in our solar system or another) have visited the Earth in the past 100 years and made crop circles, or abducted people, or otherwise physically interacted with us.
Miracles The belief that god(s) or other supernatural powers interact with the world and cause physical changes that otherwise would not have happened.
Evolution The belief that different species have common ancestors, e.g. that horses and donkeys are both descended from a single species.
Human Evolution The belief that Humans and (say) Gorillas have a common ancestor. That one of your Greatx300,000 Grandfathers is the same individual creature as some Gorilla's GreatxN Grandfather.
Creationism The belief that the world was created within the last 10,000 years.
The Blue One next to the Fish I'm sure this requires no explanation.

Also, for the purposes of this poll, belief in a belief does not mean "Do you believe some people hold this belief" or "Do you believe there is such a belief" but should be read as "Do you share this belief". So, for example, if you are an atheist, you should not answer "yes" to the question "Do you believe in Theism", even though you do believe that Theism as a belief exists.

columbus · 06-13-2009, 03:34 PM

Now I wonder? what made you think of this subject

You missed agnostic!
Parallel universes!

Sparrow · 06-13-2009, 03:45 PM

I'm a pedant, and when I see 'Do you believe in Theism' - I should answer 'Yes', because I do believe Theism exists; but I don't subscribe to what Theists do, so I feel I should be answering 'No', but then it feels like I'm fibbing because I'm denying the existence of Theism.

Donnageddon · 06-13-2009, 03:55 PM

Odd that at the time I write this, evolution has 2 votes, and human evolution has 4 votes.

That is a head scratcher...

ShortNCuddlyAm · 06-13-2009, 03:56 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Sparrow

I'm a pedant, and when I see 'Do you believe in Theism' - I should answer 'Yes', because I do believe Theism exists; but I don't subscribe to what Theists do, so I feel I should be answering 'No', but then it feels like I'm fibbing because I'm denying the existence of Theism.

Which reminds me of a signature I saw on an e-mail once: "Do I believe in the bible? Of course! I've even seen one!"

desertgrandma · 06-13-2009, 04:21 PM

Great poll.

I really had to pick "the blue one next to the fish"

You know, the older you get, the more you realize you don't know WHAT to believe.

All the above have their strong points......but we won't know the answers until we die.

Sweetpea · 06-13-2009, 04:47 PM

I believe in evolution, in general and human. And I believe in reincarnation.

And DG, if you believe that, you must believe in an after-life. How else can you know something when you're dead!

nrapallo · 06-13-2009, 04:47 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Sparrow

I'm a pedant, and when I see 'Do you believe in Theism' - I should answer 'Yes', because I do believe Theism exists; but I don't subscribe to what Theists do, so I feel I should be answering 'No', but then it feels like I'm fibbing because I'm denying the existence of Theism.

Now there's a truism!

I also "caught" myself, before fibbing, and voted for Thesim, but needed to follow my rational side and voted for Evolution as well.

Now my brain hurts, from being pulled from side to side.

pdurrant · 06-13-2009, 05:23 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Donnageddon

Odd that at the time I write this, evolution has 2 votes, and human evolution has 4 votes.

That is a head scratcher...

And now a hidden puzzle, as (as I write) evolution has caught up, 10 and 10.

And how have we managed to get (so far) only one person who believes in life after death, but two that believe in reincarnation — which I would have definitely counted as life after death.

It is interesting to see what shows up. Thanks to all who've participated so far!

Who are you? · 06-13-2009, 06:06 PM

Reincarnation is as much life after death as being wormfood and continuing as worms. Without your memories and experience a new life is just that, it is not really a continuation as life after death implies.

ShortNCuddlyAm · 06-13-2009, 06:17 PM

I ended up voting for the two evolution ones, and the blue one next to the fish.

I debated voting for life after death, but that suggested some form of continuation of my conciousness, and my remains feeding the various forms of life in a wood doesn't have to involve that.

pdurrant · 06-13-2009, 06:20 PM

Addressed in the definitions in the first post. For the purposes of this poll, reincarnation is

"The re-birth of a 'soul' in a baby, such that at some point (perhaps between lives) the 'soul' remembers old lives."

In other words, if you can never remember more than one life, it doesn't count as reincarnation for this poll.

Quote:

Originally Posted by Who are you?

Reincarnation is as much life after death as being wormfood and continuing as worms. Without your memories and experience a new life is just that, it is not really a continuation as life after death implies.

pdurrant · 06-13-2009, 06:24 PM

I'm delighted (and rather surprised) to see that the winner of the "last option without a vote" prize is Astrology.

jinlo · 06-13-2009, 06:33 PM

I thought I might explain why I voted for heaven and not hell. I also voted for reincarnation. I do not believe in an everlasting punishment, but I do believe you might have to come back and try again.

There's a movie with Albert Brooks that's pretty funny that touches on that, it's called Defending Your Life.

As for the Creationism vote, I really don't believe the world was created less than 10,000 years ago, but that's not my definition of Creationism. I must admit I didn't see that particular description until after I voted. I believe the world was created much longer ago than that, but I still believe it was created.

Andybaby · 06-13-2009, 06:37 PM

I love the way more people believe in heaven than hell

View Poll Results: Do You Believe In...
Theism	9	17.65%
Deism	3	5.88%
Atheism	16	31.37%
Life after Death	12	23.53%
Heaven	9	17.65%
Hell	6	11.76%
Reincarnation	4	7.84%
Ghosts	3	5.88%
Spiritualism	3	5.88%
Astrology	2	3.92%
Alien Visitations	2	3.92%
Miracles	8	15.69%
Evolution	30	58.82%
Human Evolution	26	50.98%
Creationism	6	11.76%
The Blue One next to the Fish	23	45.10%
Multiple Choice Poll. Voters: 51. You may not vote on this poll

06-13-2009, 03:31 PM	#1
pdurrant The Grand Mouse 高貴的老鼠 Posts: 73,595 Karma: 315126578 Join Date: Jul 2007 Location: Norfolk, England Device: Kindle Oasis	My 1000th Post: A Poll — Do You Believe In... This being my thousanth post, so I thought it only appropriate that it be a poll. What what could make a better poll topic than beliefs? Multiple Choice. Try not to select self-contradictory items, unless your beliefs are self-contradictory! For the purposes of this post: Belief the conviction that something is very likely to be true. You don't need 100% certainty. 99% (or even 98%) will do. Theism The belief that a supernatural intelligence created or controls the Universe and has interacted with humans within the past 10,000 years. (Or more than one.) Deism As Theism, but without the interaction. Atheism The belief that god(s) do not exist. Life after Death The survival of the essence of a person ('soul') in a form that can still experience events, as a natural event. Heaven A place of reward for good 'souls' Hell A place of punishment for bad 'souls' Reincarnation The re-birth of a 'soul' in a baby, such that at some point (perhaps between lives) the 'soul' remembers old lives. Ghosts The 'souls' of dead people interacting with the world Spiritualism The belief that the living can talk with the 'souls' of the dead. Astrology The belief that the position of the planets in the solar system at the time of your birth, combined with the location of your birth, have some bearing on your subsequent life. Alien Visitations The belief that beings from another planet (in our solar system or another) have visited the Earth in the past 100 years and made crop circles, or abducted people, or otherwise physically interacted with us. Miracles The belief that god(s) or other supernatural powers interact with the world and cause physical changes that otherwise would not have happened. Evolution The belief that different species have common ancestors, e.g. that horses and donkeys are both descended from a single species. Human Evolution The belief that Humans and (say) Gorillas have a common ancestor. That one of your Greatx300,000 Grandfathers is the same individual creature as some Gorilla's GreatxN Grandfather. Creationism The belief that the world was created within the last 10,000 years. The Blue One next to the Fish I'm sure this requires no explanation. Also, for the purposes of this poll, belief in a belief does not mean "Do you believe some people hold this belief" or "Do you believe there is such a belief" but should be read as "Do you share this belief". So, for example, if you are an atheist, you should not answer "yes" to the question "Do you believe in Theism", even though you do believe that Theism as a belief exists. Last edited by pdurrant; 06-13-2009 at 05:26 PM. Reason: Sparrow and typos

06-13-2009, 03:34 PM	#2
columbus Wizard Posts: 999 Karma: 5487540 Join Date: Feb 2009 Location: In my own imagination. Device: Sony Prs 650, 505	Now I wonder? what made you think of this subject You missed agnostic! Parallel universes! Last edited by columbus; 06-13-2009 at 03:37 PM.

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06-13-2009, 03:45 PM	#3
Sparrow Wizard Posts: 4,395 Karma: 1358132 Join Date: Nov 2007 Location: UK Device: Palm TX, CyBook Gen3	I'm a pedant, and when I see 'Do you believe in Theism' - I should answer 'Yes', because I do believe Theism exists; but I don't subscribe to what Theists do, so I feel I should be answering 'No', but then it feels like I'm fibbing because I'm denying the existence of Theism.

06-13-2009, 03:55 PM	#4
Donnageddon Now you lishen here... Posts: 2,494 Karma: 479498 Join Date: Jul 2007 Location: Seattle-ish Device: Sony PRS-650. Kobo Touch, Kindle Fire	Odd that at the time I write this, evolution has 2 votes, and human evolution has 4 votes. That is a head scratcher...

06-13-2009, 04:21 PM	#6
desertgrandma Enjoying the show.... Posts: 14,270 Karma: 10462843 Join Date: Jun 2008 Location: Arizona Device: A K1, Kindle Paperwhite, an Ipod, IPad2, Iphone, an Ipad Mini & macAir	Great poll. I really had to pick "the blue one next to the fish" You know, the older you get, the more you realize you don't know WHAT to believe. All the above have their strong points......but we won't know the answers until we die.

06-13-2009, 04:47 PM	#7
Sweetpea Grand Sorcerer Posts: 9,707 Karma: 32763414 Join Date: Dec 2008 Location: Krewerd Device: Pocketbook Inkpad 4 Color; Samsung Galaxy Tab S6	I believe in evolution, in general and human. And I believe in reincarnation. And DG, if you believe that, you must believe in an after-life. How else can you know something when you're dead!

06-13-2009, 06:06 PM	#10
Who are you? Groupie Posts: 184 Karma: 300001 Join Date: May 2009 Device: 505	Reincarnation is as much life after death as being wormfood and continuing as worms. Without your memories and experience a new life is just that, it is not really a continuation as life after death implies.

06-13-2009, 06:17 PM	#11
ShortNCuddlyAm WWHALD Posts: 7,879 Karma: 337114 Join Date: Sep 2008 Location: Mitcham, Surrey, UK Device: iPad. Selling my silver 505 here	I ended up voting for the two evolution ones, and the blue one next to the fish. I debated voting for life after death, but that suggested some form of continuation of my conciousness, and my remains feeding the various forms of life in a wood doesn't have to involve that.

06-13-2009, 06:24 PM	#13
pdurrant The Grand Mouse 高貴的老鼠 Posts: 73,595 Karma: 315126578 Join Date: Jul 2007 Location: Norfolk, England Device: Kindle Oasis	I'm delighted (and rather surprised) to see that the winner of the "last option without a vote" prize is Astrology.

06-13-2009, 06:33 PM	#14
jinlo aka coco jinlo Posts: 415 Karma: 500002 Join Date: Apr 2009 Location: NJ-USA Device: Just purchased Sony 505, but alas, it is for the wife	I thought I might explain why I voted for heaven and not hell. I also voted for reincarnation. I do not believe in an everlasting punishment, but I do believe you might have to come back and try again. There's a movie with Albert Brooks that's pretty funny that touches on that, it's called Defending Your Life. As for the Creationism vote, I really don't believe the world was created less than 10,000 years ago, but that's not my definition of Creationism. I must admit I didn't see that particular description until after I voted. I believe the world was created much longer ago than that, but I still believe it was created.

06-13-2009, 06:37 PM	#15
Andybaby Wizard Posts: 1,279 Karma: 1002683 Join Date: Nov 2008 Location: New York Device: PRS-700	I love the way more people believe in heaven than hell

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