Christians happier than atheists – on Twitter – CNN Belief Blog - CNN.com Blogs

This is a great article about a study of about 2 million tweets from more than 16,000 users on Twitter. The study was of followers of both Atheist and Christians. They studied the feeds of followers of five Atheists which included Richard Dawkins, Sam Harris, Christopher Hitchens, Monica Salcedo and Michael Shermer, and then the five Christians were Pope Benedict XVI, Joel Osteen, Rick Warren, conservative political commentator Dinesh D’Souza and Joyce Meyer.The researchers found or concluded that “Christians tweet with higher frequency words reflecting positive emotions, social relationships and an intuitive style of thinking – the sort that’s gut-driven….This isn't to say that atheists don’t use these words, too, but they out-tweet Christians when it comes to analytic words and words associated with negative emotions (http://religion.blogs.cnn.com).”

My thoughts on this study are that I am not sure that the fact that one uses happy words or such does not really imply that the person is happy. I recently saw an interview with Richard Dawkins on Book TV, and I think that he seems like a happy person, just to defend him on that matter. Of course, this study was about his followers and perhaps they may or may not be happy, but I suppose this study is a start and does point in a certain direction. In all fairness to Atheist also, even Pope Francis recently said: “The Lord has redeemed all of us, all of us, with the Blood of Christ: all of us, not just Catholics. Everyone,” the pope told worshipers at morning Mass on Wednesday. “‘Father, the atheists?’ Even the atheists. Everyone(http://religion.blogs.cnn.com)!”

In conclusion, I am not sure if being Christian means that one is suppose to be happy, although perhaps the ones on twitter seem to be. I do know that James, the Lords brother, said in James 1:2: “Count it all joy, my brethren, when you meet various trials… (RSV Bible).” So, perhaps these Christians in the study already have this attitude that James mentions; therefore, the results show a reflection of happiness. I think that last thought is perhaps the reality here. Blessings! Oh, why I just caught myself saying something happy to you the readers, I said blessings…lol. Oh well, again, blessings!

References:

Christians happier than atheists – on Twitter – CNN Belief Blog - CNN.com Blogs

http://religion.blogs.cnn.com/2013/06/28/christians-happier-than-atheists-at-least-on-twitter/

http://religion.blogs.cnn.com/2013/05/23/heaven-for-atheists-pope-sparks-debate/

http://www.booktv.org/Program/14698/2013+Book+Expo+America+Fall+Book+Preview+with+Richard+Dawkins+An+Appetite+for+Wonder+The+Making+of+a+Scientist.aspx

RSV Bible

Listening to Young Atheists: Lessons for a Stronger Christianity - Larry Alex Taunton - The Atlantic

I very much enjoyed reading an article in The Atlantic that was written by Larry Alex Taunton. The article is titled: Listening to Young Atheists: Lessons for a Stronger Christianity. In the article a Christian foundation interviewed college nonbelievers about how and why they left religion. Surprisingly, “these students were, above all else, idealists who longed for authenticity, and having failed to find it in their churches, they settled for a non-belief that, while less grand in its promises, felt more genuine and attainable (The Atlantic).” Below is the link to the article.

Listening to Young Atheists: Lessons for a Stronger Christianity - Larry Alex Taunton - The Atlantic

Reference:

http://www.theatlantic.com/national/archive/2013/06/listening-to-young-atheists-lessons-for-a-stronger-christianity/276584/

Unifying the Faith, a New Ecumenism Blog

I wish to announce the creation of the new sister blog to Arango’s Apologetics Page. The name of this new blog is Unifying the Faith. The vision and mission of this blog is stated as follows:

This blog seeks to promote and establish ecumenism among all groups and denominations of the Christian Faith via expressions in written language, and through any means of communication. We seek the promotion of others that are working towards the same common goal, as well. The prayer of Jesus in John 17: 21 was: "I pray that they may all be one…." Ultimately and eternally, the creation of unity among all believers and followers of Christ is sought desiring harmony with and for all of humanity.

Although, there are no posts yet, soon we will be sharing and discussing ideas on the topic of ecumenism. I pray and hope that its purpose is served well on planet Earth. The following is the link to the new site:

Unifying the Faith