I saw on TV once that 99% of people who claim to be an atheist, can not pass a lie detector test when asked, "Do you believe in God?"
69 comments
1) Lie detectors are junk, they detect changes in respiration and heart-rate which is just as indicative of an emotional response or nervousness as it is of lying. There's a reason why courts don't accept them as evidence.
2) Even if lie detectors were accurate, I highly doubt the number would be as high as 99%. I am being absolutely honest when I say I don't believe in God, and I'm certain that I'm not alone. I think you're either exaggerating or full of shit.
No lie detector will ever produce a 99% result with anything, true or otherwise.
I call BS on this one, I'm afraid. :<
@ Knotilus: Considering that atheists are a minority in America, even often within their own families, this question can be fraught for an atheist and get them stressed and/or defensive. A lie detector test can often pick up stress, which will also set it off.
Oh, and as regards to the original post, I have this ironic urge to yell "Pants on fire!"
Yeah, I saw these amazing weight loss pills on TV once, and I saw this great exercise machine guaranteed to turn me into the top stud of planet earth on TV once, and I saw Pat Robertson claim he could turn a hurricane on TV once... but they all turned out to be lies.
Passing or failing a lie detector test isn't very meaningful. That's why the results aren't allowed as evidence in court.
P.S. Why do Fundies insist upon telling me what I believe?
P.P.S. Why do Fundies even care if atheists secretly are unsure about God? So f*cking what? I bet most Christians are secretly unsure about God too.
He's right. I can't pass that answer on a lie detector test, because it's so horribly vague that it can't possible be answered with a yes/no answer.
I've published a few things that contained references to "god", but in the same way that Einstein said that "God does not play dice" (which he does, in your face Albert!).
I can't say I don't believe for 100% of the definition, but I can say that I don't believe in any divine god.
I saw on TV once a talking Bird that was big and yellow.
(For all anybody knows, you heard it on a sitcom as dialogue between two characters and mistook for real - I've met children who do that very thing.)
Do you know what 'atheist' means, oh wait, religious person, yeah, what your pastor tells you, I see
Well, I never liked the phrase "believe in ", but then again, prepositions have always frustrated me.
99% of any percentage figures are extracted on the spot.
Lie detectors don't work that way.
I saw on TV once that there were little blue people that lived in mushroom houses in the woods and they had a nemesis that was an old balding man who wore a brown dress and owned a cat. Must be true.
Maybe because we always go on the defensive when we're asked that, because that question usually leads to a nasty judgement and/or a fight that many of us just don't want to fucking deal with.
And besides, the conspiracy theorist part of me wants to hide the fact that I'm an atheist so when the revolution comes, they won't know to come after me. like I said, I know its crazy.
On TV? Shit, then it must be true. We can't deny the logic of something being on TV being true. By the way, Inuyasha & crew just ran through here fighting some demon named Naraku, so demons must be true too, huh Glory? With studies done in reverse speech, Jerry Falwell was heard to comment that "god is a slug". I seen it on TV. Not really, but there is an internet site about that, but it's mostly forced hearing.
I am one of those people who claims to be an athiest. I must be among the one per cent who were not tested on the lie detector, or who passed the test. In fact, nobody even asked me to take the test. I feel a bit aggrieved that I was left out of this important research.
However, I do know for a fact (it must be true, because I researched it myself) that more than 99 per cent of people who post on RaptureReady are credulous, deluded morons.
fergus
Lie detectors dectect stress, which is sometimes caused by saying a lie. As an atheist, I get stressed when someone I don't know is asking me about my religious beliefs, because I know I will be judged by them. Thanks for proving that point.
I saw this guy with huge eyebrows on TV, once, and he kept killing people and eating their brains to steal their super-powers...
Oh, wait, some stuff is fiction.
"Lie detectors can detect heightened emotion at best. And if somebody strapped me into a lie detector and started asking if I believed in god, I'd be seriously fucking worried."
As for me, just getting strapped into a lie detector (even willingly and knowing how they work) would probably crank my anxiety level so high that the machine would detect "the sun rises in the east" as a lie...
"I read on the back of a napkin once that all Christians are Paedophiles who set fire to puppies for fun...so I guess that must be true right?"
Well, now that you mention that, a lot of the things the fundies try to use as source/evidence for their claims do sound about as legitimate as the "authority" used by the Paedofinder General : "by the power vested in me by a phone poll in the News Of The World/by tabloid reading imbeciles/by prurient wishful thinking, I proclaim you guilty of paedophilia!"
I saw on TV once that 99% of people who claim to be an atheist, can not pass a lie detector test when asked, "Do you believe in God?"
I'd like to know what kind of "lie detector" was employed. I assume a christian lie detector like these:
image
I would imagine there’s quite a bit of emotional response connected to being wired to a lie detector in the first place, much less braced about your religious beliefs and feelings in a yes/no question.
Is the alleged experiment limited to that question? Or do they try to drill down to why there’s an emotional response to the question?
Or is it complete bullshit.
Confused?
So were we! You can find all of this, and more, on Fundies Say the Darndest Things!
To post a comment, you'll need to Sign in or Register . Making an account also allows you to claim credit for submitting quotes, and to vote on quotes and comments. You don't even need to give us your email address.