A Secular Lifestyle is superior, and often more moral than a Religious one.

I would like to jump right in, but considering this is my final post, I will be refuting con's points, while hopefully leaving room for a conclusion and some further points of my own. . Lets begin. My opponent's first rebuttal is to pornography. The sources that Con has cited are from what he says a "Feminist Warrior" and a feminist activist. I'd be surprised to find an anti-porn feminist that revealed statistics that showed that porn has a positive effect on society. One thing that research has taught me is that everything can be spun, and everything can be misinterpreted to promote an agenda. These are clear and cut examples of Bias sources, they weed out the bad, and ignore the good. I can play that same game. "Over the years, many scientists have investigated the link between pornography (considered legal under the First Amendment in the United States unless judged "obscene") and sex crimes and attitudes towards women. And in every region investigated, researchers have found that as pornography has increased in availability, sex crimes have either decreased or not increased. " (1) That quote is from Milton Diamond, a writer for The-Scientist. There is another Article entitled "Porn Up Rape Down" (2) that shows that a survey has revealed that Sex crime has seen an 84% Decrease since 1980, especially since porn has been readily available on the internet. There are dozens of similar articles showing the same thing. We are in a free society. What we choose to do with our own bodies is our own business. Con has tried to show a link between Pornography and Sex Crime using Bias Sources by authors with clear agendas. I have shown you sources that, while not necessarily being without bias, at least are written by people that do not seem to be Porn enthusiasts, or Porn Directors or Actors. I would also like to point out the Fallacious attempt my opponent makes to support his argument. We can both agree that Child Pornography is immoral. In the Dines interview she has deduced that watching porn led these men to commit Child-Rape. Saying that Porn leads to rape is like saying that since many murderers use knives, then owning a knife is the cause of murder. The tendency to rape is not Caused by porn, and in fact, it allows an outlet for sexual frustration. I also would like to mention that while my opponent argues a causal link between porn and sexual violence, I could, in the same vein, argue that Catholicism causes Catholic Priests to commit Child Rape. I wont because the notion is ridiculous, But I would argue that this is a case of sexual Violence for which no porn is present, and the Catholic Priest, while not an accurate representation for the common christian, is clearly on Religion's side of the fence. My opponent's next debate topic is a long and drawn out semantic argument that Christians are led not by the bible, but by god in their heart. He can quote scriptures and pastors all day, but it doesn't change the fact that there is simply no factual proof of this. Besides, my opponent nullifies all of this sidestepping with the following. "we must come to recognize the genuine voice of the spirit within. In this regard, the written Word of God must be our standard of discernment. " Not only has my opponent admitted to drawing morals from the bible, but his lofty language such as "Voice of the Spirit Within" simply means, "Interpretation. " So what exactly is the "Voice of the Spirit within" for the passages that condone slavery, or rape, or incest? are these symbols? then what is real and what is symbolism? My opponent stresses the term "True Christian," and promised examples and sources. So far he has yet to provide me with anything but opinions of Pastors and bible quotes. The bible quotes are the most interesting. I find it fascinating that you try to prove yours isn't a religion of written codes by quoting a WRITTEN CODE that says so. What's most interesting is that my opponent seems to say that In order to be a true christian, you must not always follow the bible but follow god. If one sees that the bible condones eternal sin and one believes that this is immoral, (And it does, Jesus himself condemns anyone who denies the holy spirit for eternity. ) then they are making a SECULAR judgment based on SECULAR morality. the idea that this thought that is contradictory to God's word is somehow inspired by him is completely paradoxical. My morals come from me, they don't come from a collective or a religion. I am the decider of my own morality. It's a great way to dodge pesky things like atrocity and immoral actions in a "holy book. " My opponent, by listening to "god in his heart" is making moral decisions based on Logic and secular judgment. By arguing against the rules set in his holy book, I believe he has only supported my case. Now onto some new points. Secularity is tied to prosperity. I would like to quote an article from the Sunday Times "RELIGIOUS belief can cause damage to a society, contributing towards high murder rates, abortion, sexual promiscuity and suicide, according to research published today. According to the study, belief in and worship of God are not only unnecessary for a healthy society but may actually contribute to social problems. "(3) If my opponent discredits these studies, then he must also discredit the studies he has shown to demote pornography. There is a statistical link between Atheism and the positive morality of a country. "Gregory Paul, the author of the study and a social scientist, used data from the International Social Survey Programme, Gallup and other research bodies to reach his conclusions. He compared social indicators such as murder rates, abortion, suicide and teenage pregnancy. The study concluded that the US was the world's only prosperous democracy where murder rates were still high, and that the least devout nations were the least dysfunctional. Mr Paul said that rates of gonorrhoea in adolescents in the US were up to 300 times higher than in less devout democratic countries. The US also suffered from " uniquely high" adolescent and adult syphilis infection rates, and adolescent abortion rates, the study suggested. " In Conclusion: I believe I have shown you that beyond a shadow of a doubt, both logic and statistical proof have shown that Secular Morality is not only more beneficial to society, but is also a must used by the Atheistic and Religious alike. For the Atheist, it is things determined by their logical minds that they have deemed wrong and immoral, based on their own observations. For Religious, it is the cause for Special Pleading or the insistance that "This quote is misinterpreted," or "That quote isn't meant to be taken literal," or even, "times have changed. " Indeed they have, and it's time to stop drawing our morality from a Bronze Age Archaic superstition and draw them from what we know, what we can observe, and how our actions affect those around us. not because god says it's a good Idea, but simply because it's the right thing to do. nothing could possibly be more elemental to our continued existence. Thank you. Vote Pro. That is all. (1) . http://www.the-scientist.com... (2) . http://anthonydamato.law.northwestern.edu... (3) . http://www.timesonline.co.uk...