tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-35594660.post8649256814801720104..comments2023-12-24T20:48:11.634+00:00Comments on Opinionated Vicar: A nation at prayer?David Keenhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11872644403415655350noreply@blogger.comBlogger7125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-35594660.post-64457697084955157592007-11-15T21:46:00.000+00:002007-11-15T21:46:00.000+00:00DavidI'll have a look through the Soul of Britain ...David<BR/><BR/>I'll have a look through the Soul of Britain website, but from what I've already seen, it looks like I'll be asking the same kind of questions, ie what <I>exactly</I> was asked! This does seem fundamental: what answer you get depends on what question you asked!<BR/><BR/>I assume what the CofS minister meant was that his god created the universe, but then left us to get on with Zenohttps://www.blogger.com/profile/10419783839561343514noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-35594660.post-78728042692270157672007-11-15T16:34:00.000+00:002007-11-15T16:34:00.000+00:00There's a summary of the Soul of Britain research ...There's a summary of the Soul of Britain research at <BR/>http://www.facingthechallenge.org/soul.php - it's not the official BBC site, but summarises the main findings.<BR/><BR/>I vividly remember sitting down for a pint with one of the godparents following a baptism I'd done. The man opposite, having quite happily joined in with the service, told me he didn't believe in God and was an atheist. IDavid Keenhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/11872644403415655350noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-35594660.post-1644947913785305652007-11-14T23:28:00.000+00:002007-11-14T23:28:00.000+00:00DavidI think I might contact Tearfund to see if th...David<BR/><BR/>I think I might contact Tearfund to see if they are willing to give out more information on their survey!<BR/><BR/>You said:<BR/>“On praying atheists, there are plenty of postmoderns who are quite capable of believing in 2 contradictory things at once. Alternatively, it could be people brought up in Christian faith, who have then rejected belief in God, but find themselves Zenohttps://www.blogger.com/profile/10419783839561343514noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-35594660.post-40317072476407887432007-11-14T14:35:00.000+00:002007-11-14T14:35:00.000+00:00ZenoThanks for your comments, I agree that the TEA...Zeno<BR/><BR/>Thanks for your comments, I agree that the TEAR Fund report wasn't as clear as it could have been - it's basically 2 distinct surveys, presented in 1 report. The basic idea seems to be to encourage church members to pray for the developing world, but the stats on prayer in the general population are what's getting the publicity for the report - maybe that was the plan!!<BR/><BR/>David Keenhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/11872644403415655350noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-35594660.post-52314174221385966802007-11-13T22:27:00.000+00:002007-11-13T22:27:00.000+00:00DavidThanks for responding. My initial reply was q...David<BR/><BR/>Thanks for responding. My initial reply was quickly written during my lunch break, but I’ll try to answer more fully.<BR/><BR/>The media reports were misleading for several reasons and part of this is due to the usual media sloppiness – most journalists don’t seem to have much grasp of arithmetic, never mind statistics – and partly due to the lack of clarity and detail in the Zenohttps://www.blogger.com/profile/10419783839561343514noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-35594660.post-33622656285604032382007-11-13T16:24:00.000+00:002007-11-13T16:24:00.000+00:00zeno - yes I did read the report, I'd be intereste...zeno - yes I did read the report, I'd be interested to know why you think it's misleading and for what reasons. <BR/><BR/>I think you actually misrepresent the report: what it says is "After praying, people most often feel:<BR/> - Peaceful and content (38%)<BR/> - Strengthened (30%)<BR/> - Close to God (22%)<BR/> - Reassured/safe (21%)<BR/> - Happy/joyful (19%)<BR/>i.e. it's about their common David Keenhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/11872644403415655350noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-35594660.post-88763640799825481792007-11-13T14:36:00.000+00:002007-11-13T14:36:00.000+00:00Did you read the full Tearfund report? Although se...Did you read the full Tearfund report? Although seeing the raw data would be interesting, the media misreported what was said in the report. The report itself is also misleading for several reasons, so I wouldn't place very much emphasis on the reported findings!<BR/><BR/>However, looking at the figures a different way:<BR/><BR/>Two in three people do not believe that God is watching over them Zenohttps://www.blogger.com/profile/10419783839561343514noreply@blogger.com