Comment by Cara Coleen on September 11, 2009 at 11:46pm

I agree, Dean. I got into yet another debate with my mom the night before last. She's completely illogical so I don't know why I bother, and she doesn't know why Atheists in general bother. She has the whole argument that if she's wrong, no big deal; but if I'm wrong, I'll burn for eternity. That's a flawed argument for belief to start with (since accepting something as a safe-guard against being wrong, as opposed to accepting something based on its validity, says nothing about your BELIEF but more your fear), but she doesn't understand why Atheists like Sam Harris are so "angry".

I think I might've made some progress by comparing them to Glenn Beck and Rush Limbaugh; they can be very intense and, even, angry... because they feel passionately about their country and their rights. They really believe we're headed towards a Socialist nation, so they openly express their contempt for the other side. She at least SEEMED to make the parallel, and seemed to grasp that Atheist are against religion because it threatens their lives, and the lives of those they love. In OUR minds, we only have this one life... how dare someone impose their beliefs and take away our one chance? We realize how fleeting and precious life is NOW and don't take it for granted because we think we have an eternal life ahead of us.

But, I think if we keep fighting, we'll eventually make a huge impact on the way the world thinks. Maybe humans will realize there is such as thing as a stupid opinion, and that not all ideas are equal. When they realize that, they might even discover they have the capacity to come up with GOOD ideas, and that they don't have to depend on archaic books to tell them how to live. It'll be quite amazing when people realize their own potential.

Comment by Reggie on September 11, 2009 at 11:57pm

Passion can be a positive force. Especially when the deluded seek some sort of accommodation for their unsupported and often ridiculous ideas. Big, fat noes rule are justified.

Comment by Dave G on September 13, 2009 at 1:51am

And of course there is a difference between accepting that people have the right to have beliefs, and accepting the beliefs themselves.

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