In a message dated 6/19/2000 4:30:23 AM Pacific Daylight Time,
randysmith101@hotmail.com writes:
>
> But, actually, atheism is more about atheists being the kind of people who
> stand outside society, laughing at assorted silliness, such as the fact
that
>
> the belief in a god is an obvious sham.
>
Generalizations are not usually accurate.
You describe an atheist as laughing at religion. That may be your stance, but
it is certainly not mine, or many others who are not believers. Not all
people who believe in god/gods/goddess/whatever are being "duped". Many are
searching for manageable tenets on which to base their actions.
Many spiritual people have things they can teach me.
These teachings can be extremely helpful, especially buddists and some of the
fringe neo-eastern groups, or the rogue fellows which the secular humanists
call "Uncertain Deists" ie they believe there's some sort of creative force,
but they don't call it anything in particular.
Yes, I am an atheist, and I don't tolerate quoters of idiotic psalms and
fundy claptrap, or allow people to try to "convert" me. I stop them quickly
by telling them Christianity is evil.
But I am not the nasty sort who makes fun of people's deep seated hopes and
fears.
I do feel that most organized religions are destructive. However, I find
tolerance and love to be a far more effective tool when dealing with
*intelligent* people of differing beliefs from mine.
Then we move on to another topic. Life is too precious to spend it feeling
superior and smug.
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