But then, you know, God gave us brains to think with and to be rational with, so that we could argue this way and never resolve it rationally.

That said, I can understand his frustration with the Religious and Magical Thinking one encounters everyday as an Atheist living in Britain or America. It is all the more frustrating for the very reason that the vast majority of Believers exercise the very same skepticism in buying a car that they eschew on Sunday morning. I pointed out to my spouse how badly argued The Case for Christ was and she immediately became defensive, ending the discussion with a jerk.

I suppose that many Believers feel besieged by Western culture daily as well – a good sign that it is hostile to neither side but rather indifferent.

As I said in the post, most people do not wield their religion like a cudgel. They simply use it to get through their days. What bothers me about the current crop of radical atheists is their lack of compassion and empathy — that’s what I was trying to show in the post. Not everyone has the emotional wherewithal to maintain scientific equanimity in the face of unanswerable important questions like “Why am I here?” or “How should I live?”. If atheists really wanted to enlighten their fellow humans, they would work to relieve existential anxiety. But I don’t get the feeling that they act out of compassion as much as anger.

What Dawkins offers and defends is NOT point of view, but cogent rational arguements based in principles of logic and scientific method. Fundamentalists avoid logic and science fundamentally.

If some one were to ak me, “what if you’re wrong?”, my reply would be “I may be, please show me the error in my logic (or probability, method, etc.).

I’m sure there might be some of that with the Dawkinsites, their position being no more logically or scientifically secure than fundamentalist religion, but I think there are several other layers. One is an issue of class, the condescending assumption that those who don’t disbelieve with them are ignorant, Deltas if not Epsilons whose existence is an aesthetic affront to their Alpha selves. But even more, they seem to see it is illegitimate for other people to have an opinion of their own, that these people are somehow assuming freedom to make up their own mind that doesn’t belong to them.

Sam Harris, I think it’s a career move by him. Has he published any science yet? Will he ever, now that he has this gig going?

In America these days that minority is not very small at all; they are a controlling faction of the Republican party. And their influence is palpable and harmful.

“But we all know that most people wear their faith like a suit of sturdy clothes. They take it out of the closet a few times a year for ritual purposes, march up the aisle in it, then, when the candles have been snuffed and the holy books put away, return it to the closet and go about their lives rationally, comforted in the knowledge that God is there if they need him. Why rob them of something benign and comforting — to what end?”

Because their belief isn’t benign, however comforting it is. They believe in a lie, and they give cover and sometimes support to the fanatics you reference just above.

“Why are atheists so angry at God?”

We can’t be, since there is no God to be angry at. We’re angry (when we’re angry) at the obstinate deludedness of a world full of believers.

“Do they ever ask themselves this question?”

Every time it’s asked, for about the half a second it takes to answer it.

Williaim wrote: “…speaking down to your audience is not the way to win converts”.

We are using the “Malcom X / Martin Luther King, Jr” strategy. Some atheists are all gentle persuation and calm reason, and others (e.g. Harris and Dawkins) are derision and venom. One needs both.

Sprague wrote: “there’s more to appreciate in religious experience than the atheist zealots can fathom”.

Many of us are former believers, and have partaken of the full range of religious experience. We know full well what we are rejecting.

William, I’m with you — there’s more to appreciate in religious experience than the atheist zealots can fathom. And that’s coming from a godless rat.