Quote Originally Posted by Alex Bragi View Post
I'm sorry, caged, but I really do get a little miffed when ever I hear or read the word "fairy tales" in reference to anyone's religion--and I come across it often.

People believe in all kinds of things for all kinds of reasons. If they gain any kind of comfort or strength from their (religious) belief, then I'm all for it. As an agnostic, I admitt I don't have the answers and I'm not sure who does. I do, however, believe that no matter what your belief is, it's important to keep an open mind.
I have a reasonably open mind, which is why I called myself a 'more or less' atheist. I don't have the extraordinary level of self-confidence required to say definitively that god (or gods) does or doesn't exist.

I'm sorry that the term 'fairly tales' miffs you, honestly. I thought twice about using that term, but there you go. It miffs me that beliefs in highly improbable stories lead people to want to persecute homosexuals, limit women's rights, limit my freedom to do things like gamble and so on.

The 'comfort' argument is always an interesting one. I personally care more about whether what I believe is true, or likely to be true, than whether it feels nice to believe it. Still, having once been a born-again Christian I do know how it feels to be a believer.