Any other atheists here? Some frustration

[JimmyJump]

Atheists/Militant Atheists? Are there any in here?

And for those of you who are misinformed, a militant atheist is just a more outspoken atheist who believes in spreading atheism to others. We wield no weapons, lol

Honestly, I detest religion. I believe few things are less dangerous to modern thought than the noxious miasma of respect that shrouds people's religious beliefs: To paraphrase Richard Dawkins in a sentance:

Serious debate is allowed in every field of science, where ridicule is the typical reaction to ridiculous ideas, but if you tell me you can't touch a light switch on a Saturday, I have to respect that!

Why is so much respect given to ideas so utterly devoid of merit? Why is faith, which is basically the ability to stomp your feet and cover your ears in the presence of coherent evidence, seen as a virtue rather than a character flaw? I know that faith has been shoved down your throat from a young age, everywhere you go. It's crept into our language in such a way that it itself is hard to remove without causing serious damage to other ideas: "I have faith in you." "She was faithful in her marriage." I know how dangerous it may seem to attack faith but that's because of it's self preservation strategy: It's burrowed itself so deeply into our morality through simply sharing it's name with other ideas- superior ideas.

I honestly think that the respect for religion in today's time especially lies in the need for a defense. Just as women and children are protected with chivalry and all sorts of moral codes, the idea of religion which has no rational defense and should be so vulnerable to dissection and criticism, has found a way to protect itself with a towering wall of reverence and respect. However, Ideas are not people. I don't think there's anything at all wrong with attacking weak ideas.

I'm an atheist. But one that doesn't have a problem with religion, or rather: with people being religious.

My venom sprouts in the general direction of organized religion, i.e. the church, whatever the inclination of that institution.

If people want to be so narrow-minded as to fall back on religion for their own mental health (now here's a contradiction), who am I to not grant them that freedom.

But, when there's an institution, with its own fabricated set of rules, that takes over the reins and tells people how, when and where to be religious; things go seriously wrong.

Being religious is a private matter between the believer and his/her god. No-one should have the arrogance to come in-between to say how things should be done.

This is my limited response for the time being, as I'm dead-tired and am gonna kip a couple of hours... I'll be back.

[mkemse]

I'm an atheist. But one that doesn't have a problem with religion, or rather: with people being religious.

My venom sprouts in the general direction of organized religion, i.e. the church, whatever the inclination of that institution.

If people want to be so narrow-minded as to fall back on religion for their own mental health (now here's a contradiction), who am I to not grant them that freedom.

But, when there's an institution, with its own fabricated set of rules, that takes over the reins and tells people how, when and where to be religious; things go seriously wrong.

Being religious is a private matter between the believer and his/her god. No-one should have the arrogance to come in-between to say how things should be done.

This is my limited response for the time being, as I'm dead-tired and am gonna kip a couple of hours... I'll be back.

Nicely Put, I will leave it at that