I want to speak to the idea that religious ideas are deserving of respect. Those here who have read my posts know my views, and that I have no respect for any idea which not only flies in the face of reality but does so without any real, testable evidence. Every claim I've ever heard from theists start with the assumption that God exists, and any evidence which might deny that existence must be wrong. Science starts with the question, "Does God exist?" If you assume that he does, the next question must be, "How do we prove it."

Yes, you can claim that the existence of God is a matter of faith, not science, and therefore doesn't require evidence. Which is fine. But if God cannot be proven through scientific means then God has no place in a science classroom. Without evidence you cannot claim that a hurricane, or tornado, or a flood, are God's punishment for something you don't happen to like. Without evidence God has to be withdrawn from our concept of the natural world and placed into the supernatural world.

Again, this is fine as far as it goes. I wouldn't deride someone just for believing. But when someone tries to tell me that the Bible, or the Qur'an, or any other theological text, is absolutely true and must be accepted as the Word of God, I'll laugh and poke fun. Not because THEY accept it as such, but because they are trying to tell me that I must accept it as well.

And then there are the REAL kooks: (Note - to keep from having to many hyperlinks I'll post the URL's without the links.)
http://www.reasonablefaith.org/site/...rticle&id=5767 - This first is Dr. William Lane Craig. When asked how he can reconcile the concept of a just and loving god with the idea that God commanded the Israelite army to destroy the Canaanites then living in the Promised Land, "every man, woman, and child". After a rather long and rambling statement about the inerrancy of the Bible and the justice an love of his God, he comes to this lovely gem:
"So whom does God wrong in commanding the destruction of the Canaanites? Not the Canaanite adults, for they were corrupt and deserving of judgement. Not the children, for they inherit eternal life. So who is wronged? Ironically, I think the most difficult part of this whole debate is the apparent wrong done to the Israeli soldiers themselves. Can you imagine what it would be like to have to break into some house and kill a terrified woman and her children? The brutalizing effect on these Israeli soldiers is disturbing."
Say what? He feels no sympathy for the "evil" Canaanite adults who watched their children being slaughtered, or for the innocent children who may have witnessed their mothers and sisters being raped and killed. No, his concern is for the soldiers who had to do the killing! Is this deserving of my respect? Absolutely not!

http://abcnews.go.com/video/playerIndex?id=9554506 - The second is Pat Robinson, speaking about the Haitian earthquake last year. Watch the video, if you haven't seen it already. Basically, he claims that the Haitian people made a deal with Satan to help them get out from under French oppression, and they've been cursed ever since. Apparently God wasn't helping them, so they had to go for number two. Is this kind of thinking deserving of respect? I think not.

The last, for now, involves the recent End Times Prophecy of Harold Camping.
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2011/0...045,b=facebook - This man, who happens to be my age, spent his entire life savings on an ad campaign for this. I truly feel sorry for the guy, but seriously, what the hell was he thinking?
There were others (I can't find the links now.) Like the couple who sold their home and are staying in a motel in Florida with their child, with one on the way. They had budgeted their money so they would spend their last dollar on May 21. Wonder what they were doing on the 22nd?
Or the couple who depleted their daughters' college funds, to send to Camping, on the premise that they wouldn't need it. This despite the objections of the two daughters.

Anyone think those things are deserving of respect? Anyone believe no one was harmed by Camping's religion?