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As a Christian, let me just say I have met very ardent atheists... Atheists can preach just as much as any other religion. Perhaps you are confusing the belief

• Herring 18y ago
  And I've met some very ardent math professors. Passion doesn't turn you into a believer. There are layers of irony here.
  • Herring 18y ago
    Additionally, claiming X doesn't exist and not being able to prove it doesn't make you religious. Common counterexamples being X = invisible pink unicorns or spaghetti monsters. It's a surprisingly simple concept, considering how few people get it. I wonder whether there's a more effective way to communicate it.
    • run4yourlives 18y ago
      The issue though is that because a notion of god as existed as long as we have, writing it off as pink unicorns or spaghetti monsters belittle's it to a meaningless degree; it's a weak counter. There is clearly something very human in a god belief. To suggest that this type of belief is simply a meaningless may in fact be correct, but it leaves a big part of the equation blank. It's like answering math questions without showing your work. I think that's what reasonable people have issues with.
      • Herring 18y ago
        To be precise, I wasn't suggesting anything. I was arguing that those reasons for labeling atheism a belief are wrong. To answer your post, I think the lack of evidence for all religions is a perfectly good counter. I think it shouldn't matter how long some idea has been around, or whether it appeals to our innate human instincts. But clearly both matter to a lot of people. As I'm not one of those people, I have no idea how to address this need.