[UndauntedR]

How can you talk about what all atheists feel or believe unless you've interviewed every single one on the planet?

I don't mean to speak for all of them, but I do take strong objection to someone mischaracterizing what atheists do (or should) believe and how they do (or should) act.

There is no universally accepted atheist manifesto.

And I hope there never is one.

Hitler, Mao and Stalin were atheists who definitely didn't feel your way.

Although I disagree with you that Hitler was an atheist because I've read Mein Kampf, you're right. But they were morally wrong in what they did. I still contend that some people can be morally wrong, but atheism is no more an amoral path than any other religion. However, I agree with Dawkins that atheism IS less of an enabler. Many amoral acts (any amoral act?) are justified under the guise of religion. By claiming that an invisible power will reward your actions in the afterlife, anything is justifiable. Religion can enable logic to achieve horrible results. The examples you cite are men in great power taking advantage of the people who believed they could do no wrong. Evil people will do evil things.

You sound like the New York socialite...

I'm just trying to explain that atheists are not the sewer creatures alot of "compassionate Christians" believe them to be. Humans are moral, not just Christians.

[joebuck]

"I don't mean to speak for all of them, but I do take strong objection to someone mischaracterizing what atheists do (or should) believe and how they do (or should) act."

I would object to that to, which is why I didn't do it in any of my posts. The bottom line is with no God morality is whatever the individual wants it to be. No atheist has any "moral" basis for saying their acts are any better or worse than Stalin's. Ultimately, whoever is able to enforce his opinion on others through brute force is "right". Atheistic morality will always ultimately devolve into might makes right.

[patriot preacher]

With due respect,

The very point of atheism as a human philosophy is that it cannot be defined. It cannot be defined in terms of a belief system, nor of any moral code. Thus, to say that atheists are either moral or compassionate is by the very nature of the statement contradictory. Atheists can be neither — because there is — in their own concept of reality, no ultimate measure of morality or immorality, of compassion or hatred, of “good” or “bad.”

These “value judgments” have no meaning to a completely relative universe. One may be a cannibal or a peace corp worker, but neither may be judged — because there are no means by which their choices can be measured in terms in moral or ethical terms.