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I don't really have a problem with honest atheists. There seem to be many kinds: some people seem to just be born without a sense of the spiritual underpinnings of life and nature that others sense keenly. For others, an excessive stress on intellect and the 'rational' has crowded out any possibility of balance in this regard. Some have become disgusted with the way religion has been presented to them, and they mistake 'religiosity' and the letters of narrow sectarian doctrines for authentic spiritual awareness and spiritual approaches to life. A lot of them simply don't understand religion; and base their attitudes on misunderstanding.

I only get upset when they turn their atheism INTO a religion, and try to force it upon all of us, completely misreading and misunderstanding the Establishment Clause, for instance, and trying to force all religious expression out of the public square; refusing to tolerate and respect diversity in this area, etc.

Me neither. A rational discussion is very nice.

One thing that I strongly believe is that it takes a “leap of faith” to NOT believe in a deity. To suggest that there isn't “design” and then “intelligent design” means that the person has to accept a lot as fact knowing that our experiences in this natural world deceive us. What we perceive with our senses is a deception — the real world is much greater and very abstract for our simple minds to comprehend. There is a lot of weird stuff and it is getting weirder and stranger as we learn and discover more.

The 1st amendment — the anti-religion people always quote the separation clause but then ignore the second part — the right to practice our faith freely. Does the establishment clause prevent us from carrying a bible on the grounds of the capital and reading the 10 commandments? I would hope not. Yet, that is where we are headed.

BTW, I like it when the atheists and the Satan worshipers set up next to a Nativity Scene — it shows the contrast of hate from those so called “faiths” with the love and absolute sacrifice and suffering for people who hated him shown by Christ and the Christian faith.