Well done PAX,

simply and nicely put. to others, dont ever confuse Islamist extremism with real Islam faith or Christian faith, those who have posted previously and picked up on my comment about faith not being a catalyst for war, pay attention!! its not about faith for the extremists, its more an identity, bit hard to go to war under the banner of no belief, right atheists?

Theist or atheist - we can't really choose what we are. I can no more believe in a god than I can fly - despite a Christian upbringing and education I have never been able to regard the Bible as anything more than a work of literature with god as a principal character in the tale. I just don't understand how the 'good' bits can be cherry picked out of the Abrahmic religions and the ghastly bits ignored - so I suppose that would make me a bit sympathetic to fundamentalists except I regard the whole thing as illogical nonsense. God as presented in the Bible seems a violent and vindictive entity who controls through threats of dire consequences and then goes for an image makeover in the New Testament.

I take strong exception to the claims that atheists cannot appreciate the finer things in life - what arrogant rubbish. There are many glorious things in the world, and I can enjoy them without reference to, or belief in, any deity.

Well, if Kelly read a Holy Bible she would know.
You cant read it and not be touched by God as you do, unless your heart and mind are almost dead.
Actually if you read it, and look at the world, you will see what is says in the New Testament is actually happening.
A short list...
1. crime gets out of control in the last days prior to the endtimes...2 Timothy 3 (click on it),
2.in the endtimes a truly nasty world leader called "the BEAST" (Revelation 13:16-18) grabs control of the people and insists they wear his microchip/mark on either the right hand or forehead. You cannot buy or sell without the microchip/mark, within the scope of this microchip/mark system, yet God says we are not to take it but resist the system because it belongs the "the BEASTs" master ...satan (the dont take it is in Revelation 14:9-11). The microchip is in its early days as "initial propaganda" right now,
3. there will be a great increase in wars, earthquakes, famines and diseases in the last days. The wars are spreading like wildfire... thank you militant Islam and greedy dictators everywhere. Youve seen the earthquakes, and the famines and the diseases (Luke chapter 21).
Its all happening... and the only escape in the end is through Jesus. Have you done a study on the rapture...the day The Lord comes for His followers and leaves the rest for the great Tribulation? Read 1 Thessalonians chapter 4. A good website is <signs that we are in the endtimes>. And if youre rattled... you can always invite Jesus Christ into your life and get born again. "Everyone who calls on the Name of The Lord will be saved"...Romans 10:13. If you look... and dont live like an ostrich... you will see the Second Coming of Jesus Christ in your lifetime. I think its great! The death of atheism!

Candide, if everything is just matter in motion, then how do you explain why some things strike you as being glorious and others don't? Matter doesn't carry standards within itself, so why should one configuration of matter be deemed more glorious than another?

Some people try to supply materialistic explanations along the lines that organisms have developed in ways which enhance survival and reproduction. Therefore when a man perceives a woman to be beautiful, he is really responding to her physical symmetry and therefore to her reproductive health. This does provide a materialistic explanation for a man's experience of female beauty - but can the process still be considered "glorious" when understood this way?

And do explanations based on survival and reproduction persuasively explain all the things in life that we actually do experience as glorious? If I spontaneously and unselfconsciously experience nature as glorious, is this really to be explained in terms of survival and reproduction? Or is my response to nature an apprehension of something more to reality than pure materialism allows?

I am an atheist, despite a christian education, and because, like many others; I simply cannot believe in a deity that demands supplicants and worship. That is not a being worthy of respect. A truly supreme being does not demand obeisance, unless it is a control freak, which means it can't be superior ... and so on.

Of course I experience joy in the wonderful world around me, it is a fundamental part of being alive. However, just because I delight in the beauty of a sunset, or revel in my lover's body, doesn't mean that I should worship some deity.

Surely the point of life is simply to live without hurting others (as much as is possible - it is so easy to offend) and maybe by learning a little wisdom along the way.

Therefore, human beings do not need to comfort themselves with fairy tales if they are confident and mature within themselves. Religion has served its time (if it ever had one), now the human race can simply grow up.

Fractelle.
God doesnt demand worship. He just wants us to stand with Him and His Saviour Jesus Christ against the Lucifer/satan ex-arch angel who started a huge rebellion (one third of the angels) against Him to get the Throne.
Bitterness with life shouldnt be taken out on God. His Kingdom was at one time great threat and its all being sorted out here through Jesus Christ for souls of men and women.
Bitterness means satan got to you and was successful in keeping you from your Heavenly heritage.
He cared enough about us to offer us a way out through His Son on the Cross...John 3:16. All we have to do is to go to HIM.