Dishonest atheists--no doubt about that.

But what about dishonest power and control seeking religionists PRETENDING that they are/were doing "god's" work, or bringing "jesus" to the "heathen savages"!

http://www.jesusneverexisted.com/darkness.html

http://www.loveforlife.com.au/node/1031

Hi ho,hi ho plundering we will go and onward christian soldiers marching into war, including in Iraq,

I started to glaze over reading this one but at least he is an academic who is trying.
Good effort B+

I know where you are coming from david f.

Truth is relative to one's point of view and you and I agree about the 'truth' from our viewpoint however, others of a different ilk will be as confident about their version of 'truth'.

It has already been 2000 years and we have come a long way in terms of technology, education and intellectual advancement and still religion persists, not only in primitive societies, but modern, educated Western societies.

I don't necessarily think religion will be forever, however I would not be surprised if it takes another 2000 years until we have evolved from the need to search and find meaning in the supernatural. Even if that meaning is different for everybody. If it is in our nature to do so, then perhaps we never will.

I am not sure what the difference between Atheists and Theists in terms of our intrinsic natures - what makes one group seek meaning in a deity and what makes the other seek truth through science or evidence. Atheists perhpas have more faith in the nature of man to form societies with an agreed set of values and 'morals' (held up in law) rather than one where laws are fashioned on the basis of the existence of one or more deities.

Pelican wrote: It has already been 2000 years and we have come a long way in terms of technology, education and intellectual advancement and still religion persists, not only in primitive societies, but modern, educated Western societies.

Dear Pelican,

Much of education in modern, educated Western societies equips the student to be literate, use computational tools and develop employable skills. Few are trained in general analytical skills applied to other than their trade or profession, critical thinking and a broad view of the humanities. Without the latter most absorb the received wisdom around them without question. They are less able to question religion than a citizen of classical Athens.

DavifF
it's a pleasure to read your refreshingly lucid thoughts. Education in the humanities is indeed vital to a balanced perspective--some acquaintance with Shakespeare or Montaigne or Emerson alone would be enough to throw the average Christian into a quandry and question the wisdom of treating any text as gospel. Any thinking person surely acknowledges the precariousness of any human perspective. And yet there is a solemn pleasure and confederacy and consolation in sharing one's existential pain with the great thinkers of times long past. Socrates was the wisest because he knew he knew nothing; Pliny (the younger) said that nothing is certain except that nothing is certain; Montaigne opined that it is nothing to realise that one has said or done a foolish thing, "one must realise that one is nothing but a fool"; and Emerson said that consistency was the hobgoblin of small minds. These were religious men who had the strength of character to think for themselves during much more oppressive times. Religion might be here to stay, but so is philosophy. And faith might be a comfort but "the unexamined life is not worth living".
My wife was a nurse too and saw a great deal of suffering during her many years in the spinal unit at PAH (Brisbane). She died of cancer at the age of 39, not wanting to leave me or her four very young kids, but she went without fear or hope.

I think the author is probably right. A key component of human intelligence is the ability to detect patterns, and make accurate predictions based on those patterns.
Of course, this ability has not only led to scientific endeavour, but also numerology, astrology etc., and probably religion in general. Some patterns are easier to predict than others, and arguably there could be a pattern that is impossible to detect until the end of days.
After all, even Dawkins doesn't give himself 10 out of 10 in the atheist stakes.
We judge the value of 'belief' systems by this ability to make accurate predictions. Quantum mechanics, physics, chemistry and so on are more highly valued than numerology and astrology for instance (or economics or meteorology, for that matter).
Isn't this how religion was created? It's all about prophets, making accurate (?) predictions. Perhaps that's why religious thought is slowly dying, it hasn't really made any good predictions lately, has it?
BTW, Runner, I'm reminded of Matthew 24. 34: “I tell you the truth, this generation will certainly not pass away until all these things have happened.”
Marvellous how the faithful can interpret any prophecy to be true.