oops I made a typo - it should be "Everyone's mad ...."

And I do have one final thought:

"Freedom and not servitude is the cure of anarchy;
as religion, and not atheism, is the true remedy
for superstition."
- Edmund Burke
(1729 - 1797).

Dearest Foxy,

Apart from arguing if there are any differences between religion and superstition, taking the word of Edmund Burke on such matters is fraught with problems. Dear Edmund was a firm believer in upholding traditions such as monarchies and religion as he felt safe in such beliefs. Actually, they did make him safe in his upper-class world but unfortunately, not so the peasantry who suffered terribly under both those regimes.

Would the freedoms we have today be existent if Edmund has his way?

David

That's OK Foxy... Thankyou for the apology although it wasn't necessary but appreciated all the same.

I can sometimes come across as sarcastic so I accept criticism ... I try to approach religious debate in such a way that doesn't offend anyone (I often fail)... Ha!

It seems to me that those of faith and those that label themselves atheist often are walking the same road just with different outlooks.
Both can offend each other and yet generally speaking I believe neither actually mean to offend.

Philo ... I agree ... I couldn't imagine too many Christian churches lecturing on Atheism at Christmas services... Christmas is too important a day on their calendars.

Celivia, The term open minded from my experience is often misunderstood by the person in that they think they are being called close minded. Having recently had a near death experience and other experiences in my life that would test scientific knowledge at this stage I think they were really suggesting "stay open to all things". It may be a fine line but from my experience the walk of life has many forks in the road and when you suddenly experience something that you would have argued as very doubtful... It does abruptly get you back on your journey of understanding.

Oh by the way I didn't meet God or the Devil and there was no white light calling me towards it. I just saw myself walk away from my body. I promise no mind altering substances were involved and I came back rather spectacularly!

From my experiences there are far more things that we don't know and so to think we know may be another way we self limit our knowledge & experiences through life's journey.

I hope your meditation experiences go well and that you may discover what these people may be referring to ... Even if you don't meditation is a brilliant skill in itself.

Dear David I agree wholeheartedly with all that you say.
Yes I agree with a tolerant Society that all people have a right to believe anything they want to believe. If it is Ghosts, Angels, Fairys at the bottom of the garden, Greek Mythology, Father Christmas, UFO and a divine being so be it. Personally if a politician openly believes in religous teachings then he certainly will not get my vote. To me all religous people are gullible and are unable to make their own decisions because they canonly rely on their faith. Whether they be moderate or fundamentalist they are no different from each other and unfortunately cannot move forward with their life until they see Religoos teachings as only man made that divides and rules all people and Nations.

Comrades the evil act regarding the Assasination of Benazhia Bhutto epitomises how religous teachings have an effect upon the impressionable. The victim sought a Secular Society with Justice and Fairness for all and was murdered because she was a threat. This highlights the evil of all Religous Activities. Karl Marx quotation that Religoun is the Opium of the People confirms that there can never be a truer word than any cheating of the St James Bible.

I went to a church service on christmas eve (someone I care a lot about does believe) and the word athiest was mentioned but in welcome rather than dismissal.

I don't agree with the churches message and agree that parts of the message are harmfull and agree in principle with much of the content of what I've seen on the Athiest Foundation website. Having said that I find the tone of the opening post and what content I've seen on the website as bothersome as I used to find extremist christian views when I used to believe in that faith.

The kind of dogmatic viewpoint which leaves no acceptance of the possibility of being wrong, that refuses to see any good in that which it doesn't agree with is just as harmful regardless of a basis in a belief in a supernatural friend or a certainty that such supernatural figures don't exist.

I agree that there is no evidence that a god exists but I also conceed that there are things which I can't explain.

R0bert