I have a friend who's a militant aetheist
He was quietly Christian til his Dad suddenly dropped dead, then he got into Dawkins et al; I now consciously avoid anything approachig a religious debate with him. Its the whole patronising/arrogant/superior/disrespectful attitude I am uncomfortable with.
(kitescreech still here, Sat 2 Apr 2011, 8:24, 1 reply)

I used to be that guy.
Gradually I chilled out. I'd ask friends why they didn't want to talk to me about religious stuff and they'd say that it wasn't really a conversation, it was just me waiting for them to stop making noise so that I could carry on bludgeoning them with my opinions until they gave up trying to defend themselves.

One incident in particular stands out. I was on a trip with a group of people. We'd been together 2-3 weeks, getting along well and chatting about all sorts. On the final night it emerged that one girl was Christian. We enquired as to why she hadn't mentioned it before, as the discussions had been quite wide-ranging, and there'd been a few times when it would have been natural for her to say so. She replied that unless specifically asked (as she had been) she doesn't tell people, as a lot of the time they end up more or less trying to talk her out of it. Which is naturally what happened. For the rest of the evening everyone else nagged at her incessantly about her beliefs. Except me.

For some reason, it just struck a chord with me. I'd been trying to be more understanding and less aggressive with my views anyway, and her comments, and then how the rest of the group reacted, crystallised it for me.

I have read Dawkins and although there is a lot that I agree with, somehow his tone just makes me squirm a bit. Don't get me wrong, there is a lot to be said about curbing religious influence, and not letting certain institutions have carte blanche to say what they like, unchallenged, because their belief in x y z should be unquestioningly respected. But at least on a personal level, I think that a softer touch is needed.
( kappynitty doubled your entendre on, Sat 2 Apr 2011, 19:14, closed)

I think anyone who can be so absolute about this, that they refuse to listen to others, doesn't really understand the question.
That goes for whatever your belief is.
( @><|= w0nu!) or cunt to my friends, Mon 4 Apr 2011, 13:45, closed)