Red7 wroteI knew that the subject could attract aggressive and disrespectful people.
Already? You better grow some skin, because I haven't even started yet.
Red7 wroteYou can believe in anything wether it is atheism (yes it's a belief) er deism.
You're so funny.
To be fair though, hard atheism does mimic theism in its assertion of absolutes. On one hand you have a hard atheist who asserts that there is absolutely 0% chance for the existence of any sort of a powerful enough being that could be comparable to our understanding of the notion of god, and on the other hand you have a theist who says that it's absolutely unquestionable that said god exists.
Most atheists I know form their own views and opinions based on science, and science is very allergic to absolutes. I don't speak for all atheists of course, but the general saying is that, given the evidence currently available to us and the extraordinary and contradictory claims put forth by theists (including creationists) and religious apologists, the assertion that god exists seems extremely unlikely. However, should new concrete evidence come to light that would unequivocally point to the opposite being true, (i.e. god exists, here's where you can see him) then we'd be prepared to accept it. So far, we have no reason not to reject their hypothesis.
Red7 wroteIt doesn't mean you have to hijack every discussion and try to impose your beliefs on others. I may or may not agree with you but I don't try to shove it down people's throats.
Now, would you go tell those same words to the nutjob parents who beat, abuse, indoctrinate, and traumatize their children day in and day out just so they could be faithful and obedient servants of whatever deity they're supposed to be worshiping? And while you're at it, tell them not to shove their holy books down their throats for me, would you please? Until then, you have my word that I'll be "hijacking" every single discussion where I find you pussyfooting around the big elephant in the room.
Also relevant.
Red7 wroteI know that it takes time to introduce new ideas and we must first find a neutral ground and move forward from there.
If you go talk about atheism in public, you very well know that you're gonna be met with aggressiveness if you don't get beaten up or jailed.
I don't know in which barbaric neighbourhood you live in, because nothing of that sort has ever happened to anyone I know for being an atheist. Maybe if you walk straight up to a mafioso sheikh and insult him in his face in front of his bodyguards, sure, but otherwise I don't see that happening. You're more likely to get castrated for falling in love with a girl from the wrong sect.
hussam wroteGod didn't invent cancer. It evolved through time.
hussam, you've already come up with quite a few gems in this thread already, but this one tops them off. God, as it were in all his good and righteous wisdom, put a star right above our heads with enough UV radiation output to give us skin cancer. And he was so mindful when he did it that he forgot to give us UV immunity. What a great guy to have around!