Katie says everyone had to listen to the talk, so I did because I always do what Katie wants. While I partially disagree with Phil, I think it’s a good discussion because atheists still have some PR issues to resolve.
Phil thinks I’m a dick. Oh well. To atheists, I’m usually a mean-spirited, egotistical, petulant, evil, selfish, warmongering capitalist-pig (and only half of that is correct), so just being a dick is kind of refreshing for once.
I don’t want to sound like one of those annoying atheists who wants to go out of his way to abolish religion because I really don’t care what people believe. As a third generation atheist, religion has always been something other people do so I don’t harbour any resent. I’ve just never understand why people think it’s easier to believe or why fantasy is more comforting than reality and that’s not something that can’t be easily dismissed. I’ve tried learning more about religions but since I am devoid of any emotions and hold a complete lack of empathy I can’t get very far before giving up.
I only care about what people do because ultimately beliefs are irrelevant if they don’t translate into actions. I certainly understand the need to be friendly with certain types of believers, especially those who share similar views on certain issues but if they aren’t doing anything about it, then what good are they and why should I respect them?
If the moderates stood up for themselves and worked to stop those who are trying to harm us all, then I could respect them. If they support the complete separation of church and state including the removal or religion as a charitable act, then I could respect them. (Many do on both accounts). But if not then I will treat them as I would anyone with whom I disagree and if being honest makes me a dick, then so be it. I’m not going to ignore reality because it makes people feel bad.