You know, this whole "let's bait the fundies" idea is getting a little old. The level of debate over religion on Fark lately has seen as much intolerance on the atheist side as the theistic.

Why don't we just agree that we have differing views on the hereafter, and that while a lot of organized churches have had their foibles, each of us should decide on our own what Truth we should follow--whether it's reliance on the Heat Death of the Universe as the only real constant and that worms shall eat us in the end, or that Allah will reward the faithful with houris in the next life, or that we'll be reincarnated to learn from our mistakes? I can't exactly blame the fundies for rising up, when folks attack their faith so readily. Can't say that I blame someone for getting hett up about it.

Don't believe in a greater power, and that's working for you, fine, but raise off the buggers who do. Faith is an imponderable,it just is. You aren't going to change any one's mind about that higher power by the weight of logic. You're not going to be swayed by theirs. When the fundies swing in and attack folks they are wrong, but just as wrong as the atheists and agnostics who proclaim their world view to be the only correct one. We are all going to find out soon enough in the cosmic scheme of things. Like Heinlein wrote: Religion is a lot like dandruff: most of us have some degree of it, and devote a great deal of time and pleasure in fiddling with it. Atheism is just as much about faith as theism. You're offended by folks proclaiming that you're going to go to Hell for your lack of belief, they're offended at your telling them they're sheep for believing in something. Tolerance is about letting people do whatever they damn well feel like, so long as it doesn't hurt somebody else. Adults wear big pants, and that means they can make their own decisions--and that includes whether or not to believe in the Big C, Allah, Buddha, the Bottomeless Tao, Gaia, Bob, or Chthulu. Wouldn't it be better to make arguments about specific grieviences instead of blanket attacks to faith? Argue about what a specific church has done. Argue about what a priest has done in the name of his God. What a mullah has done in the name of his God. Argue about the individuals instead of the faith--because what most of us get hett up about isn't the faith itself, but what people do in the name of their God. The Crusades were an example of folks acting inappropriately in the name of God. Jim Bakkar and his boys were poor churchmen. Bad priests abound. The chaplan who led his boys and gals to bust in on the pagans last week. Let's try to draw on speicifics rather than bashing each other around for imponderables and genrealities. It might get more accomplished, with less rancor, and we might find that we can all get along better, and find common ground. It would do wonders for each cause, and it would make the mods lives a bit easier too...

Whirljack--Just tired of seeing the same crap posted over and over again...by both sides.

CheekyMonkey--Exactly.