Great writing is supposed to be provocative. Garrison's writing is provocative, if mildly so, as well as lyrical, touching, wry and wise. It's sad that the usual cadre of venomous religion-haters are so preoccupied with their reflexive viper-strikes of loathing, arrogance and denunciation that they are blinded to the man's homespun artistry.

Forget religion. No one is neutral about GK's work, and that, as Joan Rivers said, is what makes a star.

PS: I know plenty of Christians who are respectful, open-minded, compassionate, progressive, and non-dogmatic, and even some who have been delighted that I am an agnostic who questions and challenges some tenets of their beliefs. But no one hears about them. As always, we hear about the wackos and mouth-breathers.

Well, if all atheists are as angry, resentful, combative and negative as you, why should you be surprised that no one wants to elect one president? It's lovely to think that we can all jettison our biases and act solely on the basis of reason, but that's not reality, no matter how much you or anyone else would like it to be. As marketing genius David Ogilvy once said, "People do business with people they like." We're driven by emotion and irrational needs.

The reason I have such a negative opinion of atheists is that so many of the ones I have met are as dogmatic and dismissive of faith as fundamentalist believers are of so-called infidels. Their arrogance and self-superiority blinds them to the fact that they have met the enemy and they is it.

I've said it before and I'll keep saying it: no one was ever convinced of anything by having their intellect belittled. No matter how ridiculous their views (and I'll grant you, the whole Nativity story is about as ridiculous as it gets), everyone wants to be right and feel respected. As long as the atheist community's response to EVERY article, editorial, interview, etc. that puts a positive spin on religion is frothing, sputtering rage and some sort of statement of its siege mentality, atheists will never gain ground in the public debate. Holding your opponent in contempt is not a way to win hearts and minds.

1. I have known and do know some atheists who are wonderful, serene, humane people. It's who you are, not what you believe.

2. Lighten up, for Flying Spaghetti Monster's sake.

Taliesan,

I didn't say you should stop being angry. Be Mr. Angry Angrypants if that's what turns you on. What I said was, anger doesn't convince anyone. The civil rights movement, women's rights, etc. may have been motivated by anger, but they did not reach their goals by getting in people's faces and screaming, "We're angry! Pay attention to us!" They got results in the end by engaging in dialogue that respected the fact that the other side also thinks it's right and wants to have its ideas respected, and by changing hearts and minds over time with humane action, courage and legislation. Ever hear of a guy named Gandhi? How much anger did he show? Or the black kids who walked bravely into the school is Tuskeegee despite Wallace's National Guard troops? If they had spat at whitey or taunted the troops, how far would they have gotten?

Anger's great for rallying the faithful, but it doesn't get shit done. In the end, anger is nothing more than self-indulgence.

...I couldn't agree with you more. I've always taken the position that it's who you are, not what you believe, that defines you. I've known atheists who were incredible, compassionate, even spiritual people and Xtians who were vile, corrupt hypocrites, and vice versa. The goal we should be striving for is for all of us to be judged by our deeds, not our faith or lack thereof.

I just don't think anger is the way to get there. Polemicists like Dawkins and Hitchens may toss red meat to the enraged atheist crowd, but they set back the cause of cultural rationalism by allowing believers to label all atheists as "God-haters." You don't change minds by making other people feel stupid or like you're trying to bring down what they hold dear. You do it by appealing to the angels of the better nature of the majority of folks who genuinely want a fair, compassionate society for everyone, including non-believers.

...to Stefan. My mixup of Southern centers of black development.

Gracias.