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Read other letters about this article
I think it's a good sign that "believers" have to spin the situation so much in order to seem credible.
"You're not supposed to take it literally," they say, with varying degrees of verbosity. Oh really? Why not? Is the book holy or isn't it? Is it the word of "god" or isn't it? Does it mean what it says, or doesn't it? Put up, or shut up.
"You're just as bad as the religious fanatics." No, we're based on empirical evidence and such. There's no comparison, and if you can't see that, you aren't very smart.
"You ignore the vast moderate majority." The moderates are apostates. See above.
"You're being disrespectful!" Why does religion get a free pass? I'm not obliged to respect anything else.
"Hitler was an atheist..." No, he wasn't. But besides him, do you really want to compare the 20th century Communists and 19th Century French Revolutionaries against all the religous tyranny in the past, present, and future? Atheists overthrew Pol Pot, by the way.
"Religion = Morality" Explain Scandinavia.
"You have to take it on faith." That's a delusion, by definition.
"You believe in nothing." I believe in lots of *real* things.
"Most wars aren't relgious." True, but do we need another reason? Religion stops a thinking brain, it's probably the most potent reason there is.
And so on and so forth.
