"You think the universe is all peace & light??"

First off I never said that. A big part of Buddhism is learning to accept that there is darkness, and Buddha nature resides there as well (ask a Buddhist what was the Buddha nature in Hitler, and he or she will give you an interesting answer), and we believe in impermanency, which states that nothing stays peaceful forever, but rebirth from death is the founding principle of Buddhism.

"Go to utube & watch a video of a cheetah tearing the living crap out of a gazelle.."

In the example that state, there is no doubt that the cheetah loves the gazelle, and has tremendous amount respect for the gazelle. It wouldn't consume the gazelle if it didn't. From the perspective of the Gazelle, how can you say that the gazelle isn't proud that he or she has made it possible for another generation of cheetahs to survive?

"Shit happens, then you die--& anyone who tells you different either wants your money or political support."

Or here's a better way of looking at issues. If you're concerned about something, then do something about it, and if you can't do anything about it, then stop worry about it, and move on.

"As Jim Morrison once said "I'm gonna get my kicks before the whole shithouse goes up in flames""

If your ambition in life is to die of an alcohol overdose, then by all means start drinking. However most of us have higher ambitions.

I actually didn't advise the LW either way about what he should do. I told him what I did in roughly the same circumstance, without stating that he should do the same thing. My other responses were aimed not at him, but at the peanut gallery of people who said, among other things, that coming out was some sort of Jerry Springer-esque exhibitionism. The fact is, if you are openly an atheist, there are certain things that you just aren't going to do - like go to church. So it's not always a matter of saying "Ta da! I'm an atheist!" There are often much more subtle ways of coming out. When your pious relatives notice that you're not going to church, they might begin to suspect that something is up. Until fairly recently I never explicitly told my parents that I don't believe in God. I didn't think it was any of their business. I just stopped doing the things that religious people do (and mind you, I had been going through the motions for a couple years up until I stopped). Last year, though, I went to the Christmas service at my parents' new church (my dad retired from the ministry last year). In participating in the service, I decided to split the difference - I sang along with the traditional Christmas hymns (which I quite like) but I didn't say any of the prayers (I knelt, of course, so as not to be conspicuous). I even put five dollars in the offering to compensate the church for the candle (it was a candle-light service). You'll be surprised to learn that I did not denounce the pastor as I shook his hand on the way out.

The problem I have is that religious faith is no longer a private matter in our country. The Republican candidates are now making ostentatious statements about their faith and how much they pray. The Democrats, having been faulted for being more reserved in their expressions of piety, are starting to follow suit. By contrast, I spent the whole decade of the nineties without giving religion much thought one way or the other. I thought the culture war was just a fantasy of a bunch of fringe lunatics. However,the term "secular humanist" has now entered into currency as a perjorative on at least one major news outlets (guess which one) and this "meme" seems to be seeping into the culture at large. And I think atheists need to stand up for ourselves. Honestly, one of the best things for the gay rights movement was when homosexuals started coming out of the closet. Although there's currently a bit of a backlash against gays, the cause of gay rights has discernibly advanced during my lifetime. And it's because gays got sick of being in the closet. Now, just as I wouldn't suggest that coming out is the right decision for every gay, I wouldn't suggest that coming out is the right decision for every atheist. Every person has to make his or her own choice.

"From the perspective of the Gazelle, how can you say that the gazelle isn't proud that he or she has made it possible for another generation of cheetahs to survive?"

uhhhhh, a gazelle is not capable of this level of thinking. The average gazelle ain't running around contemplating Einstein's theory of relativity. She's running around trying to find stuff to eat & drink & keep from being the cheetah's dinner. That's what Ms. Gazelle is thinking about. What are you smoking???

You remind of the misguided people who own a out-of-control mutt & refuse to train it becuz they want it to be 'free'. Dogs aren't capable of this type of thinking either. They think that somebody is in charge, either the pet owner or the dog. & if the pet owner refuses to be in charge, well....

BTW--I thought it had been decided that Jim Morrison died of a heroin OD on a shitter in a bar in Paris?

"However most of us have higher ambitions"

Depends upon who you mean by 'us'.

If by 'us' you mean rich, spoiled, overeducated 1st-world types who tend to frequent places like salon, then yeah, maybe. Though I would guess a good % drink &/or do other drugs.

If by 'us' you mean all of humanity, now you have a tough fight on your hands.

The average person on the planet would dearly love to have the excess time & money to go out with freinds & get screwed up once in a while on alcohol.

Unfortunately they, like the Gazelle, are too busy trying to figure out how to survive day-to-day to put much thought into it.