I agree Runa, however atheists need to be the better people as they claim to be and not judge us to be all stupid idiots.

Crazy religious people are very ignorant and stupid.

Nobody would have called you disgusting or barbaric had you not come forwrd with your...ideals as far as women and gays are concerned.  

you, and others, seem to keep forgetting that I don't have a problem with religious people who don't push their views or are constantly judging others or harassing or insulting anyone who doesn't share their faith.  Just because you're being civil now doesn't excuse the fact that frankly, you deserved all those insults.   

I AM that atheist who tolerated judgement too long.  I am the atheist who has dealt with prejudice and religious ignorance.  and as a knowledge-based mind who LOVES proper scientific advancements, I am the thinker who has been censored by religion.  Just becuase I've never been crucified doesn't mean that I have no right to speak out against oppressors.  In fact it's kind of ignorant to assume that just because I've never been literally beaten on the head or physically assaulted by either of you that I can't speak out against religion.  

frankly, Most atheists are content to go about their day, ignoring religion or at least respecting it because it's taboo to do otherwise.  I am not one of those people.  I will not stand by as christianity and catholocism continue to wreak havoc on society.  I will not stand idly by as ignorant morons preach "the world is 6000 years old" or "Evolution is a myth" or try to convert me and others.  I will not stand by as Fools who follow scientology continue to harass nonbelievers.  I will not be the guy who just says "Well it doesn't effect me, I have no place to fix it."  

Issues in asia and Africa are none of my business and have no effect on me, but what kind of a person would I be if I didn't try to make the world a better place?  a world without Religious oppression is a better place.  Religion is the opiate of the masses, a plague of willful ignorance that wants to push itself to control the world (and has been successful for centuries, millenia even).  I want that to end.  I want religion to keep it's stupid little nose out of my affairs.  Once it does that, I will be more than happy to stand by and let those of faith enjoy their church bake sales, to pray and all that jazz.  

Do you agree with scientology?  You know, that crazy cult that was created by a science fiction writer who said that our 'souls'came to earth on ships that looked like airplanes?  No? well your religion is no more intelligent or rational than that, the only reason it's been powerful is because it's been around for thousands of years.  Religion is basically such a deep, ingrained part of our collective society that we just don't WANT to retire it.  It's a common logical fallacy that once you've committed yourself to something, you will do ANYTHING, even lie to yourself, to continue to be a part of it.  It's a social phenomenon based on logical fallacies. Nothing more.  

Try an experiment:  next time you want to do something good because you think it's the christian thing to do, take a step back and tell yourself "I am doing this because I want to do it", and tell me whether you feel good about it. 

http://www.cracked.com/article_19468_5-logical-fallacies-that-make-you-wrong-more-than-you-think.html

And truth be told, those are the only ones I hate.  Crazy religious people who are ignorant and stupid.  thing is, what kind of a person would I be if I stood by and watched bad people do bad things?  Religion DOES do a lot of bad things, and a lot of bad people do bad things in the name of religion.  (such as interfering with science, protesting research, pushing intelligent designs in our schools, perpetuating that the earth is 6000 years old and dinosaurs were not real, etc).  

this inherent belief that inaction is somehow more righteous than standing u p for what you believe in is fallacious, and I will not fall victim to it.  Standing by, watching a rapist do his thing or a bully beating up a nerd is not going to help anyone, it just encourages the bully to keep doing what he's doing since nobody would stand against his oppressive ways.  I really was the nerd who beat up bullies JUST because I was sick and tired of them harassing my friends, even though they knew better than to mess with me.  same deal, on a much larger scale. 

frankly religion warping people mind is not the reason why society faces so many troubles.

If you think that imo you are a radical atheist.

If you say we should not respect people's belief, then we should not be so politically correct either.

If you  say Christians are all crazy and stupid, I should be able to say that to many black  and latinos are criminals

"(such as interfering with science, protesting research, pushing intelligent designs in our schools, perpetuating that the earth is 6000 years old and dinosaurs were not real, etc).  "

These problems are miniscule and petty compared to the real problems of the world.

I can't believe there are still people that are so in denial about homosexuality. Saying someone was born gay is comparable to you to saying someone was born a murderer?

Really? If you want to talk about natural, there are hundreds, if not thousands of species which naturally have homosexual members - including human beings.

True.  I always find it embarassing as a nation to the rest of the world when people are considering teaching creationism in schools.  Same when people freak out over incidents like Janet Jackson at the Super Bowl - seeing a nipple is going to curse a child for life but then will let them play super violent and bloody video games.

There is no doubt that the US has a puritanical streak in its making.  Now in Texas, the legislature has been wanting to change the textbooks to say the forefathers wanted to make this a Christian nation.

Yeah, I do get tired or being thought of as less because I don't happen to believe in some supernatural being or happenings.

yeah, ignorance is a powerful feeling, I do admit.  No doubt about it, and people WILL want to believe what they want to believe. 

And to make matters worse, heaven forbid (literally) you not only chose not to believe in a divine santa clause figure, but damn you if you dare speak out about it.  Say what you will, this knee-jerk reaction we get when atheists have the balls to speak out about religion just proves that you've gotta handle religion with kid gloves. Can't take criticism but can dish it out just fine.  that comic I posted is as good a representation about that as could be.  Religion can dish out the criticism but can't take it.  

Why in the world shouldn't you criticise?  Proper criticism is the key to advanced learning, that's why scientific papers are all subject to peer evaluation and rigorous testing.  While most people are programmed to 'win' rather than seek truth, I'm very interested in knowledge and therefore feel that criticism is an important key in our collective knowledgebase.  

I'm not sure why you think kid gloves need to be worn at all. this is SCIENCE, not about how susie is too fat, these are issues that need to be addressed and dealt with.  If we get too caught up in political correctness and worrying about whether we hurt people's feelings, then nothing will ever get done, issues will not be resolved, and we'll end up where we are:  too meek to stand up for what you believe in.  again, inaction is not the best course of action.  

That's the thing, if something is irrational, it's not insulting to say so.  religion is irrational.  it's not like I'm screaming  "you're a doodoo head" because you believe in god.  I'm not saying your a sheep because you believe in god.  I'm not assaulting your character simply because you believe in god, it's nothing like that whoile "atheists don't believe in everything, are opportunists, have no morals, and are just out to get the church" mentality you and a few others have shown in the past. I just want truth.  refer to my "Prove god exists" thread. Unless you can do so, nobody has any rights ever pushing their religious judgement on others.  

Who says the offense is needless?  Maybe I feel it's about time there was an aggressive uprising against religion.  Again, inaction is not the best path.