[QUOTE=Aces4;21 I have to ask you, why all the perceived annoyance with the faithful? I accept you and your atheism but does atheism mean intolerant? [/QUOTE]
Perception is one's interpretation of that was said or seen. It is not always correct. I am agnostic, leaning toward atheism. I can only speak for myself.
What I see is religious folks acting incredulous when they find out I don't believe in God. Specifically, their God. I get lectured and preached to about the evils of not believing. Heaven and Hell! Talked to like a foolish child. Sounds like intolerance and lack of respect, doesn't it?
My response is sometimes questioning things that don't line up or are contradictory. Some see losing belief in God(s) as putting away childish things, like Santa Claus and the Easter Bunny. But, putting away God is not so easy. Most people worldwide cannot do it. Giving up that last gigantic security blanket (my poor choice of words is not meant to be insulting, but will probably be taken that way) is tough to let go of. But many of us no longer need the threats of Daddy to be good citizens. We no longer rely on Daddy to bail us out when we are naughty. We are grown enough to See that getting along and being good, kind and caring to one another is in everyone's best interest. No reward if we are good. No punishment if we are bad.
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