If peace broke out tomorrow...

[Darunia]

First off, I also believe in freedom of speech and religion----and in as much, I'll respect Weltall for not reading after this paragraph and letting this conversation die as is. I won't think anything of it.

On another note, I believe that atheism should be pressed onto people because it's like seeing a child trying to do a math problem. He has the wrong answer. Do you correct it for him, or just walk by, and let him get it wrong? Furthermore, I believe that if all of humanity got rid of wasteful spending and time on religious pursuits, humanity could evolve at a lightning pace--and that perhaps in just a few generations, with all of humanity and our resources properly utilized, we could be journeying to the stars, or living to be 200, and seeing out gr-gr-gr-gr-great grandchilden before our own life spans end. To me---who has no hope of life beyond death or salvation, prolonging life is the ultimate goal of humanity.

It was then that I went through what was probably the roughest period of my life, and it was then that I realized that atheism did nothing for me. I believe that God got me through that period of rotten times and my life's been pretty damned good ever since.

Seems like the boogey man under the bed or in the closet---he's only there for you if you believe in him.

[/b]Did God, the great invisible deity, really have anything to do with little old me? I believe so, because when I denied God, my life was at best, without meaning.[/b]

To the extent of my beliefs, life IF without meaning---we're only here to reproduce and die. Just really advance microbes. We have no divine mission or anything of that sort. It's really depressing and sad--which is why atheism isn't so popular. People believe what they want to believe.