I didnt want to continue the deviation this thread took on 9/11 so I waited until the 12th. And its the last anyone will hear from me on the subject.
I have a very simple life philosophy: Believe whatever you want. And leave everyone else alone to believe what they want. There are a couple of exceptions. Your belief should not hurt anyone else, physically or emotionally. Your belief should not demean, disrespect or ridicule anyone elses belief. Its that simple. Doesn't matter what you believe. Leave me alone and I'll leave you alone.
That said, I have to make a couple of observations here. I think most will agree there are extreme zealots in every religion invented, some intent on killing anyone who doesn't agree, others who want to convert, by force if necessary, everyone to their way of thinking. But lets put that aside for now. One thing I've really seen for some years now is that avowed atheists seem to share a trait for crossing that line of respect and ridicule I mentioned. They carry this air of superiority, higher intelligence, and being more enlightened than those poor, ignorant believers beneath them. Folks like Bill Mahr, Joy Bahar, and a few other Hollywood elite hypocrites who openly ridicule the stupidity of believers in some higher being. And O-Bass, you are squarely in that camp. We've never met and I could probably learn a lot from you about fishing. I could probably learn a lot from just about everyone on this site about fishing. You are obviously passionate in your own beliefs and that's great. I would never think of arguing with them or trying to change them. But I take exception to your overt statements clearly ridiculing and demeaning others beliefs because they don't match yours, that you are somehow smarter, superior and more advanced than anyone who believes in "flying spaghetti monsters" (remember that one?). You frequently talk of science and provability. Lets remember that mankind has been on this earth thousands of years yet its only been the last several hundred that we've accepted that the earth isn't flat. So science is always evolving, things are continually being proven (or disproven) and our beliefs and understandings change.
Live and let live. Do unto others as you would have them do unto you. But, as Teddy Roosevelt said, walk soft and carry a big stick.
That's all.