New Pope Elected: Centuries Of Make-Believe (Religion) Reaffirmed For The Masses

[MellowDem]

39. This is a discussion forum...

There is criticism towards those that believe differently all the time on here, namely conservatives, and deservedly so. I don't see "hateful feelings" though, that is your own perception. Religions generally hold conservative positions, the Catholic Church especially so, though they don't have the monopoly.

Yes, there truly is a difference between an atheist and a believer, and it's fine to criticize religion, there is nothing hateful or disrespectful about criticizing religions that promote hate and disrespect.

And of course, atheists simply have a lack of belief, while some may affirmatively believe there is no "God" in general, and this requires some faith (though not near as much as certain religions), many simply do not know, that is, they are agnostic atheists.

Religion brings comfort to some, but it also brings ignorance and hate and requires childhood indoctrination, cognitive dissonance, and illogical thinking to continue, all three of which are inherently dangerous ways to think and can lead to a lot of bad things.

We don't have to accept that certain ways of thinking, such as saying that you should believe something simply because you were raised that way, are equally as useful. We can criticize and debate what ways of thinking are best. We should be accepting of discussion and debate, not trying to shut down crticism and discussion because it offends, or more likely, makes certain people uncomfortable/scared to discuss.

Remember, it's the Catholic Church, and those who adhere to what the Church espouses, being criticized, not Catholics in general (those who self-identify as such), most of which don't know/care about what the Church says. That deserves it's own criticism as well, but they got to where they were almost entirely through childhood indoctrination.

Feel free to make fun of atheists/agnostics all you want, I wouldn't be offended, I might even agree with certain things you say. It's not a belief system though, so it's hard to make accurate proclamations about them.