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

[AtheistCrusader]

232. Can you point some out?

Even notable anti-theists like the late Hitchens acknowledged that he couldn't really know if there was an omnipotent being that didn't want to be perceived, otherwise it wouldn't be omnipotent. But he could still flatly dismiss the human claims of religious hoo-ha as not holding water, without venturing anything more than 'I don't think' there is a god.

I don't believe your god exists.
I believe your god doesn't exist.

Do you see where the positive statement leads a different burden of proof in those two similar, but very different statements?
I always say the former, I dismiss unfounded, unproven, and often illogical human claims of 'revealed' supernatural beings. I don't presume to think I can prove a positive statement like 'there is no supernatural being anywhere, ever, period the end'. If there is a supernatural, omniscient, omnipresent, omnipotent being that does not wish to be observed, by definition, I cannot observe it. It is a hypothesis that is impossible to actively disprove. All I can do is disprove or dismiss claims/evidence raised by humans that purports to show that said being exists.

And at the end of the day, when the argument is over, I revert to my natural state. A human that just lives his life and enjoys it. I am not an active 'atheist' at all times. When believers aren't throwing their belief in my face, and aren't trying to inject their religious dogma into my government, religion simply does not exist for me. Just like the teapot in orbit around Jupiter. I don't spend my days fretting over whether that teapot/being exists. It doesn't enter into my conscious thoughts that day. It doesn't exist for me. I only have to deal with it when some ass hat like the new Pope issues dogmatic opinions that a good chunk of the 25% of Americans that happen to be Catholic will obediently vote and support; like keeping same-sex marriage illegal.

My state worked VERY hard to pass R-74 and legalize same sex marriage, but it's only the tip of the iceberg. Still no federal recognition of it. DOMA still stands as well. People that follow the Catholic Church are predisposed to opposing this civil rights movement. Not to the last man or woman, there IS some dissent within the group, so that has improved. Of US Catholics, they just tipped over the 50% mark this year in favor of it. But that's a small slice of Catholics worldwide, and there is no sign of official church doctrine changing anytime soon. So that means this fight will continue, and this is the single largest identifiable US group that opposes it, so I hope you understand why this is a major issue, and will remain so for years to come.