Just a few notes on the subject, hoping to move on. It's almost impossible to say anything about religion invokes anything but a spirited defense of whatever your listener thinks about it. The actual exchange of ideas on this subject is, for the most part, impossible. One lesson I got from slogging through Medieval philosophy  was the centuries-old attempt to figure out what was true about God without admitting that it was all about human experience - the proverbial elephant in the room. Failure to take this into account largely accounts for the deadening boredom of most church services and the surprising success of the evangelical movement and the "black" Church. While community and authority are more important than doctrine in holding a religion together "on the ground" - in the congregation, we must also acknowledge that we all accept the authority and bow to community standards every day of our lives. So-called "religious" people are no different i...

Interesting discussion between leading atheists  Richard Dawkins, Daniel Dennett, Sam Harris , Ayaan Hirsi Ali A wide-ranging discussion of subtle issues with atheism, including an unusually subtle treatment of why people accept religion - the process of assimilation and the difficulty in freeing people from assimilation. Risks associated with criticizing Islam; When to take the gloves off - being polite to people who have been indoctrinated; Vetting the authorities; How liberal kids get assimilated to radical Islam; Sam Harris speaks eloquently about the powerful meme of Islam; Dawkins doesn't understand that everyone doesn't think like he does; Dennett refers to the "narrative arc" in TV shows and movies, which primes a person for assimilation; The appeal of Islam to intelligent, liberal women; Ali calls Islam a form of madness; Dennett compares crime committed for religious reasons with drunk driving Harris points out that religious delusion is excluded in DSM  Ar...