@ Keith Raye.

I think your stance early in the thread is symbolic of the essence of atheism. To be an atheist is simply to declare yourself who you are to you and to no one else. It need not be disclosed, discussed or built upon, supported, expanded, vaulted or shouted from the highest peak. It's just a quiet, anti-climactic dismissal of all things theistic. Once declared, the matter is closed for further discussion because it's senseless to reinforce something you've purposely reduced to nothing.

Theism, on the other hand, is a meme of doubt shrouded in hope. Theists need constant reinforcement and that is the purpose of religions. Ridicule of the theistic is a harsh discipline on both sides. It's a mutual hurt because it demands hurtful thinking as a base to strike, as well as defend from. I'd rather pursue knowledge of the topic of mankind's historicity, to contrast it's unbiased record with the context of the bible's claims, and draw the objective conclusions that path offers. Theists who are strident in defense of their needs have little knowledge of the topic and strike their defenses predominantly from the pages they've cherry-picked from the bible. They quote it as a form of defense. This seriously undermines their credibility because the bible is not a credible source. But, it's all they have and they warm to it as they would an old comfortable pair of shoes. Sobriety is not their lot, relative to man's true historicity, and once you have a fair working knowledge of the latter the former becomes more and more evident and progressively saddening as you age.

Theists will visit this site and others like it with agendas to attempt to prove themselves. Atheists shouldn't care because they've declared the topic unfit for further thought. Moreover, atheism needn't be discussed among atheists because it's pretty obvious there's nothing lacking determination. Still, discuss it we do and in that vein we find atheists of various stripes and colors not unlike watching a crowded city street at the noon hour. They should all be of equal mind regarding a godless declaration but instead we find some who aren't really atheists and play it in pretense while others are hardliners with a certain militancy straining to get out. In this sense it seems to have taken on occult proportions and plays out not unlike the meme of religion. Why not? When christianity killed the pagan it employed pagan-like symbology, conventions, rites, rituals and the always luring pageantry because all those were familiar to the ignorant masses. To the ignorant, the known is much more attractive than the unknown and the architects of christianity knew this. With atheism, the shunning of all that can be quite burdensome. I've even encountered claimed atheists here challenging my position that there is no such thing as immortality, or more accurately, eternity. Go figure that one out.

Policing atheism for the stoic preservation of all things godless in nature is not my idea of a recreational pastime. People, even some claimed atheists, are not truly ready to embrace it for what it is. It's too demanding on the imagination for most so they continue to shelter themselves from it in some manner that leaves them feeling safe. I suggest letting them.