And at this juncture, it's time to provide some more explanatory insights.

Quite simply, my background is primarily academic, and within that background, I developed an early appreciation for the utility value of devising rigorous methods of assessing the soundness of ideas. Which is most apparent within the world of pure mathematics, a world I enjoyed inhabiting for much of my studies.

However, that appreciation for pursuing soundmess of ideas has a practical application. One of the lessons I've learned from history, is that when bad ideas are allowed to persist, they frequently become the means by which good people are destroyed. One does not have to look far into history to observe some spectacular examples of this principle in action.

Since I have an interest in seeing civilisation, and along with it, decent, humane civil societies, persist, I recognise the need for diligent effort to be expended, whenever threats to civilisation and decent, humane civil societies arise. After much deliberation,I've concluded that assertionist doctrines of all species are to be viewed with extreme suspicion, because they have a habit of becoming threats of this nature.

Early on, I recognised the utility of empirical validation of ideas about the world and its contents, and this was reinforced by the gifts dispensed to me by a stellar collection of science teachers at school. Quite simply, the one means we have, that will ensure that bad ideas do not persist, and do not become threats to civilisation and decent, humane civil societies, is ruthless testing of assertions to destruction. I regard it as a public duty to take part therein.

In short, I'm 'invested' in various debates, because I recognise several important lessons and their ramifications.

This is a big reason why I talk about this sort of stuff here. And not to people I actually know well in my day to day.

On some level to me, just about all religious folks to some degree show a lack of clean calm organized rational thought when it comes to their god idea. I seen some of the calmest nicest people I know fly into a huge rage when their beliefs are challenged and they do not have a good reasonable response, they quickly switch to a much more emotional and unreasoned response.

These forums provide the buffer of anonymity and the written, instead of spoke word. Where everyone can read and reread an idea and have to form their own response, giving time for a more reasoned debate, instead of a purely emotional response.