Hi Javeca,

When Jesus said, "by their fruits you shall know them", I agree. If atheism is just a byproduct of an otherwise bitter personality, you're probably better off if you believed in God. I would only contend in my own personal case, it was religion that got in the way of moral behavior. As an atheist, I feel much less need to be judgemental of other people and their choices.

I have heard others call Dawkins arrogant, etc. I wonder though, if it is more of an issue with sensitivity to the issue. He does speak bluntly and with confidence, but when I listen to him once at the ASU campus I didn't think he sounded arrogant. Now my views can be discounted, since I already had compatible views. My wife was still tending towards belief in God at the time (although she would say, "agnostic"), so I was interested in her reaction. It was positive. If you contrast Dawkins with the statements made by religious leaders it seems the latter are much more prone to make bold statements with fantastic implications without any real evidence.

Btw- As far as I know, I don't think Hilter ever claimed to be an atheist. As per Wikipedia it seems Hilter was formal, though non-practising Catholic and he equated Atheism with communism (his politcal rivals).

Cheers,
-Randy