The point is not that parents should not teach their children about their prefered religious beliefs. The point is that they should not label their children as adherents of their beliefs until they have had a chance to hear about and investigate other belief systems.

That, of course, is what scares the pants off them. They are terrified that their children will abandon their pet beliefs if they are exposed to other belief systems or, worse, to scientific knowledge. They know, but cannot admit, that their beliefs are extremely fragile and will not stand up under objective investigation.

Religous Believers are the polar opposite of those who have real knowledge. Those with real knowledge go out of their way to stress and test their beliefs over and over again. If they break they amend them or throw them out. They are not terrified of how they will cope with their lives if their pet beleifs are proved wrong.

This is basically about the right to prevent one’s children from being exposed to other people’s differing ideas. That’s indoctrinated mis-education at its terrifying worst.

No, Des. That’s not the definition of an atheist. An atheist is someone who does not believe in the existence of gods, usually because they lack convincing evidence for one.

Most atheists state that they believe it is extremely unlikely that gods exist but that they would change their minds if evidence was forthcoming.

The few atheists (so-called strong atheists) who state that there is categorically no god usually do so on bhe grounds that the attributes asserted about gods (or at least the local god) are logically incompatable in the same way that black cannot also be wight.

The Christian god is dismissed in this way by the Epicuras argument from evil: since evil exists in the world then if a god exists it cannot be both omnipotent and omnibenevolent. Ergo the Christian god either does not exist or the characteristics ascribed to him cannot be correct in which case why bother to worship it. Of course, this still leaves open the possibility that a god exists that does not care about humans.

On the other hand, most right wing religionists believe that it is impossible for a god not to exist. They are the ones who state that they would not stop believing in their version of god if they found evidence to disprove it. That makes them the bigots, not non-believers who are willing to change their mind based on the evidence.

“It’s becoming more and more common for Muslims to claim that people who convert to Islam are actually REVERTING!”

Does thie mean we will now hear:

“I used to be an atheist a Muslim, but now I am a Christian. “