1 - I get annoyed when I'm told I have such a belief for the same reason that others have stated; it's not a belief. Theism is a belief system, a-theism is the response to that system. It really is that simple. I lack the belief. My hobbies also include not collecting stamps.
2 - Personally, I've never heard of an atheist banner. If by that you mean congregating as a group so as to derive some sort of comfort or support from those who share our opinions, fine, although I'd point out that I for one have been an atheist long before I was even aware that boards such as this even existed and I continue to be one whether I log in here or not. I don't go out of my way to convert new recruits to some nebulous atheist cause, but present me with something I can investigate and I'll act on it.
2 - Personally, I've never heard of an atheist banner. If by that you mean congregating as a group so as to derive some sort of comfort or support from those who share our opinions, fine, although I'd point out that I for one have been an atheist long before I was even aware that boards such as this even existed and I continue to be one whether I log in here or not. I don't go out of my way to convert new recruits to some nebulous atheist cause, but present me with something I can investigate and I'll act on it.
At the age of five, Skagra decided emphatically that God did not exist. This revelation tends to make most people in the universe who have it react in one of two ways - with relief or with despair. Only Skagra responded to it by thinking, 'Wait a second. That means there's a situation vacant.'
