A fundamentalist that generalizes all atheists as baby eaters and Satan worshippers isn't likely to be swayed by atheists playing nice. These people are closed minded, and the foundation of their beliefs is that without God, you are a terrible person. Regardless of what we say, their opinions are going to be set in stone. Now I'm not saying we should just be assholes. I do think that we ought to be 'ambassadors' so to speak for the unfaithful, and we should try to dispell the myth that we are all evil people. I'll be damned, however, if I'm going to check my sense of humor at the door, because some fundy might actually believe that we do worship Satan.
As for putting other people in harm's way, if a fundy will go as far as to cause physical harm to an atheist, there is nothing you or I could say that would make them understand that atheists are good people. Many of them need atheists to be bad people, so no matter what they see, they will believe we are evil.
As for putting other people in harm's way, if a fundy will go as far as to cause physical harm to an atheist, there is nothing you or I could say that would make them understand that atheists are good people. Many of them need atheists to be bad people, so no matter what they see, they will believe we are evil.
Even if the open windows of science at first make us shiver after the cozy indoor warmth of traditional humanizing myths, in the end the fresh air brings vigor, and the great spaces have a splendor of their own - Bertrand Russell
