Convert me!

[Cyberman]

I've not really heard anything which changes my position very much. The benefits of abandoning faith, for me, seem slim. Lots of people have told me what I perceive as benefit isn't, which I can't really agree with since without in depth knowledge of the individual it's impossible to state the effects of a particular belief.

The major benefit, if such you seek, of 'abandoning' faith is that you are discarding one blinkered mindset in favour of opening up your eyes and your mind to the bigger picture (damn, I knew you'd get me to say it!). Essentially, the biggest prize for abandoning faith is that you've abandoned faith, hopefully in favour of reason which offers so much more by way of tools to make sense of the world.

I have stated to think I need to reclassify myself though, as it is increasingly clear that calling oneself a Christian is becoming increasingly a sociopolitical thing rather than a theological one.

This is indeed an encouraging sign. I don't mean that in any sense of superiority, as in "good, you're learning" or anything. I spoke in another thread of a former dyed-in-the-wool fundamentalist creationist of my acquaintance who, once he began the process of accepting facts of reality instead of rejecting them out of hand, crossed the floor and is now as devout an atheist as its possible to be. Everyone was surprised at how quickly this process occurred, including him.

I've learned that for many people, religion has done them personally great damage, and that explains a good deal of why people actively object to religion, rather than simply dismissing it.

That may be true of many atheists though by no means all. I for one have always been an atheist though not particularly active until I got my own internet access about nine years ago; as far as religious indoctrination goes, I consider myself immune. In fact, I don't personally know of anyone not connected with this forum who fits the profile you describe.

I've learned that atheists, by and large, debate more rationally and less aggressively than Christians. By and large .

By and large, certainly, though it's most assuredly not a given. We do tend to have a better grasp of such fundamentals as language and spelling, as well as making sure our facts are as correct and verifiable as possible. By and large.

I'd say on balance at this point I'm about the same in terms of personal theology, and somewhat more hostile towards organised religion.

Excellent... soon your journey towards the dark side will be complete...