What do believers say when you ask or tell them..

[Frank]

Sometimes us atheists have fun just regurgitating our same old arguments (maybe rephrasing them slightly to be a little more punchy). Debunking religion really is a completed task, scientifically speaking (sort of like algebra) ... finished long ago. Just because apologists come up with new ways of spinning their same old nonsense doesn't mean we need to revisit the drawing board (it just means they're fools wasting their time on a worthless occupation).

I'm becoming more mature in my atheism as time goes on. Now it doesn't bother me when I hear Christians or other religious people preaching their gibberish. Although when I see a dude on the subway trying to sell me Jesus, I wonder if we would be so tolerant if he were trying to sell us vacuum cleaners or some other mundane item (in such an annoying fashion)? Ahhh, well we have to tolerate it right, since most people claim to believe it (it amazes me that people are so I guess unable to cope with mortality or perhaps themselves and their own nature that they turn to mythology).

When it comes to mythology I've always admired Norse mythology. Imagine, the Vikings managed to become one of a small handful of truly great ancient peoples, and according to their religion .... they lose in the end. The people (and their gods) continue to fight evil even though they know they will lose, and ultimately be destroyed. Of course they Vikings didn't have the benefit of understanding cosmology, evolution, or much of anything remotely scientific (except of course how to make a good ship, and launch an amphibious assault); so believing in mythological legends was perfectly understandable.