A friendly Christian sent me a message

[TaraJo]

You're allowed to disagree with people, though. So what, they're wrong about one thing? The things you like about them will still be present. Just maybe don't discuss religion with them if you think it'll end up in a fight.

But from what I've heard though atheists are one of the most hated groups of people out there.

You REALLY seem to be stuck on that appeal to popularity.

Yep, I'll admit, people don't like atheists. A hundred years ago, most Americans didn't like black people, either. Did that change anthing? Did that make black people lesser or inferior, just for being black? Or does it point out that some prejudices are society wide?

Again, you're intelligent enough to figure this out on your own. You don't have to turn to sources who are obviously biased (I mean, you don't get much more biased than a freakin' pastor).

I don't doubt that your parents of family or friends or the people in your church are nice people. Nice people can still be mistaken. I don't doubt they're intelligent, either. Intelligent people can be mistaken. In fact, I've found that the most intelligent people out there are the ones who are most aware of when they're wrong. Socrates himself based his intelligence on not knowing things and therefore asking questions (creating what we now know of as the socratic method). I'll even admit, we may be mistaken when we tell you there is no god or that the Christian god is make believe. Go out there and learn for yourself. Think about it. Study the Bible and science and never NEVER EVER just blindly believe something just because other people tell you to. Faith isn't always a bad thing, but blind faith can lead to some very bad places.