A question for the faithful

[thrashbear]

A few weeks ago, cloudchaser_s asked why some Atheists tend to mock Christians.  It took me two weeks to come up with an answer in the form of three dozen GIFs harvested from Atheist Overdose, plus my own long-winded observations, spanning five or six LJ comments from the sheer amount of content.  The intent was to illustrate in pictoral form where the

Comments

[equusmaximus]

I would consider myself more "spiritual" than religious, but I was raised Roman Catholic and you can never really quite get that all out of your system. That said, I really sit on the fence on this sort of issue, watching the extremists on both sides trying to outdo each other. I take considerable offense to so-called Christians who try to cram their morals and ideals down my throat, but at the same time I also take great offense to those who try to dismantle and "secularize" some of our greatest Christian traditions. Yes, I'm one of those crazy "Keep the Christ in Christmas" people - but not to the point where I'm going to try to convert people or thump them with a Bible. (I despise Bible-thumpers, actually)

I guess the sorts of things that get my goat are really the "Politically Correct" BS things. Like "Holiday Tree" instead of "Christmas Tree" or people who hiss at me if I say "Merry Christmas". I really don't care if people say "Merry Christmas" or "Happy Hanukkah" or if they celebrate Kwanza (sp?) or whatever... For whatever your reasons, why not take this time of year to be a little "extra nice" to your fellow man, regardless of which religion (or non-religion) they choose to follow.

For my own experiences, I've experienced enough of the paranormal to firmly convince me that there is something beyond our mortal bodies. Call it a soul, a spirit, a life-force, whatever... There's more to us than what we can see with our eyes. I look around at the wonders of Nature, and I simply can't wrap myself around the idea that anything so incredible can be one giant cosmic accident. Plus, the belief that we are more than we seem to be gives me hope, and strength, to carry on and keep on going. If I were an Athiest, I'd definitely make some major changes in my life if I beleived that "this is it" and it's all we're ever going to have. If that were my belief, I'd be living a lot more for "just me" and "taking care of #1" - though I think I'd still do my best to do as little harm to others as possible. It is possible to climb the ladder of success without knocking everyone else off too. Success shared, I find, is multiplied and benefits everyone, whereas greed and selfishness in the end, benefits no one.

I guess this is starting to ramble and it's probably not answering your question... Basically, I believe in God, and it doesn't matter to me if you share that belief or not - so long as you're a decent person and do your best to be decent to others. Really, isn't being decent to your fellow beings all that really matters in the end?