I Think It [getting A Gun] Should

Indeed, Religion Allows People To Imagine That Their Concerns Are Moral When They Are Highly Immoral - That Is, When Pressing These Concerns Inflicts Unnecessary And Appalling Suffering On Innocent Human Beings. This Explains Why Christians Like Yourself Expend More "moral" Energy Opposing Abortion Than Fighting Genocide. It Explains Why You Are More Concerned About Human Embryos Than About The Lifesaving Promise Of Stem-cell Research. And It Explains Why You Can Preach Against Condom Use In Sub-saharan Africa While Millions Die From Aids There Each Year. (25)

Norway, Iceland, Australia, Canada, Sweden, Switzerland, Belgium, Japan, The Netherlands, Denmark, And The United Kingdom Are Among The Least Religious Societies On Earth. According To The United Nations' Human Development Report (2005), They Are Also The Healthiest, As Indicated By Life Expectancy, Adult Literacy, Per Capita Income, Educational Attainment, Gender Equality, Homicide Rate, And Infant Mortality. . . . Conversely, The Fifty Nations Now Ranked Lowest In Terms Of The United Nations' Human Development Index Are Unwaveringly Religious.

Tell A Devout Christian That His Wife Is Cheating On Him, Or That Frozen Yogurt Can Make A Man Invisible, And He Is Likely To Require As Much Evidence As Anyone Else, And To Be Persuaded Only To The Extent That You Give It. Tell Him That The Book He Keeps By His Bed Was Written By An Invisible Deity Who Will Punish Him With Fire For Eternity If He Fails To Accept Its Every Incredible Claim About The Universe, And He Seems To Require No Evidence What So Ever.

Morality And Values Depend On The Existence Of Conscious Minds - And Specifically On The Fact That Such Minds Can Experience Various Forms Of Well-being And Suffering In This Universe.

A True Spiritual Practitioner Is Someone Who Has Discovered That It Is Possible To Be At Ease In The World For No Reason, If Only For A Few Moments At A Time, And That Such Ease Is Synonymous With Transcending The Apparent Boundaries Of The Self.