[danielf]

Originally Posted by Mr Angry

His statements and the outcome / affects of same combined with his influence may be relevant to belivers and non-believers alike but the fundamental fact remains that the athiest position is that he cannot speak for God as God does not exist.

The fact that they get so tied up in the theology of the arguments they have put forward over the years instead of addressing the papal mission creep is a major part of the problem - and no small coincidence.

I fully agree that the theological argument should be completely irrelevant to Atheists. The outcome however isn't. And if that is associating Atheism with Nazism, I think people are right to be aggrieved. Having said that, there is indeed no need to counter affront with further affront.