I must admit to finding Dawkins a tad over-zealous in this regard.
I went through a similar phase but grew out of it. I'm not that big on evangelism in either direction. If a truth is really that self-evident people will find it on their own if they wish. If they don't who am I or anyone else to shove it in their face.
I happily present facts as truth, I'm quite comfortable pointing out BS when I see it, but things like where I presented evolution as fact, which it is, are perfectly compatible with mainstream interpretations of Christianity. Those who would reject it and consider the Bible literal are a minority, most consider the 'good book' allegorical.
Let's not look at atheism as a faith. It's a faith in the same way that 'Off' is a TV channel. The only people who can be described as having a 'faith' in atheism are those who think they know there's no higher power and they are being ignorant. Even Dawkins himself doesn't claim that.
---------- Post added at 09:40 ---------- Previous post was at 09:35 ----------
It's an absence of faith, not an anti-faith. It is a basic human right to permit someone to follow a faith. All who are anti-faith are probably by definition atheists, far from all atheists are actively anti-faith. For right now it has a place and is key to many people's lives. Some base their entire life around their faith and, regardless of my view on that, that is their absolute right.
I am anti- a few things that are related to faith for sure. I'm against those who misuse science to present a warped version of reality, usually for material gain. I'm against those who misuse faith to justify inhumanity. Faith itself? Meh.
---------- Post added at 09:44 ---------- Previous post was at 09:40 ----------
Interesting article. The take-home there, for me, is that it's probably not possible for someone with faith to understand why someone without could not see evangelism as anything other than an act of love.
One person's self-evident truth is another's self-evident untruth.
EDIT: Can't you tell work is quieter than normal today?
EDIT 2: Which actually makes me think my time would be better spent studying than commenting on a religious thread. Russ / Chris, remember when I used to go all-in on these? I don't miss that version of me. Age clearly mellowed me a little even if it did up the cynicism count a bit.
Well, age but most of all humanism. Once you find a group of like-minded people and are able to learn from them you feel far more secure in your own belief system, it becomes far more rounded and as a result feel far less inclined to try and, essentially, impose it other people by telling them how ridiculous anything different is.
Man I was a real Richard at times with that stuff. Still a tad evangelical over science, mind you, but happy to admit I don't know and science doesn't know when we don't - see abiogenesis, Big Bang, etc.