Sorry, I find the atheists more ranting and insulting.

sorry, i am not a theist. but i feel i can answer your question! you are one of those smart theists, but do not worry. YOU ARE NOT ALONE, there are many of you out there!... most theists are not the foolish "raving and ranting" type. (most of the ones i know, at least) EVEN when faced with a less then intelligent "ranting and raving" ATHEIST!!!

That is precisely why putting labels on people is very tricky. I totally respect anyone who respects others and I am not drawn to those who are judgmental, rigid and "righteous"! Happy Sunday! :)

I think that ranting and raving from both sides is what makes me refuse to define myself as either atheist or theist. I'd say that I was agnostic, but it really is more a case of "just don't care"

I've noticed that many fanatics seem to have a shakier faith than they pretend to otherwise.

Sorry that you can not respect all. Espression an opinion is not disrespect for anybody, it is just telling how one feels. Not all will agree and that is ok. No body is better than anybody else and no use fighting for just a QnA discussion. Please do not be angry as I do not intend to make anybody that way.

Sometimes I do. I have never been able to understand why so many Fundies want to rant against people who don't believe exactly as they do. Don't they realize that all they are doing is driving people away from God? God doesn't need their help. S/he can handle the universe quite well without any assistance, thank you. Our job is to simply love him/her and to love people and other living things. That ... is ... why ... we ... are ... here!

As a religious person, I find the extremists on both sides annoying. I have been targeted by the ranting theists because I don't believe the way they do. I have been targeted by ranting atheists because I stand up for what I believe to be right even though it goes against what they think. So, I just don't worry about it any more. However, I would say that neither side has a monopoly on raving fanatics.

Yes, I agree with you. I worship God! Let that be known! But I respect people who think for theirself and don't just blindly follow what they have been told as a lot of religous people do. Now having said that, a lot of atheists are the same way. But God has told me not to judge and it's not up to me to try to prove His existence to anyone. The only debates I've had about religion on here are why I belive in God, why I know He is real, and why people still belive in Him despite what science has to say about it. I don't argue like "No, you are wrong! You need to belive in God! You are going to hell!" All I ask in return is a little respect for people not to disrespect the name of God or say that anyone who follows him is a fucking nut. Thats all.

Xhepera, I appreciate that there are many thinking theists on AB. I find that I quite respect many of them such as you and Glenn on this thread and I've found several others with no agenda, just a sincere belief and a lot of knowledge to share. I think it's only when we have mutual respect and understanding that we actually learn. Attacks and agendas convince no one. I am a theist turned atheist. I changed in pursuit of what I believe to be the truth. I'm still looking for evidence. I'm still testing what I think I know. Theists are equally likely to have something to teach. I have also learned to be gentler in my approach to others as I've debated on this board. Unfortunately, there's also the usual group of nit-wits with agendas who run and hide under a rock the moment their logic fails. This one comes to mind for me personally: http://www.answerbag.com/a_view/5680875

well im an athiest and i became and atheist because it makes more sense. so to me, the logical arguments are all on the atheist side. i really WISH I could believe in god. i mean what's cooler than an all mighty guy who loves you , plus u get to live forever after you die? what would be better i ask? nothing! but the truth is the truth, and i am not going to believe lies and made up stuff cause it would make me feel better or give me hope. I might as well believe in Santa. Plus the fact that religions are the lit match to the fuse of possibly huge wars coming to this planet when more and more countries get nuclear weapons.

I'm neither a theist nor an atheist, but I know what you mean -- the loud theists tend to be more aggressive and less insightful than the atheists. But I've also seen some pretty loud and dim-witted atheists. To me the most important aspect of this debate is almost always missed entirely by both sides... which is to say, the real question isn't whether or not you think there's a God, the question is whether or not you use those ideas to define who you are. The great failing of humans in the search for truth isn't that we lack intelligence or motivation, it's that we are extremely prone to define ourselves in terms of ideas, and the moment that happens we become defenders of our favorite beliefs instead of researchers of the truth. There really is no requirement that one take sides on this issue -- or ANY of the "big questions" about life. I would say the challenge is to resist the temptation to adopt the cheap kind of resolution that comes from getting attached to a belief, and stay with the inquiry. There comes a point at which the beliefs and competing ideologies start to merge into a higher-order whole... but only for those who don't cling to the left or the right halves.

I'm neither a theist nor an atheist, but I know what you mean -- the theists who are loud and aggressive tend to drive people away from theism. My approach to this topic is that it's best to avoid self-identifying as either theist or atheist. To me, the great failing of humans who search for the truth is not that we lack intelligence or motivation, it's that we give in to the temptation to go for closure: to adopt a position and then defend it, rather than remaining in the inquiry. If one remains in the inquiry long enough, there comes a time where the opposing viewpoints can start to merge into a higher-order whole which resolves the issue without cheapening it by taking sides. To get that, one must be willing to forgo the quick thrill of instant certainty and make peace with the vast scale of the unknown.