text: question to all the jim darwin’s, atheists, evolutionists,? why waste your time on this stupid yahoo. if i believed that this life was all there was, that once i die i fade into non existence. i would want to do all i can to make this the best life i know how. not knowing when it will end or if i am going to be jilted out of it. knowing when those i love die, all they stood for all that they where is gone forever. even having a "bad day" it cannot be recovered it is lost. that all i ever worked for all my accomplishments every thing i have earned, bought, and saved to be scavenged by someone else. all i was, to be forgotten never mentioned, my existence in all of time meaningless and of no importance. snuffed out in an instant of time never to exist again. only dna to pass on though even that is not your conscience only a mixed conglomerate of you and another dna sample. when you where born you have nothing and in your death you will have nothing.  i am sorry but that’s a very depressing life. i realize that no one reads this when i just link to it, so here is my answer to a previous version of this question:  i believe that i have been nothing but courteous to the people of faith here. i openly deny their belief-system. they openly deny mine. that's fine. we have, however, engaged in some very respectful debate, much to the benefit (i hope) of both sides. i know that my beliefs have not changed, but my preconceptions about young-earth christians have been shattered by some of the people i have found here. i think that they are wrong, but i am thrilled to have the opportunity to debate with them without resorting to name-calling or rudeness.  granted, this requires an openness on both our parts. i think that their faith is "wrong." they think that my lack of faith is "wrong." this is where most people get hung up and debate can go no further. if someone disagreeing with you is "offensive," you're stuck. once you accept this disagreement, you are quite free to exchange ideas. this is what i have found here (for the most part.)  as for why i spend so much time in the religion and spirituality forum, i see faith as playing a huge role in the lives of everyone in the world, be they moderate muslims, fundamentalist christians, pagans, or atheists like myself.  in my supposedly free country i see gays discriminated against due to faith. people who would never think of using the n-word openly hate and criticize homosexuals for what they are, not who they are.   i see medical advances that could help millions of people stymied by arguments that have their basis in faith. stem cell research could potentially ease the suffering of billions around the globe, but people of faith stand in the way.  we are currently involved in what may or may not be a holy war. this is an issue of faith.  our current government supports "faith-based initiatives" in what may be a breach of the constitution itself.  i know that faith helps people sleep at night. this doesn't undo the tremendous amount of suffering it has inflicted at every turn of history.   i see faith as a problem, and would like to encourage people to put aside their myths and embrace reason. however, i realize that this is futile. as jonathan swift said, "it is useless to attempt to reason a man out of a thing he was never reasoned into."  that said, i think that yahoo answers provides a wonderful opportunity to try to see where other people are coming from. i disagree with the christians (and muslims and pagans...), but i think it is very important for me to try to understand them. i would hope that they will try to understand me. once we find some common ground and some mutual respect, we can truly start to talk about things.  i hate the name-calling. the largest problem i have with religion is that it is divisive. i feel that this is the most important aspect of faith that needs to be removed from the equation. name-calling is also divisive and does not fit into my attempts to act reasonably.  i feel that i deny, but do not scoff. i embrace and enjoy open debate. i think that the things discussed here are important. i'd like to think that some of the things i have to say are pertinent.   if you want a place for only christians (for example) to exchange ideas, there are plenty of places on the web for that. however, i think that this exclusion of other mindsets and worldviews does a disservice to those who would seek such a closed system.  that's why, as an atheist, i show up on the religion thread.