I've read up to page 13, so I'm sorry if I've missed anything, but it seems like this debate is going round in circles so I thought it'd be safe to jump in.
First of all, I'm an atheist, simply because I see no reason for God to exist. I get along just fine without religion in my life, I reckon I'm a pretty decent person, so why complicate things? Secondly, organised religion is utter bullshit, and is simply a tool of control - I Believe, therefore I am a better person than you, therefore I have more power than you. It's crap. And the idea of the Christian belief in converting the Heathens is just downright offensive.
That said, I think I understand religion. Yes, it's a tool of control, it's a cheat book on how to live your life (a life lived in servitude is better than the risk of a life squandered, to some people), it's a crutch to get people through difficult times, it's a way of reconciling oneself with all the bad things that happen in the world. But more than that, there is a part of many people's minds that want something more. So many people ask what the purpose of life is, and the only satifactory answers are God or nothing. The people that ask that question are therefore stuck, to either accept the existence of a God, or accept that their lives are meaningless other than to themselves and the people they influence. Some people seem to have a lot of trouble with the latter concept (which again leads to the power thing - a life lived for God means that we were custom-built by Him, for Him, which means that He has a direct personal interest in us - we actually matter!), and so the only logical, or at least acceptable reason is God.
And then you get on to the argument of who God is, and what he wants of us. Historically, all three major Gods are one and the same (Christians really hate that, but it's true), but all preach different things. This brings up the question of which religion, and God, is the "right" one, as Not That Bright has said. The choice, for any serious Believer, of which God to follow is a pretty damn serious one, and this is probably what I, as an atheist, am most interested in. Why do people choose the religions that they do? If it's simply because they were born into it and therefore follow it unquestioningly, I pretty much ignore everything the person has to say - they're following dogmas and words, not a God. Conversely, those who select a religion based on their own personal morals (granted, this is usually a denominational issue) confuse me as well - why select a God just because he fits with what you already believe? Finally, you get those who, like Josie, just have "faith" and so randomly choose a religion (or not, I'll come back to that). In that case it seems kinda hyprocritical to defend a God that you yourself did not specifically believe in until you decided to.
That's pretty much all I wanted to say (or all that I can remember anyway), so I'll finish by responding to Josie: Where did your believes come from? You seem to be saying that you've decided to have "faith" of your own volition, without any outside influences (which is crap, but anyway). In that case, do you not accept organised religion? It seems like that's what you're saying (the whole Unknowable bit, which is against all the teachings of the three major religions), and so I want to ask you, why do you need Faith? Is it that crucial to your life that you can't exist without manufacturing a God to rule over it? To maybe make my point a bit clearer: I'm a cog in a machine. I recognise that I'm a cog, and I can see the machine all around me. Why do I have to make up stories about the people who built or run the machine, when I know perfectly well how I'm supposed to work? Isn't is just pointless to imagine the lives, plans and desires of those people outside the machine who ultimately have no impact on me as a cog, and who may not even really exist?
EDIT:
AHH SHIT!!!! I didn't realise this thread was so long, and so now my way too long post is probably irrelevant! Damnit!!!!
