It sounds like a great thing that’s being done, and good on you for helping (despite the reaction!). I recognize the name Caritas – I think it’s here too.

Appreciating your nice wishes, I’d like to give you a short account in relation with Christmas gifts. A daughter of mine is active in the very useful help-providing organization ‘Caritas’. Specially in a project that enables poor households to sit around a well-set Christmas dinner table they would otherwise not even think of, thanks to donations of better-off families. It takes a lot of work and a careful organization to bring the two parties together – on paper, that is, they don’t ususally get to know each other).

Incidentally, today was D-day: donors took their boxes to a place where representatives of the nearly 30 parishes in our municipality received them, in order to hand them next week to the receiving families. Most of the latter, knowing that they have been favored to receive the goods, in turn also offer the benefactors a small present, usually some hand-made stuff.
Just to give an idea of the movements involved, I tell you that some 700 boxes changed hands. What I wanted to underline is their proud that this kind of charity is possible in the name of religion. When I point out to them that I have collaborated with that project, and even have volunteered a few years in the Caritas offices, their reaction is a grateful thank-you-very-much to me and particulary to the Divine Providence who has gracefully guided me.
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Thanks for the kind words.

Congratulations on the new grandchildren! Assuming your family celebrates Christmas, what a lovely Christmas gift! I hope you have a nice time over the holiday period with all your family.

It seems to me people are realizing more and more that religion doesn’t have the answers. Once upon a time the only voices people heard on religion were those that reinforced their beliefs. Now, especially with the internet, that’s changing. Young people in particular are hearing different points of view, and modern education is more about how to think than what to think. They’re working it out in a way their grandparents didn’t get the opportunity to.

Sorry for my hurry – “tomorrow afternoon is to be the 17th”

This is one of the paragraphs I like most in this sound discussion with Chris G. Of course, education may help but it is David versus the Goliath of Indoctrination. Specially in Argentina, where I live. My three children and eightteen grandchildren (aged between 39 and 20) know of course that I am an unbeliever who knowingly married their Roman Catholic (grand)mother, and they do not hammer anymore on my error, but they don’t stop praying for my conversion. The most fervent of them is a socially very active nun.

Also, I frankly love those T-shirts inscriptions:
– It’s really difficult to reason someone out of a position they didn’t reason themselves in to;
– You can lead believers to reason, but you can’t make them think.

Right so! Instead of trying to convince someone, I would – just like Cris G. says – immensely enjoy the result of the person’s own reasoning. But I’m afraid I’ll not be here anymore to experience that.

P.D. We have 24 g.grandchildren (between 10 and 0,15 years, the youngest one to be baptized tomorrow!), and one to be born soon; perhaps one of that generation will, one day, say that he would have liked to have a chat with his stubborn forefather… 🙂
Cheers.

P.D. (2) Funny to realize that our “tomorrow” (late afternoon the 16th) will be “yesterday” the 19th) in NZ!
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Mindless chemical reitacon does not mean the end product is mindless.Designer does not need to be design, this is what you ID guys yell all the time, so, why would it be any different for us?Humans don’t need designer.But unlike your designer, we actually have an explanation where we came from.

Wonderful how he exposes the wekeanss of faith and the falseness of the claim of a loving god when by by him simply living the so Christians pour intolerance, hatred, bigotry and persecution towards him!It fully demonstrates how shallow and nasty Christianity has become and posts like yours prove him so, so right!The atheist secret is to have this site so that you can post to drive non believers away and drive decent people out of the churches to become atheists to get away from any chance of being associated with people with your attitudes!Have you ever considered trying to find a loving god and acting like it?!

It was a good match, actually. One has to feel sad for weight under which Pakistan was playing with Peshawar attacks on mind.

I see atheism in West to be quite vibrant, despite attacks from theists. For example, they enjoy domination of science fields, without which modern life is impossible. More specific example is NASA annual budget of almost $20B. Such vibrancy is significant achievement, considering history of 20th-century violence in and perpetrated by West in name of religion-driven politics.

My counter-point to claim that atheists used to “go back in our cages” and to re-iterated point of constant attacks by theists is that they have not always retreated. I gave examples of when atheists have flourished across vast time periods. As for constant attacks from theists, that is nothing new; so I agree with that point in your article. In fact, attacks are more of compliment, no? They are acknowledgement by theists that society can function without God.

I think atheists from West can learn from Jains in India today. They are very respected people, and theists have almost zero problem in sitting side by side and celebrating their festivals.

OK, I probably sounded a bit rude there, but I hope you can see where I’m coming from. I admit I don’t know much about China and the sub-continent (except New Zealand beat Pakistan in the cricket today 🙂 ), but I don’t think the experiences of Buddhists, Jainists etc are parallel because although they are not theist, they still rely on a uniting philosophy, which atheism doesn’t, and isn’t. If they had developed differently and, for example, Buddha was worshiped, things might have been different. It is to their credit that they developed the way they did – there is much to be admired there. Cheers.

I’m not really sure what your point is. My article is about the constant attacks on atheists by theists in a theist-dominated society.