Quote Originally Posted by Thorne View Post
And what about the NON-mainstream religions? Don't their visions of gods count? My point was that there are as many different versions of gods as there are names of gods, which each claiming to be the One True God. And adding in all of the pagan gods, both present and past, throws some pretty nasty beings into the mix. Anyone interested in asking for mercy from Baal or Loki?
Ah - you are taking the old testament Christian view of Baal? ;-) Good old bloody Jehova, I am sure he is more safe.

Problem is, there are those who WILL pay attention. For every idiot out there, there are bigger idiots willing to believe him. Ignoring them only gives them the anonymity to keep doing evil in the names of their gods. Shining the light of reason and ridicule on them at least helps drive them back into the woodwork.
The real big problem here that I see is that people are not stupid - they are scared. And some are just extremely nasty and can drive panics of various kinds, exploiting that fear.

My big beef with religion is the FEAR it inspires in some people, and that fear is the danger. People with no hell or damnation or vengeful gods do not usually bother anyone else. Not on their own initiative, anyway.