Caving for infidels

[graham]

The irony that the Atheists complain about religions trying to spread themselves, seems to be lost.

I'm not sure that it's real irony, Cave_Troll; I think it's more likely that the religious have had things their own way for so long, claiming the moral high ground (and in some cases, of course, putting to death in particularly cruel and vicious ways those who disagreed with them) that the atheists want to assert their case now that they can do so (without being burnt at the stake, for example).

Well yes, it is as recently as 1697 that Thomas Aitkenhead has executed in Scotland for being an atheist.

Here's the indictment:

That ... the prisoner had repeatedly maintained, in conversation, that theology was a rhapsody of ill-invented nonsense, patched up partly of the moral doctrines of philosophers, and partly of poetical fictions and extravagant chimeras: That he ridiculed the holy scriptures, calling the Old Testament Ezra's fables, in profane allusion to Esop's Fables; That he railed on Christ, saying, he had learned magick in Egypt, which enabled him to perform those pranks which were called miracles: That he called the New Testament the history of the imposter Christ; That he said Moses was the better artist and the better politician; and he preferred Muhammad to Christ: That the Holy Scriptures were stuffed with such madness, nonsense, and contradictions, that he admired the stupidity of the world in being so long deluded by them: That he rejected the mystery of the Trinity as unworthy of refutation; and scoffed at the incarnation of Christ.

Apart from preferring Muhammad, I reckon he's hit the nail on the head, myself.