There are an infinite number of things that
could exist, but which I choose not to recognize or believe in. (ie, teapot orbiting Earth) Atheism is the "default faith" so to speak, as we are all atheists at birth, but I do not think that makes it a faith in the conventional sense that Harry and I were discussing. Satchmo, you're clearly an extremely smart dude (or you're just copy/pasting from a philosophical forum
), and I think you're trying to argue a point that is simply too
deep for the purposes of this thread. I'm not the right person to provide a relevant and detailed counter-argument.
No, it doesn't immunize us, and Yes, it certainly seems a catalyst.
I'm sure it does for intellectuals like yourself, but for a lot of people with a lot of power (ie George W Bush) and for everyday people such as most reading this forum right now, faith is a vehicle for so much bigotry, prejudice, and harm that, in my opinion, it deserves my hate.