Atheists, according to Mollie Ziegler Hemingway of the Wall Street Journal, are no more rational than theists. In fact, they are a mite more superstitious, or so she says in a recent article titled “Look Who’s Irrational Now.” Apparently, 8% of those “who attended a house of worship” claimed belief in palm readings, astrology, and undead visitations, compared to a staggering 31% of the unchurched, including “avowed atheists.” Even more stunning is the fact that quite a few of these so-called atheists pray or proclaim belief in a personal God.

The other day I happened across, in a post on FriendlyAtheist, a book by Ray Comfort. For those of you who don't keep up with the minutiae of arguments between atheists and theists, Ray Comfort is the man who brought us the Banana Argument for God: essentially, that the banana is so perfectly formed, it has to be evidence of Yahweh. He is surely a man of formidable intelligence.

Though I've heard that for many of a religious persuasion fear of hell is an overriding influence on their lives, I don't know if I've ever believed it to be very prevalent. In the secular world I've inhabited for most my life, the issue of heaven and hell have almost never arisen, save in the ramblings of recently religious relatives of mine. Upon reading the works of Ayaan Hirsi Ali, it has become clear to me that a significant number of Muslims in the West still live in fear of hell, and many continue to live in the trap their tradition weaves for them out of that fear.

Some people believe that if something cannot be explained with current scientific knowledge, it must be proof of God. An example commonly given by theists is that of bee's flight. Supposedly, tests in wind tunnels found that bee's bodies were not aerodynamic to maintain flight as birds do. Therefore, say the theists, God must be helping the bees fly.

A common argument for belief in God and the acceptance of religious creed is one of risk and reward. Supposedly, if you don't accept Jesus as your savior and Yahweh as your lord you risk going to hell. If you believe and are wrong, nothing lost. But if you disbelieve and are wrong, you end up suffering an eternity in the Inferno, forever a museum exhibit for the Dantes and Virgils of the future.

It was late Firiday night and I'd just come home from seeing 300 with a friend. It was a problematic movie, but by not taking it seriously I managed to enjoy it and found my imagination sparked by the imagery of the film. I sat down at my computer and typed out, stream-of-consciousness, the ideas about art that were percipitating in my mind. I was in a creative groove: my mind was like a deep river flowing through the universe. I felt truly connected to myself: thought and expression gelled in a truly marvelous way.