>(DAVE 5/14) Ian: This is an interesting discussion and your insight is a
>fair one - I can't help but wonder if the reciprocal and the opposite to
>what you have said is also happening - that you are convincing some more
>than ever that what they believe is legitimate and true, and also that the
>seed of "doubt" is being planted in some atheists' minds.
SQUIRES
In general, I think it is much more likely that a person of the "religious"
mindset would begin to have doubts. Atheists and freethinkers oppose
censorship and want all kinds of books on the shelf and available to
people. Many of the religious leaders of the world, both currently and in
the past, have tried to shelter the minds of their followings from
"difficult" thoughts or information. I think it's obvious who is more
likely to lose if everything was opened up. Not that an atheist could not
have his/her mind changed. However, it seems a lot less likely than the
other way around.
Robert Squires
r-squires@worldnet.att.net