aye right
So a believer is trying to help me? Only in the context of his own delusion. Islamists spout their venom, hate Christians, Jews (the People of the Book), atheists (me) but above all apostates, (people who disagree with them or renounce some trivial notion of the one true faith etc)
Islam is comfortable with conversion by force ( on threat of death) and has not, like its more urbane, of late, predecessor Christianity, recently invented faith by choice.
When a pope spoke to god and pronounced infallibly that the medieval superstition surrounding the assumption of the virgin was a true creed to be believed unquestioningly, was he therefore trying to help anyone roasting in a fire for dissent?
Now we know that heaven is not literally up there above the clouds, where exactly did the not-to-be corrupted corpse of Mary actaully head when it reached the exosphere? Orbit? Still going?Like a holy Energizer Bunny swinging around perihelion into the void?
Atheist proselitysation does exist I grant you, since I do it myself :-) is not about certainty or claimed intelligence. Its about altruism - the same instinct that has me help a stranger or rescue anyone in trouble, give my change to winos or a charity. I just want them freed from the narrow minded controlling influence of religions that justify everything from fatwahs to paedophilia, corruption and political interference that organised Squad seem so keen to promote.
I attack no one's faith - I just point out they don't share it, exactly the same, with any one other person. Most cannot articulate what they believe in or not and accept with a shrug that the inconsistencies are behind much evil in the world but they are pretty sure there is "someone" or "something else" out there. Really? And He (with a penis then?) approves of Inquisitions? Auto da Fe? Martyrdom?Purgatory? Original Sin? Papal authority? She (boobs?) disapproves of abortions, gays, proven facts like an ancient earth (~4 billion years old), or natural selection, or the solar system, etc. etc.
The questioning intelligence absent in true believers is indeed scary, but the lack of critical thinking and evident wishful thinking in Dawkins' "benign herd" that support religiosity are far more dangerous phenomena abroad than any that the nutters exhibit.
If you must think of your dead relatives as with you in a spiritual way and that gives you comfort or you talk to them in your head - go for it. However you don't say that. You use 3rd party grammar for such people. Dare I say it is because you don't believe it, yourself even though you wish it true? Your attitude then is revealed as one of the shepherds, aloof from the flock, claiming humility but behaving disingenuously. An episcopalian, a mullah, a guru or a witch doctor you reveal it is you that considers yourself better and you need a compliant congregation to exploit and maintain your self importance. Not me. I just like an argument.