"Whereas of course the scientists and atheists are much more tolerant, referring to believers as "DELUDED", or perhaps "LOONY", and many other pejoratives which cast doubt on their sanity."

So, religion is the answer to intolerance?

"Sounds to me as though the atheists, and the scientists,are EVERY BIT as religious as the believers, but in a diametrically opposed direction."

No, they are just suspicious of those who purport that they have answers. They are not religious in the slightest. It's difficult for people who are religious to have an understanding of those who are not. It's like smokers who just don't understand that
non-smokers don't want it and hence accuse them of being somehow prudish.

"WHAT, pray is the exact difference between a fanatic who insists that there is a God, and another fanatic who insists there is not?"

In my experience, I have not found most atheists to be fanatic about their point of view.
It usually works the other way around. Most atheists I know insist on proof of a god which seems reasonable to me. I don't think most atheists are adamantly opposed in a fanatical way to those who believe in a flat earth or Santa Claus.

"Neither has ANY objective proof for his point of view."

If you discount scientific proof, then you would be correct. So far, scientific proof has not revealed any god. The anger of those who are religious belies their objectivity.
I don't think most atheists that I've met are fanatically opposed to religious people as people.


"Neither has ANY respect for the other."

No this is not true. You can have respect for other humans beings without buying into
their ideology or belief system.

Each is UTTERLY convinced that HE, and only HE, is INDISPUTABLY RIGHT.

No, it's just that the burden of proof is on the believer, not the skeptic.

"ME? I DON'T KNOW! The difference is that I am prepared to ADMIT that I don't know."

I'm prepared to accept an empirical view based on scientific methodology that shows conclusively that there is a god.

"Neither of the two I mentioned above will EVER do THAT."

Not true. Atheists that I know are open to the idea that science may show something like this some day in a unified field theory (TOE) although this doesn't imply any divine deity.

"I have my beliefs, which are personal, and I NEVER ASK anyone to subscribe to them, much less INSIST! You may all believe whatever your hearts desire, but DON'T ever come to me and tell me you KNOW my beliefs are intrinsically wrong, because YOU DON'T."

Your beliefs are of course your own business. I can't really evaluate them because you haven't made them known. But religious people do all the time. We know too much about religion proportional to its value. Most atheists, for example, that I know have more knowledge about scriptures than those who purport to believe in them.

This topic reveals anger rather than rational discourse, usually.

As to a spiritual awareness, I see no scientific basis for that assertion. It falls into the
category of a belief system which is subjective and thereby unverifiable.

I have to say that I respect religious people as people and not because of what they purport to believe.

Frank