God is the lifestyle of the intelligent and the lottery of the ignorant. Both serve their purpose and bring prosperity and solace in their own way. And, that's a good thing. Keeps a lot of nere-do-wells off the street, on both sides. In the end, the values inherent in the true teachings of God are true. Even atheists would agree in principle, with exceptions.

Re such exceptions, first and foremost, I met a Jesuit scholar who explained to me that the Bible was written to allow manipulation of the ignorant by the intelligent. A simple example : "Turn the other cheek." versus "An eye for an eye, a tooth for a tooth." There are many others, but you get the gist. And that's a good thing, as long as there are atheists to protect the ignorant, because, as Amos and others have pointed out, those who choose logic and rational thinking over deity are not bound by the constraints of religion. Thank Man for the the choice. I would hate to live on a flat earth... I am scared of heights. And, I would hate to see Jim Baker fuck over another bunch of lottery losers.