Nutty: "Because it allows them to shed responsibility for their actions eg GOD'S WILL"

This is only one of many mis-conceptions about God and those who try and follow Him and His word.

To the un-informed (and I mean this is the most well-intentioned way, and not as any kind of slur etc.) Christianity may indeed seem like a cop-out: e.g God is the 'brains'.

But this overlooks the first fact: being a Christian means having to apply your brain more than ever (at least I found it did). Before becoming a Christian, I would ask myself 'what do I want / what do I want to do?" - and in fairness, this is a no-brainer. It's not exactly rocket science most of the time to know what you want. Plus it's possible to speculate endlessly and 'harmlessly' on the 'meaning of life' while just following your instincts all the while.

On the other hand, knowing what God wanted required some real soul searching (no pun intended). I had to get to know Him, and then adjusting your life accordingly is no easy task, it makes lots of demands on you - demands that one might prefer to ignore. But it does bring a deep inner peace and contentment (maybe that's one reason to believe in God) though it's also a false notion to believe that people only have religion for 'comfort'. There are tough times, even when you're a Christian, life isn't all roses, and even if you know God is close, you still have to deal with tough times all the same and cry real tears. And it's no comfort to know that leading a bad life could leave you in danger of Hell! An atheist has no such worries. He can lead a good life or a bad life and it'll be all the same to him (or her) in the end. That could be very comforting to some...! What reasons does he have to lead a good life? Personal satisfaction maybe? Maybe there are others, if anyone wants to add some ideas?

Christians will be called to account for their actions twice - once here in the eyes of men (i.e the world) and again after death, before God.

Another mis-conception is that Christians believe they are 'superior'. They don't (at least not if they're good christians). They're happy that they've found God, no doubt about that. But they know they need God because they are sinners in the first place, imperfect people. Jesus gave the example of washing his follower's feet, and telling them 'you call me master, and yet I wash YOUR feet. If I, the master, do that, then so much more should you do it" (obviously washing feet was only an example of any act of kindness to another).

As for religion as an excuse allowing people to conduct wars etc., It's true that many wars have been carried out in the name of religion. But look at them more closely and you will find other motives: the conquistadores were not motivated by religion alone but capital and profit. The fighting in Northern Ireland is often wrongly ascribed to religion - are you a catholick or a protestant? This totally ignores the socio-economic roots of the conflict: the supression of one half of the population by the other using the convenient tag of religion, but in reality having far more to do with the cultural origins of supressor and suppressed, civil rights, have and have not, power and who has it. People have killed in the name of many 'isms' .... look at the millions killed in the name of communism in China (10s of millions between 1949 and 1970s) Cambodia (2 millions under Pol Pot) Russia (30 or more million between 1920 and 1940s - under executions, enforced collectivisations, gulags, famines caused by government policy etc.,) That's only 1 'ism' Capitalism is killing millions around the world today in the name of 'Free Trade' and a global economy. Religions have no monoploy on death and suffering.