""I suppose that the only thing proved by this "atheist" series of threads, is that Jack the Sailor likes to fight, and Steve Shaw likes to fight.""

I would say it proves rather more than that Joe.

1. Jack the Sailor cannot stand the idea that there are people in the world who don't share his beliefs, and reacts by poking them with multiple sticks so that he can feel victimised by them. He takes their existence as a personal insult.

2. Steve Shaw will always fight back if poked in this way, but not because he likes a fight. He just insists on the right to make up his own mind and live his life his way.

3. Little Hawk analyses people he knows nothing about and comments on competing egos, while having the biggest ego around and a pathological need to feel superior to the rest.

4. I don't have a dog in this fight as I'm somewhere in the middle, but I feel much more at home with the Atheists, even though I don't share their lack of belief.

In short, I'm with Steve on most of this.

Don T.