>Is our competition with other religions more of a matter of a good-natured
>contest or of a religious war (regardless of whether all conflict remains
>contained within the Internet)?
>If we are the rival, instead of the enemy, I will stay with you. If we are
in
>the position of enemy, I will leave because most of my friends are members
of
>other religions. I would be willing to engage in a contest with them, but I
>will not make them my enemies.
My view is that it is warfare.
I've found any overt move to change someones mind is not only futile but the
accompanying philosophical upheaval could almost be a violent act given the
simple faith some people have. I warn people when sharing books that I don't
want to be the person thought of as the one who "rocked your world". I
respectfully offer reading materials that will form hairline cracks in their
religous beliefs and warn them ahead of time to expect it.
Individuals are not the enemy but unthinking herds of emotionalists are. A
friend of mine travelled to Saudi Arabia and filled in the religous box on
some paperwork as "atheist" and was advised that it could potentially put his
safety in question. As long as religous fanatics can strap bombs to there
body it will be warfare. However, it's intellectual warfare and the best
strategy might be an extremely circumspect memetic attack.
Invite your friends, Chris.