[mickeyg13]

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I get angry when an atheist claims that he has some sort of proof that his position is correct, because it's not even possible to have such proof. Similarly though I don't like when my Christian friends seem to think that they have proof that Christianity is correct. I recognize that my stance requires faith, but that faith is not illogical as some claim. It may be illogical to believe in something in spite of evidence to the contrary, and logical to believe when there is evidence. However, in the absence of evidence, it's pretty much a logically neutral position. I don't know why some people have a hard time understanding this.

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What you believe is highly relevant here. Do you believe in hell? Do you believe that human nature is inherently wretched and shameful? No? Then I wouldn't call you a "Christian." Semantic maybe. But given that so many people (including at least 50% of my own country) believe that I, as an atheist, deserve to be tortured for eternity, and that my whole species is basically a spit-ball stuck to the bottom of God's desk, I can deal with a little "collateral damage."

If you can't understand why there's some hostility from atheists toward your religion, then you're missing something big. I'm fine with the Buddhists - and remarkably, none of them think I deserve to be tortured until the end of time for my beliefs.

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You are lumping all Christians together, seemingly assuming they all believe in the same stuff. While it's true that many Christians don't understand atheists, I think it's also true that many atheists don't understand Christianity. They know that they have serious problems with some beliefs of some Christians, but those beliefs are not universal.

I believe that humans have, in general, a tremendous capacity for good, but inevitably we will make mistakes. I'm not sure how that answers your second question. As for the question of Hell, in recent years I've been troubled by that notion and now think it's unlikely that it exists, at least in the form it's commonly portrayed. I can't reconcile the notion of an omni-benevolent God with the notion of eternal punishment. Personally I'm Catholic, but I don't know whether or not those beliefs (or any others I have) happen to directly violate any parts of Canon Law of the Church.