Firstly, let me thank you for presenting ideals that I have held close to my hart since adolescence. Also thank you for posting the opposing ideals of the others, as one would not see such statement of atheism on any religious website.

Preface: I will speak in regards to Christianity, as I am not very knowledgeable as to other religions, though I am sure the following relates.

Fear, according to wiktionary is An uncontrollable emotion of anxiety about something that causes a scared reaction or frightening impression. Fear and fear alone is the driving force behind all religion. Not the so called love of a Heavenly Father or his begotten love child, or some ghost that tickles the hairs on the back of ones neck. Since the dawn of man, from him monkey forefathers, fear has been the justification for religion to rape, murder, pillage, enslave, seize and degenerate mankind. And to this day fear is what drives losers like myself and the other fuckos to defend their ideals on this website.

It has been said that mans greatest flaw is the knowledge of his own demise. With this understanding we can see how fear has become the catalyst for a needed God. The prospect of nothingness post death is certainly unnerving to all persons. We all fear death like we all fear the unknown; the question we should all ask our self is how are we going to deal with this fear.

Theist: I shall live the literal message of the Bible. I shall putt my faith in my religious leader s judgment and that of my brethren. I shall tolerate other religions, though I shall never concede to there ideals, for I know my religion is the one true path to heaven. I shall pretend to not fear death for I am told that I am heaven bound. I shall not use reasoning to question a place beyond the physical laws of our universe. I shall strike out at those persons and ideals who threaten MY FACT MY TRUTH .

Atheist: I shall live my life as I see fit. I shall putt my faith in myself and others who use objective reasoning. I shall tolerate and embrace the people of all religions, reaming open to all ideals and perceptions on life and death, never assuming I know fact because I FEEL it is right inside of me. I shall fear death, darkness and nothingness, though I will LIVE to the best of my ability and reach achievement outside the bound of heaven. I shall use reasoning to question everything in order to find FACT and TRUTH . I shall strike out at persons who use religious Doctrine as fact.

You make a number of interesting points, some of which I agree with and some of which I don't.

I agree that some religious belief comes from fear of death. However, I also think that much of religion comes from a need for answers where simple answers may not be available. Why are there disasters? Where did the universe come from? How can disease be cured? You might call this fear of the unknown, if you like. A third "fear" that leads to religious belief is the fear of injustice. Without a deity, some wrongs will go unpunished and some bad things will happen for no reason.

On the other hand, I would say that you could name fear as the cause of atheism as well. In this case, it might be the fear of believing things that are untrue. To an atheist, the truth is more important than certainty. And to the strong atheist — one who says that there is no possibility of a deity — there may in some cases be fear motivating such a strong statement.

The point here is that fear, in and of itself, is not necessarily a bad thing as a motivator. It's a matter of what you do with it.

Your breaking down of theistic and atheistic beliefs is interesting, but unfortunately it does not allow for the wide variety of beliefs in these two areas. There are plenty of Christians who do not believe the Bible to be literally true, don't tolerate other religions, or don't strike out at those who disagree. Likewise, there are plenty of atheists who don't tolerate religion, aren't open to all possibilities, base beliefs on feelings, or don't fear death.

Beliefs and motivations are incredibly varied. I think you would be hard pressed to find two meaningful boxes in which everyone clearly fits.