I can only speek for myself in cases like this. I am comfortable in the verbal boxing matche. Other atheists like the quite library settings. BOTH are valid and needed.

You cant always get a theist's attention by kumbya tactics and you cant always pull your fangs out either. Like you said in the OP there is no single pronged approach to theist claims.

I am kinder to Capt Pinapple and Wave than, for example, Beatz. Wave and Pinnaple, I may find "full of it" on their claims, but they do have the capability of seperating the issue of them the person, verses the claim of their "whatever".

Beatz however, is a deeply indoctrinated cheerleader who sees anyone an enemy that does not hold his fire and brimstone Jesus. This is intollerance and fanaticism that is coddled by moderates and I will not play nice with these nut cases. Beatz's attitude is divisive to humanity and self centered and selfish and he has no intrest in being objective or tollerant.

I do not dellude myself into a utopian view that the world will suddenly, if ever, become all atheist. BUT it is not unreasonable to have the same ability of freedom and free inquery that western socieity says it fosters, to challenge the claims I dissagree with.

Atheists are merely tired of the demonization of non-belief because we dont buy hocus pokus claims and challenge them. We are tired of the claims that we want to use government to force the end of religion. We are tired of the dumbing down of society with absurd attempts to turn science into "POOF" magical claims. We are tired of the false claims of atheists lacking morality.

This is what we as atheists are fighting. No one can tell you how you fight your own battles, but to say it should be done one way is to limit the prongs and abilities that vary in all of us.

It is exactly because atheists are individuals and are not monocromatic, that our movement, as a whole is workin. It is because the oportunities for both sides of the "good cop/ bad cop" issue, are both finding ways to make it work.

I dont recomend one tactic as a blanket fix to a problem because each situation is different and knowing when and where and how, is the key, not what tactic.

Atheists merely need to focus on getting the word out that we are not demond possed blood drinkers, we dont have cooties and we are not going to take it anymore. We wont eat your kids or barbaque kittens, but we arent going to sit quietly at the back of the bus simply because someone doesnt like our message.

How you, the individual atheist wants to present that message, is up to you. But do something, because the worst thing we can do is nothing.

If some theist wants to call me a prick because dont mince words or sugar coat my position, the only thing I would say to them is probibly the same thing they would say to me, "If you dont want the entire label judged, then dont judge my label" My respone to that is that I DONT JUDGE AN ENTIRE LABEL, I judge what the person claims which is a seperate issue than weither or not the person is nice or not.

So my advice to the theists reading this is to get over yourselves and to the politically correct atheists as well. We, both atheists and theists, can treat each other as individuals. And if one, be it on either side of the diety issue, does such, then we can seperate the individual from what the individual claims.

It is no different to me than telling a friend, "You have a booger on your nose". I dont hate them, I am merely pointing out the flaw in their use of logic.  I am not going to sugar coat my response to naked assertions and absurdities, that doesnt mean I hate everything about the person making such a claim(any claim, not just religion).

I will however lean toward hating an individual who insists that I should hide my position and censor my thoughts, be they theist or atheist. I dont expect theists to censor their thoughts, I simply would say to them, "I hear you claim that, fine, now prove it". 

Bottem line, there is room for the brawls and the library, for both the atheist and theist. I have met theists who do not take it personally when I am blunt and blasphemous, they are out there.

But I also understand that, just like people dont always like blasting "We Will Rock You" on their home stereo 24/7, sometimes people like listing to quite jazz or classical music. THERE IS ROOM FOR BOTH. 

It's a real problem, and one that I face here in the deep south, too.  I think that the problem is primarily twofold.

1) Most atheists simply don't know how badly religion is effecting our country, our personal lives, and our beliefs about ourselves as individuals.

2) I'm probably going to get blasted for this, but people who tend to become atheists are non-authoritarians, and are usually (in America) better educated, and possibly objectively more intelligent (whatever that entails).  The last one is debatable, but the first two are not.  In any case, non-authoritarians are very difficult to organize precisely because they're non-authoritarians.  In many cases, they don't want someone telling them they have to do something, even if it's something they would have done anyway.  It's just part of the personality type.

The Authoritarian Specter by Robert Altemeyer (Hardcover - Nov 15, 1996)

If you have not read this, you must read it.  (Even if you're non-authoritarian... do what I say and read it!!)

This explains not only the authoritarian personality type that is most likely to become Christian, but also the non-authoritarian who will most likely not.

Great post Renee. Glad to hear I got through to someone out there. lol

    Yup Yup, there are lots of ways, my way too .... "jesus was an atheist" ! , works around here ....

Maybe Hamby could add to this etc, (I went googlin)  that book is $57, and there is his other one. I like it, great reviews.

Right-wing Authoritarianism  http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Right_Wing_Authoritarianism

Thanks so much you all, there is no greater fury than love = RRS