My youngest brother wrote this essay on his facebook:

"Militant atheism" Is a term, correctly labelled militant, defining a movement of secular, pseudo-intellectuals strengthening their own system of beliefs, by challenging other. I used to admire them. They fought for rationality and objectivity; I even wanted to help them. Suffice it to say, I was wrong.

I was a recently converted atheist,(now I'm pure agnostic) when I was really into this. I wanted to tell Christians they were wrong, that their belief system was errant, as errant and fallible as they come. I was pissed off. I was all this, one night, and I was at work. My mind was cluttered with a million little facts, and it bared a veil of love, hidden behind a shield made from a bitter soul. I felt betrayed and off-balance, deluded, lied to, upset, and fervent to change the world. I felt there were so many problems with religion, and I was vigilant of its danger. I was clouded with hate, loathing, with malevolancy as a sword and disdain as a shield, I was ready to make hell.

I cannot feel confident that what happened next can be attributed to a God, but it seemed divine. I was thinking about all that, and then a song the song we were listening to changed. The new song was "As I went down." By Soggy Bottom Boys. (I apologise that I can't do it justice by naming it, but I suggest you listen to it) It's a religious song, and in the moments listening to that song, I underwent a vissictude of grandiose tenor. I began to think about what I was doing. I thought about the comfort religion does, and how I used to believe myself. I used to believe it myself, and I was happy being religious. I thought I would be doing them a favour by arguing with them, bringing them closer to my imagined truth... But I wasn't happy anymore. I thought about the inspiration religion caused, the blatant value of the of inspired genius caused by varying ideologies. The Sistine Chapel. All the art of religion, so much more esteemed than many scienctific discoveries in my eyes. I thought about the "five stages of grief.": Denial, anger, bargaining, depression and acceptance. Was I just in the anger stage? I thought about science and rationality. Rational Atheism was a lie. I wasn't rational. No Atheist was. To be truely objective one must know that their own beliefs will always be an issue. There is no absolute morality, and without that, absolute objectivity is unattainable. To be objective, you must know, and instill in oneself, that you cannot be objective. Is this super-objectivity? Super-objectivity is ironically less than objective, but a more formidable stance. Who ever wanted to be objective anyway? Sacrifice a bias for ourselves, the ones we love and all that is dear, to be slightly more accurate? I dare you to run that by me in a way that I can say yes.

I thought about so much in an instantaneous moment. Sparked by an ardent mind of hate, metamorphisized into a fresh, empathetic vitality. I was enjoying this song; how could one small piece of music ignite such a wave of introspection and self-evaluation? I was interrupted however, before I could answer this question. It was my co-worker. A small, gentle, old lady. So peaceful and content.
She said, "This song is so good, my grandkids sang it when we first heard it. It was from 'Oh brother, where art thou?'[It's a movie about black prisoners in the segregation era, I think] They were so cute trying to sing it, I love gospel music!" And I realized again, how wrong I was. Militant atheism was wrong by nature. People become 'militant atheists' to argue their opinions. I thought it was noble. I thought it was to stick up for homo-sexuals who are treated unfairly; for the woman who is doing less harm by aborting an 50 cell embryo for research than the pastor who swats a fly that made of millions of cells that can actually feel. I thought it was sticking up for reason, against the dumbing of our schools. The truth was that 20% of pious individuals go to church, and even less do wrong in the name of their religion. And again, they are only wrong in my limited view of reality, in my delusion that I am smarter than them, in my distorted and pretentious self-important mind... The real answer isn't trying to convert people with logic; try going after the real villians instead of enlarging your own selfish meme of an ingroup. What does it matter if someone wants to ask an invisible man for help? I still pray, the difference is that I don't think it does anything. It's called unitarianism. It comforts me. So I thought some more...

I thought about my co-worker. And I thought about a girl, so accepting and supportive, I could have loved this girl if she hadn't moved away. And this new girl, I definetly don't like her in 'that' way, but she's the type I could like that way(perhaps I'm being preliminary in my judgement, but she seems special, even if I doubt that I'll like her in 'that' way anytime soon.)... All she wants is to help people. She wants to go to Africa to help people! Was my cause any more noble than her ambitions? I can lie to myself, but that is not what I am about, so I have to say no. I thought about my friend, my hero; he's a Christian, he just believes... and the world keeps spinning. Or the first person to become my friend since moving to this town, he was partly responsible for my religiosity in the first place. Even though it is abandonned now, I wouldn't trade his influence for the world. Then I thought some more. This so-called 'movement' of militant atheism has a guise of attacking haters and radicals, but the people I've mentioned, they are who I was attacking... Not the strong believers who violently condenm human rights as sin, they never change their minds(Isn't it ironic that their god adovcates free will so strongly, but they cannot seem to do his will and allow people their freedom?)... But the ones who have enough insight to value people and embrace life, who make their own decisions, instead of living word-for-word from a book. Is it fair to challenge a belief system with people who can't defend it? Even if I could, would I take away the belief that they are safe? That they are loved? And that the world doesn't disappear just because nobody is looking. The rhetoric of that question is almost unsatisfying to the feelings I attach to it.

And then the song ended. It's such an anomaly how something so small, could do so much. I didn't want to let my atheism change me. I want to coexist with others. And all this seriousness is not me, I want to be funny again. There is no humour in seriousness. My biggest regret is that I may be unable to let some people see that I am no different than they are. If I end up liking a Christian girl, what could I do? Emotion does not stop at a developed belief, but beliefs are strong enough to make someone ignore emotion. That girl could so easily not want a non-believer in their life. All I have to say to that is that I haven't done anything wrong. I don't lie often, I don't kill, I've never even stolen. I'm accepting and kind. My only crime is that I need evidence to fill that hole that you fill with faith. Some people can't live with that, and it kills me. That is the greatest tragedy in life.

So I'm agnostic. Not quite atheist, although I don't think there is a god, it is unreasonable to assume that I can know for sure. I'll argue religion with any wiling participant, but now, it's in reluctance, not with an agenda. And I pray, not to any god, but instead to the followers of any god, which turns this prayer into a plea: Let us all live together, and in peace. Let us cherish our differences, but let us not seperate the important things. Let us be Christians, Muslims, atheist, Buddhist, and all the other ist's there are, not divided, but amalgamated into one body of many, instead of many bodies of few. Let us be friends. All I'm saying is, let's be nice.

I feel blessed. I feel at peace.

Peace,
Love,
And smiles.

Jerod [middle name and surname ommited]

Essentially, I am one of these "militant atheists" who he thinks so little of, and he came to this realization with a religious experience, and a few theistic arguments. 

What should I say?