Making good on a promise to a friend to summarize his views on Christianity, Thomas Jefferson set to work with scissors, snipping out every miracle and inconsistency he could find in the New Testament Gospels of Matthew, Mark, Luke and John.

Then, relying on a cut-and-paste technique, he reassembled the excerpts into what he believed was a more coherent narrative and pasted them onto blank paper -- alongside translations in French, Greek and Latin...

If love and compassion are the most important metrics by which we measure every belief system (theistic and atheistic alike), then why not laud love and compassion wherever we see it? Do your motivations for compassion have to be the same as my motivations for compassion for me to appreciate your good deeds?

"We define ourselves by knowing other people." Mohammad Mahallati – Difference is a blessing - Boing Boing:

Those that believe, believe in the power of words. An important post from @jamesshelley: