But let's get back to logic. In terms of formal logic I grant you a point in that it is problematical to logically argue to proof of a negative. A statement, for example, "there are no black swans", is always subject to refutation on the discovery that, in fact, a black swan exists somewhere. Nonetheless, regarding the existence of God, the logic works in another direction, in that there are no logical arguments/proofs for the existence of a God which are not open to serious challenge on the basis of rational, logical thinking. Even Thomas Aquinas was aware of this when he carefully called his five classical arguments for the existence of God "ways" and not "proofs."

Arguments for the existence of God generally fall down, from the logical point of view, on the basis of internal self-reference with regard to their own definition of terms; they are nothing more than rational legerdemain. The best example of this is the Anselmian argument: God is a being, greater than which nothing can be thought to exist – but something which exists is obviously greater than something which does not exist – therefore God exists. Very clever, except that it's a completely closed loop. It's like saying 1=1.

This is why the Abrahamic religions are all based on a revelation of some sort – and, particularly in the case of Christianity and Islam, posit a "faith" response on the part of those to whom "God" reveals his/her existence/nature. The question is whether this faith is reasonable. Atheists, or agnostics with atheistic tendencies (which is how I would define myself, given the problem with logical proofs of a negative, which I outlined above) argue that none of the arguments concerning the reasonableness of the various versions of faith proffered by believers are particularly convincing.

Let's be quite clear about this; an atheist does not have to prove anything – the burden of proof is on the theist. And, contrary to what many think, doubt has a long and illustrious pedigree. If you are really interested in going into this issue seriously, you could do a lot worse than begin with "Doubt – A History," by Jennifer Michael Hecht (New York, 2004, ISBN 978-0-06-009795-0). It's an immensely readable, balanced, erudite work, just the kind of present to ask Santy for.

Imagine for a second that you are a cockroach. You will see (hopefully) that it is not possible for you to imagine what this is truly like. You can imagine perhaps what it is like for Audrey to feel like a cockroach, but you can never know what the actual experience of being a cockroach is like. It is unknowable. Now ask yourself this – why can the cockroach not play a Mozart concerto on a grand piano? Because a cockroach cannot know what this experience is like. In a similar way, mere humans cannot know the origins and scope of the universe and understand the paradox of consciousness. We are but a small tangent on an evolutionary tree, on one small planet, in one small galaxy. We may think we are special, but we are not.

It is humbling but very liberating to acknowledge that we cannot know some things and that we do not need absurd theories to explain the unknowable. This faith that you speak of is just a yearning for understanding, when no understanding is possible. I wish more people could experience the intellectual freedom that this simple conclusion affords.

Having faith in something that's not proven is, formally seen, illogical. If you could logically argue to the existence of God, then you wouldn't need faith.

It's nice that you "respect people's right not to believe or not to know." Actually, you might like to consider the question of "rights" from the other side of the fence. How far should a secular, pluralist society accord "rights" to religious groups which threaten the basic human rights of others, especially children, and whose highest leadership and administrative levels collude and work actively to suppress knowledge of crimes committed and supply succour and support for people who have committed serious crimes? (And I'm not talking about scientologists here.)