Wanted the opinions of fellow atheists on this subject. I always felt that being taught to believe in a God, and a religion from when you are a child, like most people have been, is being taught to completely ignore all common sense and reality, and has caused alot of damage and heartache in peoples lives. In my view, that also makes these people more vulnerable to believe other outrageous claims. Because, well, if THAT exists, as we believe it does, then ANYTHING is possible. For example, it is mostly the theists, in my personal experience, that will pay large sums of money to see "psychic mediums," individuals that claim to be able to communicate with the dead, and have "telechinetic powers." We all know that these scam artists are, and have been, proven frauds going back 150 years. Houdini himself went to these " shows" and exposed these frauds right in front of audiences. Look it up, there is article after article, some even written by the "psychics" themselves ( after geting a conscience about "duping" innocent, ignorant people at their most vulnerable momment, and taking their money...especially the elderly) telling you the "tricks" they used to fool people, and that the whole thing is ( BIG SURPRISE!!) phony. But, I find that most of the people that are theists, will INSIST that some of these phonys have a "special gift." Meanwhile, the only gift they posses is being able to prey on peoples emotions, and vulnerabilities, at their weakest momments,and take their money. NONE of these creeps were ever able to prove anything, nor did they want to, INCLUDING John Edward ( "I don't have to prove anything...as long as the people believe it, thats all I need." By the way, Mr. Edward was caught cheating on one of his telecasts..look it up) There are also a host of other scams involving get rich schemes, online " dating" where a complete stranger will profess their "love" for someone, and get them to send all their money. I have seen these fools on national t.v. look like complete idiots for being conned into such schemes. There are so many other scams, too many to list. But the point being , the "believers" of these schemes are believers in a God most , if not all of the time, in my personal experience. I find it sad, and at the same time, pathetic, that there are so many people out there that are so desperate to believe , and cling to, a fantasy, no matter how ridiculous. Years ago, a teacher I highly respected told me that if something looks, and sounds too good to be true, it is... and he was RIGHT. There is a TRICK to everything. In closing, these are reasons why I advocate that being taught to believe in things that defy science, common sense, logic, and reality, makes people more vulnerable to scammers, and con artists. But, if people want to be THAT gullible, then, for lack of a better way to say it, they deserve any heartache that may come with it. What are YOUR opinions?