They believe she got it wrong

Re “No God, no reason, just whining,� Opinion, May 17

The problem with any blanket statement is that it ignores the far greater gray area. Charlotte Allen’s dismissal of atheists and their “self-pity� comes off as self-righteous -- a common complaint about believers.

She would be wise to stop perpetuating her chosen group’s perceived faults and accept that the world -- and its gods -- is much less black and white than she thinks.

Dean Buckley

Echo Park

The one thing that Allen gets right is that many atheists are motivated by anger.

We are angry that freedom is deprived from people of all faiths by people of one faith simply because majority rules.

We are angry that scientific research with the potential to dramatically improve life is restricted or even prohibited because of archaic religious principles.

We are angry that people with little knowledge of the complexity of government, foreign policy and economics are placed in extremely important positions because they proclaim their faith in God.

We are angry that innocent bystanders are still killed in the crossfire of a ridiculous conflict between Islamic fundamentalists and Christian fundamentalists.

Leave it to the powerful not to understand the plight of the oppressed.

Jacob Beizer

Long Beach

::

Ms. Allen, I respect your deeply held beliefs and values. Why couldn’t you have started your article like that?

I could easily have written, “I can’t stand religious people,� but I didn’t -- and that’s not even the truth anyway.

You weren’t being truthful either, because not all atheists were abused and so lost faith in a god, let alone think that religious people are idiots or fit all the stereotypes you ruthlessly stamped on us.

Imagine if I took quotes from all the fundamentalists, or otherwise extreme religious people out there in that big world of ours, and claimed that you held their beliefs as well?

Bailey Strelow

San Jacinto

::

From what I have seen, the people running around trying to write laws to enforce their ideas and beliefs, and exclude those who do not hold similar beliefs, are not atheists but believers.

Mark Donnelly

Sherman Oaks

::

Charlotte, what do we do about those other nonbelievers? The ones who have manners, are respectful to believers, don’t tell lame jokes, aren’t angry and would love to have a serious discussion about the existence of God?

The ones who embrace Christianity and conscientiously try to live up to Christian ideals but who are simply skeptical generally of supernatural phenomena?

I find it difficult to hate and ridicule them. You?

Kevin Hughes

Los Angeles

As an atheist, I found Allen’s article to be a crashing bore.

Glenn M. Langdon

Garden Grove

::

Any freshman philosophy student can tell you there is no logical argument for the existence of God.

In the end, the faithful can only say, “I believe, therefore God exists.�

Scott Lincoln

Pasadena

::

What an astonishing bit of drivel. How can anyone with a modicum of intelligence lump all atheists into one category as she does?

And she thinks atheists are crashing bores?

Kurt A. Stiefler

North Hollywood

::

As an agnostic, I agree with Allen that the world of atheists is just as full of demagogues and pompous egotists as the religious world.

I would not, however, include Michael Newdow in that list. His efforts to restore the Pledge of Allegiance to its original, secular wording and take “In God We Trust� off our money are merely attempts to keep religion out of the declaration of our national credo.

John Wolfenden

Sherman Oaks

::

To characterize those enlightened enough to question a belief system as “whining victims� is akin to similarly classifying all those brave souls who, throughout history, have challenged the status quo and, in so doing, have guided the human race into more progressive and evolved thinking.

E. Lynn Malchow

Pasadena

::

When I read this, I was reminded of a previous Allen piece. In that sexist article, she laid out the opinion that women are “dumber� than men.

Though this position is much more exciting than atheism, I still can’t bring myself to believe in God or to beat my wife. When will the media stop giving time to bigots like Ms. Allen?

Owen W. Kahn

Portland, Me.