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be true at the same time, just as "Only the Koran provides a path to God" and "Only the Bible provides a path to God," can not both be true at the same time, even if they can be believed by different people at the same time. "There is no God," can not be true while these are true, either.

Therefore, only one position on God can be the right one. Atheists understand that we can't say all religions are right, because they contradict one another. If we pick any, we can pick only one.

But which one? Many people go with the one they were taught as children, but that doesn't make it true. Other children are taught other religions. Who is right? Neither is right to choose based on upbringing, because if they were, it would mean that contradicting statements can be true at the same time, and they can't.

Others choose a religion later in life, based on what is most appealing to them. They might choose the religion with the prettiest art, the most interesting culture, or the most idealistic scriptures. But personal affection doesn't make something true, only likable. If wanting something to be true made it true, it would be raining cotton candy in my back yard this afternoon.

By the way, if I believed it would rain cotton candy in my back yard this afternoon, you would have no reason to respect my belief, no matter how close I held that belief to my heart. I'd only require that you let me down easy, okay?

The fact is, no religion is actually more likely to hand you truth or salvation than any other. If any of them are right about God and God's rules, there's just no way for us to know which one it is. If there was, we'd all have picked the same religion by now.

That means atheists understand that no person believing one religion over another has any real justification for doing so. Communication styles, rituals, and norms - these can differ between people and still be true in their contexts, but statements about the ultimate, like "Heaven can only be reached via Mormonism," have no grounds.

Atheists aren't gullible, either. We understand that the burden of proof rests on extraordinary claims, and that Occam's razor is a useful thinking tool dictating that the simplest explanation for the way things are is also the most likely one. Atheists believe in things that really work - medicine is more effective than prayer for health, and reason is better than blind faith for learning.

Chance is a tricky thing to fully understand. A lottery winner might thank God she won, and a lighting-strike

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