I have spent some time the past month or so talking with Mormons. Occaisonally they would make some fairly resonable remarks. But nothing quite like this.

Marshall is a Mormon. And he likes atheists:

I’ve been thinking a lot lately about how much I like atheists. As a devout Mormon, that might sound a bit strange, but I find most of the atheists I know to be wonderful, inspiring individuals. I’m sure there are some atheists out there who are also terrible, terrible people, but that has never been my experience.

He lists three observations:

1. Atheists are reliable
2. Atheists are brave
3. Atheists are moral

He concludes:

Considering all that, I think atheists deserve some credit. They’re logical, moral and they stand up for what they believe in. Now if we could just get religious people to do the same.

You can read the rest of Marshall’s post “Why I Like Atheists” for his explanations.

Now here is what I want to know – why is Marshall not an atheist? What does he find to be so convincing about the Mormon religion? If he were to walk up to one of these reliable, brave, and moral atheists and give that atheist his best evidence for belief, then what would he say? Maybe Marshall will come here and respond. Either way, I sincerely appreciate his honest and astute openness.