Stevie I always try to conduct myself properly and do have respect. Sometimes it is not returned especially when people disagree with my POV. I always argue by sticking to the points and facts and never personally insult...pity other do not adopt that philosophy. I might think that a POV, belief or a stance is silly and will speak my mind but I still respect the person making the point. Just because I am at odds with many accepted views does not make me wrong.

Cause and effect
the simple answer to cause and effect is unfathomable. Nobody can get their head around such theoretical things like why we are here or where we came from. We are all ignorant in our knowledge of such things like time, space, dimensions and forces. The very essence of your argument is that you cannot get something from nothing........without there being a creator......but that does not make sense either because if there is nothing in the first place then where did the creator come from? So it is just as logical to say that we happened by chance with no superior force being applied. I am afraid that the whole subject is so mindbogglingly illogical that I and everyone else do not have the answer. I am the first to admit that I do not have the answers.....I only have the questions. So far the theory of a creator in the way you put it is very much open for debate....so nobody should jump to conclusions.
Lets assume that there was a creator........whether it is a being like an ET or a force like gravity or electricity etc etc...or just chance it does not really matter... the fact that we have created religions to venerate such a thing without any proof of what it is and what it did is IMO totally preposterous illogical and a step too far........especially when so many people have such conflicting theories and beliefs.
You call me pompous.......perhaps that is true. I do not consider my views nearly as pompous though as someone who claims that their religious beliefs and theories on creation are right and everyone else is wrong....especially when what they believe in is totally man made with no hard evidence to back it up.
Interesting to hear that you do not accept evolution especially when it is all around for everyone to see. Our genetic make up is so similar to all living things that we had to evolve from things that have gone before....perhaps God (written with a capital "G" this time please excuse previous typos) created evolution. Perhaps God was a spaceman and this world we live in is the result of a genetic experiment......long time abandoned. That possibly holds as much logic as most other religious theories.
My stance is simple I do not buy religion or accept blindly any faith.. I have issues with most if not all religions and faiths...and I certainly have issues with any God if we were indeed created by such a being or entity.

I watched a religious debate on TV many years ago where various people from different backgrounds and religions sat around a large table and debated topics of interest surrounding religious matters. One of the questions was "is the Bible the true word of God?"....now many very intelligent and learned people were arguing various pros and cons.......but the most sense was spoken by the Atheist......he said....."I do not know cause when reading the Bible it is so difficult to see where the word of man ends and the word of God begins"
Later on the subject changed to could God be a female? Now again much dry discussion took place where God was described as asexual. Then one lady who represented the feminist movement put forward a case that God was indeed a woman. In reply a plain speaking down to earth housewife replied "Oh no dear.... God is definitely a man cause what woman could ever allow her son to be crucified."
Perhaps if more people applied this kind of logic rather than believing in fanciful theories then the world would be a better place.

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