I was once but a lad

Ever since I was a small boy, I've been an atheist. That sounds ridiculous, but I've always been sceptical, not just about religion, but about almost anything. I require evidence and reason as the basis for my beliefs. I can remember, even in grade school, being perplexed by the obvious inconsistencies in the Bible. My parents forced me to go to Sunday school when I was young, and later to catechism as a teen. None of this had any effect on my belief system. I even had an interesting conversation with my pastor at one time about why I didn't believe, and he explained why he did. Although I liked the man, I found his arguments unpersuasive.
The Bible is full of self-inconsistent tales, but even if one attempts to explain those away with twisted logic, a rational person cannot help but see that the bible was written by people (who thought the earth was flat) in an attempt to explain the universe and natural phenomena that they had no hope of understanding through other means.
Many of my friends and family are religious to varying degrees. Some very much so, and in fact they would be considered fundamentalists. Most of them are perfectly lovely people, and I don't love them less because we are diametrically opposed on this topic. I've never concealed my atheism, and when asked, I've always been truthful (with one exception, which I'll remark about later). I've never spoken so openly about it, and I've certainly never written about it until now, however. I realize that some of the things I may say, some of the notions I will posit, will offend or dismay some friends and family, but if they are able to state their belief systems with great conviction, then I should be able to state mine with equal conviction.
Although I'm an atheist, I've always been part of the tolerant faction that said, "others are free to believe as they wish, it doesn't bother or affect me. If it gives them comfort, fine." I've always tried to avoid conflict. I can even understand why some people that I once thought rational, might believe in a god. I no longer feel this way and will engage in a debate with anyone about religion at any time from now on. Why the change? I've come to the conclusion that religion (and lack of reason in general) is a virulent force for evil rather than good in the world and must be confronted. Not confronted violently, but must be challenged, argued against, and debated at every turn. This distinguishes the rational atheist and secular humanist from the believer: the devout are often willing to kill, segregate, or punish those that don't share their beliefs. That is only one manifestation of its evil.
I'll state my position clearly and unambiguously: religion is nothing more than superstitious nonsense. There isn't a shred of evidence to support belief in a supreme being in general, much less a Christian, Muslim, or any other specific species. There is no more reason to believe in god than in Bertrand Russell's teapot, or Henderson's flying spaghetti monster.
What we as a civil society needs isn't more superstition. We need more reason, more rational behavior, and more critical independent HARD thinking. We need an atheist manifesto. Fortunately Sam Harris has provided one. Read this thesis. It is cogently argued, and his logic is unassailable. Of course that won't make any difference to the devoutly religious. Their belief system is based entirely on dogma. No matter the evidence, no matter the logic, they will steadfastly believe what they've been taught to believe. But I must try.
I'll be writing much more on this topic in the coming days.