Ultimately, the goal of those conversations is to understand why they think the way they do, and to essentially plant seeds of inception in their minds when they walk out the door. Many people who grow up embedded in religion simply have never been challenged to think outside that box. If I can get them to ask questions, to seek real answers, and to not be afraid of being scrutinized for those curious questions, they will undoubtedly begin to sew the seeds of change within. Sometimes it just takes a spark to ignite the flame, and in time, that flame will burn brighter and hotter.

And you know what? It works. People listen. They feel their own views are respected, they gain a better understanding of why atheists view the world as they do, and they leave my house with a newfound curiosity about subjects they've never truly taken a dive into. They're encouraged to look at science with an open mind, just as I look at spirituality with an open mind, and I always make sure to remind them that true happiness is up to you: what makes you feel complete, and what makes you feel inspired? For me, I need not divine being for a blanket of safety and security. I find that same completeness through the majesty of the universe and it's insane character, and I find a bittersweet victory in knowing that my existence, while brief and fleeting, is one of incredible coincidence. 10 years earlier and I'd have died at birth. 50 years later and I might have inherited a doomed world. I could die at any moment and for all I know, that is it! That's life, and then you're gone, so instead of planning for my death and the potential eternity that follows, I make the most of what I have and hope that if there is a great big being in the sky, that they will respect and value my way of life and see that I am worthy as anyone else. In the meantime, I'm just going to be little 'ol me in this big blue world, and I will seek discovery and wonder where I find it, but I will never put my feelings before reality.

I've never had a person walk out that door without a smile on their face, and I've had several connect with me down the road and thank me for having such a benign conversation with them where others had scoffed and turned them away. For many, that conversation was indeed the spark that set off a chain reaction and they eventually embraced a much more grounded way of thinking. Those are victories not just for a progressive world, but for those individuals: a chance to wake up and really smell the bacon and see it for all the beauty there really is, and to never be ashamed of who they are as people simply because they don't fit into one scripture's cookie-cutter "rules of how things should be". A lot of religion pushes shame for our sexuality, or our identity, and that is ultimately the thing I strive to eradicate. We should be proud of who we, and we should be mesmerized by this insanely cool universe.

Dawkins is one of those people who has the right ideas, and who can be a very powerful speaker to what science is really about, but all too often he lets his personal feelings of frustration get in the way of a truly effective approach, and unfortunately when you start that conversation out as a combatant, your words fall on deaf ears. You must first want to make that person want to engage you, and the only way to do that is make it clear that you value their individual interpretation, and simply want to encourage them to seek out new ideas that challenge preconceived notions. It may simply make them more resolute in their faith, and if it does, that's okay! Some people just need faith and we can't force them to not need it. Others will find there is a whole world out there they've barely begun to understand. In the end, the way you make that conversation determines whether or not it is actually a conversation, or just two people talking at each other.

The frustration for any science-oriented mind is very real. We recognize the ticking time bomb that we're stuck on, we see the serious need for that evolution of society's mind to move faster, and it can be very difficult to understand their rationale. In truth, however, we cannot expect others to learn to understand our own rationale if we outright refuse to even acknowledge any legitimacy behind their own. Instead of bludgeoning them with facts, we should simply sew the seeds of questioning and discovery. The facts will inevitably speak for themselves, there is no need to be forceful about it, so just light that spark of curiosity and see where it takes them.