The only thing I have a little conflict with is the proof or disproof of God or some sort of higher power. I may not devote my life to it, or any of my time, but it's a logic thing. In my mind the acknowledgement is all that's neccesary to diffuse argument, that I may be open to their being a god.
I am open to there being a god too. However, I think reality is a bit more complicated than what we may be able to imagine. If you want to show me that there is a god, then it is simple. Just point me to where in the universe it is and show me reasons to think what you're pointing to is a god.
You can use logic and reasoning all you want, all we're doing with that in the end is coming to the conclusion that it's not utterly impossible for some thing to exist with the qualities we gave to that thing. It's not saying that such a thing definitely exists, it's not saying if it's even possible for a thing to exist in reality with all the properties we gave to it, our logic and reasoning concerning god is just saying that it is not logically impossible for there to be such a thing that has all the properties that we ascribe to god.
This breaks down when applied to gods that are said to be outside of time and space, because we don't have a clue what properties are possible or actually useful when we're talking about things outside our universe. Arguing about a god outside of our universe is kind of like saying that there is a ceiling outside, because you've been inside your whole life and it makes no sense for there not to be a ceiling. What makes sense to us in this universe is in no way the limit to what really actually is, especially when describing realities we don't interact with like the micro or macroscopic, and even more so when describing things outside the universe.
And truthfully, it makes sense to bank on there being a god. If there isn't one, whether you believe in it or not, when we die the same things happen. If the by some crazy chance is a god, then not believing is worse than believing.
Wouldn't it also make sense to bank on buying teapots, or else Russell's evil teapot will suck in your soul upon death for it to roast in the glare of the sun for eternity, and the only way to avoid it is to buy as many teapots as you possibly can?
The problem with threats of eternal damnation, is that it's an argument from emotion more often than not. It makes you feel scared and unsafe, and pushes you to take the course that seems safer because they promise it'll be okay. When you're making assessment on whether or not you invest in insurance, you have to calculate the risk, and that calculation involves the probability of something happening as well as the severity of that thing.
No matter how infinitely horrible a hell is, it doesn't matter at all if the probability of it happening is zero. So far, I don't think Christians have successfully demonstrated that the odds of hell existing and anyone being tortured there, is greater than zero, or so infinitesimally small that it's insignificant.
Believing in God because you're afraid of hell is like believing in Santa because you're afraid of not getting gifts on Christmas. Even if it were true, it's a poor reason for believing anything, and I want to show Pascal's wager for the scam that it truly is. I don't want people to fall for something like that.
Conversely, I'm not on a mission to change the world and make everyone a free thinker.
Even though I try, I know that's a goal that's impossible. I set my goal a little bit lower, and will be content with merely changing the world and making it so that everybody has the ability to become a freethinker, free of consequences, if that's what they so choose.
People dead set in religion won't change and to be honest, I don't care if it ever will, because it will never be something I can influence and see the result of.
My problem is that the people who are dead set and will never change, are hell-bent on making more people like them, be it by having as many children as possible to outgrow the competition, or by converting as many people as possible to be like them. That's something I'd like to limit as much as possible, both by making it harder to convince people into being dead set into religion, and by making it easier for children to escape from families dead set into religion, if that is what they choose.