Atheist vs Religious

I'm not against religious people, just against dogma and irrationality. I had started to writeup a post about the fundamental differences between religious people and atheists but I came across this youtube video that does a very good job.

The premise is simple, with rationality you can think and come up with better answers than without thinking. The video doesn't talk much about the negative consequences of prayer which I think is often overlooked. The majority of people's prayers are for themselves or their kin (some are for others). A daily prayer therefore means someone spends a part of everyday asking for their life to get better. They have no real motivation to make it better just to pray harder. But I believe people are free to do what they want so long as it's not hurting others.

What I always found funny is how if you question any of the magic stories that are part of that persons faith they will defend them but quickly dismiss similar or even more plausible stories from other religions. This is why teaching all (or at least many) religions to children is a great way to sow the seeds of doubt and rationality since they start understanding what a story is (as opposed to a historic event).

In the end I just wish people could understand two very simple parts of the difference. The first is that only atheists can truly love and care for other selflessly since they don't believe in a Santa Clause god watching their actions forcing them to behave. The second is that life for an atheist has infinite value since it is all you have. If you believe you will live on in a better place for an eternity then 80 years here is quite irrelevant. So maybe religious people could try the opposite of Pascal's wager and live as if there isn't a god and if one (or many) pops up at least you were yourself.