For many believers, my opposition to religion is unacceptable, strange and meaningless, but somehow theists do find a little bit of respect for it — not in the sense that they also believe it, or that they even find it a possibility or fact, but in the sense that they can (somewhat) respect my opinion [...]

When one appreciates a painting, poem, cinematic piece of art or any other piece of art, like a novel or an opera song, what is it that strikes you as true perfection in it? Not every art object will be perfect in its fullness, but bits of it — a chapter in a novella, a [...]