Religion debates

I like to browse news magazines at the local bookstores. Magazines tell me what's going on around the world in more details than 10 o'clock news can. News stories are dominated by politics or criminals. When we have a break from this, often we get religion talks.

One time I read Rick Warren (Purpose Driven Life author) vs Sam Harris (an atheist) debate in Newsweek. One time I read a scientist vs evolutionist debate.

In the most recent visit I read about the soldier's chaplain struggling to keep his faith in a weary war zone... Is religion a problem? The weary war zone seems to be a bigger problem.

It is an old and complex debate
Atheists insist there is no god. Monotheists like Christians insist there is one (and only one) God. Polytheologists insist there are many. In the world's religions, it is not just the number of gods in dispute. Even when your answer is 1. Is it "Allah" or is it "God"? or are they the same? Then the role of Jesus is often in dispute. Is he the son of God? a prophet? or a regular man? What about trinity or dual-ity or single-lity? (sorry don't know the official theological terms)

Oh and there is endless evolution vs Creation debate, and when we cannot say "creation", we use "intelligent design".
Schools should have an open mind: teach BOTH. Oh, don't show me again the are-you-really-sure probability of the universe come the way it is by chance. I am tired of reading that many 0's.

It gets nowhere
Just how many years people have been doing this type of debates?
This type of debate usually gets nowhere. You expect a well-known atheist to confess and "accept Jesus Christ as his personal savior" during an interview for a magazine? You expect a pastor to express doubt about what he preach and abandon his career? Often a "religious debate" goes nowhere, no side can fully convince the other. Let's just hope such debates don't turn into violence. Too many have died in the name of religion already.

Solution
There are two solutions to endless debate. Some use the "kill the infidels!" approach by slaughtering every non-conforming people. There has already been horribly many conflicts in the name of religion in the past. The better approach is tolerance: freedom of religion. Go ahead, worship all you want. You get less violence this way. Don't you wish there is some divine revlations which settle debates once and for all? Christians would point out that already happened 2000 years ago. I am feeling objection to this claim coming....