"I guess that was all I was trying to say. I understand skepticism, and the benefits of it, but it cannot be used for many decisions in life, due to the contradiction in many human choices, and the need for us to "enjoy" life by sometimes choosing by our emotions alone. We also need something to wake up and believe in each day, or we become miserable and depressed. "

What would you say that 'something' is? As a skeptic, I am an atheist and I do not believe in life after death, magic, spirits or 'souls' in the christian sense. I do however believe in People, and the amazing and beautiful and wonderfull and fascinating things that people can and are able to do and accomplish. Skeptics do not discount emotions, a skeptic will never tell you that 'beauty' does not exist. They may tell you that your concept of beauty is no more valid than any one elses, but that makes it no less important to them. Carrying this philsopophy to the extreme, I find myself intruiged by absolutely everything that people do that they find joy in doing. As long as I hurt no one in the process of course. So you believe in an intangable thing that likely does not exist to keep you from getting depressed. I remember a story about Carl Sagan when a listener at a lecture approached him and said 'without god, what is special about life' or something to that effect. Carl Replied 'Life is what you make of it' As a skeptic I find that life is t he most wonderfull and amazing thing, and being aware of that life is even more precious. And then being able to do things that one finds joy in is immensily more profound and fascinating. Also not believing that we exist after we die makes me realize how lucky I am to have this life, and that since this is the ONLY one I will get, I better make of it what I can. Coupled with my knowledge of science, and especially chaos, I must say that realizing that each and every thing I do and decision I make may have profound and drastic consequences on the entire rest of my life. This gives one pause when making important decisions, and even not so important ones.

"With the majority of life choices, there are upsides and downsides. Religion has its benefits. Skepticism has its benefits. Religious people and Skeptics can both be too close minded, judgemental, and critical of anything outside of their own choices."

I would have to say that people who consider themselves skeptics may very well be closeminded, but the number of people who are actually closeminded is far smaller in proportion to the total number of 'skeptics' The most important thing I feel I have learned from studying skepticism is that I must always remember to doubt myself, and that I may very well be wrong, and that no matter how much I believe something, reality may disagree with me. This is not a fundanmental aspect of ANY religion, which is why I would say it would be far less likely for a skeptic to be close minded then a religious person. Also, there is no reason why logic and skepticism can not be applied to every question one comes across. It may not provide a better answer then a random guess or a 'gut feeling' but at least you know it is more likely to be grounded in reality.

That said, I would make the assertation that becoming a skeptic has greatly increased my appreciation for life, and everything that makes life worth living.

Matus