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Originally Posted by kblair7
Exactly right. There is a thin line between truth and fiction. People have to believe in something, so we can derive purpose out of our existence. Religion is one way that is provided that for us. Atheists claim they have no need for such things but I assure you they do, they derive their purpose, there need for belief from other places.
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I actually don't know any atheist that claims they don't need purpose or meaning in their lives. I don't know of any atheist that doesn't have value for beauty and, for lack of a better word, the human spirit. So right off the bat you're apparently completely misunderstanding those you wish to convince.
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Reason is a belief, and the pursuit of reason can become a type of religion in itself. It has its own mythic structure and its own heroes, its own creation stories, and requires faith in somethings that are near unprovable--in the negative.
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I always like to quote Dennett at this point and I wish I could word for word, because it's brilliantly worded, but I'll have to paraphrase for you. It is true that there is a type of faith in belief in science. For one thing, no one person can know it all so we have to have faith in those around us to know the things we can't invest in knowing. For another thing, scientific belief is a belief system that allows the rubber to hit the road so to speak. You can strap yourself to a large bomb and blast yourself into orbit...betting your life on your belief. You can't do that with credulous faith - the faith of religion.
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For example:
There is no God.
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There's also no Santa Claus.
There's no invisible pink unicorn.
There's no flying spaghetti monster.
There's no teapot orbiting the sun.
Do you question any of those beliefs?
Contrary to popular misconception though, this isn't faith. If we assumed every assertion was valid until it was proven otherwise there would be no sense to be had about the world. You simply cannot believe anything if you believe everything.
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It cannot be proven that their is no God, nor can they prove the universe begun in a "big bang," or that we sprung from the primordial ooze.
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No, but the answers that leave magic and superstition out of the picture are so much more enlightening and fulfilling. "A magic man done it," just leaves you wanting for more...and there's no "more" to be had with that answer.
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All systems of believe require faith on some level or another, even perpetual skepticism. 
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It is true that perpetual skepticism requires a lot of faith. It takes a lot of faith to disbelieve something in the face of piles and piles of evidence. I definitely agree with you on that one.