Patrick Elliott <sel### [at] rraznet> wrote:

> Why the hell shouldn't people hate those that pull this kind of crap?
>
....um ...because hate blunts reason and diminishes the dignity and humanity of
those who proffer it?


> Snort.. Why do I bother.

OK, maybe there IS such a thing as telepathy.
(You seem to have read my mind.)

Evidence is not made more compelling by shouting it louder, repeating it more
often or intermixing it with vulgar diatribe. You have no more chance of
convincing a fundamentalist true-believer to reassess a conviction based on
reason and evidence than I have of explaining the finer points of M Theory to
my cat.  (... and I'm taking into account the fact that my cat died several
years ago.)

What you ARE doing is helping the "Christianity-is-under-attack" people make
THEIR case by acting out the role of the atheist stereotype they put forth.

People become locked into irrational belief systems precisely because their
decision making processes are dominated by fear, suspicion and hatred.
Liberating the victims of superstition from their psychological prisons is
accomplished by healing the damage caused by hate and fear mongering.
Escalating the sense of enmity and conflict is wholly counterproductive.


> ...Wallow in ignorance.
> I  don't give a #$@$@#. Just don't insist that everyone else join you in
> the damn mud.

This was undignified and inappropriate.  An apology to the community would not
be out of order.  If you feel that you have a positive contribution to make to
civil discourse on the ID issue, take the time to put your thoughts into essay
form (minus the colorful vernacular), post it to an appropriate location and
LINK to it in this and other forums not specifically dedicated to the topic.

You have a very basic decision to make. Will you choose to deal in reason or
invective?

Best Regards,
Mike C.

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