Dawkins said it well. Ridicule that which is ridiculous.
I don't tear into Theists because it gives me a boner, I tear into them because they are presenting me ridiculous things and saying they are true. They don't even need to enforce it on me, like saying I will go to Hell, to make me take issue with it.
Here's an example. A homeless man wearing foil around his head is talking to you at a bus stop and he tells you that the bus driver on this run is a genetically engineered shapeshifter made with reptilian and ape DNA, and he's part of a slow take over from an Earth that vibrates at a different frequency to ours.
Do you grant this mans opinion respect? No, of course not. You don't need to verbally disagree, but in your head, you've dismissed his claims and don't find him credible.
Now, how is this different from someone telling you the story of The Fall, and that it's the reason you have to tell a man in a dress through an obscuring screen of all the times you wanted to touch yourself, but you have to do a chant first.
The reason we don't treat them the same is that one has wormed it's way into society and become a part of it's background noise. No one questions it, because it's been made a taboo.
I believe that the Theist deserves to be challenged more then the homeless man who believes in Reptilians. The homeless man is funny and harmless, the Theist is part of a destructive system of ignorance that is both powerful and nearly invisible, and the only time it ever seems to change its ways is when it's dragged kicking and screaming into the present day. It's essential we grab this ancient social construct by it's hair and haul it into it's proper place, an outdated relic of human development, societies growing pains.
But no, it's 'rude' to do that now. "Faith is personal" is one of the worst lies we've accepted, and it needs to change.
That is why I challenge Theists as hard as I do.
Quote from: BANE on Oct 04, 2013, 02:51:43 PM
Penn Jillette is an odd choice for an atheist example, as he himself made a living off of deception.
Honest deception though. A card trick is a deception. It's all about the intent.