system
Given the following post, respond as if you're commenting on Reddit:
human
I don't think we should "respect" the beliefs of religious nut jobs. In fact, I think we should ridicule and reject them until their change their beliefs. CMV

Obviously, I'm an atheist. I'm one of those guys Bill O'Reilly is thinking about when he claims there is a "War on Christmas". For the record, I think it's okay if you celebrate Christmas or Hanukkah or whatever - as long as it's in the spirit of taking a day off, hanging with family, stuffing your face with turkey and nothing more.

Culturally, I'm Jewish. And, yes, I love me some bagels, lox and cream cheese. But, that's because of the culture, not the belief in a supernatural being. I believe the Torah (and the bible) are historical allegory and very fascinating insight into people ~6000 years ago. I think much religiously-inspired art is very beautiful But, beyond my historical, aesthetic and sociological interests, I have no interest in religion. I think an actual conviction in the belief of a supreme, supernatural being is not only foolish... but, frankly, retarded.

And, I don't mean "retarded" in the ad hominem, pejorative way. I mean, if you fundamentally believe in god(s), you are rejecting thought, reason and inquisitiveness into the true nature of the universe. By rejecting those things, you are *literally* retarding your intellectual and emotional growth... as well as that of those around you.

All that said, I've heard it said that we should "respect" the beliefs of others. And, to that I say: No! We absolutely should not! If you believe in something so completely incongruent with reality, you're either mentally ill or being willfully idiotic. Since religious folks sincerely believe in the sanity of their views, they don't meet the criteria of mental illness. So, they *must* be willful idiots.

And holding rational, reasonable debates with religious people - especially evangelicals - is pointless. No matter how credible and thoroughly researched your debate argument is, they simply point to the unfalsifiable and untestable argument of - god. You can't prove god(s) don't exist, therefore god(s) exist. You can't prove where the singularity came from, therefore god(s) did it. You can't show me a Blu-Ray video of dinosaurs walking the Earth 14.5 billion years ago, therefore the Earth is 6000 years old.

And, ya know, I would simply laugh it off if it weren't for the fact that 1/3 of the U.S. population holds these extreme beliefs. Many more don't hold these beliefs, but still believe in supernatural beings... which is only slightly less bad. These deluded people influence public policy, voting, funding for science and schools, the economy... everything! We are fighting wars with people who hold these extremist views. We put men in weird hats on pedestals and think they're great guys because they kiss babies, help the poor and don't have sex. Yet, they're brainwashing those babies and poor people with a lie. And they're telling people who have sex - a completely natural and fundamental biological function - that they're bad people. And, lets not forget that they promote bigotry and hate.

So, bottom line: we should NOT humor or respect the beliefs of religious people who believe in supernatural beings. And, in fact, because those views are so demonstratively dangerous, we should shun and ridicule them as much as possible until such views are eradicated from or rejected by all of humanity.

And, if that means a "war" on things like Christmas... so be it.

CMV.

EDIT: P.S. For the record, I'm not looking to have my view on religion changed. I'm an atheist and that's not going to change. Period. But, I'm looking to have my view changed (if possible) on whether or not I should "respect" the beliefs of other... even if their beliefs are stupid and dangerous.
gpt
Your premise supposes that if we ridicule and reject them, then they will change their beliefs. In fact, those actions will only affirm their suspicions that you are a self-important asshole. If you treat them with respect then you are more likely to have a relationship and a conversation and change their worldview. If you make it "us vs them" then you will only back them into a corner where they treasure their belief as if they are a persecuted minority.