A god so irrational, it has to be true?

[Some Dude]

It's a strange one isn't it. Unfortunately my last post to him didn't seem to enlighten him any further and I am at a loss as to how to explain it in terms that he will understand. Although I suspect it's more about him accepting it in terms that he feels comfortable with arguing against utilising his well practised straw men.

If anyone can provide a clearer explanation that I can use, I'm all ears.

[spblat]

I suspect there are many thing you'd like t say to him but don't out of respect for spblat's intentions for the site. I don't fault spblat at all for that. I think without the experiment that is DH, Mark would never hear the atheist perspective and continue to delude himself with strawmen.

Thanks. I'm still laboring under this fantasy that by putting people together, we can increase understanding. Maybe Mark and Gomtuu77 are too far gone, maybe they're not. But I'm pleased that some of the younger folks--and people not as set in their ways--are being exposed to what I think of as more tolerant, moderate, let's-just-get-along kinds of people like Elman, Some Dude and Bugsoup. I don't want to imply that folks like Matt and dromedaryhump1 don't want to get along with others. I think straight-up counter-apologetics is really valuable, but it's distinct from the kind of bridge-building that I've adopted as my mission.

The really thorny themes are coming down to the definition (and implications) of atheism, respect for people vs. respect for their ideas, and a tendency for some of our members to confuse atheism with anti-theism. Frankly, I don't feel that we've adequately addressed any of these on my site.