Hey now, leave Bessie out of this!
back on the whole "message board etiquette" thing, it's actually kind of funny because I've been (indirectly) called way worse things than "irrational" or "dumb" on these very message boards (and others), but I guess I'm just used to message board snark, lol. And plus, don't numerous religious believers claim to have god on their side, and a direct relationship with him? Seems strange to let some mocking on a message board affect someone that much
They "deserve" it due to the irrational beliefs they hold. Just like how everyone mocks millions of other silly beliefs, and hardly anyone bats an eye.
Sure, as with anything, one can always go too far, but it often seems that
any mocking is automatically seen as off limits, when it comes to religious beliefs. We must be 100% serious at all times, and all beliefs should be equally respected! I'd wager it's because people are generally taught from a very young age to incorporate religious beliefs as a direct part of their identity, in comparison to other types of beliefs. So something like:
is automatically translated as
Some may say that's a distinction without a difference ("hate the sin, love the sinner" lol), but that essentially seems to where the issue occurs.
But if I was to replace the religious claim with political beliefs, sports beliefs, opinions on video games, incorrect claims about vaccinations, whatever, hardly anyone makes that big a deal of it, unless in the most extreme cases. But "lol, seriously you believe that? That idea is stupid" seems relatively tame in the grand scheme of things. *shrug*