No offense intended. The vast majority of people who write to me are not idiots, and I quite enjoy conversing with folks on matters of religion, even when they disagree with me. I would only ask that you take a few moments to reflect on the possibility that you are an idiot before you send me e-mail and waste my time with what you consider "deep philosophical thoughts."
Here are some examples of the sort of things I consider idiotic.
1) Pascal's Wager - If you read my essay on Pascal and his idiotic "logical" analysis of religion, and still think it's a deep, valid reason to beileve in God, you're an idiot. I've already given you all the information you need to see that, and if you refuse to see it, you are making idiots look bad. Stop it, and don't bother me.
2) Popularity Argument - If you think it's a good idea to say "90 percent of people in America believe in God -- are you saying they're all wrong?" ... you're an idiot. More specifically, you haven't stopped to think through the problems here. In 150 CE, 99% of the people in Europe believed in Jupiter, the King of Olympus. If you still can't see the problem with such statements, I strongly recommend taking lessons on breathing... you'll be needing them soon, I expect.
3) Attacks on Darwin - Calling the Theory of Evolution a "wild story" indicates to me that you are a - ignorant of what science is and what a scientific theory really is, b - watching way too much of James Kennedy and his ilk, c - unaware that evolution poses no threat to Christianity or d - all of the above. This certainly qualifies you as an idiot. In any of these cases, you are too bloody stupid to take part in an intelligent conversation, and are therefore cordially invited to a - go back to school and pay attention this time, b - learn more about other versions of your religion that don't get upset over Darwin, c - go bother someone else, or d - all of the above.
4) No True Scotsman - I hear fairly often from folks who inform me that I was never really a Christian, and if I was to become one, I'd know just how good it is. Such people are idiots, not to put too fine a point on it. Should you find yourself considering telling me this, please realize before you do that every Sunday, you are surrounded by people who are just as Christian as I was. If you doubt my past sincerity, you need to also doubt theirs. And you should consider doubting your own... after all, your experience could very well be a delusion given you by Satan. In the long run, it might be best to just admit that you're an idiot and leave this partticular mind game behind.
5) Intelligent Design/Anthropic Principle - Related to the point about Darwin only loosely. If you think that this "Creationist lite" crap is something that science should take seriously, or that it is being shut out of valid consideration by some "conspiracy of sin" -- you're an idiot. I have dealt with this crap in other pages on my site. I suggest you take a little time to read up on those pages and re-consider your ill-advised idea of "enlightening" me.
6) Praying for me - I've dealt with this subject in yet another page. If you plan to write to me with only this information, you're an idiot. Honestly, my neighbor's dog is smarter than that. Pray all you want, but there's no point in telling me about it, unless you get a large amount of pleasure in wasting my time and making me laugh for about half a second.
7) Insults - For those who think that I'm interested in reading your childish attempts to shame me into following your "loving" religion -- and the sane folks who read this would be quite surprised at how many of you there are -- I have news for you. You, too, are idiots. Now, I don't doubt that calling me names, or telling me I'm "afeerd" of listening to you, or whatever other brainless silliness you might come up with, is nothing short of deeply satisfying to you. However, being satisfied with your idiocy is nothing to really be proud of. Honestly... go down to the corner convenience store and buy yourself something that at least resembes a life.
8) Quoting the Bible to prove a point - I want to make this clear to anyone who wants to use the Bible as an unquestionable source of facts on life, the universe or anything: You're SUCH an idiot. I've read the entire Bible, OK? Every last jot and tittle. I've even read a fair amount in the original languages. So I think I have a pretty good handle on this. If you're a fundamentalist who actually believes that the Bible is "inerrant," "infallible," and so forth... there's very little hope for you. I no longer have the inclination or the patience to sit down with people like you and explain in easy-to-understand sentences made of small words why you are wrong. I can't help you and you certainly aren't going to have anything to tell me that I will find interesting. In short, go away.
There. I think I've covered the high points of religious idiocy. At least the sorts that I've seen so far. I'm sure to encounter others as this article weeds out the ones I've mentioned here. When I find other sorts of religious idiots, I'll be sure to add them to my list.