[Taraz]

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<font color="blue"> Should we mock them? No. How does that solve anything? </font>

This is what I'm trying to find out. But I think perhaps you are dismissing the effects of mocking and ridiculing too quickly. No one likes to be mocked or ridiculed. Take this example:

You're like me and have no fashion sense of your own. You see a shirt in a store that you're not sure about. The fact is, it will make you look ridiculous to other people. You show it to your friend/wife/acquaintence. Do you want an honest opinion? Do you want them to soft-play you and pander to your sensibilities? Or would you be less likely to buy it if they were brutally honest and mocked the shirt and laughed at the prospect of you buying it?

Let's not get caught up in semantics here. I'm not saying you shouldn't have a mind of your own. Of course, if you really like something you shouldn't care what others think. But assume there is a right or wrong decision to be made about this shirt. Assume the purchase is important (maybe it affects your chance for landing your dream job). You are in danger of making the wrong choice. What exchange is more likely to lead you in the right direction? "Hmm. I don't know. It's not my taste, but it's your decision.". Or... "Are you kidding me? LOL!! That looks ridiculous on you! Sure, go ahead and buy it if you want to look like an idiot!".

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Yes, but in this case the shirt does not make up a substantial part of my self-identity. If it was my favorite shirt that my mom gave me before she died, I don't think I would react very well to scorn, ridicule, and mockery. Instead of laughing at my shirt I think you would get much farther if you said something like, "Dude, that shirt is pretty ugly . . ." and then you went on to explain why I should stop wearing it.

And just because I'm not scornful and mocking doesn't mean that I'm soft-playing or pandering. It is actually quite easy to point out inconsistencies and unsupported claims in religious ideologies without being rude. As bunny was saying, I think it's much more important to show people that they cannot claim certainty and that they cannot expect others to have the same beliefs because there is no good reason for believing.

I think many of us non-believers act like anybody who believes in a deity or "magic" is an idiot. I don't think we get very far when we treat people like they are dumb. I would contend that most theists actually don't think much about most of the things they are "supposed" to believe. Often if you just bring it up it gets the gears moving. But if you start out with, "Christians believe the most ridiculous things!" they will often tune you out.