Quote of the Day, by Cipher

The following quote is well articulated, even if I don't agree. I have tried to disabuse cipher of the following cynical position to no avail. I consider it a rhetorical exaggeration that makes a very forceful point, and not completely false given the nature of faith. It's meant as an explanation for why most of our best attempts at arguing Christians out of their faith fail miserably. It was said in response to David Marshall's unwillingness to admit he lost his debate with Phil Zuckerman recently, where Marshall wrote, "He didn't win the debate -- he admits he didn't rebut my arguments."

Thereby validating something I've said again and again and again - debating these people is an utter waste of time. Neither they nor their followers will ever concede or admit defeat. Every time William Lane Craig debates someone, whatever the outcome, he and his followers get together afterward on his blog and talk about how he trounced them. Marshall is no different (apart from the fact that I don't think he has many, if any, followers).

Conservative Christians live in a fabricated world of complete denial. They're incapable of apprehending objective reality. Debating them is futile. Talking to them is futile. If you attempt to meet them on a level playing field, they take it as validation. If you criticize them, they take it as validation because Jesus told them that would happen. There is literally NOTHING you can say to them, no interaction you can have with them that will bear any result other than their walking away thinking they've been proven absolutely right.

They're psychotic. Quarantine them; don't engage them.

--cipher

I've tried my best to argue with cipher on this. So I put it to my readers. What do you think? Give him hell for me! ;-) He received seven upvotes on it so I don't expect agreement. What exactly do you agree or disagree with, and why? How strongly held is your opinion? If cipher is right then what should I do with this site and my books? What should we do with Christian believers if we get the chance, including my mother, brothers, and son?

Of course this sad state of affairs just might be changing with Peter Boghossian's new book, A Manual for Creating Atheists. Get it and see for yourselves if we don't have a great strategy for arguing believers out of their faith.