snex wrote:
> attempting to engage in actual discussions with people who believe in
> magical fairytales about men riding flying horses to mecca or being
> born of virgins only gives them an air of legitimacy that they do not
> deserve.

Unfortunately, they already have that air of legitimacy.

Which means that responding the way you did does not help your cause. It 
means that moderately religious people, rather than considering your 
argument seriously, will write you off as an asshole and not seriously 
consider anything you have to say.

And not everyone is raised atheist. Otherwise-rational people are still 
going to find it hard to give up their childhood faith.

If your purpose is merely to keep spam off the list, you've done the 
equivalent of respond to one of the "unsubscribe" messages spammed to 
the whole list. If you don't like it, mark it as spam and don't read it 
-- I have. But engaging in a debate with them, civil or not, is 
encouraging this offtopic thread, and is bringing more attention to 
their cause than they deserve.