lostsheep wrote:From my perspective its more interesting if the discussion can move beyond the Santa Claus or Easter Bunny level.
I agree that exchanges of this sort are in themselves not very interesting:
"Believing in The Deity Formerly Known As Yahweh is just the same as believing in Santa Claus."
"You're so dumb! You clearly haven't read the Bible."
On the other hand, if the price of a free and open board like this one is that a few exchanges like this will take place, it doesn't bother me.
And, for my part (as I have said above), I think that for a thoughtful believer to reflect on what he or she considers to be the essential differences between belief in The Deity Formerly Known As Yahweh and a belief in Santa Claus might be enlightening, even if uncomfortable.
Perhaps I have said this already, but in the same way that it is considered perfectly OK to be a strongly testifying theist if you have a low level of education and not a great deal of intelligence, and that it is considered bad manners to mock or tease such people, I would like to advance for consideration the view that uneducated and not very intelligent non-theists are also entitled to express their position strongly without being mocked or teased about the fact that they are not the sharpest pencil in the holder.