I can’t say that I had high expectations from an article that began by praising the phrase “the stupidity of atheism” as courageous. Why is it that Christians are so at ease insulting atheists? Maybe it comes from the Bible itself where the statement “the fool says in his heart there is no God” (Psalm 14:1) kicked off the whole trend. This passage is quoted so often that atheists know it by heart, chapter and verse, and every time a Christian comes across an atheist, they bring it up again as if this is supposed to be some sort of high grade apologetics that will cut deep. The atheist will bow in tears and recognize the evil of his ways. But in the real world, the atheist suppresses a small wave of irritation and wonders if he will ever stop hearing this truth hurled at him. To be clear, calling someone a fool is not really a nice thing to do. I know, I know. Cue in the one about how Christians aren’t here to be nice, they are here to tell the world the truth. And the truth doesn’t care about your feelings, blah, blah, blah. Atheists have heard it all before you even started thinking about it, ok? But some Christians think the words of the Bible have a kind of magical property. They aren’t intended to argue a point. You just say them and God strikes the heart. Therefore, just keep hurling them at people you disagree with. But doesn’t the Bible counsel a gentler, more respectful approach? Jesus says that anyone who says “you fool” is in danger of the fires of hell. If you believe in such things as eternal torment, it might be worth thinking about that (Matthew 5:22). Paul somewhere mentions speaking the truth in love (Ephesians 4:15). Bible readers are instructed to conduct their defense of the faith with gentleness and respect (1 Peter 3:16). Calling people fools and stupid doesn’t feel in line with that biblical advice and doesn’t strike me as being courageous either. It doesn’t take courage to insult people. Or maybe it does a little bit, but is this really the courage of truth-telling, or the anger of the obnoxious? I’m not really an atheist in the strong sense. I’m just a guy who looks around at the world and doesn’t see God. Maybe he’s out there, maybe not. The jury is still out. But my interests do intersect with atheism as when, for example, I see people using “the word of God” to criticize others. What is the problem exactly here? Why is it that people who are supposedly tuned into self-sacrificial love are so intent on insulting, belittling, browbeating, misconstruing, condemning, pressuring, bad-mouthing, and heckling those who don’t believe?