Quote:Would YOU be persuaded to give up your (non)beliefs by mockery?
It is perfectly possible to point out flaws or inconsistencies in a position via satire and parody without mocking the beliefs of individuals; even if you posit that such beliefs are beyond parody, which I don't accept.
Besides which you are confusing the way beliefs work. For me to give up being an atheist would entail adopting a layer of belief that I do not possess, nor would my critical thinking allow; at least uncritically, which is sort of the point.
At the age of five, Skagra decided emphatically that God did not exist. This revelation tends to make most people in the universe who have it react in one of two ways - with relief or with despair. Only Skagra responded to it by thinking, 'Wait a second. That means there's a situation vacant.'
