Why are deists so annoying?

[Jenny A]

I don't mean to derail the thread, but when is it reasonably to give people a pass on intuitive beliefs and when isn't it? Seems more like a personal freedom issue than anything else.

I agree wholeheartedly with the sentiment in your post, I'm not pestering DeistPaladin because I think his beliefs may harm anyone. He's perfectly entitled to them, I'm more doing it because I'm a cunt who can't let a point drop.

But like I said, irrationality IMO should always be challenged, regardless of how it impacts others or even whether you are trying to argue for your own intuitions.

Rational inquiry is an intellectual tool. Don't try to make a religion out of it. When attacking beliefs which can can be falsified, it's useful. When inquiring into beliefs held emotionally, and admittedly so, rationality is a blunt instrument of about as much use as paperweight in a hurricane. Human emotions may not advance science, but they are undeniably real. And intellectual discourse is rarely useful in changing them.

You see, you are indulging in the same irrational behavior yourself. "Because I'm a cunt who can't let a point drop," is not a behavior I have much hope of discussing with you rationally, though I can give you a number of rational reasons why it's not only not useful, but positively damaging. For example, try rationally convincing a teenage girl that her boyfriend is a prick and see how far that gets you.