I don’t think there’s any good reason to treat bad ideas with polite respect. Ideas are not people made in God’s image.

I’ve been told that it is always wrong to ‘bash’ other people’s religion. The word ‘bash’ is carefully and deliberately chosen to replace the word ‘criticize.’ It’s a clever way to represent my thoughtful critique as mindless aggression. You know you are not required to respond to my criticism when you portray disagreement as a personal attack.

For example, when I suggest that killing babies before they’re born is murder, you respond with, “Stop bashing women who are making the hardest choice of their lives!” Saying this will rally a horde of pro-murder ghouls to accuse me of hating women.

But your response has nothing to do with my criticism. I’m not bashing women. I’m ‘bashing’ the idea that it’s legal to murder people so long as they’re inside a womb.

Most of the time, you would join me in bashing murder. Remember all those protests for George Floyd? You spent weeks defiantly protesting what you considered to be an unjust killing. You were so righteously indignant that you set stuff on fire and looted stores! Notice that I never once shouted, “Stop bashing law enforcement officers who are making difficult choices!” That’s because I believe murder is wrong no matter who does it. You believe murder isn’t wrong when you do it.

I don’t think there’s any good reason to treat your hypocrisy with polite respect. I feel no guilt for opposing ideas that lead to suffering, destruction, chaos, and death. I will ‘bash’ every idea that rebels against goodness. Your decision to take that personally won’t change anything.

“The Lord’s curse is on the house of the wicked, but he blesses the home of the righteous. He mocks proud mockers but gives grace to the humble.”

(Proverbs 3:33)