“It’s not important to give a good insult.”
It’s sheer laziness and, frankly, a lack of intelligence not to give a good zinger no matter what one’s inclination, especially if one is attempting to dismiss another’s beliefs.
I beg to differ! Giving an insult is an art form!
Look at the patriarchs and prophets, especially Elijah. Can you envision him standing around the firepits with crossed arms and a suppressed laugh on his lips watching the priests of Baal scream and chant to exhaustion?
Elijah: “ “At noon Elijah mocked them, saying, ‘Cry aloud! Surely he is a god; either he is meditating, or he has wandered away, or he is on a journey, or perhaps he is asleep and must be awakened.’ “
What a fantastic insult! Then to tell them to pour water on his firepit is just the coup de grace.
I’m disappointed. What next? You mother sucks eggs?
I realize some don’t bother to argue since the staleness of the same arguments time after time and the predictably same results occur. You’d think they’d stay on threads to bash Mormons or that poor Rick Warren fellow or dispensationists or replacement theology or slurry providing aliens.
Oh. I was unclear” I entirely endorse the art of the insult and think that like all arts it should be pursued with the aim of excellence.
I was trying to present what I understood dutchboy88 to have as his standard and aim. He says he wants to “inform” people, but clearly those who take up the responsibility to “inform” in the normal use of that word would have the resulting responsibility to ascertain that they were speaking the truth.
But in the face of the implied allegation that we feelthy papists are not allowed to read, one has to conclude that we are not talking about a specifically true kind of information. I think the message is more like, “All you need to know is those Catholics and their religion is BAD. Stay away.”
So, if the goal is to keep people away from the Church, then success will not be measured by artfulness or veracity, but only by the number of people kept away. It was ONLY in THAT sense that I was saying excellence in insult was not important.