Blasphemy, Reaction and Response

So, something called The Defamation Bill was passed yesterday in the Irish Dail (kind of like the English Parliament or the American House of Representatives) and it seems likely it will be making it's way into law by October of this year:

The Defamation Bill, which also introduces a new crime of blasphemous libel, will come into operation after it is passed by the Seanad later this week and signed into law by President Mary McAleese.

In reaction to this, American Atheists made this post:

The creators of the Father Ted television series have denounced Ireland’s proposed blasphemy laws as “insanity” and pledged to support a campaign to repeal them.

Arthur Mathews and Graham Linehan backed moves by a group of Irish secularists to challenge the bill against blasphemy introduced in the Dáil last week. Atheist Ireland said this weekend that it will publish a statement blaspheming all the major religions in Ireland, including Christianity and Islam. The group said it would be a calculated challenge to the law.

Accompanied by this video:

Blasphemy Oath 2009 convention from American Atheists on Vimeo.

Which inspired this comment by a resident religious troll on the AA blog, Phreedm:

Yikes…and you wonder why membership in AA is falling. How in the world could anyone take you seriously?

Phreedm inadvertently brings up a good point with his mocking comment – when atheists are serious about the topic of atheism or religion and come to a discussion with scientific facts to fully support compelling arguments, we are often labeled by the religious as ‘militant’, ‘technophiles’, ’science worshipers’ or are told that we are too serious, stuffy, nerdy, or whatever implication you prefer. When atheists have a little fun and act silly (while still making a valid point, mind you), we are called absurd and get responses like ‘how could anyone take you seriously?’

When you are told by a group of people with an opposing view that you need to loosen up and then when you loosen up you have to deal with comments such as these, it's very difficult not to feel like the opposition you face is less an honest, thoughtful response to the argument you pose and more of a ridiculous and willfully ignorant rejection based on nothing more than blind obedience to a exclusionary doctrine.