Starve.Org White Noise Usenet Archive: "Is it wrong to defend 'good' theists"

First my position, I am what most would consider a “strong” atheist, I
“know” God does not exist, that in itself has attracted some attacks,
so I would ask that you let it pass this one time. I have lived in the
heart of a divided society for 25 years, a society, given my position
in it, that tested my religious affiliations robustly and daily. So
on a daily and personal basis I experienced the “very bad” side of
religion. Nevertheless, and despite my strong non beliefs, I happily
accept and defend other people’s right to think differently.

For some time now I have been attacked for taking that position
sometimes by assholes, which I consider flattery, but sometimes by
others for whom I have a certain respect, and it is the criticism from
the latter that leads me to ask:-

Why is it so wrong to defend the “nice” theists who do me no harm,
while being happy to condemn the “bad” that potentially could.

Believe it or not I ask this with an open mind, and if I my position
is proven wrong, I will accept it, reappraise my position and admit my
error.

I leave you with an apt quote from Mahatma Gandhi, 1931:-

“Freedom is not worth having if it does not connote freedom to err. It
passes my comprehension how human beings, be they ever so experienced
and able, can delight in depriving other human beings of that precious
right.”