most people would say that distinguishing between idiocy and pernicious delusions is splitting a pretty fine hair
I think there’s a big difference. “Because they are an idiot” is saying something wide-ranging about that person’s nature: they’re just Not Very Bright. If someone is an idiot, we can expect them to be generally intellectually incompetent. “suffering from a pernicious delusion” is saying something much narrower about one area of their life: they are wrong about this one thing. If someone has a pernicious delusion, we can expect them to make serious errors about things closely related to that delusion, but aside from that they might be wise and ingenious and quick-witted and so forth. Pointing out the difference between these is not hair-splitting.
no sympathy for religious belief
That may be true (though so far as I can see the thing you link to doesn’t show that it is). But so what?
You cited Dawkins as an example of someone who believes the proposition you were arguing against: “that the only possible reason anyone could even profess to believe in God is because they are an idiot”. I don’t think he believes this. I know I don’t believe this. I really don’t think there are many rationalists who believe it.
Now, maybe what you’re actually arguing against is something broader—e.g., that we shouldn’t say unpleasant things about religion, or that we shouldn’t hold any negative opinion about religious people that goes beyond “they are probably wrong on such-and-such factual questions”. But so far as I can see the arguments you’ve been making aren’t of the right form to lead to such conclusions, even were they correct in every detail.
I think there’s a big difference. “Because they are an idiot” is saying something wide-ranging about that person’s nature: they’re just Not Very Bright. If someone is an idiot, we can expect them to be generally intellectually incompetent. “suffering from a pernicious delusion” is saying something much narrower about one area of their life: they are wrong about this one thing. If someone has a pernicious delusion, we can expect them to make serious errors about things closely related to that delusion, but aside from that they might be wise and ingenious and quick-witted and so forth. Pointing out the difference between these is not hair-splitting.
That may be true (though so far as I can see the thing you link to doesn’t show that it is). But so what?
You cited Dawkins as an example of someone who believes the proposition you were arguing against: “that the only possible reason anyone could even profess to believe in God is because they are an idiot”. I don’t think he believes this. I know I don’t believe this. I really don’t think there are many rationalists who believe it.
Now, maybe what you’re actually arguing against is something broader—e.g., that we shouldn’t say unpleasant things about religion, or that we shouldn’t hold any negative opinion about religious people that goes beyond “they are probably wrong on such-and-such factual questions”. But so far as I can see the arguments you’ve been making aren’t of the right form to lead to such conclusions, even were they correct in every detail.