After inviting a handful of atheist bloggers to our Genesis discussion, one of their readers sent me a poem. Sadly, the email address given was fake, so I couldn’t respond directly, so in the interests of making a point, I’ll post the comment publicly and respond (it’s a bit crude–you’re warned):

The Christian’s Jehovah is Almighty God,
a capricious and cantankerous sod,
and, so far as I can tell,
the Christian often is as well.

because

The Bible Bogey, he’s taught to see,
is three that’s one, and one that’s three;
it’s a father, a son, and a friggin’ ghost,
that with magic spells becomes wine and toast!
With the problem of theodicy,
it sure as hell is idiocy.

similarly

The Jew’s Yahweh is a wrathful old jerk,
setting strict rules on when to work,
how to dress, and what to eat and sip,
and giving baby boys the snip.
Myths of Bronze Age, goat-herding nomads
metaphorically get them, by the gonads.

also

The Muslim’s Allah is a fierce great djinn;
Submission is even the name of his religion.
Apostasy is treated just like a crime;
they’ll threaten to kill you, to keep you in line.
The Religion of Peace is what they call it,
with warfare & terror, they zealously enforce it.

likewise

Zoroastrian, Buddhist, Hindu, Sikh, and Jain,
Confucianist, Taoist, Wiccan, – they’re all insane;
the faithful of every cult or religion,
are mired in the miasma of superstition.

My response:

That brings us to the atheist
Who says he’s not religionist
Yet holds that God does not exist
But without proof, he’ll still insist.

Instead of intellectual theses,
He’s satisfied throwing verbal feces.
While holding tight to Dawkins’ nape,
He shows his relative’s an ape.

But all rancor from either place
Results in only saving face.
To coexist, instead we must
Sit down together and discuss.

Hammer your sword into a stein,
And raise your glass of malt or wine.
Then talk of what we disagree,
To see with your eyes, and yours through me.