I'm responding in a new thread to this post so as not to derail the thread it was posted in.

Quote Originally Posted by XeL View Post
Be the change you want to see in the world

Personally, I've stopped caring about what others think of my belief. Why should I care? If you are confident enough in your belief, you shouldn't even have to defend yourself.
You should care because your beliefs might be wrong. The idea that one should carry on disregarding criticisms and conflicting view points is the foundation of self-righteousness. This social attitude has been cultivated by superstitious people, often religious, as a defense mechanism. The defense works by asserting that one's belief requires no defense and simply ignoring any criticism of it or evidence against it. It is intellectual evasion. In all other areas of life, you are expected to have reasons to explain why you've done something or why you believe something. "I am confident in my belief" is not a reason for having a belief. It's not a reason for anything. This attitude of "confidence" in one's superstitions is not invoked when someone feels they don't have to defend their belief, but rather when they are unable and don't want to because they have no rational defense. This is not confidence. This is dishonesty and cowardice. The truth is there may be someone with more insight than you who you would benefit from listening to. The notion that you should not consider what others think of your beliefs is presumptuous at best.

If your confidence in your beliefs is well placed, you should have no trouble defending them.