Been here a while-Ponderings

[Iroscato]

Yea, pretty much live and let live.

But I guess it depends on how much of a person is their religious identity.

I know plenty Christians, though I admit some are in name only, that don't bother me one bit. My friend lost her father when she was young, couple years later she went full on born again. It was bringing her comfort. But despite being a devout, deep believer, she has a lot more to her than just that. It's not her entire identity, she doesn't make everything about god and is a great person overall. She's the only person I trust enough to let them know I'm an atheist. I love her, and her faith doesn't matter to me.

But I also know some people who bring god into everything, and let religion become everything they are, so much that I would call it an obsession. They freak me out, and are hard to talk to. My gut reaction to that level of identifying oneself with anything is antipathy. It doesn't seem healthy, and makes it hard to find common ground. Same goes for atheists who bring religion and god into every conversation. It just doesn't sit well with me.

But as long as they don't bother me, I just ignore them.

There is a double standart when it comes to bringing god and religion into every conversation, as you put it. An atheist doing it is definitely not the same as a christian doing it, since the christian is talking bullshit, and the atheist is merely fighting back, and rightly so. People like you that equate the two I deem mediocre and superficial and too, want nothing to do with, since you wouldn't have much to talk about, let alone find a "common ground".

Thank God people's lives don't revolve around your evaluation of them, then

I see what Vic is saying - outside of this forum I'm personally only a reactive atheist, discussing religion if it's brought up in conversation. An atheist who starts conversation with that kind of thing does rub me up the wrong way - and yes EP, there are atheists who do it pretty much out of the blue. Everyone has an axe to grind somewhere, some are just more subtle in expressing it than others.