Respect towards religious people

[Cyberman]

I've had the odd person (very odd, sometimes) trying to convert me on the sly. They don't seem able to go all-out fire 'n' brimstone on me, so they've let little things slip out, little quips that they've been visibly disappointed I haven't agreed with; or worse, I've argued back. One of my friends about whom I've written elsewhere would do this when he was in his devout phase. One time I particularly recall was when we were in a local bookshop, just browsing, and he came out with something like "There's nothing more dangerous than knowledge". I'm glad to report I shot that down with "Except ignorance". Gad, I could be quick-thinking in those days.

Then there was a guy I used to know at school, he's since gone into the church himself which never surprised me. He'd have this little rejoinder, which he thought was terribly witty, if anyone used the popular phrase "fucking hell"; he'd come back with "Why would you want to fuck in hell, when you can make love in paradise?" Yes, that vomit taste in your mouth is exactly how I used to react. On one memorable occasion, just after the Challenger shuttle disaster, he was terribly hurt after the entire class burst out laughing at his revelation that God had personally reached down and tampered with the fuel valve because he was fed up with humans trying to get into Heaven. I wish I could say Iwas joking.