Radical Christianity 101

[Esquilax]

This whole thing came about because he wanted pity from you guys, how pitiful is that. When I challenged him by saying he was jealous, he blew this whole thing out of proportion, to me it's just childish at best. Now let's just drop this whole unfortunate deal.

GC

So, I'm gonna go ahead and give a little tip to the christians on the board, after this and Drich's whole thing with Fidel's dad, to maybe make this whole "being a human being in a social space" thing go a little easier for them: other people's loved ones are out of bounds.

If you're talking to an atheist, and they say something about their family or friends- especially concerning topics such as illness or death- and you feel that you can use it to make a point about god, or the afterlife, or hell, or whatever, just don't. Stop thinking about it, perhaps consider offering a kind word instead of using the personal concerns of others to make a point. These people are important to someone else, they aren't fodder for your religious agenda.

Maybe you weren't meaning to cause offence; if this is the case, then you'll have no trouble taking this advice on board, I'm sure. If you're trying not to be cruel, then understanding this- even if you personally don't find what you're thinking of saying offensive- will be easy for you. You're not close enough to the issue at hand to feel the hurt it would cause, so you're just walking into a minefield you have no reason to.

The very worst of your religion preys on the weakness and tragedy of others in order to advance its cause and attract more members when they're vulnerable. Just today, someone posted a link to Ray Comfort using the suicide of an atheist man to promote his new movie. We atheists- especially those of us from religious backgrounds- are sensitive to this form of emotional blackmail, because we've seen it too often. If one of us gets personal about our feelings, just let it drop without comment, okay?

The correct action, if you have stepped on a landmine, is to apologize, let them know you didn't mean any offense, and move on. You have- perhaps unknowingly- committed a social faux pas, like any other. Just because your religion is involved in no way means that you're being persecuted, or that this has suddenly become a theological debate. You've lived in the human world all your life; just observe the social niceties of being a human here, and everything will be fine.