15 things to NEVER say to an atheist

[Angrboda]

A religious person who actually thinks about what it is they believe in is something of a rarity from my experience. With atheists however, on the whole I've found anyone who labels themself such usually spends a lot more time thinking about religion and questioning it.

Well, that's somewhat the reverse of the true believer who knows more about their beliefs than the average non-believer. The self-consciously self-described atheist is likely to have greater consciousness of what arguments and facts lead to the position of nonbelief than the average, undifferentiated, run-of-the-mill believer. For a theist, I may be unusual in that I perhaps have a better handle on "the science of nonbelief" than many self-conscious atheists here at AF. When I was an adolescent, I knew I didn't believe in God, but I didn't have strong, well-developed rational reasons for not believing. I was self-consciously atheist, but I didn't really have developed reasons for my nonbelief.