No, I'm not talking about sneezing (again).
I live in a major city, and there are a fair number of people on the streets who are down on their luck, and asking for money. Not surprising, given the economy. Since I'm doing well in my career, I have extra money that I can afford to give away as charity, so I'll frequently give me spare change away to those who obviously need it more than I do. They're always appreciative, and after thanking me, many of them will say "God bless you" or something similar.
In the past, I've usually ignored this, but as I'm becoming more engaged in atheism (as opposed to just passively not believing in any gods and not really doing anything about it), I'm thinking that I should respond to these statements, and let these people know I'm an atheist. I'm not talking about any sort of preaching, or trying to convert them. I just want a quick, polite statement to let them know I don't believe in their god, just to introduce the concept of being good without god. If we want to end the discrimination against atheists, I really believe this is the type of activism that will do it.
Any suggestions for a succinct, polite response?
I live in a major city, and there are a fair number of people on the streets who are down on their luck, and asking for money. Not surprising, given the economy. Since I'm doing well in my career, I have extra money that I can afford to give away as charity, so I'll frequently give me spare change away to those who obviously need it more than I do. They're always appreciative, and after thanking me, many of them will say "God bless you" or something similar.
In the past, I've usually ignored this, but as I'm becoming more engaged in atheism (as opposed to just passively not believing in any gods and not really doing anything about it), I'm thinking that I should respond to these statements, and let these people know I'm an atheist. I'm not talking about any sort of preaching, or trying to convert them. I just want a quick, polite statement to let them know I don't believe in their god, just to introduce the concept of being good without god. If we want to end the discrimination against atheists, I really believe this is the type of activism that will do it.
Any suggestions for a succinct, polite response?
That's MISTER Godless Vegetarian Tree Hugging Hippie Liberal to you.
