I was evangelized in the parking lot!

[RJDiogenes]

^^ My Mother, a hard-core Catholic, claims to not believe in Hell.

I have no problem with people giving their opinions, or chatting me up in public, for any reason, just as long as they're not obnoxious about it. Although the really crazy ones can be entertaining. I was walking home from the T Station one day when a guy shouted at me that he knew I was Satan because he could see through my crystal brain.

I don't like people knocking on my door or calling me on the phone, though.

EDITED TO FURTHER ADD - When the Mormons start to look at their watches I know I have won.

That would make a great Signature. Or a tee-shirt.

 

[Mark de Vries]

It's an interesting cultural phenomenon, I think. I don't encounter it here at all. Sure, the local Jehovah's Witnessess will do their best, and every now and again you get a friendly old geezer singing a song in the street with a placard at his feet, but that's really about it. The numbers are low.

Then again, I do live in a mega-secularised country, where religion is being actively pushed out of the public square...

I think St. Francis spoke true when he said, "Always preach the Gospel. If necessary, use words."

You aren't going to convert anyone by talking to them until they submit. Conversion can't be handed out from one person to the next. The most any person can do is make someone aware about what any religion teaches.

 

[Greg Cox]

The thing that baffles me about these people is why they think quoting Scripture will convince people who don't already believe in the Bible?

Tip to would-be evangelizers: pamphlets consisting of nothing but boldfaced Bible verses are only going to convinced lapsed Christians who already believe in that stuff.

That being said, I try to be polite when the overly-friendly people knock at the door. But that one guy's sister is wrong: there's no reason that atheists should have to hide their beliefs to spare other's feelings. (Unless maybe you're visiting a church or temple for a wedding or funeral or something. There's a time and a place for religious debates, but not when you're a guest at someone else's place of worship.)

 

[John Picard]

"Hey, do you know about the Bible?"
"The Bible? What's that? I've never heard of it before!"

More like, "Which Bible?"

Of all of the evangelists out there, the Jehovah's Witness are the ones with the biggest balls. They ignore "No Trespassing" signs and, in my case, drive waaaaaayyyyythefuckoutinthesticks to find people. A couple of years ago, I'm working in my yard and a carload of three women comes up the drive. I found it odd as it was a weekday. I approach, and ask if they need something, and the one in the front seat gets out and tells me that the one in the back seat has something for me. Now I'm really confused, and then *BAM* the BS starts. I told them they were clueless about history and religion and to kindly leave. The one went into absolute shock (she must have been in her 60's) and asked me about "all of the bad things that happen today". I said, "Ma'am, they've been preaching that BS since I was a kid, since my dad was a kid, back in the 1930's, and since long before then. NOTHING has changed in the world. Good-bye!"

They were miffed, but finally left.

My sister said that would have been a rude thing for me to do because saying I don't believe in God is insulting his beliefs.

This always humors me. People shouldn't insult Christians by saying they are an Atheist, Agnostic, Buddhist, etc., yet it's perfectly OK for the (fellow) Christian to rabidly attack you for not believing as they believe.

 

[Asbo Zaprudder]

Makes a (refreshing?) change from dogging in the parking lot.

 

[Kestra]

As far as "if you truly believe there is a hell, it's hateful not to warn people", I guess I must've never truly believed in hell. Especially now, as I subscribe to a universalist doctrine.

See, that's one of the things that has kept me from going off on people over the years. Some of the people who have tried to convert me seem to so sincerely believe in their religion, and seem so sure that what they know is true. And I wonder, if I was that sure about something, if I felt enlightened and knew that certain things were going to come to pass, wouldn't I want to share that with people?

Not to convert them for personal gain, not to be mean or annoying, but simply to share the enlightenment that I had somehow found? If you knew there was a hell and you wanted to stop your loved ones from going to it, wouldn't you want to try? Okay, I don't really know how hell works, but I'm just musing here.

On the other hand it's difficult for me to imagine being so sure of something which has no solid evidence, so that's where it falls apart for me. But I try to see it from the other person's point of view and I wonder if they really just do mean well.

 

[the 4th hanson bro]

Long line, guy come sin behind me . . .

Freudian typo?

How long did it take to clean it up?

 

[Goji]

I don't understand what the guys carrying large signs who are screaming and yelling at everyone on college campuses hope to accomplish. That's like using vinegar instead of honey to draw flies.

I liked them more than the people who walk up to you pretending to be your friend, then hand you a flier that talks about how you and your friends are DOOMED FOR ALL ETERNITY. Those assholes really piss me off.

The idiots with the signs are occasionally fun to laugh at. We get some real winners in Berkeley.

Some people there are okay; I mean you and I went there.

Oddly enough, I was never bothered by any religious people on campus. I did have fun conversations with communists.

Don't mess with a guy studying political science who knows more than you do on communism.

You're suggesting that I'm okay?

I used to walk to campus when the student traffic was lighter, just because it worked better for my schedule that way, so I became a target for every single one of the flier distributors. There weren't very many other people for them to bug at the time. Most of them were pretty irritating. One guy was so keen on having me take one of the bibles he was handing out that he damned near shoved the thing into my hand at the end.

On the other hand, the "Happy, Happy, Happy" guy was awesome. I was sad when he stopped showing up.

 

[Nerys Ghemor]

But that one guy's sister is wrong: there's no reason that atheists should have to hide their beliefs to spare other's feelings. (Unless maybe you're visiting a church or temple for a wedding or funeral or something. There's a time and a place for religious debates, but not when you're a guest at someone else's place of worship.)

You hit on something there: respect for others' feelings and sensitivities--even if you think those sensitivities make no sense--is key. I do not think it's right for someone to insult faith...to make mean jokes, to tell believers they have no right to speak or practice their faith (yes, even where others might be able to see), to treat or speak of believers as though they're inferior or otherwise have something wrong with them, or to otherwise be hurtful. There's a difference between saying, "I don't agree," and saying, "I think you're a flaming idiot."

And JP--as I illustrated with the citation I pointed out earlier, no...believers do not get the right to do the same to atheists. Scripture itself makes that clear, but sadly many people either missed it or have not spent the time to really pray over its implications and realize what that means for how they approach people.

 

[Amaris]

Several members of my family were having a conversation last night (myself included), and we got around to religion and politics. One of them raised the question of whether any of us would vote for a Presidential candidate if he or she were an Atheist. I was the only one to answer yes, which surprised me. Trying to maintain as much egalitarian objectivity as I could (no one knows I'm an Atheist), I asked why no one else would. The answers were similar, all revolving around the fact that an Atheist had no beliefs and couldn't really be trusted to uphold the religious foundations of our country. I decided not to pursue it, lest anyone start to suspect anything, and the conversation drifted on to something else.

 

[Greg Cox]

One of the drawbacks to being an atheist these days is that you're constantly called upon to defend your lack of belief. I can get annoying. I mean, if someone identifies themselves as Catholic or Jewish or Mormon or whatever, people tend to take them at their word. But admit that you're an atheist and the entire world takes that as an invitation to debate you on the subject. ("But--but where do you think the world came from?")

Don't get me wrong. It's not that I can't defend my position, but it can get exhausting having the same conversation over and over . . . .

By the same token, of course, when I visit my more religious friends and relatives, I don't feel obliged to challenge them on their beliefs. At weddings, funerals, and baptisms, I just sit quietly in the pews during the prayers and communion rituals. And everybody is happy.

 

[Candlelight]

Long line, guy come sin behind me . . .

Freudian typo?

WHAT COFFEE SHOP IS THIS?!?

 

[CaptainStoner]

I like MissChicken's approach, if you've the time for it. Since they are engaging you essentially in a non-conversation on a pre-determined topic they won't deviate from, why not do the same?
And maybe try to give them some kind of advert for a festival, or something like that. Or direct them to a business you are fond of, give a little pitch for one product or another. Because that is an essential function of what they are doing, whether they know it or not. If you knock on enough doors, sure as shit the Holy Spirit will lead you to someone lonely, or in crisis, that needs a bit of what you're selling.
As jaded as that may sound, I also have a respect for it, because divine energy does transfer and move and flow, even in spite of the religion that attempts to contain it, or describe it. And the people going door to door are on a spiritual journey themselves.
But they sure can be annoying. Last time it happened to me, my van had broken down directly across the street from a pair of them, in their suits, pamphlets in hand. Talk about a double whammy. Who says the Universe doesn't have a sense of humor though?

 

[scotpens]

“Hey, do you know about the Bible?”
“The Bible? What's that? I've never heard of it before!”

More like, “Which Bible?”

We Jews use the short version.

 

[Trekker4747]

“Hey, do you know about the Bible?”
“The Bible? What's that? I've never heard of it before!”

More like, “Which Bible?”

We Jews use the short version.

Jews follow the Cliff Notes Bible?

 

[Awesome Possum]

“Hey, do you know about the Bible?”
“The Bible? What's that? I've never heard of it before!”

More like, “Which Bible?”

We Jews use the short version.

I just figured you guys didn't care for the sequel.

 

[Trekker4747]

More like, “Which Bible?”

We Jews use the short version.

I just figured you guys didn't care for the sequel.

The New Testament raped my childhood!

 

[Amaris]

We Jews use the short version.

I just figured you guys didn't care for the sequel.

The New Testament raped my childhood!

The guy they got to play Jesus just didn't do it for me. Sure, Melchizedek wasn't around any more, but they could have at least tried to stick to canon.

 

[Trekker4747]

The Bible: The Movie. Now with lens flares!