A “friend” on Facebook had a post today. Fairly innocuous. She didn’t mean anything by it but it obviously set me off. Had it been an attack I would have definitely confronted her but as I said there was no malice intended. So I will do my venting here.
Her post was this “Who’s more irrational? A man who believes in a God he doesn’t see or a man who is offended by a God he doesn’t believe in?”—Brad Stine
I believe she is missing the point. Atheists and agnostics aren’t offended by a God they don’t believe in. They are irritated by the people that believe in the God they don’t. Let me state now for the record that I am member of a church. Furthermore, I am employed by that church. I am NOT anti-religion. Here comes the but. But I have a problem with many religious people. Why? You may ask. Tough, you have to wait.
The United States of America is the greatest nation on earth. We have freedom of religion and speech. We have rights the rest of the world doesn’t know exist. But it is the speech thing that makes the religion thing so hard to take.
So, the sport that I availed my younger self with was the hotbed for Evangelical Christians. Every game I was invited, repeatedly, to join Bible study, attend their church, etc… “Hey, we have a great band playing Sunday.” Uh, no thank you. How many times can you say, “no” in a polite way before the hint is taken? It was just like the “free” weekend in Gatlinburg. All you have to do is sit through a presentation on …. Well, you know what’s next, the hard sell. The main reason I am with the church I am is that they don’t recruit. Maybe they just think we are the best you should want to be with us. I don’t know. What I do know is I don’t like being recruited. I don’t like churches that build too big and need a membership drive to pay for their new edifice. Just worry about your own salvation and I’ll worry about mine.
The whole idea behind freedom of religion is that people can worship any way they choose without persecution. What about social persecution? Or just pestering? Obviously, in the USA people can say what they want. Great!! Just don’t get offended by people being annoyed by what you are saying.
Varied Interests 
Love it and so true…I don’t want to be “sold” a religion.
I don’t want to be sold a vacuum cleaner, religion is a completely different thing. I love that point that it’s the freedom of speech that makes the freedom of religion so difficult. Never thought about that before.