Dealing With Born Agains

[nailit]

In my town centre, there are a couple of street preachers who regularly take to their soap box to tell us unrepentant sinners how awful our lives are without the love of a jewish zombie in our lives.
However, a local black, evangelical, Pentecostal church has taken to some radical proselyting on a Saturday afternoon, lots of loud singing, fire and brimstone preaching and in your face "Do you know Jesus?" type of conversations.
I was trying to speak to a friend, over the din of singing and guitars, when a young lady (bible in hand) tried to hand me a religious tract and asked me if I knew jesus. The conversation went like this...

ME...No, Im an atheist

HER...Oh!, Why are you an atheist?

ME...I read the Bible, its disgusting. If its true then I don't want to believe in God.

HER...Eh?

ME...Have YOU read the Bible? All of it?

HER...Er, no. Not all of it

ME...Then it would be a bit hard to discuss something you havn't read.

HER...Have a good day sir, bye.

I had no idea it was so easy to get these loons off your back. Just ask them if they've read their Bible from cover to cover.

How do YOU deal with religious proselytisers?

[naomi24]

^Sheesh!

[mibn2cweus]

Without the delusion of 'God on our side' finding a legitimate reason for fighting just might make someone think twice.

[Theland]

Oppression and profit drive the financial industrial military empire of the USA and they don't need an excuse to go to war.

[mibn2cweus]

"In God we trust" . . . "Allahu Akbar"

Two sides . . . one coin.

[Theland]

Come on Mibs. Has the USA ever fought a religious war to spread their gospel?
No, they fight wars to spread their empire, driven by the neo cons and the big banks and corporations who run that sad sick country.

[Answerprancer]

...and then Britain backs them up.

[mibn2cweus]

Despite claims of "separation of church and state", 'America' as it is typically referred, is all but a theocracy, in spite of the political aspirations of many of its religious leaders.

Hardly any call to arms in the US is complete if not underscored by the phrase, "God Bless America" as if that were all that was ever needed to provide moral justification for its actions.

[Theland]

Yes America gets it's morality from Hollywood.
Hand on heart and head bowed before the star spangled death sign.
Hundreds of thousands of people killed by American foreign policy. But hey, at least they are, "free."

[Hypognosis]

@mibs

Constitutionally, USA does keep church and state separate but, when it comes down to practicalities, such as getting elected into office, candidates at all tiers of government have to make the right noises about being God-fearing and/or worshipful, or the Bible Belt simply will not vote for them.

And it's not a problem of Republican Christians voting for a Democrat who professes faith, to spurn an atheist Republican candidate, because the parties have this drawn out candidature process, such that a Christian Republican will stand in competition with them and, likely, win the nomination

No-one gets to be governor, congressman or president whilst openly unreligious. In that regard, it is a de facto theocracy and (clump of turf) what the constitution says.

[vetuste_ennemi]

No-one gets to be governor, congressman or president whilst openly unreligious. In that regard, it is a de facto theocracy and (clump of turf) what the constitution says.
Don't get the second bit, Hypo.

[david small]

Sod VE...Not you of course.

[Hypognosis]

I was convinced 'sod' would get asterisked by the mouth-washing software. The trouble with bleeps and asterisks is that you're left to imagine that what were, in fact, mild expletives were really severe ones. You watch The Deadliest Catch and think they're all swearing like troopers…