Despite our most feverent wishes, there still exists a group of people who are totally dedicated to converting us to their beliefs. They are, for the most part, entirely sincere in their conviction that we are knowingly travelling a road of destruction, & will do anything in their power to protect us from ourselves. These groups are, of course, the religious zealots.
It must be said, in all fairness, that there are many religious groups & individuals who will not attempt to convert an Atheist, or anyone else for that matter. These groups respect other religious beliefs, & respect even the lack of religion as a legitimate religion in its own right. It is not these people that we must respond to; rather it is those people (especially extreme Christian fundamentalists) who feel that they have an absolute lock on the truth, & that anyone who disagrees with them must be in complete opposition to them & their God.
In their fervour to “save” humanity from Satan, these people travel the world, seeking to expose Satanic cults, whilst parading “Satanic Ritual Abuse Survivors” on talk shows, & packing auditoriums with the gullible Masses, feeding them the most ridiculous lies about the evils of straying from 'The One True Path,' which is naturally accepted as gospel (no pun intended,) by the audience.
These are the people you see on street corners, passing out Bible tracts, & those ridiculous little booklets. These are the people you see in everyday life who walk around with massive smiles on their faces, who pass out “Miraculous Medals," & cry “halleluia, we are saved!” These are the people who go door to door, trying to convert people to their particular brand of religion, regardless of whether or not the person wishes to be converted! They are the most heinous of individuals who feel that they have an absolute lock on the truth, & it is their mission to spread that truth.
How then, as adults capable of making informed decisions about our own lives, should we deal with these pests? There are a number of approaches that may be taken.
The most direct (& preferable) approach is to politely say that you are not interested, & send the fellow on his way, clutching his booklets in hand. Unfortunately, this approach does not always work, & they will try to entice you into a conversation on an intellectual level. The means through which they will try to do this varies, but when it comes down to it, the whole argument comes down to the statement that by not following their faith, you are going against the will of God, as expressed by their Bible.
The obvious counter to a statement like that, is to say that you don’t believe in their Bible, any more than you believe in the Ghita, or the Koran, or the Vedas, or any other religious “divinely inspired” book. All such books, you should explain, are merely the works of human beings which are presented as divinely inspired in order to gain legitimacy. They are fable cleverly couched in fact, & as such are nothing to base a life on.
At this point, expect a gasp of astonishment, a little flustering, & then prepare to be bombarded by quotations from the Bible, supposedly supporting its legitimacy. Of course, if the Bible itself is suspect, how can it be used to vouch for itself? That is circular logic at the extreme. They will claim that the Bible documents events that have been historically confirmed by archaeology. This may be true, but it is also irrelevant. Just because some of what the Bible claims is true & supportable, does not make all of it true. Furthermore, claims that prominent people in the Bible are reported in other historic documents are similarly irrelevant.
In any case, provided you keep your wits about you, & remember that you have the freedom to decide your religious beliefs, you should be able to deal with these people, no matter what the outcome of the encounter is.
JAMES
Ask the Hare Krsna devotee if his religion permits the killing of any life form, unless it is to be eaten. The answer will be yes. Then ask him to explain why their books are printed on paper, which is of course, dead wood. That always stumps ‘em!
...Well, I don’t know if that’ll be of any use to anyone except die-hard Atheists, but if nothing else, it should come in handy if you’re ever set upon by the Jehova`s Witnesses. Incidentally, if you’re ever approached by a Hare Krsna, you could try this approach, as suggested by Oly of Helium Bong fame: