2.  “Religion is a personal matter. It’s not polite to bring it up.”

3.  “You’re an atheist? I feel sorry for you.”

4.  “If you’re an atheist, life has no purpose.”

Continuing my look at Jeffrey Tayler’s article: 15 ways atheists can stand up for rationality.  You can read his comments on his article; I’m just borrowing his headings here.

“Religion is a personal matter. It’s not polite to bring it up.”  

And yet religious people have no problem bringing it up all the time.  “Wow, it was scary when that car almost hit me; the lord must have sent an angel to take care of me.”   Really?

People spout all sorts of superstitious nonsense, and it is okay to raise an eyebrow or ask if they really meant it.  I would like to think that most of the time, most people do not actually believe it, but speak without ever thinking it through.

“Oh, thank god you weren’t killed in the fire like the other people in the house.”    Really?  Do you seriously believe this one person was spared by some act of divine mercy, while other people were trapped inside and died?  What sort of god would do that?

When people talk nonsense, challenge it.  You don’t have to be aggressive or assertive, but you can still get the point across when someone spouts garbage and superstition: “Well, yes…. some people still believe that sort of thing, don’t they?”

“You’re an atheist? I feel sorry for you.”

Yeah, you think you’ve got your eternity covered, and pity me for not having such a comfort blanket.

I feel sorry for you that you’d need make-believe fantasies.

“If you’re an atheist, life has no purpose.”

Nobody arrives here with a “purpose”.   Purpose is something WE assign to the elements of our lives.  Christians don’t have a genuine purpose either.  At all.