So I was in my garage when I noticed some blue-haired types coming up my driveway. Turns put they're put peddling their god in the neighborhood and thought I might appreciate the Good News. Now I didn't solicit them in the least, but there they were asking to regale me with their fairy tales. I told them we could have a discussion where they could lay the Bible on me and when they were done, I could have the same amount of time to tell them why Jehovah is a psychopath and belief in the supernatural is just nonsense. We could have a dialog, maybe exchange some ideas. The look on their faces told me they weren't interested, and they declines and left.
Now why is it when religious types want to spread their viewpoints, they just get to show up uninvited, but if I showed up at a church uninvited and started telling them my point of view on their mindsets I'd be labels an asshole?
1. I find it is pretty mutual. When people, even secular salespeople, go door to do being "obnoxious" and pushy, then they get the doors slammed in their faces also. The same people who are polite and may entertain a religious proselytizer tend to be equally polite to sales people or anyone else and kindly say "no thanks"
2. As for showing up in church, that depends how it is done also.
I know churches who have invited atheists to study regularly with their Bible groups, a number of prolife and prochoice activists who agreed to visit each other's groups and share presentations back and forth in a civil manner knowing they had deep differences in beliefs and political opinions,
and look at the church that opened their doors and let their own killer in because they embraced all people.
If you go into the situation, already geared and planning to "mutual reject and attack" each other,
you set yourself up to fail.
If people agree to hear each other as individuals and equals, then anyone can interact with anyone
and it does not have to become some combative situation. Like the 6 men who showed up at Lakewood to deliberately heckle and disrupt the pastor's presentation. Sure, if you come in like that, and disrupt the
assembly, you will be made to leave.
People have a natural right to assemble and petition or present and share what they want to express.
But it must be done in the spirit of "peace and security" respecting each other as equals.
If it is done in a disruptive spirit, whoever is the trespassing guest may be asked to leave so the
people who are choosing to assemble peaceably may continue exercising their right of assembly in peace.
This is INDEPENDENT of which person/group is secular, religious, nonreligious or which political group.
Either the people agree to assemble and include each other as equals peaceably, or if people get divisive, then it disrupts the service or presentation and those parties will be asked or made to leave instead of disrupting others.
