Comfortably Numb

A friend of mine asked me once if I was secure in my faith. I replied with "yes, I believe I am" (the first time I've ever been able to say that, by the way).

So then she asked me "Then why are you so antagonistic towards Christians?"

And the more I thought about it, the more I understood her point; why go out of my way to antagonize those whose faith is so antipathetic to my own, if I'm secure in my belief system?

Does that mean that I can't or won't defend myself if I come under attack? Of course not. Several times I've come under attack, and several times I've replied the way my ancestors would have: "You've got your religion and I've got mine--you go worship your god and just leave me be."

Mind you, this doesn't always work and I have to get more politely forceful with those who refuse to take the hint and continue babbling at me about their desert god...but I no longer feel the need to go on the offensive.

Of course, this makes me wonder why the worshippers of YHVH-1 are so adamant about aggressively spreading their faith like a virus throughout all of creation. Are they that insecure in their beliefs that they feel the need to aggressively attempt to stamp out and oppress other faiths?

They've got their religion and I've got mine--as long as they stay away from me and my kin, we won't have a problem.