My girlfriend is a Baptist Christian and I'm a Pantheist / Taoist. What I've learned in this relationship is that persons who are religious because they need a sense of security in their lives do not want to discuss anything; it would void the whole purpose of being religious. My girlfriend is like that, and every single time I've tried to discuss about her religious beliefs, we've ended up yelling at each other. She says I "attack her" with my questions. So I've learned to just keep my mouth shut.
There is one piece of advice I can give you if you still want to argue about religion (I've met some very rational religious people, and it's very fruitful to have discussions with them). Ask questions about their religion, as if you were new to it and wanted to learn about it. Don't argue, just make sensitive questions until you reach the point you want to discuss about. It's actually a good practice because us non-fundamentalists assume a lot of things about these religions, but sometimes we don't have the full picture.
Now a story.
Some years ago, one sunday morning the bell rang. I went down and saw three people at the door, patiently waiting. I asked them what they were here for, and they said they were Jehova's Witnesses and that they had a message for me. My immediate thought was to take out the "just in case of emergency" shotgun, but instead I told them to wait just a minute and that I'd be right back with them. I went to the computer and printed a piece explaining what Pantheism is, our beliefs and practices.
I went down and listened what they had to say. They handed me a flier and asked me whether they could return in a few days. I said to them: "You can return with one condition: you'll take these pages with you and read them. They're about my religion. Next time you come, I hope you'll have questions about it." Needless to say, they never came back.
Last edited by Meithan (2007-03-06 09:23:26)