Maybe more of a rant, but I am very interested in how other atheists constantly hold their tongues...
I admit that one of the reasons I like this place so much is that I get a vibe that some other folks here aren't all that religious. Why does it matter you ask? Well, it's not that I can't have awesome relationships with some religious folks (I can, as long as they are the "live and let live" types that don't try to inject their religion into gov't), but honestly even with these "nice" religious folks, I still have to hold my tongue.
Things I can't say to my religious friends...
1) You realize that mythologies used to be religions, right? People used to worship Thor. Now he's an Avenger.
2) You realize there have been like thousands of religions? Doesn't that tell you something?
3) Do you think you'd become a heathen ax murderer if you deconverted today? If not, doesn't that tell you something?
4) When you say that you "talk with God," or that "God talked to me," WTF do you mean? Did you hear an actual voice, or did you think to yourself?
5) If God is all-knowing, meaning he knows every decision we will ever make before we make it, how do we still have free will? We would just be programmed puppets. For example, let's say God talks to me on Saturday. I ask, "God, what tie will I wear tomorrow?" God says, "You will wear a yellow tie." Flash forward to Sunday. I look in my closet and choose a tie out of the dozens I have in all sorts of colors. Can I pick a non-yellow tie? Why or why not?"
6) Have you read the whole Bible? Do you realize there are hundreds of editions and that the text is actually different and that different churches "interpret" the word differently? How can a perfect road map be so vague and nebulous, with so many internal inconsistencies? Doesn't it worry you that you are basing your worldview on this? How did you choose your particular denomination and interpretation?
7) Deep down, do you mostly go to church because "other good people do," and you like the socialization it provides?
8) Do you really think me and my wife, and my little kids are going to burn...forrrrr eternity...in Hell? Seriously? (note: if answer is "yes," friendship is obviously severed..this has actually happened).
9) Do you think there might be a sliiiight chance that religions have been used to keep people in place, explain things that couldn't be understood at the time, placate people from their sometimes miserable lots in life (slaves, second class citizens including women for most of history) by promising a "perfect afterlife," and to consolidate power?
10) Name ONE moral virtue taught in the Bible that is exclusive to the Bible. Surely this perfect map has some unique wisdom found nowhere else.
I could go on and on, but I've rambled too much. Do other atheists have similar feelings? Do you use any particular techniques to either bite your tongue, or to gently introduce any of these questions? Are some of you folks in the "I just don't think about religion at all" camp?
I wish I could get there, I really do, but with people constantly injecting religion (almost always Christianity) into school board decisions, and in legislatures, and pretty much trying to make rules based on their specific religious beliefs, I'm not sure how any atheist in America who values reason and science can mentally (or financially) bow out of this conflict.