isobel,

Is this your 3rd question?

On a personal level my experiences with Christians has been rather good. Even the lady at the office, who got rather critical when she found out that I supported atheism, became friendly once we got to know each other better. Turned out her husband had ditched Christianity in favor of Islam! So, she was confused and hurting, and ready to strike a blow for her faith. By and by I loaned her some of my nicest nature photos to brighten up her office.

On a less personal level, I am acutely aware of how conservative religious groups try to undermine the teaching of good science (evolution for instance, but geology, astronomy and physics could be mentioned as well). I am aware of how easily they infiltrate the political system to gain special governmental privileges at the expense of everyone else. Until modern times, atheists in the U.S. were routinely excluded from juries and were even denied the right to run for office! In some states even sending well written atheist literature through the U.S. Postal service could get you convicted on a porno charge! The great Ingersoll defended one such person in the courtroom.

The original efforts to curtail religious influence in the U.S. was not by atheists, but by other sects of Christianity that were being squeezed! Government is supposed to be totally neutral on the religious front! If it favors one group then all others are necessarily demoted. It's like an old-fashioned teeter-totter. When one end is up, the other is down. Needless to say, such activities generate a lot of negative feelings for me, especially since this whole religious business has historically enjoyed special privileges at all levels of government, many of which continue to this day.

Such privileges, of course, go far beyond the governmental levels. Even today there is scarcely a newspaper that will allow an atheist a free hand in criticizing religion. In the better papers an atheist can get a letter published now and then, but if he expects to have an opportunity to seriously examine the flaws of religion he will be sorely disappointed! Then there are the ocean of lies that have been applied to atheists, so toxic that even now "atheist" is a bad word for many. An atheist's morality, especially in more backward areas, is always questioned.

All the time on line!

@Isobel

 " have u had good or bad experiences with Christians in general?"

Ah, Isobel. If only you knew how often Christians ask us that waiting to hear confirmation that we've had absolutely awful experiences with Christians in general and Christian churches in particular, and turned our faces from god in anger because of it. The misconception- the ad hom- is older than I am, and I'm no spring chicken.

Even though I totally agree with what Cyber and David said about the danger and basic uselessness of pigeonholing people, I'll answer your question. My entire family are Christians. My atheism and their theism is not a source of conflict between us. Their faith is a gentle, loving, inclusive thing. I've spoken to Christians on-line who've shared truly beautiful visions of their god with me. In general, my experiences with Christians have been positive. Some of my staunchest allies in the fight to keep church and state separate are progressive Christians, including my family. You should have heard my 70 something Catholic mother go off about the attempted interference of the Catholic church in the same sex marriage plebiscite we had in Australia last year.

" have u ever discussed ur beliefs with a Christian in detail?"

Yep. I've discussed my unbeliefs and Christian beliefs with Christians lots of times. You're a diverse bunch. A very broad church indeed.

Normally I don't personally talk religion. But I have corresponded extensively with some Christians in the days before email was commonplace, and for about 3 weeks or so I was part of an atheist panel that fielded numerous questions from Christians on the Internet. They must have asked every conceivable thing and offered every conceivable challenge that a Christian could think up! (The Christians got to grade our performance, by the way!) I have studied a number of apologetic books. I have Gleason Archer's "Encyclopedia of Bible Difficulties" and Norman Geisler & Thomas Howe's "When Critics Ask" in my library. So, I understand where these people are coming from.

From time to time, though, I have had face-to-face encounters. Once, after a public debate which I attended, as people were leaving, I had an informal go-round with a knowledgeable believer. On another occasion I was having lunch by myself at a mall when these two Scandinavian ladies asked my permission to sit at my table. Soon, they were pitching religion at me! I suspect that they were taken aback when they realized that I had answers to all of their "gotcha" questions, but it was a low pressure, friendly talk, even a positive experience. We finally parted and each side suggested a good book to read. On still other occasions I've had the usual twosome come a knocking at my door. On a couple of occasions, instead of sending them on their way, I cut them down to their roots in a friendly discussion. One pair said they would look up the answers and get back to me. Of course, I never saw them again!

Yea, with the atrocious grammar and plagiarizing, I do wonder if isobel will graduate. I would certainly give a fail.