Ahh 6/6/6, why did you not bring the rapture like they said you would?! Actually I'm relieved that nothing big did happen, I imagine there were a few crazies out there that were so convinced something cataclysmic would happen that they did some stupid pre-apocalyptic only a couple days to live thing. What a letdown for them.

I woke to the sound of the doorbell. Thinking UPS had come bearing packages, I quickly ran for the door. One must be as fast as possible to catch the UPS delivery person as they give up very quickly these days if they try at all. So I ran and opened the door as fast as I could. Instead of the man or woman in brown, I'm greeted by two teenage boys in the traditional door to door Mormon garb. Somehow the first thing that went through my head was how I looked like I had just rolled out of bed and thrown on a pair of shorts, which made sense, as that is what happened.

Even though they needed no introduction, I let them tell me how they were from the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter day Saints and how they wanted to share the book of Mormon with me, etc. I wasn't really in the mood to do anything too witty, so I simply told them I was Atheist and uninterested. That got a bit of a startled look in their eyes, but they said ok, and gave me some card with a Mormon website address on it. Oh how tempting it was to tell them that I ran this website and give them my own little card with an address on it. :-) Instead I told them to have a nice day and said goodbye.

I know many of you (at least I know my friends) are thinking that I would lash out at people like this and spout out phrases like "soul soliciting pig-fuckers." But in reality I've learned that I'm not quite as evil as some think I am. Did that phrase cross my mind? Sure. Did I want to re-enact a scene or two from Orgazmo? Of course. But the reality of the situation is that these were just a couple 17-20 year old boys doing what they were told was right. I wasn't going to show too much ill will at a couple of kids who thought they were trying to save my soul. It's the thought that counts right? If they hadn't been only around 18-20 years old, I might have been a little more angry.

If I hadn't been so unkempt looking I would have invited these poor kids in, gave them a soda, tried to get them to play video games with me and talk to them about why they're letting their parents control their lives. I mean really, what normal kid wants to dress up in a little suit with a backpack full of bible supplements and go door to door to have 95% of the people tell them to go to hell? I'm willing to bet they didn't arrive at Mormon as their chosen faith after doing a lot of research and soul searching. Nope, at that age it is all about what you were raised to believe. Obviously I didn't get to try inviting them in and attempting to talk them out of their religion, but I hope someday I'm more prepared to do this as it seems like a fun idea.

The most important thing that I feel I did was remain civil and polite with them, while at the same time stating that I didn't believe in God. My hope here was that they'll probably get the door slammed in their faces repeatedly by Christians along with some rude words, but at the end of the day perhaps they'll remember that one of the nicest people was an Atheist. Maybe, just maybe something will click. Long shot, but still, Atheists and Agnostics are not by any means bad people and I would argue that we're usually MORE moral than our religious cohorts.

The reason why I told them I was Atheist rather than Agnostic, was simply that I didn't feel they'd understand what I meant. After watching the Kirk Cameron banana video, and seeing the StumbleUpon comments on our "What is an Agnostic?" page it has become clear to me that most people simply don't understand the term itself, let alone how Agnostics think. Some think that it is a very weak stance that is easily convertible into a religion such as Christianity, but this is only true for the really weak minded. Agnosticism is not a weak state in between religions, it is quite simply applying logic to everything and trying to have reasons for everything one thinks/does. Sure there are tourists that call themselves Agnostic and just float off to various religions. However, I would argue that they never fully grasped the concept.