I just had two Purveyors of Religion (aka missionaries) appear at my door. I was polite; I try always to be polite, even when I consider what they’re doing to be the height (shouldn’t that be depth?) of rudeness. I told them it was a Jewish household, and when they didn’t take that hint, added one of my favorite Mark Twain quotes on religion. That confused them, and they left.
People who knock on my door trying to bring me the One True Faith(tm) have always bothered me. What, all others are counterfeit, like the Canterville Ghost? (If you haven’t read the short story, do so. It’s fabulous.) It’s the implicit arrogance of it that I find most disturbing. I mean really. To claim that they have the One True Way – and not just “Christianity” but their particular sect and flavor of Christianity requires that they claim that they, and only they, know the mind of the $DEITY. I’ve always thought the whole point of any deity was to be beyond human, and beyond our comprehension. We’re mortal, limited in our perceptions and ability to conceptualize; the Creator of the Universe(s) by definition is not. So how can they, or anyone, say that not only are there a finite number of ways to approach that Infinite, there is only one, and they alone know it?
What unmitigated gall, and they themselves don’t perceive it. And they think they’re doing me a favor?
They are doing you a favor. Just not the one they intend.
They’re providing you with an opportunity for cheap entertainment.
My personal favorite way of dealing with those who feel compelled to sell religion door-to-door like a magazine subscription is to tell them that “I talk to G-d all the time, and no offense, but she never mentioned you.”
I am reminded of a dear friend in a similar situation who used her logic to point out that by their rules all her loved ones would be in Hell and she alone in Heaven if she accepted their premises and conditions.
She asked why should would want to spend Eternity with strangers?
I am further reminded that that dear friend is you.
As you know, when it happened to me I welcomed their religious debate; I simply insist that it be done in Hebrew.