I have in my life posed many questions to believers that should have caused to question their belief but I have never found one that would. Basically, they always avoid answering such a question and either start proselytizing or defending their myth with pseudo-science, revisionist history or word salad gibberish.

I may post pieces on the Internet, or bash some loud-mouthed, religious idiot in the Letters to the Editor column of the local newspaper, but I rarely push the button in personal encounters unless provoked. Many of my friends, some who are religious, know that I am an atheist. I don't go out of my way to hide the fact. Fortunately I live in a civilized society where freedom of speech is respected. Even those who criticize me in the Letters to the Editor column often begin by acknowledging my right to speak out!

When I was about twenty five years old I worked for an atheist. At the time I was a very, very sound fundamentalist Christian (long story). He and I would talk about god, ethics, history, etc. and I would defend, defend, defend. He never made any progress with me - while we were associated with each other all of those years ago.

However, everything he told me stuck in my head - I could not shake it out, forget it, unhear what he told me or showed me.

Roughly five or six years after we stopped working together and I had spent more time studying and learning my particular flavor of religion - what he taught me came out in full force and became as clear as day. Everything he showed me became self evident and the deeper and deeper I tried to learn my way out of the facts, the closer and closer I came to understanding the truth - he was right.

In my experience, most people are just not exposed to atheists or our thinking because - especially in other parts of the world, but even here in the US - "coming out of the closet" as an atheist had/has huge social costs and most of us just keep it to ourselves. Even today, studies show that people in the US would rather have a gay president than an atheist president. You can lose your job or other opportunities if you let people know you are atheist. I've lost friends of many years because of a simple word - atheist.

So, people don't know what to do or what to say because, I believe, most of them have just not been exposed to opposing views and especially to atheist perspectives. Which leaves them only with their learned understanding of what atheist means - which can range from communists to satan worshippers. They are scared to death of atheist and atheism like we are a plague... because they are ignorant of what an atheist is or what atheism means, stands for or how we see the world. Their myths and fairytales tell them to be afraid of us or kill us - certainly, they are warned to avoid us at all costs.

Still, if you can plant just one or two seeds in a thinking person - in time, that seed may take root and help them see their delusions for what they really are and, like me, they will be free from the lies of religion. It only takes a small seed to blossom into a full harvest. Not everyone will allow the seeds to grow - many will pull them out and burn them with the weeds, but for those people who are really looking, rational, reasoning and intelligent enough - it only takes a small seed to help them become free.

It's just very hard to find an audience or a place and time I'm not scared of the consequences of coming out of my closet. Usually, I'll only discuss topics, rarely, will I admit I am an atheist. The potential costs are simply too high - even in America.