Reader Question- Dealing with the Judgers

 I'm Wiccan,  really an Omnist Wiccan. Seeing as I grew up Catholic and don't see Christianity's belief as false or any of the religions I studied after I left the church. My question, What is the best way to deal with "Bible Thumpers" that are overly judgmental and are completely disrespectful of my faith and beliefs.
-Niki

First off, sorry to hear about you having to deal with people like this at all. I always kind of want to walk up to Christians like that and give them a good smack upside the head. Of course, that wouldn't be particularly Christian of ME, either, but still.

In general terms, my best piece of advice for dealing with such people is a simple: "don't," in the same way I would tell people not to get involved in a comments thread on the ESPN boards. You just can't talk to some people, and engaging them is unlikely to do you any good, so who needs the heartache, right?

This is, of course, an oversimplification, because often it isn't that simple. Some of these "Bible Thumpers" you simply can't get away from, for whatever reasons. Maybe they're family, or some other part of your social circle that you can't just get rid of.

Even then, I tend to advise dodging the issue. I don't talk politics with a lot of my family because I really do love them as people, and I don't like who they and I become when we talk about that stuff. But if you have to talk to them, and you have to talk about your beliefs...

For starters, DFTBA. Just because other people are being cruel or harsh doesn't mean that you have to be, and at the end of the day if you can tell yourself that you maintained your sense of self and ethics in the conversation, when they were violating theirs, then that at least should be a silver lining in a storm cloud of world suck.

Second, if they start getting nasty, ask them how that nastiness has anything to do with the Bible they claim to follow. Ask for specific examples. They have been commanded to love their neighbor, that includes you, and if all they can do is be angry and mean to you, then maybe they need to check out the log in their eye before pointing at the splinter in yours. (This is all Biblical language.)

If they are angry, ask them WHY they are so angry. Isn't your faith between you and God? Are you supposed to judge Christianity based on their behavior? And if so, is THIS the behavior they want you to use as a reference point?

In the end, the "Bible Thumpers" you are talking about are not following the commands of their own faith. Instead, they are subscribing to the "fanboy" school of religion where you hate anyone who believes differently than you. You can't force them to stop, but you can point out the inconsistencies between the way they claim to believe and the ways in which they actually behave.

This won't work for a lot of people. Fanboys will be fanboys, and it might just make them mad, hence my "don't waste your time" advice. But if you care enough about them to want to address it, or are otherwise FORCED to address it, then simply point out that maybe one of the reasons you don't follow their belief system is the fact that they don't seem to follow it, either.