A recent post at Friendly Atheist asked readers about their worst experiences with Christian evangelism and whether there were any forms of evangelism to which readers might listen. Christian evangelism provokes an immediate and intensely unpleasant emotional response for me. Regardless of whether it is door-to-door proselytizing or unwelcome encounters in public, I have the same visceral reaction each time I am confronted by someone wanting to share their "good news." It is hard to verbalize, but it feels like a mixture of rage, disgust, and revulsion.

The intensity of my emotional reaction is clearly disproportionate to the actual stimulus. After all, the ignorant sod who feels the need to tell me about Jesus does not mean any harm. She might even think she's doing me a favor. There is no reason for me to feel threatened, and mild annoyance or even pity would seem to be more appropriate reactions on my part.

The thoughts that race through my head in these situations, fueling the nature and intensity of my emotional response, shed more than a little light on my reactions. I tend to interpret acts of evangelism as unwanted invasions upon my privacy.

"I don't want to hear about your delusion!"
"How dare you shove that mind rot in my face!"
"What makes you think I am stupid enough to be impressed with this?"
"How would you like it if I came to your home in the middle of dinner?"

You get the idea. These thoughts are not particularly rational, and my tendency to interpret evangelism in this manner certainly exacerbates my intense reaction.

Since I do not enjoy these emotional responses, I have at least two options:

1. I can work on reframing (i.e., reinterpreting or cognitive restructuring) these situations so that I will have more realistic thoughts and respond less intensely, or
2. I can attempt to reduce the frequency with which I encounter evangelists.
   

So far, I've focused on #2. I have added a combination of "no soliciting" and anti proselytizing signs around my front door to deter these visitors. In fact, the frequency of their visits has declined significantly. However, I need to do more with #1 because I continue to encounter these lunatics in public (and sometimes even at home).

Tags: atheist, Christian evangelism, evangelism, proselytizing, Jesus, privacy, reframing, thoughts, evangelists, no soliciting, cognitive restructuring