Preaching to the choir? Not on my doorstep.

A little after 6pm the other day, just as my tea was hitting the plate, there was a tentative knock at the door. Not that a quiet little knock goes unnoticed in our house, what with the ever vigilant German Shepherd's.
Swearing under my breath, I called the dogs off, and opened the door, thinking it was probably a friend nipping over with some gossip.
But no. Stood on the doorstep were two fairly young men, looking rather like the Men in Black.
"Shit, what have I done now?" crossed my mind. Then I saw the name tags....

"We're here to spread the word about Jesus," said one, who looked slightly older than me. The American accent was a dead give away, even if the leaflets weren't. Mormons.

Uh Oh. Sometimes I think to myself that maybe one day I should open the door semi-naked with an inverted pentagram painted on my chest. It would certainly save me some time in explaining to them that I am not religious, and no matter how much they pressure me, with promises of Heaven and an all-loving God (...No comment), I will not be converted to their religion.

Every time, the conversation is very similar.

Them: "I / we are here to talk to you about God / Jesus / Sins blah blah,"
Me: "I'm sorry, but I'm not interested."
Them: "God is love, and his light is shining on you!" (Okay, so I'm exaggerating a bit)
Me: "I'm sorry, but I'm really not interested."
Them: "But God / Jesus..."
Me: "Look, not being funny, but my dad, a good, honest, hard-working man, was taken away from me when I was just 12 years old. I'm not religious, and never will be."
Them: "Everything happens for a reason / God works in mysterious ways,"

And so it goes on.

When I finally manage to shut the door, usually after making some lame excuse, I'm usually 'taking the lord's name in vein.'

I have no problem with people having something to believe in. In fact, I encourage it. I, myself, prefer a more holistic outlook. I have been to several mediums (Heretic's!!) who have been very accurate with things that they could never have found out. I believe there are things that go on behind the scenes, so to speak, and like to think my dad is watching over me.
However, you won't find me knocking on people's doors at inappropriate times, preaching in the street, or even discussing my beliefs in depth with my friends.

Let's face it, religion causes more trouble than it does good. You only have to look towards Afghanistan, where our brave boys and girls are fighting, and being murdered by, religious fanatics, most of whom have been brainwashed by the words of the few who preach intolerance of other religions.

How many people have died in the name of one god or another? How many cults are in the world right now? I'm assuming you will know who Charles Manson is, and some of you may even know about the events of Jonestown.

Please don't get me wrong. I am not saying that religion is a bad thing. I am simply saying:

"I don't force my beliefs on to you, please don't force yours on to me."