A letter to Christian proselytizers in Helsinki.

To the lady whose name I don’t know!

It was not pleasant at all talking to you this morning at my café. You might not notice, but I have met you a few times because you came to my house before, and this is the second time you approached me at my business. I have to admit that your effort and dedication to your God is respectable on my behalf. You even learned Vietnamese so you can have a conversation with me in the language I am comfortable with. Thanks for your hard work. But I don’t appreciate that. In fact, it’s annoying to me. That’s why I stopped you from talking. Also, my customers were waiting for me behind you. You’re very rude and I have enough of it. If you want to come by again for a coffee, you’re welcome! But if you want to convert me again, there are some things I want you to know:

1. I’m an Atheist like most of my Asian counterparts are. So we might believe in superstition but that’s all, we don’t fucking care about your all mighty God and how amazing he is. So when you said that he’s always watching and listening, it sounded creepy for me. Seriously! If your daughter had been always listened to, wherever she went, by a 2000 years old guy that you’ve never met, it’d sounded creepy to you, too. Please, stop bragging about your God! He’s a STALKER to me now, by my own definition.
2. Atheism is not a religion. I don’t just NOT believe in your God, I don’t have any belief at all in all other Gods. So if the Islams, the Jews, and other religious groups of people don’t question me about my choice to be an Atheist, you too should not say a word. As I respect your choice to be a devoted Christian, you should respect my choice to be nothing at all.
3. I know why you targeted me and other Vietnamese, you assumed that we came from a third world country, we didn’t have access to what you know about God, because our government tried to stop us. Please, stop assuming like that! In fact, we have much better access to the Internet and information that many places in the world. And in term of religion, there’s much more freedom. We’re all born non-religious until we choose to be. IF YOU DON’T KNOW THAT MUCH ABOUT YOUR TARGET MARKET, YOU’RE CLEARLY A SHITTY SALESPERSON.
4. Who do I pray for when I’m going through hardship? MYSELF! I work my ass off and stop wasting time praying. That’s how I became who I am today. Thank you for asking.
5. I did not read the flyer you gave me. Sorry to tell you that. No matter which language it’s in, the moment you walked away, it landed on the trash bin. My fake Asian politeness in me told me to promise you that I’d read. I don’t. It’s just trash for me now. Also, I did research your Bible, I don’t like it, I just do. Good luck selling it to me again!
6. Last but not least, why did I sound so angry? Because you made me angry! Your ignorance of the truth that there are different types of people in the world and they don’t need to believe in God to be a complete human being made me angry.

I am sorry if I hurt your feeling. But it is true that I did not have a nice time talking to you and I hope to never see you again!

Best regards,

Just an atheist