By the way, I had an acquaintance who was a born-again atheist! What I mean is, he was obsessed with his sacred mission which was to convert all other people to atheism, thus "saving" them, I assume, from the folly of their ways.

God, was he annoying. He was just as annoying as some born-again Christians I have run into from time to time. What was really ironical was that he had previously BEEN a born-again Christian, but had changed his mind, because it didn't solve all his problems the way he thought it should have.

Thus he got "saved" twice. :-) Once by accepting Jesus, once by rejecting the whole thing as a crock of shit. I understand he was equally pestiferous AS a born-again Christian. In both phases he was utterly convinced that he had the ONE and ONLY WAY to sanity, truth, and salvation. In both phases he showed no regard for other people's right to be who they were. In both phases he pestered the life out of everyone he met.

Obviously this guy had a psychological problem that overshadowed the effects of religion or not/religion. He was obsessive and intolerant of those who were different from him.

You can err this way quite thoroughly on either side of the divide, folks. It doesn't hurt you if someone says "be blessed", it doesn't hurt you if they don't.

But if it really bugs you, then it's a clue to something you could work on in yourself...and I don't mean you have to become religious when I say that.