And to them, it's not a myth. It's 100% real to them, and absolutely precious to them. So if you show lack of respect for what is sacred to them, they are definitely going to be disturbed and offended. And so would you be in their place.
That is exactly what I argue against - it IS a myth, and if you can't accept that reality, move to a theocracy or take a time machine to the Dark Ages. The harm done far outweighs any benefits. Not to mention that if people don't respect MY beliefs, since they (my beliefs) aren't based in faith, we can argue about them quite intelligently. It's not like I never learn anything new from people.

And Little Hawk, you missed the point about dating from Christ's birth - Christ is a mythical figure, and only "existed" according to Christian myth. The jews and moslems believe in the same god, they just don't think Christ has been born yet. That is why I objected - it was OVERT Christianity masquarading as reality. I *did* say that had they said the birth of Jesus, it wouldn't have been so objectionable. That would have simply been in keeping with the BCE / CE calendar (which I rationalize using by thinking well, 1,500,002,007 rounds quite nicely to 2007).

I've considered emigrating to a lot of more reasonable places - France in particular- but I like living in America, I like Charlottesville, and I'd rather stay here and fight for my RIGHT to be an atheist, and to raise freethinking children.