Well... as I posted in some other thread months ago, I wish I had the opportunity sit down... perhaps in the Seven Stars pub... and have a beer and talk to Pete for a couple of hours. We could say more, in a direct face-to-face, and ask for clarifications of points and compare notes and perhaps break down a few misunderstandings.
I do NOT presume that either of us would likely convert the other... to or from... any Christian or skeptic viewpoint. I already know several people in 'real life' with whom I have occasional discussions about religion or politics or race. We have to be careful that we don't use insurmountable differences to 'judge' them as human beings.
In my life there have been only a couple of people that I could not talk to because of their tendency to treat difference of opinion as a personal flaw. I am sure I am lucky that it is ONLY 2-3.

It is a delicate thing to walk that line between wanting to gently critique someone's position and wanting to grab them by the collar and shake some sense into them ☺....

I keep returning to the Peanuts cartoon I have noted several times...most recently in this thread back on Jan. 23.

Old Peanuts cartoon:

Lucy, talking to Linus: "Change your mind!"
Linus just looks at her.
Lucy.."CHANGE YOUR MIND!!
Linus looks more intimidated...
Lucy.."CHANGE YOUR MIND, I SAY!!"

Lucy, walking away, disgruntled and mumbling."Boy, it's hard to get people to change their minds these day!"


HOWEVER: To Pete and various others, my other favorite Peanuts cartoon makes a slightly different point:

Lucy, kneeling on the sidewalk says to Charlie Brown: "You know why that big black bug doesn't move? Because she's the queen bug! She just sits there, see, while the other bugs do all the work."

Charlie Brown gets down and looks closely: "That's not a bug, that's a black jelly bean."

Lucy, bending down and looking VERY closely: "By golly, you're right, Charlie Brown....I wonder how a jelly bean ever got to be queen?"