-I have a friend; we met at seven years olds, went through school together, faced all kinds of problems and were as close as siblings.
We saw each other through our divorces; we were godparents to each other's children.
Then after a bad time in her life she joined the born again Christians, within a week they had convinced her that I was the devil, was trying to take her from God and drag her to hell, and that she could never be happy if I were a part of her life and that they were her only friends.
I warned her that when the chips were down they would desert her; she called me a liar and a fool.
I heard nothing from her for two and a half years, then a little while ago she got in touch, during an operation to remove a cataract from her eye, it was discovered that she had a brain aneurysm.
It has been caught early and she should be fine after a minor operation.
She went to her church terrified and asked for help, they offered "thoughts and prayers", she asked for support and a lift to hospital they offered "thoughts and prayers", she asked that someone dog sit her pets and come visit her in hospital, every one was busy but "thoughts and prayers".
I spent the day with her, comforted her, accompanied her to see her surgeon for reassurance and bought her a coffee. She is fine and ready for the operation at the end of the month.
It cost me a couple of hours and the price of a Starbuck's.
MY friend is back and is free of those parasites, according to who, god sent me to her in her time of need, but who she must now reject again since I have not taken the "Obvious" call to salvation her illness offered me.
Even she was disgusted by this and is seriously listening to why I am an atheist and why she might want to re-evaluate her church.