It's nice to be nice

thank the imaginary gods for allergies too I bet

How 'bout: "Thank him? Thank me. I had to sacrifice three of my best goats to get this weather!"

How about this, "Will you blame him when a storm rolls in?"

I tend to engage believers so maybe one day one of them will say something that would restore my faith! So this morning I was in my yard when a guy driving a 1936 Pontiac (I think) stopped to ask me about my 47DeSoto that also has a flathead 6. He was on his way to church and I gave him an ear full. I'm agnostic, no god, blah blah blah. Told him when Jesus puts my finger in the hole in his arm, I'll hit my knees so fast it'll spin your head around. Hope he had fun at church!

You were being polite and there was no need to engage in a Philosophical argument at that time.

Believing that religion is myth does not mean arguing with everyone who doesn't feel the same way.

Same thing. No point in creating disturbance where you don’t need to. She was pleasant enough to make conversation. She wasn’t proselytising or canvassing just being a friendly human being.

By setting up a debate which she may have no concept off will just set off stress factors in yourself for no reason. Just acknowledge the beautiful day regardless of whose construct it is.

You can't go wrong with "It sure is a beautiful day" - just omitting the god part in the reply. "Yep" was probably even better.

I\ve had it happen on an elevator and it was a gorgeous day (I figure nerves played a part in that - some folks don't like enclosed spaces). Oh and once at a checkout - I was told to have a "Blessed Day" - that one just fried me - because I do not want to have a Blessed Day? But how do you even respond to that without causing conflict? I seem to remember looking startled and leaving without further words.

Thankfully it's not something common in New England.

If I ever find the perfect - non-conflict inducing comeback... I'll let you know. lol

As the spouse of a pastor who did her thing in mostly conservative rural Montana I have been constantly confronted with this dilema. For the most part I did exactly as you did. I figured that I was no more likely to change their mind than they were to change mine.

I'm not sure I was right! Thank God etc. sounds kindly and innocuous but really it is intended to be in your face and intimidating. Too often the hidden message is something like, "I'm a believer and you should be too if you know what is good for you. Maybe the best response is the one my father often gave, "Thank God I'm an Athiest."

I am in agreement with everyone who said you handled it correctly. I see no reason to cast a shadow on someone's nice day, unless they are proselytizing, and it sounds like the old woman wasn't. Even when the JWs accost me on the sidewalk, I just say "I'm an atheist, so no thank you. Have a nice day." and then I go about my business. I see no reason to be confrontational about things that I think are nonsense. The only time someone else's religious beliefs concern me is when they try to implant those beliefs in our secular government.

Someone wants to express their joy, it's not an injury or affront and doesn't rise to the level of annoyance then I just ignore it. But if they try to preach at me or otherwise try to bring me down then I can be a rather passive aggressive asshole.

It was a good response. She was saying it with good intentions; she wasn’t trying to be disrespectful or acting like a jerk. That simple “yep” was appropriate.

You gave the perfect response under the circumstances.

I would have said something bringing back to my unpredictable hippie days. Something crazy and off the wall. How about a poem:
God is wonderful, Yahweh too,
But that darn Allah belongs in a zoo.

Give her something to think about..

To be honest, that kind of thing doesn't really bother me.
I know, even though I disagree with what they say, they have the best intentions.
Some even just say that kind of thing out of habit, even I do sometimes.

So, I'll rather just say "yep", or "thanks" if the words were towards me.
There have been times where I got all confrontational. but in the end I look back and think I was being an ass to someone that was just wishing good will toward me.

Let me offer up a different perspective. This god of theirs is a personification of the universe in total. It was/is the answer to the question "what caused that?". Now, of course, we get to subtract from that "black box" the processes that we understand - which still leaves a huge array of things beyond our present comprehension. That's their god and it's certainly a viable object for their praise. They may not know how to explain or describe what it is, but they're thankful for it. That's a good thing. For each of us that black box may be a little different. But we all have one. Some just have different terms for it.

I would say, which god is it you are talking about?

"Whatever" or "if you say so."

I feel so sorry for you guys. I would literally freak if anyone said that to me. Even as a mental health professional, I would imagine they were unwell. It would be sooo weird in UK. It is far more likely that people start ranting about football or Brexit or brown people...to which I would not care about protecting their feelings!

I'm not going to rain on some random stranger's parade. If they wanna praise god or zeus or ishtar, then I'm going to wish them well.

literally the same thing happened to me on Friday. got into an elevator and this elderly lady said. it is a beautiful day. i said yes it is. with all smiles. then comes "praise the lord for this beautiful day" and by this time the elevator has reached the 3rd floor where i would get off. i replied good day to you too and go on with my day.

Probably the same way. She's elderly, not up for debating, she's locked into her fairy tale world and too old to change.

Same way you did

Your answer was fine. No reason to go any deeper than that with a stranger.

How is "Yep" confrontational?