[jim35]

"...THAT part of it you CAN'T defend..."

Oh really? Watch me. This pilot, like any other American, has a God (sorry, did I scare you?) given right to make casual conversation, even to mention that he hopes you're a Christian, even while he's at work. How restricted is your speech at work? Are you allowed to mention God? I know I am, and sometimes I will even pray with my "customers." I have even offered to do so, unsolicited! Scared yet? To my knowledge, noone has been injured yet by my outrageous behavior. Americans today are just looking for something to be offended by, and that's all this is.

[EggsAckley]

WRONG, jimbo. If you come up to me in a hallway, building, street corner and start blathering religion to me, I can walk away. It's my RIGHT to NOT have to listen to you if I don't want to.

A pilot at 30,000 feet starts it up, and where can we go? Out the window? You ARE scary.

[John H K]

"If you are a Christian, raise your hand.' He said, 'If you are not, you're crazy" is CASUAL CONVERSATION?

If he'd asked all the Mormons to raise their hands, encouraged all the non-Mormons to talk to them about the LDS church, and said if you aren't LDS, you're crazy, would you have been fine with that as well?

[whattajoke]

The pilot had a captive audience unable to a) respond to the stupid pilot or b) leave. He also had an audience in a flying bomb who are currently sensitive to religious differences and issues, particularly because 19 assholes ostensibly used their religion to kill 3000 innocent Americans a few Septembers ago.

On the other hand, if I go into your store and you start annoying me with your particular take on a 2000 nomadic desert myth, I can say, "thanks, but no thanks," and take my business elsewhere. Preferably to some place where I can buy what ever it is you sell without a bible lesson.

[California74]

I agree with you, Jim.

And there are apparently several versions of the story going around because I didn't hear that he had called non christians "crazy" in the other stories I've read or heard on the radio.
In any event, I would have been comforted on that flight, knowing the pilot was christian.

[Bella_Bru]

This pilot, like any other American, has a God

I just know you'd be this supportive had the pilot been a Rosicrucian, Muslim, Hindu, or Shaman. No, you wouldn't be screaming boycott, or anything like that, would you? Or is it ok just because you and this pilot share the same religious beliefs?

[fml]

Would you be defending him so much if he had asked for the Jews or Islamics to share their views or are you in his corner because he was Christian? I don't want a pilot, teacher, waitress or neighbor to trap me into a converstion meant to defend my religious believes or try to sway someone else in theirs. As someone said in another thread and mothers have been saying for years - religion and politics are not topics to discuss in polite company.

[fml]

Would you be defending him so much if he had asked for the Jews or Islamics to share their views or are you in his corner because he was Christian? I don't want a pilot, teacher, waitress or neighbor to trap me into a converstion meant to defend my religious believes or try to sway someone else in theirs. As someone said in another thread and mothers have been saying for years - religion and politics are not topics to discuss in polite company.

[Stone Mountain]

This pilot, like any other American, has a God

I don't think so. Modernman, gcruse - you buy this?