If not A, then B?

Sometimes the logical leaps people make can be galling. Walking down Boylston Street to Massachusetts Avenue yesterday, I was approached by someone looking for donations to a gospel choir. When I said I was "not particularly interested" in Gospel music, the person accosted me with the absurd response: "So you don't believe in God, then." To which my in-a-hurry brain could only come up with the retort "I believe in God; I'm just not Christian."

I have to admit that the particular leap was infuriating. However, I was more astonished that somebody would have the absurd notion that just because someone doesn't like gospel music, such person is "Godless." Did the man who accosted me not hear of Islam and Judaism? Did he not understand that not everyone believes that "Jesus died for our sins" and that some of us believe in a stricter form of monotheism than Christianity? More importantly, implying that someone doesn't believe in God, according to my own faith, is a major no-no. Faith is strictly between the individual and God, and it's not for mere humans to judge each other as to how devout we are.

Had I had more time to think about it, I'm sure I could have come up with something more witty, but my desire not to miss the No. 1 bus to Harvard Square won out over my desire for the ideal retort.