I’m not an anti-religious person. I’m definitely not an atheist, or even an agnostic. I think there’s a God, and I think he (or she?) is up there, writing clever songs that misuse words like Ironic and working daily to thwart plans by the devil (who was often disguised as girls I’d date.) In any case, I believe that God has his hands full just pulling the levers and pushing the buttons that make the world go around. It’s a big job keeping this rock spinning in the right direction. God sure as heck doesn’t have time to bless your favorite sports team, help you on your exam or keep you safe on an airplane.

Which brings me to a ridiculously annoying letter that appeared in the Muskegon Chronicle yesterday.

Letter: Why didn’t flight crew mention God?

Dena Malda, Muskegon
On the Feb. 8 “60 Minutes” program, we were captivated while viewing the Katie Couric interview of the crew and passengers of Flight 1549.

However, we were struck there was not one mention of God, who directs pilots of planes and secures the safety of passengers.We have written CBS and asked them for more realistic programming. Help protect our freedoms. Write CBS about this.

I fly a lot, and the last time I checked, completely human, fallible air traffic controllers direct pilots and TSA officers control our safety. God may have created the people, but we built the institutions, developed the technology and are in control of the day-to-day situations that help us land planes safely and keep the people on them safe.

As a person of faith, I believe there is a God out there somewhere who got the ball rolling. Perhaps he was the one who nudged those first fish out of the water and got this whole evolution thing cracking. Who knows? Certainly not me. Of course there are people who believe there was an Adam and Eve and snake and garden and blah blah blah. I don’t buy it, but that shouldn’t make me any less of a person. Shouldn’t it be all right that I believe the Bible isn’t a history book, but rather a compilation of tales of morality aimed at helping us live righteous lives? Shouldn’t it be all right that my views on matters of faith are different than yours?

Of course, I know that most people of Christian faith fall somewhere between Mrs. Malda’s and mine, and that’s all right. One of the things that has made this country such an groundbreaking event in the history of man is that we live in such a heterogeneous society, one of many colors, traditions and faiths, and yet we’ve been able to hold it together for more than 200 years.

Yet the cohesiveness we feel in spite of our differences isn’t good enough for people like Ms. Malda. She has no idea what Captain Sullenberger and his crew — whom Ms. Malda references in her letter — believe. And yet, she wants them to get up in front of a national television audience and make proclamations of faith based on what she believes is a realistic view of the world around her. Of course, we should mention that more than likely (and this is pure speculation) that a Christian God ‚ and only a Christian God, would do. I’m sure one of the crew members talking about Muhammad or Buddha or his Holiness the FSM would be as bad, if not worse, than no mention of God at all.

She asks for more “realistic programming,” but doesn’t one presume that in a pluralistic society such as ours, that programming reflecting a realistic point of view would include some shows that would be completely devoid of mentions of faith, just like many people in this country’s lives are devoid of faith? Of course this point is probably too deep for Ms. Malda.

Now don’t get me wrong, I’m not opposed to people proselytizing, spreading the “good word” as it were. I don’t see it as any different me being really pleased with a restaurant or my Blackberry and telling you about it. That said, shouldn’t it be my prerogative to say “thanks, but no thanks”?

The problem is, that’s not good enough for people like Ms. Malda. They feel as if it is their God-given mission to convert you, not matter how badly you don’t want to be converted. I wish, when Jesus told the Disciples to be “fishers of men,” that he also said, “but if they don’t want to be dragged up onto the boat, leave them with the bait but let them off the hook. Someday, they may change their minds.”

In other words, Ms. Malda is free to tell me about her God all she wants, I may change my mind and decide that Jesus did, in fact, ride around on a velociraptor. But like the story Ms. Malda is sure to tell you, she had to come to God when it was her time. I just wish that people like her would remember that when they’re trying to push their beliefs on the rest of us.

We live in a free society and we are all endowed with certain inalienable rights, including the freedom of religion. It’s gone too far, though. Sometimes people have to recognize that freedom of religion also means freedom from religion, should we so choose.