History

A little bit of a history lesson:

A long time ago, the followers of Jesus founded a new religion. This new religion had leaders and attempted to follow all of Jesus' teachings as much as possible. But its hard to know exactly what he wants when he's not there in flesh and blood to tell you. Time passed, the Roman Empire split, Christianity was legalized, all other religions were outlawed, great philosophical schools were closed. The people were no longer taught to think for themselves, but believed what they were told to believe. In 754, the pope was given political control of central Italy. This union of religion and state is evidenced by the term "Holy Roman Empire" which encompassed more than just Rome. The pope's decrees became law to the monarchs of Europe. There was one religion, and doubt in that religion led to questioning and torture. Just as in the Salem witch trials, if you didn't like someone, you could accuse them of being a heretic, and they were taken away to bother you no more. Your piety was no longer about a personal belief, but about how popular you were. The more popular, the less your chance of being accused. The church demanded tithes, the kings demanded taxes, and together, the poor became poorer. Church services, which were mandatory, were done in Latin, and those who couldn't understand Latin just had to take it on faith that the Bible actually said what they thought it said.

In the late 1300s, John Wycliff, a scholar at Oxford University, read the Bible in Latin and came to the conclusion that it should be read by all people in their own language. Because he believed that the government (and not the church) should have control over affairs of the state, he received the protection of John of Gaunt, who was seeking to gain power over the young King Richard II. (There was a power struggle in the English court, in addition to the power struggle occurring between the two popes each claiming the other was a fraud.) He translated the Bible into English, and came to the conclusion that the traditional laws of the church are not as important as the laws laid out in the Bible, and that salvation comes through faith and not through any action or price we can give to the church.

In 1517, Martin Luther said pretty much the same thing, except in more detail. These two men started movements that would lead to the nearly global idea now, that people are free to choose their own religions. People are now equipped with the knowledge of the tenets of many varying beliefs, and possess an understanding of the (spiritual, and/or physical) repercussions of choosing one belief over another. The battles that were fought, and the people that were killed in order to establish and preserve this freedom for the people of today are just as important as the people who died in battle to establish the freedoms of democracy.

So when I tell you my beliefs, it is because I have exercised this wonderful freedom, and have chosen my religion. Your attempt to convince me I am wrong is just as threatening to me as Wycliff was to the foundations of the Catholic church.

EDIT: The title of this post is called "History" for 2 reasons. In the first, it is because the post is about historical events. Secondly, the idea for this post occurred so long ago in my own history that I am only able to recall the rumbling threat to my beliefs, and not the details of the incident. So, in answer to your question, no, I cannot explain.