We all know that if atheists get into a debate with Christians it will eventually boil down to this: we're more moral, no we are, but evolution sucks, no it doesn't, yes it does, there is all this evidence for it, yeah but you'll burn in Hell, no we won't... etc. We are diametrically opposed in our opinions and beliefs. We will never agree, but we still argue our corner because we feel we're right and the alternative is wrong.

So why don't you ever see debates with Christians forcing their beliefs onto other Christians? Of course what I mean is other Christians who, okay, believe in God and Jesus, but don't believe in all the things that some other Christian denominations do.

Let's take the classic examples: the age of the Earth, the Flood story, and Hell. And, why not, let's add in evolution for good measure.

When was the last time you saw, heard about, or read, an article where a Christian attacked the views of someone who believes in the literal, 6-day creation story, and that the Earth is only 6000 years old? Many Christians, indeed most Christians don't believe that this is how our planet and our universe came about. Plenty of fundies will insist that this is true, and plenty of atheists will say it's not. But I've never seen a debate where 'moderate' Christians put themselves forward and said 'well actually, I'm a Christian and I think that you, Mr Fundie, are dead wrong about that.'

The Flood story. Nobody believes the Flood story, or at least nobody should take it as a credible, literal story of a world-wide deluge, coupled with a rescue plan for every species on the planet. It's a folk tale. It simply cannot be true. But how many Christians do you see complaining about the stupidity of the Creationist Museum and their portrayal of the Flood, and their insistence that dinosaurs went onto the ark? The majority of Christians don't believe that, so why don't they speak out and say so?

Hell is something that most Christians probably believe in, but which version of Hell are we talking about here? Is Hell a cold place or a hot place? Are you burned forever in flames, or are you merely 'separated from God'? Plenty of Christians disagree with the fundamentalists, who say that you have practically no chance at all of escaping the fire unless you sing to Jesus 10 times a day and wave your hands in the air like you just don't care. So it's not just what Hell is that is different, it's how you get there, or indeed avoid getting there.

And as for evolution, well the Pope believes in evolution, and a billion Catholics can't be wrong can they? Actually, thousands of Baptists might not share that view. But even if they say they disagree, will anyone high up in the Catholic Church stand up and declare, 'Baptists (and assorted others), you are wrong, and because you are wrong you cannot be truly Christian'?

The answer is no, and it's the same answer to all of these questions. Few Christians will go on record to denounce the differing beliefs of other Christians. But why not?

Here's why: most Christians, like most atheists, just want a quiet life. They want to believe what they want, pray how they want, worship how they want, without getting into the bitter fighting which creates the 'atheist versus Christian' headlines. Most Christians are okay with other Christians... the belief in Jesus and God is all that matters and so long as you're not one of them there atheist low-lifes, you can just get on with it. Yes, they will lay into you if you're an atheist. They will condemn you, tell you you're immoral, criticise you for not believing in their one true God. But if you do believe in God, that's okay. The details are not important.

Surely this is a ridiculous position to take. If you are someone who will look down your nose at an atheist, shouldn't you also be deriding Christians who choose to believe that certain sections of the Bible don't apply, or should be interpreted differently? If two Christians believe in different things, then at least one of those Christians is wrong. One (or both) of those Christians has put their faith in something and that faith is misplaced, and of course each believe it is the other one who is in the wrong. Shouldn't they be chastising each other for being so wrong, for going against some of the teachings of the Bible?

Look up 'places of worship' in your local yellow pages and see how many different types of church you can find. The reason there are so many different denominations is that they all worship differently, all believe slightly, or sometimes radically, different things. But there are no books by Baptists called 'The Methodist Delusion', no 'Lutheranism Is Not Great' written by disgruntled Presbyterians. None of that. In general, Christians of different denominations, with a broad spectrum of beliefs, go about their business and get along just fine.

So why is there such a huge conflict between atheists and Christians, when in fact there are so many different versions of Christianity that they should all be telling each other 'we're right and you're wrong'? By definition, at best all but one of the many denominations of Christianity cannot be correct. If this is the case, why criticise atheists for not believing, when most other Christians don't believe every passage in the Bible means the same thing to every Christian?

Fundies, if you want to pick an argument please tell other Christians that they aren't actually real Christians. Oh that's right, they already do. This article does not apply to fundamentalists. Those nut-jobs will pick a fight with anybody. As will atheists of course, but with good reason - we have religion rammed down our throats all the time by Christian do-gooders who won't leave us alone and can't work out that we just don't want to know. Atheists are trying to stop religion being forced onto us.

We'd all be a lot happier if religion was less intrusive into other people's lives. If the early-morning God Squad stopped knocking on the door, we wouldn't complain. By contrast, when was the last time an atheist approached you, or came to your house uninvited, and offered to share a message of non-belief with you?

If people want 'no sex before marriage' that's fine, but we don't want them pushing that belief onto those who don't go to their church. And atheists would stop criticising religion if the religious stopped criticising us for not believing it. But meanwhile, we'd all appreciate some fair play here. Christians, please go to one of the other churches in your area, fling open the doors, and tell everyone inside that they are wrong to believe what they do. When you realise why this is exactly analogous to telling atheists we are wrong to believe what we do, maybe you'll understand why atheists have to constantly defend our position, when all we really want to do is live and let live and completely ignore any and all religions.