@JGoldman10,
Oh, look at me ...
I said I probably wouldn't post in JGoldman's threads anymore, but just a few minutes later here I am about to do precisely that. But he addressed his question to me.
JGoldman10, no, Ossobuco is not a Christian; but that is beside the point. I may not understand how Ossobuco's religious beliefs figure in the way you react towards other people. (As a matter of fact, I'm not sure exactly why you're asking this question in the first place.) All that I was saying was that Ossobuco defended you and that you should have shown a little gratitude to her for sticking up for you. The fact that she is not a Christian is beside the point here. By complimenting her, you would in no way be compromising your own religious convictions one bit or condoning any view of hers that you thought was wrong. Just because you compliment someone on a particular point doesn't mean that you endorse everything else they stand for. Don't know if that makes any sense.
I'm probably talking too much, but I'll also say this. Perhaps this might help: Before the Communist Party fell from power in the former Soviet Union, there was an eminent physicist named Andrei Sakharov who had become an outspoken human rights activist. Even though he was an atheist, he vigorously condemned the government of his own country for persecuting believers, people whose faith he did not share. I certainly wasn't an atheist, but I thought his defense of believers reflected
noble character on his part. Like many other people, I held Sakharov in high regard (who truly was one of the heroes of the second half of the 20th century), but that didn't mean I agreed with atheism.
There, I've probably just made myself look like an idiot by blathering ...