- Jun 30, 2015
- 1,470
- 1,509
- Country
- United States
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- Non-Denom
- Marital Status
- Single
I am no stranger to online forums; I have been a member of at least a dozen forums over the years; all of them gun or vehicle forums. The first one I joined was in 2000 and was a gun forum with about 5k members. I stayed there until last week. It grew to over 100k members and featured forums on everything from religion to survival preparedness.
I visited that forum nearly every day for 15 years to discuss firearms, vehicle choices, movies, social issues, personal issues, etc, etc. I had over 22k posts.
However, I noticed an alarming trend the last couple of years; social conservatives/Christians and their views were increasingly unpopular. The owner of the site was a Republican/Libertarian but not a Christian. He said he wanted a family friendly site and he and his moderators were quick to delete inappropriate images or discussions. Profanity was blocked and it was a site that I, as a Christian, was not ashamed to be a part of and one that I was confident promoting to fellow Believers and gun enthusiasts.
That began changing the last few years or so... A thread would be started concerning gay rights, abortion, or a similar hot button topic and those that expressed a Biblical world view were attacked by other members. Previously, such behavior would have been discouraged through infractions, warnings, and other members expressing condemnations for such distasteful comments.
Now, you can say any disgusting, disrespectful, hateful, evil thing you want to say about another member and their Christian beliefs.
It is quite shocking to witness such vitriol being spewed towards Christians and God by people who consider themselves conservative.
I stayed there to try and witness as best I could and engage others in meaningful debate. It was a lost cause...
The final straw was a thread that was started regarding the recent supreme court ruling on gay marriage. 15 pages of replies and only a couple that were disapproving of the ruling. Those replies were met with vicious personal attacks on the poster and their Christian beliefs. I had enough and canceled my account after 15 years...
So, I went searching for an online forum where I could profess my faith in Christ without fear of personal attacks. I am looking for a place where I can discuss guns, cars, movies, home improvement, fishing, hunting, etc with others that share my faith in Christ.
I'm a 46 year old white male who lives on the Idaho/Washington border in a small town.
I was married for 20 years to a wonderful woman who I raised two great kids with. She met an old high school boyfriend on Facebook and left me for him... Yeah...
So, I've been divorced for a couple of years, relocated from AZ up to Idaho where I grew up, and am slowly rebuilding my life.
I'm former military, law enforcement, and have a lot of great stories. My son is 22 and a believer in the Seattle area. My daughter is 21 and married to a great kid in the Air Force. My first grand child was born in March.
I go to a non-denominational little church in a great little town. I love my life, as humble as it has turned out to be, and am convinced we are now living in the End Times.
I want to connect with other Believers to prepare spiritually and physically for the battle ahead...
I visited that forum nearly every day for 15 years to discuss firearms, vehicle choices, movies, social issues, personal issues, etc, etc. I had over 22k posts.
However, I noticed an alarming trend the last couple of years; social conservatives/Christians and their views were increasingly unpopular. The owner of the site was a Republican/Libertarian but not a Christian. He said he wanted a family friendly site and he and his moderators were quick to delete inappropriate images or discussions. Profanity was blocked and it was a site that I, as a Christian, was not ashamed to be a part of and one that I was confident promoting to fellow Believers and gun enthusiasts.
That began changing the last few years or so... A thread would be started concerning gay rights, abortion, or a similar hot button topic and those that expressed a Biblical world view were attacked by other members. Previously, such behavior would have been discouraged through infractions, warnings, and other members expressing condemnations for such distasteful comments.
Now, you can say any disgusting, disrespectful, hateful, evil thing you want to say about another member and their Christian beliefs.
It is quite shocking to witness such vitriol being spewed towards Christians and God by people who consider themselves conservative.
I stayed there to try and witness as best I could and engage others in meaningful debate. It was a lost cause...
The final straw was a thread that was started regarding the recent supreme court ruling on gay marriage. 15 pages of replies and only a couple that were disapproving of the ruling. Those replies were met with vicious personal attacks on the poster and their Christian beliefs. I had enough and canceled my account after 15 years...
So, I went searching for an online forum where I could profess my faith in Christ without fear of personal attacks. I am looking for a place where I can discuss guns, cars, movies, home improvement, fishing, hunting, etc with others that share my faith in Christ.
I'm a 46 year old white male who lives on the Idaho/Washington border in a small town.
I was married for 20 years to a wonderful woman who I raised two great kids with. She met an old high school boyfriend on Facebook and left me for him... Yeah...
So, I've been divorced for a couple of years, relocated from AZ up to Idaho where I grew up, and am slowly rebuilding my life.
I'm former military, law enforcement, and have a lot of great stories. My son is 22 and a believer in the Seattle area. My daughter is 21 and married to a great kid in the Air Force. My first grand child was born in March.
I go to a non-denominational little church in a great little town. I love my life, as humble as it has turned out to be, and am convinced we are now living in the End Times.
I want to connect with other Believers to prepare spiritually and physically for the battle ahead...
