Normal?

[PetLuv]

I have been a member at a number of different forums, but I have never had so many go out of their way to tell me something insulting as I experience here.

Now, I am a bit sick and fighting off a fever at the moment, but my question is: how proud should I be?
I mean, if I am really so awful that a large number of devoted Christians divert from their normal course of life to insult me, I think I have something to be proud of. Right?

So I am ready to be proud of myself, but I figured I should take the time to find out how common this sort of thing actually is around here.
By my experience elsewhere it is rare - and I am a member on a site where you can call people an *MFer*, ect in threads..

So, what say you all - do I get to boast?

 

[Calvinator]

I'm totally lost. Sounds like you are having a hard time though and dealing with undercurrents here that I'm not aware of.



That is all.

 

[PetLuv]

Undercurrents? Is that what you call people IMing others and telling them they are stupid? *lol*

 

[MehGuy]

When I was a Christian, I received a lot of hate here. It was common for 10 people to gang up on me and attack me. Even the people who claimed to be my friends, ended up talking about me and insulting me behind my back.

Part of the reason I was a little nasty to Christians the first 1-2 years I became an atheist. Now, I receive very little hate. People may still hate me just the same, but they don't show it. I also could really care less about their opinions now. I have much more confidence in my intellectual positions now, than I did when I was a Christian.

 

[PetLuv]

When I was a Christian, I received a lot of hate here. It was common for 10 people to gang up on me and attack me. Even the people who claimed to be my friends, ended up talking about me and insulting me behind my back.

Part of the reason I was a little nasty to Christians the first 1-2 years I became an atheist. Now, I receive very little hate. People may still hate me just the same, but they don't show it. I also could really care less about their opinions now. I have much more confidence in my intellectual positions now, than I did when I was a Christian.

Good to know that this is how Christians behave I suppose.
I don't really consider myself a Christian, and this is actually rather funny to me. I just got to wondering how common it was - I thought maybe I could call myself special but I guess not.

 

[Calvinator]

Undercurrents? Is that what you call people IMing others and telling them they are stupid? *lol*

Sorry to hear that. By "undercurrents" I just meant what's hidden in private conversations, private grudges and, apparently, insults given over private channels by those too afraid to be public with it. Every forum has it's cliques and groups - I'm personally not privy because I'm still new and don't know many people here.

 

[MrMoe]

I have been a member at a number of different forums, but I have never had so many go out of their way to tell me something insulting as I experience here.

Now, I am a bit sick and fighting off a fever at the moment, but my question is: how proud should I be?
I mean, if I am really so awful that a large number of devoted Christians divert from their normal course of life to insult me, I think I have something to be proud of. Right?

So I am ready to be proud of myself, but I figured I should take the time to find out how common this sort of thing actually is around here.
By my experience elsewhere it is rare - and I am a member on a site where you can call people an *MFer*, ect in threads..

So, what say you all - do I get to boast?

I've been a member here for a year and I still find it hard to believe stuff like this happens here. Insulting other people is so un-Christ like. You sure they weren't just trolls?

 

[MrMoe]

Can you tell me what they said btw? Rep me if you want!

 

[Amber.ly]

Soooo... you would rather everyone stop Skyping, Facebooking and PMing their insults and gossip and instead do it openly on the forum?



Well, it would be entertaining but highly dangerous. I like the current MO of simply keeping your smack talk between your friends.

I don't know anything about you PetLuv, nor have I heard any negative talk, but I highly doubt their are a "large group of devoted Christians" secretly (or not so secretly) bashing you.

Perhaps a couple of luke warm Christians. But I don't find that so very different than any other place in life, be it online or offline.

 

[Paulie079]

Soooo... you would rather everyone stop Skyping, Facebooking and PMing their insults and gossip and instead do it openly on the forum?



Well, it would be entertaining but highly dangerous. I like the current MO of simply keeping your smack talk between your friends.

I don't know anything about you PetLuv, nor have I heard any negative talk, but I highly doubt their are a "large group of devoted Christians" secretly (or not so secretly) bashing you.

Perhaps a couple of luke warm Christians. But I don't find that so very different than any other place in life, be it online or offline.

Yeah, I would echo this and say that...

1. I've always appreciated your presence and your thoughts here.
2. No matter what religion you choose, there will always be jerks.
3. Everyone thinks they're awesome when they're on the internet. People will say things on the internet that they would never say to you in person because it's simply easier and seemingly less consequential when it's over the internet.
4. You made this thread in the middle of the night, and while I don't mean to discount the frustration you were feeling, life can seem to feel worse than it really is in the middle of the night. Hopefully you feel a little less differently after sleep. Either way, though, I'm sorry you've had to deal with jerks and their insults.

 

[Andres88]

Good to know that this is how Christians behave I suppose.
I don't really consider myself a Christian, and this is actually rather funny to me. I just got to wondering how common it was - I thought maybe I could call myself special but I guess not.

I'm sorry you've been through such an unpleasant experience, but you can't generalize in such a way that you'd put everyone in the same bag.

There are good Christians, and there are bad Christians; just as in every religion (or non-religion, not to exclude anyone). I have been through that, too. Even the people I once considered my close friends in RL, who were Christians, didn't live their faith according to what is obviously required of them. I had been insulted, ignored at times, even forsaken by them quite a number of times. But I moved to a different crowd, and my actual Christian friends are not only in love with God, but also in love with their neighbor.

That's why I wouldn't say that "this is how Christians behave"; if someone is acting in an un-Christlike manner, that's not "how Christians behave", but how a fallen human, who happens to be a Christian, misbehaves.

 

[Sketcher]

This is happening? Have you reported the perps?

 

[Niels]

When I was a Christian, I received a lot of hate here. It was common for 10 people to gang up on me and attack me. Even the people who claimed to be my friends, ended up talking about me and insulting me behind my back.

Part of the reason I was a little nasty to Christians the first 1-2 years I became an atheist. Now, I receive very little hate. People may still hate me just the same, but they don't show it. I also could really care less about their opinions now. I have much more confidence in my intellectual positions now, than I did when I was a Christian.

Rightly or wrongly, I think we have higher expectations of fellow Christians. The bar is set lower for non-believers, so we aren't as surprised when they turn out to be human. Perhaps resulting in less judgment etc.

 

[Strider1002]

Good to know that this is how Christians behave I suppose.

That's not how Christians behave. That's how misguided sociopathic people who call themselves Christians behave.

"Christian" is not a title one gives oneself. It's a description of how someone lives.

 

[Paulie079]

That's not how Christians behave. That's how misguided sociopathic people who call themselves Christians behave.

"Christian" is not a title one gives oneself. It's a description of how someone lives.

I think we need to be cautious of how self-righteous we get, though. It seems like a bit of a jump to call someone who was just being a jerk (especially on the internet) a "misguided sociopath," and I have a feeling that if you consider that there have likely been times when you were a jerk in the past (as I have been many times in the past), you might be slower to resort to calling them something that extreme.

 

[Strider1002]

I think we need to be cautious of how self-righteous we get, though. It seems like a bit of a jump to call someone who was just being a jerk (especially on the internet) a "misguided sociopath," and I have a feeling that if you consider that there have likely been times when you were a jerk in the past (as I have been many times in the past), you might be slower to resort to calling them something that extreme.

When have I been a jerk? (You can PM me if you don't want to derail the thread.)

 

[Amber.ly]

That's not how Christians behave. That's how misguided sociopathic people who call themselves Christians behave.

"Christian" is not a title one gives oneself. It's a description of how someone lives.

My mother will be very upset when I tell her that I'm a sociopath

 

[Strider1002]

My mother will be very upset when I tell her that I'm a sociopath

I'm talking about people who insult other Christians as Petluv and MehGuy have described. I would hope that you're not among them.

 

[Amber.ly]

I'm talking about people who insult other Christians as Petluv and MehGuy have described. I would hope that you're not among them.

I have and I probably will in the future talked negatively about someone behind their back.

Was it hate filled or intended to spread lies about them? Nope.

Was it honestly how I perceived them? Yes.

Is it wrong to speak negatively about someone else? I would guess the majority of the time the answer would be yes. But I'm not going to discount the fact that you can have a conversation about a person's failings without bashing them. Or in most cases when I talked with CFers about other CFers, it was a warning or someone giving me a heads up on the dangers of that person.

And yes, I've insulted other Christians, both here and offline. Its part of not being perfect and failing to be what Jesus commanded. I'm not proud of it but I won't try to hide or deny it either.

 

[Paulie079]

When have I been a jerk? (You can PM me if you don't want to derail the thread.)

Oh no no, I wasn't saying that I've ever seen you be a jerk. I've always enjoyed you posting here. I'm just saying that if you're honest with yourself, you've probably been a jerk to somebody in the past.