Pros and cons of religous forums

danbuter · Dec 25, 2018

I am positive there are atheists on every Christian forum who pretend to be Christian, and subtly (or not so subtly) try to convince people that Christianity is bad. Sadly, many moderators let them get away with it.

The biggest issue this forum faces is allowing normal political threads. If anything can engender anger and hatred, it's that.

Jane_the_Bane · Dec 26, 2018

cloudyday2 said:
How does the current apologetics sub-forum measure-up?

It's a sad joke.

dlamberth · Dec 26, 2018

yeshuaslavejeff said:
No. Light (Truth, Jesus Messiah) and darkness have nothing in common.
nothing at all.
Jesus Says: Whoever rejects the Light, rejects the Father (God) , and there is no truth in them. They are full of darkness.
Jesus Says: Whoever rejects My Word, rejects Me, and has already rejected My Father in heaven.

I'm just not encumbered with such a limited access to God as you.

dlamberth · Dec 26, 2018

cloudyday2 said:
How does the current apologetics sub-forum measure-up?

Pretty poorly actually.

Hearingheart · Dec 26, 2018

dlamberth said:
Pretty poorly actually.

Is this because of the limitations and boundaries put on debate and dialogue?

Hearingheart · Dec 26, 2018

cloudyday2 said:
For me it seems that religious forums make me more cynical and atheistic. I'm not certain why this happens.

Anybody else experience this or maybe the opposite? Why do you think this happens?

I came to this forum years ago, took and break and then came back with a new perspective on life and questions about the faith I grew up in.

I read a lot more than I post, and at times get answers to questions by private messaging certain members but overall it's difficult to get real answers on this forum without the thread being inundated with the narrow fundamentalist mindset and people getting offended and angry. So I've learned who to ignore and those whose opinion I value.

I've come to the conclusion that Truth is not limited to one religion or belief system and this concept of a Creator/Spirit is not limited by the constrains of our intellect/mind.

Peace

Teamo · Dec 26, 2018

Hearingheart said:
So I've learned who to ignore and those whose opinion I value.

A few years ago I prided myself on never using the ignore feature, I used to think it was a sign of weakness on my part, but now I find that the ignore feature is the only way I can visit an internet forum (of any subject, not just religion) and enjoy my time there.

Jane_the_Bane · Dec 26, 2018

Hearingheart said:
Is this because of the limitations and boundaries put on debate and dialogue?

Have a guess.
Imagine if atheists or non-Christians told you you are free to discuss any topic with them - but after the initial post, no other Christian apart from you may add to the discussion, and your further replies must only consist of questions to "clarify points that remained unclear".

It's insulting, patronizing, and a total joke - but I guess it makes the participating Christians feel like they are "winning" (as if that was what debates are about).

I can see why a certain set of Christian members complained about GA and actively campaigned for its destruction. It's the same mindset that makes Trump and his followers complain about "fake news" when reporters do their job.

Hearingheart · Dec 26, 2018

Teamo said:
A few years ago I prided myself on never using the ignore feature, I used to think it was a sign of weakness on my part, but now I find that the ignore feature is the only way I can visit an internet forum (of any subject, not just religion) and enjoy my time there.

I didn't say I used the ignore feature, sorry if you misunderstood. It's simply a matter of knowing how some respond and choose not to go round and round with them.

Teamo · Dec 26, 2018

Hearingheart said:
I didn't say I used the ignore feature, sorry if you misunderstood. It's simply a matter of knowing how some respond and choose not to go round and round with them.

No, I understand. I'm just saying for me, I don't want to read every person's post in a thread any more, so I use the ignore feature. That way it's like they aren't even there. So nowadays if someone posts something I think is nasty, I put them on ignore.

In real life, I stick earplugs or earbuds in my ears if I can't escape the presence of someone who only wants to get under peoples' skin.

Hearingheart · Dec 26, 2018

Jane_the_Bane said:
Have a guess.
Imagine if atheists or non-Christians told you you are free to discuss any topic with them - but after the initial post, no other Christian apart from you may add to the discussion, and your further replies must only consist of questions to "clarify points that remained unclear".

It's insulting, patronizing, and a total joke - but I guess it makes the participating Christians feel like they are "winning" (as if that was what debates are about).

I can see why a certain set of Christian members complained about GA and actively campaigned for its destruction. It's the same mindset that makes Trump and his followers complain about "fake news" when reporters do their job.

I wasn't on here when it changed so don't know what it was like, but have seen the imbalance. Thanks for your input.

dlamberth · Dec 26, 2018

Hearingheart said:
Is this because of the limitations and boundaries put on debate and dialogue?

That, along with the greatly reduced number of participants as a result.

Teamo · Dec 26, 2018

It seems like there aren't very many Christian forums around, or at least I don't see that many on a google search. The ones I've checked out, I've found to be too shrill to bother to even read. I feel like a few years ago I could go to various different religion forums that aren't there any more. I've been reading Christianforums.com for years but I only recently signed up.

cloudyday2 · Dec 26, 2018

danbuter said:
I am positive there are atheists on every Christian forum who pretend to be Christian, and subtly (or not so subtly) try to convince people that Christianity is bad. Sadly, many moderators let them get away with it.

The biggest issue this forum faces is allowing normal political threads. If anything can engender anger and hatred, it's that.

I have also wondered if some of the avatars labeled as Christian are actually trolls mocking Christianity. I am not referring to the fundamentalist members, but there are some Christians who write things I can't decide if they are actually serious. I have even wondered if they might be spies using this forum to send coded messages. LOL ... I suppose that is unlikely.

Robban · Dec 26, 2018

cloudyday2 said:
I have also wondered if some of the avatars labeled as Christian are actually trolls mocking Christianity. I am not referring to the fundamentalist members, but there are some Christians who write things I can't decide if they are actually serious. I have even wondered if they might be spies using this forum to send coded messages. LOL ... I suppose that is unlikely.

cloudyday2 · Dec 26, 2018

Jane_the_Bane said:
Have a guess.
Imagine if atheists or non-Christians told you you are free to discuss any topic with them - but after the initial post, no other Christian apart from you may add to the discussion, and your further replies must only consist of questions to "clarify points that remained unclear".

I might be mistaken, but I think you are describing the rules for "Exploring Christianity" rather than "Christian Apologetics". I don't spend much time in the apologetics sub-forum, but it is only because I don't like philosophy. I prefer evidence of any kind - even subjective evidence. I don't trust my reasoning enough to have any trust in philosophy.

Zoness · Dec 26, 2018

The other issue if you're a non Christian, you're not allowed to proslytize which is a reasonable rule on it's face. However it's definition is pretty broad, and can be applied at you if you're found to be winning arguments and going on the offensive.

So when people come in here and say you're worshipping Satan if you're pagan but you question the nature of their deity, you're the one found in contempt of the rules. That's why it's best to just take a light touch approach to those posters and avoid them since too much engagement can get you into trouble.

cloudyday2 · Dec 26, 2018

Zoness said:
The other issue if you're a non Christian, you're not allowed to proslytize which is a reasonable rule on it's face. However it's definition is pretty broad, and can be applied at you if you're found to be winning arguments and going on the offensive.

So when people come in here and say you're worshipping Satan if you're pagan but you question the nature of their deity, you're the one found in contempt of the rules. That's why it's best to just take a light touch approach to those posters and avoid them since too much engagement can get you into trouble.

The rule that often trips me up is the rule against blasphemy. I can't remember the specifics of the blasphemy rule, but I remember that it seemed very broad.

jacknife · Dec 26, 2018

Zoness said:
The other issue if you're a non Christian, you're not allowed to proslytize which is a reasonable rule on it's face. However it's definition is pretty broad, and can be applied at you if you're found to be winning arguments and going on the offensive.

So when people come in here and say you're worshipping Satan if you're pagan but you question the nature of their deity, you're the one found in contempt of the rules. That's why it's best to just take a light touch approach to those posters and avoid them since too much engagement can get you into trouble.

They used it to. Close down all of our "ask a (insert belief here) threads." They even used it on my ask an agnostic atheist thread and I'm not even sure any atheist really sets out to deconvert people. People sort of just deconvert as they gain more information.

danny ski · Dec 26, 2018

cloudyday2 said:
The rule that often trips me up is the rule against blasphemy. I can't remember the specifics of the blasphemy rule, but I remember that it seemed very broad.

LOL!!! In the thread in this subforum: why Jews reject Jesus- I stated the most obvious reason from the Jewish pov. The post was, of course, removed due to complaint from another poster. It was judged to be blasphemous. You can't make this stuff up.

Pros and cons of religous forums

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