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This, indeed. I have posted on a few occasions but it's rare.
For almost a decade, I've refrained from posting in the Christianity forum. As long as the Christians respected the A&A forum, I made up my mind not to stir the pot over on their forum.
HOWEVER
Since most of them have become the theocratic fascists I knew they were by ensuring atheists were no longer allowed to post in the main R&S forum, I just might start sewing my usual chaos over there. Especially since I've seen *some* Christians come to this forum and start laying down rules - I don't mind Christians coming here to talk on the subject. But if they're going to start being bossy here, I'll pounce on them faster than a cat with catnip.
But as I said - because they've chased the atheists away from the main forum with their constant whining of why atheists are allowed to post there and how we shouldn't be there at all and boo-effing-hoo as they pull out their very well-worn Christian Persecution Card and all the rest of it - but - then I stop and think whether I want to even bother with this any more.
For almost a decade, I've refrained from posting in the Christianity forum. As long as the Christians respected the A&A forum, I made up my mind not to stir the pot over on their forum.
HOWEVER
Since most of them have become the theocratic fascists I knew they were by ensuring atheists were no longer allowed to post in the main R&S forum, I just might start sewing my usual chaos over there. Especially since I've seen *some* Christians come to this forum and start laying down rules - I don't mind Christians coming here to talk on the subject. But if they're going to start being bossy here, I'll pounce on them faster than a cat with catnip.
But as I said - because they've chased the atheists away from the main forum with their constant whining of why atheists are allowed to post there and how we shouldn't be there at all and boo-effing-hoo as they pull out their very well-worn Christian Persecution Card and all the rest of it - but - then I stop and think whether I want to even bother with this any more.
99.99% of the time - I don't bother.
I have slightly different reasons for not bothering.
Because I was once a fundagelical, I can speak with greater knowledge of some topics than some Christians. I therefore have, from time to time, kept them on their toes with a few pointed observations using their own theology to demonstrate their lack of ... shall we say, commitment to actual facts.
However in recent months -- maybe the past six -- it seem that the number of topics over there that have any grounding in actual theological or doctrinal questions, has dwindled down to almost nothing. The quality is in the toilet for some reason.
How do you even respond to a post that starts out "what do you think about [insert some whack-a-doodle concept here, like whether some of the people you meet are actually angels]"? I mean no one is debating against Christian orthodoxy or even really Christian fringe thinking, it is just the spouting of random ideas and making stuff up about them.
Aside from not knowing how to even engage with such things, frankly it is just boring. The banality of the non-thinking over there is just ... IDK, it is just a weird new age echo chamber with Christian overtones.
For awhile there were a couple of evangelical firebrands in there, preaching hellfire and judgment, and they were fun chew toys, but ... those guys always drift away after awhile because even they get tired of not getting much traction, and no one really liking them.
The list of topics over there right now is just dullsville and rehashing the same stuff over and over. So ... apart from glancing at it now and again, I no longer spend any time on it.
I have slightly different reasons for not bothering.
Because I was once a fundagelical, I can speak with greater knowledge of some topics than some Christians. I therefore have, from time to time, kept them on their toes with a few pointed observations using their own theology to demonstrate their lack of ... shall we say, commitment to actual facts.
However in recent months -- maybe the past six -- it seem that the number of topics over there that have any grounding in actual theological or doctrinal questions, has dwindled down to almost nothing. The quality is in the toilet for some reason.
How do you even respond to a post that starts out "what do you think about [insert some whack-a-doodle concept here, like whether some of the people you meet are actually angels]"? I mean no one is debating against Christian orthodoxy or even really Christian fringe thinking, it is just the spouting of random ideas and making stuff up about them.
Aside from not knowing how to even engage with such things, frankly it is just boring. The banality of the non-thinking over there is just ... IDK, it is just a weird new age echo chamber with Christian overtones.
For awhile there were a couple of evangelical firebrands in there, preaching hellfire and judgment, and they were fun chew toys, but ... those guys always drift away after awhile because even they get tired of not getting much traction, and no one really liking them.
The list of topics over there right now is just dullsville and rehashing the same stuff over and over. So ... apart from glancing at it now and again, I no longer spend any time on it.
I used to really let the Christians have it before the rules changed. In fact, it's possible it was my threads that got the atheists banned in there. I don't even think I could revive one of my old threads in there, at best it'd get locked almost immediately.
I used to really let the Christians have it before the rules changed. In fact, it's possible it was my threads that got the atheists banned in there. I don't even think I could revive one of my old threads in there, at best it'd get locked almost immediately.
I don't recall atheists being banned in the Christianity forum. I have been able to post without objections. When did this happen?
I would not want theists banned from this forum, apart at least from some hypothetical red-faced, boundry-less preacher maybe. Because two wrongs wouldn't make a right.
I don't recall atheists being banned in the Christianity forum. I have been able to post without objections. When did this happen?
I would not want theists banned from this forum, apart at least from some hypothetical red-faced, boundry-less preacher maybe. Because two wrongs wouldn't make a right.
I enjoy switching back to believer mode over there and participating with them on sometimes. Usually if I want to make a subtle point about the inconsistency of the Bible I can do so.
It's always amused me that they have the "Perfect Book"...that is "God's word" but they rarely agree on anything in the book besides a few basic fundamentals... and even then you have issues with some fundamentals including "blood atonement", "baptism", "spiritual gifts", "age of accountability" and many other doctrines that are pretty close to the top.
But apparently they have a "purpose" in life...so what they believe must be true. Even if other Christians don't believe it.
I don't recall atheists being banned in the Christianity forum. I have been able to post without objections. When did this happen?
I would not want theists banned from this forum, apart at least from some hypothetical red-faced, boundry-less preacher maybe. Because two wrongs wouldn't make a right.
I use the term "banned" very loosely. What I meant was prior to the rules changing it was okay to challenge the divinity of Christ, hell even his very existence. And you know me when it comes to Jesus being real. I wasn't aware the rules changed and continued posting threads questioning Jesus and got dinged. In fact, looking back at my rap sheet....er, thread history it was the thread below that got me infracted for a week and labeled persona non grata in there.
FYI, everything is part of the physical universe, including your brain, consciousness, and all your mystical new age mumbo jumbo. It's all made of atoms and sub-atomic particles.
Your knowledge is faulty. There are no "particles" just vibratory "events" within the universal field that comprises the quantum substrate of our Reality. Our brain presents things mediated through our sensory system that make it possible for us to function but the configurations of vibratory events we experience are like the icons on a computer screen. They are NOT what is actually there. Just as the icons on a computer screen are not what is in the electrons in the computer. The computer would be useless to us if we had to deal directly with the electrons. So too, reality would be useless to us if we had to deal with what is actually there.
Because I was once a fundagelical, I can speak with greater knowledge of some topics than some Christians. I therefore have, from time to time, kept them on their toes with a few pointed observations using their own theology to demonstrate their lack of ... shall we say, commitment to actual facts.
I was never a fundagelical - just a run-of-the-mill protestant without even a denomination - however, you and I are in the same ballpark here. I used to do the same thing. Especially when trying to show that either Yahweh never existed - or - he was a psychopath and not worthy of worship. My big thing, though, was trying to keep religion out of politics - discussing why having more Christianity was not how to protect ourselves from Islamic Jihadists (since more Christianity would only lead to Christian Jihadists - and creeping theocratic fascism).
Quote:
Originally Posted by mordant
However in recent months -- maybe the past six -- it seem that the number of topics over there that have any grounding in actual theological or doctrinal questions, has dwindled down to almost nothing. The quality is in the toilet for some reason.
Yep, I totally agree. I've noticed a lot of topics read like early Facebook. Remember that? When you were bombarded with questions like: "Which Lord of the Rings character are you?" or "In case of a zombie apolcalypse, what would be your favorite weapon?" And then you'd get around 10 questions and then it would tell you the answer. Then you'd send that crap to your friends - until they told you to stop sending them that crap ... Yep, that's what the R&S forum is like.
Not to mention that if you didn't tiptoe around their religious beliefs and treat them with the utmost respect and reverence, they expected you to leave the forum. They'd report the crap out of your posts hoping to get it deleted - rather than actually defend their bald-religious-assertion-for-which-there-is-absolutely-no-evidence like they used to. Now, they just want to wallow in their woo and they don't want to have to actually think about whether any of it is true. And how "atheists shouldn't even post here - if they don't like religion then they can leave. It's like walking into an orchestra and complaining about the music" (or some nonsense).
Quote:
Originally Posted by mordant
How do you even respond to a post that starts out "what do you think about [insert some whack-a-doodle concept here, like whether some of the people you meet are actually angels]"? I mean no one is debating against Christian orthodoxy or even really Christian fringe thinking, it is just the spouting of random ideas and making stuff up about them.
Even if one wanted to respond to one of these whack-a-doodle topics, they always tried to run you out of town if you dared criticize the reality of what they were saying. They just wanted you to agree with them at the core. You were only allowed to have disagreements on the fringes. Like - you had to agree that everyone was going to wear a blazer. You were only allowed to disagree on whether to wear a handkerchief in the pocket - or a flower. Small, inconsequential stuff. Otherwise, as I said, they'd whine about why you were there at all.
Quote:
Originally Posted by mordant
Aside from not knowing how to even engage with such things, frankly it is just boring. The banality of the non-thinking over there is just ... IDK, it is just a weird new age echo chamber with Christian overtones.
A-haha! Yeah, I couldn't agree more. I've said it before but -- I really miss the good ol' days when I'd get into big tussels with people like Jeffbase - remember that guy? Or Esevious (or whatever his name was) who kept trying to show how Noah's flood could have really happened? How he was saying the dumbest things like how Mt. Everest was a much shorter mountain in Noah's day ... oh my god, those were the days.
Now ... yeah. All I get over on the R&S now is scorn and derision. Oh, I know I really dug into their religious beliefs - but I never outright and deliberately disrespected the person behind the post. I'm sure I accidentally did a time or too - but never on purpose. And I sure as hell never told anyone to go post somewhere else. I took five different hiatuses from posting here lasting various amounts of time from a few months to the better part of a year. And every single time I came back, the very first post I read was some theist whining about why atheists were even posting in the topic at all. Five separate times. In a row.
No debate. No good ol' fashioned knock-down, drag-em-out, claws unsheathed argument. No. Now it has the atmosphere of a quaint dinner party with sushi and quasi-expensive wine - the kind of party where the people involved are pretending to be more than what they are. A few middle-class working stiffs pretending to be middle-upper-leisure-class people who can look down their noses disdainfully at the unwashed masses (i.e. anyone who disagrees with them).
Quote:
Originally Posted by mordant
For awhile there were a couple of evangelical firebrands in there, preaching hellfire and judgment, and they were fun chew toys, but ... those guys always drift away after awhile because even they get tired of not getting much traction, and no one really liking them.
Those guys must've come around while I was on one of my hiatuses because I don't remember any of them. I haven't had a fun chew toy since those days with jeffbase and the like. The new crop of believers just wanted a big echo chamber where they could bask in the glory of god together while quibbling over scripture and doctrinal disputes. But everyone had to believe. Atheists were no longer allowed.
I know this forum lost a lot of people when the moderators decided that no one could talk about politics or science here - even when it pertained directly to religion. Therein was where 99% of the controversies were. What's more, science and politics kept the topics fresh - because there was always something new going on that pertained to religion. Without being allowed to discuss current events, all that's left is the same old debates about whether god exists - and, you know ... meh. And hence a lot of people simply stopped posting on both sides of the fence.
Quote:
Originally Posted by mordant
The list of topics over there right now is just dullsville and rehashing the same stuff over and over. So ... apart from glancing at it now and again, I no longer spend any time on it.
Aww c'mon, mordant! Aren't you interested in knowing which religions believe in demons? Or "hearing" a really nice song? How about some quotes from Hindu teachers? (I must admit, I strongly dislike people who namedrop and do a lot of quoting in their posts - I can't question a Hindu teacher who's been dead for 3,000 years). And how 'bout those earth angels, hmm?
Last edited by Shirina; 04-07-2023 at 02:25 AM..
Reason: Earth angel, earth angel, won't you be mine. And if I post there, the theists will whine ...
I don't recall atheists being banned in the Christianity forum. I have been able to post without objections. When did this happen?
I would not want theists banned from this forum, apart at least from some hypothetical red-faced, boundry-less preacher maybe. Because two wrongs wouldn't make a right.
Well ... I can't speak for Thrillobyte directly ... I don't think atheists were officially banned. Like - when they tried to log in, it wouldn't let them.
But for all intents and purposes, atheists are banned over there. These days, if you post there, they'll either simply ignore you or engage in full-on theocratic fascist mode: "Atheists shouldn't be posting here - this forum is about religion and spirituality, not disbelief" or "Atheists should stay in the A&A forum where they belong!" and so on. That's what happened to me, at any rate.
I also have it on good authority that the theists were routinely reporting my posts trying to get them censored if not deleted altogether. Didn't matter whether I actually broke any forum rules - they were trying to use the moderators to shut me up. I remember a certain theist reported one of my posts for being "off topic." Why? Because there were individual words within my post, taken without any context whatsoever, and reported as being "off topic." For instance, I might say something like, "There was that one televangelist who bamboozled his congregation into buying him a private jet." Then the theist reported that the word "airplane" had nothing to do with religion and therefore my post should be deleted. I am not kidding. One of the old mods told me that (said moderator is no longer here).
This is the kind of petty, pedantic nonsense that I dealt with on that forum. I guess they couldn't or wouldn't challenge me to fair debate, so they cheated using a bag of dirty tricks.
Your knowledge is faulty. There are no "particles" just vibratory "events" within the universal field that comprises the quantum substrate of our Reality.
A valid point, but that does not mean their knowledge is faulty, they may just be speaking from a classical physics point of view.
Quote:
Originally Posted by MysticPhD
Our brain presents things mediated through our sensory system that make it possible for us to function but the configurations of vibratory events we experience are like the icons on a computer screen. They are NOT what is actually there. Just as the icons on a computer screen are not what is in the electrons in the computer. The computer would be useless to us if we had to deal directly with the electrons. So too, reality would be useless to us if we had to deal with what is actually there.
Yet you object when we point this illusion out.
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