Well mates. Looking around the forum I've gotten... sick of this constant war that we have to fight every day, believers vs. nonbelievers. You all know what I mean: those who will give us no lee-way to discuss our beliefs here without posting "your beliefs are crap" Notice that this only happens in the Christian forums. Atheists, it seems, only come to this forum. No one is over in Hinduism trying to disprove the existence of Brahma. No one is over in Islam, or Judaism, or Buddhism doing what they do here. You have the atheist forum. Christians aren't invading it trying to convert people. Go there if you don't believe in God; I don't see it necessary to parade your beliefs around here.
honestly, im not trying to sound malicious, or put-downy, but i think you'll just have to deall with it... i got sick of it a month or two ago [i remember it being way worse over the summer, telling people they were from the anti-christ and all ]...but yeah, i freaked out, used some strong language, and then i got over with it, and accepted the Christain Forum as is...everynow and then it goes through a bad streak, but it goes through just as many nice ones... so yeah, i hope you can enjoy your stay
I sort of agree. I think that it is a great thing to debate over faith. Frequently the debates here do disintegrate from the start when people come on and just insult each other (I've seen Christians and atheists on here do it.) I do agree that the atheists tend to hover round the Christianity forum. Perhaps it is because in numbers, Christianity is probably the dominant American religion...not that this is right or wrong... Secondly, I'm one to think that you don't argue about something unless you care about it. I personally think atheists are closer to becoming believers than agnostics...Agnostics are exploring and aren't quite sure, but atheists have come to this decision that God does not exist, and seem to work very hard to prove this. Thirdly, on that subject, and perhaps this deserves a separate thread, I don't think that my place as a theologian is in the realm of politics, science, etc. So it's really not logical for me to try to scientifically prove God's existence, and I don't think logical for atheists to try to disprove God's existence using scientific arguments. Certainly your faith can influence your political and scientific philosophies, but trying to prove a theological point using scientific tools is fruitless, just like talking about creation or intelligent design in a class about evolution is not logical. It's like trying to mate an elephant and a tiger. We have two worlds going on here. Yea..I'm making this last subject into a new thread...
To expand on what Mollybloom said; unlike any of the other religions you mentioned christianity is an integral part of mainstream western society (historically, culturally, politically) and whether you're a believer or not if you're a member of western society you're forced to deal with it-- on a daily basis from birth-- and therefore entitled to have an opinion about it. This isn't supposed to be a place exclusively for believers in christianity to get together. It's not a church, it's a forum; it's where people go to discuss something. and it's not "the christian's forum" it's the christianity forum; it's where people go to discuss christianity. Personally at this point I'm indifferent to the theology but I'm still interested in it as a cultural/historical phenomenon.
Buddhists and Jews leave others alone. There's no Buddhist in the White House banging on about Buddha and how anyone who doesn't believe in him isn't a real citizen.
i don't worry about the satanists who come here to bug us... i know in time, god is gonna fuck em up good
76.5% (159 million) of Americans identify themselves as Christian. This is a major slide from 86.2% in 1990. Identification with Christianity has suffered a loss of 9.7 percentage points in 11 years -- about 0.9 percentage points per year. This decline is identical to that observed in Canada between 1981 and 2001. http://www.religioustolerance.org/chr_prac2.htm 76.5% is still an enormous figure. it seems that the majority of posters on hipforums are westerners, and living amongst the number 76.5% does, for many free thinkers, feel like being the little kid who yelled "But, he's not wearing any clothes!" a person's religion permeates their entire life. likewise, the religious 76.5% of a country will affect the fundamental attitude, outlook, and sensibility of the whole nation. think of life from the little kid's view - people comment on the Emperor's clothes quite naturally every day, his parents, friends, coworkers, and all the time he's thinking, "I don't see it!" love,
note: i never would defend those people who come onto this forum or approach anyone simply to hurl insults. if you can't debate like a grown woman or man, then you're wasting everyone's time and don't deserve respect for your own beliefs. AMEN brother! i've said it before - "Christianity Forum" is not a church, folks.
Maybe it's partly because of things like TV evangelism in America (we don't have it here in the UK) and the political clout of the christian right - When something is forced down people's throats every day, it's only natural that it's going to have an effect opposite to what is intended - ie it's going to put a lot of people off. Esp. when the so called christians who hold powewr are such obvious phonies, with their money and their oil wars etc. Perhaps one reason people don't try to disprove the existence of other religions so much is because they don't actually know anything about them?
That's about my take on it as well. I have an interest in western sociology and christianity is a large part of it. I was also educated in a baptist school and am very knowledgeable of the bible from an evangelical (and literalist) perspective so I like to contribute on that end, because I personally think it is a socially damaging biblical point of view. If I can I like to help encourage open-mindedness in anyone, maybe add a new perspective to their point of view. I'm sure every person on this board is affected by christianity, even if they do not participate in the religion itself. I know from past experience that living as an unbeliever in a predominately christian society can be aggrivating occasionally (sometimes frequently!) and I'm sure people come here to blow off steam or say those things you really wanted to say to your boss or teacher or family member who was preaching at you.
RE: When something is forced down people's throats every day, it's only natural that it's going to have an effect opposite to what is intended - ie it's going to put a lot of people off. Esp. when the so called christians who hold powewr are such obvious phonies, with their money and their oil wars etc. Well hell look at Norway where taxes fund churches and you're forced to pay for it whether you believe or not. That's why they burn em.
I do think Christians are viciously attacked here, often plain insults with no evidence of intelligent or fair debating skills, but I think this is abating somewhat. I'm all for atheists debating here. I just won't play if they don't play fair by starting with the insults. Likewise, I am sad to see Christians say things like "Well, I don't care if you disagree. You're gonna rot in hell anyway." That's not the Christian message of love...or seeing God in the other...AT ALL.
