Guest end3 Posted February 26, 2015 Share Posted February 26, 2015 Cat, BAA can answer for himself, but I will say that we often continue hopeless discussions with the True Believers of this or that whacked belief because other, often unseen, readers can benefit from it. I know this to be a fact. I like to give the readers more credit. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Furball Posted February 26, 2015 Share Posted February 26, 2015 If all who believe in jesus receive the gift of the holy ghost, and god's gifts are without repentance, then how is it possible for a person to be an EX christian? Wouldn't that mean that god takes back what he gave, making him a liar? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mymistake Posted February 26, 2015 Share Posted February 26, 2015 Cat, BAA can answer for himself, but I will say that we often continue hopeless discussions with the True Believers of this or that whacked belief because other, often unseen, readers can benefit from it. I know this to be a fact. I like to give the readers more credit. I'm sure you give them plenty of laughs too. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bornagainathiest Posted February 26, 2015 Share Posted February 26, 2015 That's why every time I've corrected him with science facts, with data and with evidence - it makes no difference. I'm always going to be wrong because I'm not receiving the truth from the Phasma - as he is! BAA - Your a really smart guy, one of the smartest guys on this site. I am curious, as to your quote above, after using all the science facts, with data and with evidence, and admitting that it makes no difference, why do you keep debating him? Why not just ignore him and let him get bored so as to eventually give up and leave this site for good? I have no problem with you, or even with you continuing to debate him or any of the other christians on here. I am simply curious as to why you know it will never make a difference, yet continue with it knowing that it will never be a fruitful endeavor? Please don't kill me for asking, i am just curious is all. Excellent questions, CC! Thanks for asking them. Why do I keep debating Christians when I admit that in certain cases it'll make no difference? Why, if I know it will never make a difference, do I continue with such an un-fruitful endeavor? Why don't I just ignore these unpersuadable Christians, let them get bored, give up and leave? The answers to the first two questions have to do with who is reading these threads, CC. Ex-Christian.net is a bit like an iceberg, with a lot going on unseen under the surface. While the regular members and the Christians argue stuff back and forth, there's a large, silent audience of lurkers carefully watching these goings on and taking an exceptionally close interest in what's written in these threads. Many of these lurkers are Christians undergoing crises of faith. There are also many doubt-riddled Christians wavering on the point of deconversion and looking to see how our 'resident' Christians conduct themselves on this site. While I can't possibly divulge any of the specifics of what some lurkers have written to me (privately) - one common factor is very obvious. Most of the lurkers are less interested in the answers the Christians give to our questions and much, much more interested in how the Christians themselves behave when closely questioned. The lurkers care less about the Christian beliefs and issues under debate and more about the way in which the Christians interact with non-Christians. They take note when the Christians dodge or deflect a question. They notice when a Christian tries to change the subject, to steer a discussion away from a difficult point or when a Christian leaves a thread hanging and 'pops' up again weeks later in a different thread - deliberately leaving an awkward question unanswered. But what influences the lurkers most profoundly is when the Christians resort to ad hominem attacks, slander, personal insults and foul language! So this is the main reason why I continue with the Christians, CC. I don't do it for the sake of the Christians, but for the sake of the lurkers. So I'm in 100% agreement with Florduh! I shine the spotlight of intense and relentless scrutiny on the Christians, not just to expose the contradictions, flaws and impossibilities of their beliefs, but also to bring their 'bad spiritual fruit' to light. When they display their intolerance and anger, their lack of empathy, their misogyny and and their bigotry, then I know that the lurkers will be sickened and disgusted. When the Christians cuss and blaspheme, then I know that the lurkers are one step closer to deconverting. So, in my small way, I'm helping the wavering Christian lurkers to become Ex-Christians. Now, as to your last question... why don't I just let the Christians get bored, give up and leave? Because they don't get bored. Because they don't give up. Because they don't leave. Reasonable, rational people who can be debated with reasonably and rationally are those who will accept a reasoned and rational argument when they read one. Likewise, people with open minds are those who will allow themselves to be swayed by reasoned, rational arguments and by the facts and the evidence. Sadly, many of the 'resident' Christians in this forum do not fit into the above categories. It doesn't matter if they hear one rational argument or a hundred - they will not accept any of them. It doesn't matter if they they are corrected once about something or a hundred times - they will just keep coming back again and again and again, ad nauseam. Such behavior is unreasonable and irrational. That's why they don't get bored, don't give up and don't leave, CC. Therefore, someone has to stand up to their relentless irrationality. I do so, for the sake of the lurkers, for my fellow Ex-Christians and for the sake of the truth. . . . There, CeilingCat! I didn't kill you and you've had your feline curiosity satisfied... I hope! Thanks, BAA. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Furball Posted February 26, 2015 Share Posted February 26, 2015 I am a satisfied customer BAA. Thank you for taking the time to explain. I appreciate your answers and knowledge as well. Again, thank you. -CC Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
milesaway Posted February 27, 2015 Share Posted February 27, 2015 I know I'm a bit late to the party here, but I agree with what mymistake said: run for your life! Also I would suggest taking a good long and hard look at your new congregation. Ask yourself why they're only giving you the time of day now instead of before you joined that church. Ask yourself why their behavior doesn't square with their highfalutin talk about being a good person and all that other stuff. Ask questions to the pastor or the elders, or whatever the equivalent to these positions is in the church you just joined. If they get nasty with you for asking them, ignore you outright and can't be bothered, or act all dismissive toward you, then ask yourself why that is. In that case, you need to think twice before taking any of what they have to say seriously. Ask yourself if your new church is honestly paying off for you in all facets of your life like they promised it would prior to your involvement with them, and if it is, then more power to you. If it's not, then you know what needs to be done. Think back to the gods that predated christendom. Mithra, Horus, Zeus, any of the figures of Australian Aboriginal Dreamtime or American Indian creation stories. Notice the similarities among them, and compare it to the xtian god. Consider the gods of other religions, and think about how the people who follow those religions say everyone else's gods are fake, but theirs are the real McCoy. We're all someone else to someone else. Last but not least, think of the real-world consequences your new church's actions have. For all their talk on morality, there sure isn't much of it to be found in a congregation or among the church leaders. Is that something you really wanna lend your endorsement to? My guess is probably not. You don't need some church to teach you how to be a good person. You learned all this stuff without their help. If friends and a sense of belonging were a factor in joining, you can find those things elsewhere. Church isn't the only game in town, and they're not the be-all end-all of everything social. If your new church's rules extend into telling you that you can only do certain things under certain conditions, like have a family of your own if that's what you want in the future at some point, then you should ask yourself if this is something you really need to be a part of. Don't let some social club be the reason your dreams never come to fruition. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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