Guest Matt Rose Posted June 6, 2005 Share Posted June 6, 2005 As you may have guessed, I am new to these forums and I am so happy to have found them. I plan on finding a lot more about life in here. I was a christian for many years and now have to figure out life again. In the meantime I have managed to find two believers that are trying to win me back. For some reason, I feel compelled to win them away and I will never profess to know everything. So these forums will help. Before anything else I would like to know how to talk to these two guys, one is 18 and the other is 24, it's very important to me that they live a very full life, the way they want to. Thank you in advance, matt Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Fweethawt Posted June 6, 2005 Share Posted June 6, 2005 Welcome to the forum, Matt. Enjoy your stay. If you'd like a little bit of reading material and you haven't visited the archive section yet, here is a link ---> CLICK HERE Welcome aboard. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Thurisaz Posted June 6, 2005 Share Posted June 6, 2005 Heya Matt, welcome to our place. Greetings from goo' ol' Germany. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Matt Rose Posted June 6, 2005 Share Posted June 6, 2005 Ty again, I just read the testimony from the webmaster and I love it. I plan on having epiphany after epiphany on this site. If anyone has something else that just hit them where it counts, some good reads, link them here please. I want the hair on my arms to stand on end for weeks to come. matt Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Fweethawt Posted June 6, 2005 Share Posted June 6, 2005 If anyone has something else that just hit them where it counts, some good reads, link them here please. I want the hair on my arms to stand on end for weeks to come. matt This won't make your hair stand on end for weeks, but I find it funny. In the archive section there is a page there that tells the old joke about the atheist and the bear. Right after it, there is a "joke" about a Christian and a bear. Both are funny. One is mostly true. CLICK HERE TO READ Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dogmatically_challenged Posted June 6, 2005 Share Posted June 6, 2005 Welcome to the forum, Matt! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
GiantBear Posted June 6, 2005 Share Posted June 6, 2005 Welcome Matt! Tho I might actually be newer than you. Peace GiantBear Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Godless Wonder Posted June 6, 2005 Share Posted June 6, 2005 Some good reading here: http://www.ebonmusings.org/atheism/index.html Two of the best deconversion stories I've ever read: http://www.iidb.org/vbb/showthread.php?s=&threadid=72552 http://www.students.yorku.ca/~kaldeway/faith/index.shtml BTW, it's probably a mistake to think that you can convince someone else to abandon their religion. They must convince themselves. It happens, but rarely. As a non-believer, it can be hard to fathom how things that make perfect sense to you are flat-out rejected by the religious. You may find yourself beginnng to wonder if they are 5 year olds, or perhaps escaped mental patients. (Well, that's how it has sometimes seemed to me, YMMV.) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DeathWorship Posted June 6, 2005 Share Posted June 6, 2005 ALL NEWBIES MUST BE SPANKED VICIOUSLY UPON ENTERING THE FORUMS!!! just kidding, welcome, im sure you will enjoy yourself Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
☆ TexasFreethinker ☆ Posted June 6, 2005 Share Posted June 6, 2005 Hi Matt - welcome to the forums! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ouroboros Posted June 6, 2005 Share Posted June 6, 2005 As you may have guessed, I am new to these forums and I am so happy to have found them. I plan on finding a lot more about life in here. I was a christian for many years and now have to figure out life again. Welcome Matt, so good to get more people here. I was so happy to find this forum as well. It’s almost like a church, the good part of it. Socializing, discussing, getting to know people and there are some pretty smart and knowledgeable people here, that you can learn a lot from. And the variety of backgrounds and experiences are amazing. In the meantime I have managed to find two believers that are trying to win me back. For some reason, I feel compelled to win them away and I will never profess to know everything. So these forums will help. Absolutely! You get can a lot of input here. Before anything else I would like to know how to talk to these two guys, one is 18 and the other is 24, it's very important to me that they live a very full life, the way they want to. I think the best way is just to start to talk to them in a friendly manner, without showing that you want to confront them and turn them around. Discussion with open exchange of ideas is the best way, they have to feel they can think and reason too. No one really can change just from what other people say, the change has to come from inside, and they have to want to change. Maybe not in the beginning, but after some time they might. What’s important to know is that there will be people that doesn’t want to change, and it can be related back to that they have emotional attachment to what they believe, and emotional arguments can’t be broken or reasoned with, so you have to understand why they believe a certain thing the way they do. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mythra Posted June 6, 2005 Share Posted June 6, 2005 Hi Matt - Welcome don't feel too bad if they don't listen to a word you have to say. To them you will be a representative of Satan, and the only reason you can't see things their way is because you have hardened your heart to the point where god gave you up. The Bible has a way of protecting the faithful from attack. (putting on the full armor, and all) Most people have to feel their own way out of christianity, much like fwee's three blind mice. (If you don't know what I'm talking about, you will soon) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mythra Posted June 6, 2005 Share Posted June 6, 2005 Sorry fwee - I see you have been here. I just scrolled down and responded to Matt. So, matt, right now, just think of your friends as fwee's mice, and the only way you can speak to them is to write a letter. They won't get it. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Matt Rose Posted June 6, 2005 Share Posted June 6, 2005 Man, it's so good to have this place. The amount of response is so amazing. It's even greater because you all have given me advice on converting these two and now I know I have probably messed up from the beginning. I read in the archives section last night, Why Bad Beliefs Don't Die. It was amazing!!! It helped me to understand so much. As well as being an agnostic now, I have always been a reductionist. It has given me the ability to pigeon-hole people with facts that are micro or macro. I'm finding out that isn't the reason to go about that. Thank you again everyone. You can count on me being an extremely active member of this forum. matt Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Eponymic Posted June 6, 2005 Share Posted June 6, 2005 I think the best way is just to start to talk to them in a friendly manner, without showing that you want to confront them and turn them around. Discussion with open exchange of ideas is the best way, they have to feel they can think and reason too. No one really can change just from what other people say, the change has to come from inside, and they have to want to change. Maybe not in the beginning, but after some time they might. What’s important to know is that there will be people that doesn’t want to change, and it can be related back to that they have emotional attachment to what they believe, and emotional arguments can’t be broken or reasoned with, so you have to understand why they believe a certain thing the way they do. Hi Matt, Great to have you here. To back up Solo on this one, if you really want the best for them, then even if they won't deconvert, you have to show that you're willing to accept them, as people, regardless of what they choose to do with their faith. But if you can keep rationally talking to them, eventually maybe one of those good thoughts will be a catalyst for them to realize what they're doing wrong. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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