A Big Thank You To All Ex's Who Responded To Neil Carter's Comment (andre's Testimonial ,"i'm Free") With Such Civility And Finesse!

[girlfound]

I want to thank all the Ex's who responded to Neil Carter's "fishing tactics" in his comment on Andre's testimonial "I'm Free!" and all the other Ex's on this site who have ever responded to this kind of behavior with such civilityand finesse! I am an Ex who doesn't feel strong enough to put illegitimate site users such as Neil in their place. When I read Carter's comment, at first I said to myself, "Oh, no, here we go again! I'm gonna get triggered by an alien user!" But then I read everybody's comment in response to Carter, and was blown away by each one! Such civility and finesse! I felt like somebody's little sister, standing by to watch as her big brother or big sister chased the bully away! And I wasn't even the one being bullied! Hooray for all of you! This was such a deeply healing thing for me to witness. Because of people like you, I feel as if I have found family and a home on this site! Thanks again!

[R. S. Martin]

Can you provide a link to what you're talking about? I'm not sure who Neil Carter is.

[Mythra]

Because of people like you, I feel as if I have found family and a home on this site! Thanks again!

 

Damn. I missed another good tomato-toss. Not sure about the "civility and finesse", though. I'm going to have to find that thread.

 

Oh well, there's always another opportunity. One only has to wait for a day or two before another thumper shows up here with bible in hand. Don't worry, girlfound, there will always be someone here to come to the aid of a recent apostate escapee.

 

We remember the edgy uncertainty and wobbly legs of newly found self-reliance.

 

And now that we've developed some muscles, we LOVE playing big brother and chasing the bully from the neighborhood.

[Fweethawt]

We remember the edgy uncertainty and wobbly legs of newly found self-reliance.

Boy oh boy! Ain't that the truth?!!?! That's a good way of describing it, too.

 

 

By the way, Girlfound, I, too, would appreciate it if you could provide a link to the thread that you're talking about here.

[Unknowing1]

I'm free

 

I think this may be it. It was on the main blog in the November archives.

[Mythra]

I think this may be it. It was on the main blog in the November archives.

 

Ahhh. Yep. Sure enough.

 

Those weren't regular forum members responding to our good Southern Baptist Minister. (unless they were using a pseuodonym)

 

But, this is a cookie cutter discussion that we have in here practically every day.

 

Hey - SOUTHERN BAPTIST MINISTER (NEIL CARTER) - if you read this - come on in to the forums here. We can talk about the lack of contradictions in the bible. If you have a spare month or two to get your apologetic answers straight. C'mon dude. We're lost souls in need of help and surely destined to hell without you.

 

What a religio-stereotypical moron.

[South2003]

Here's Pasta Neils drollings. We should e-mail that son of the virgin mary worshiper.

 

I am so sorry that your experience with the so-called church has left you disallusioned and has sent you into unbelief. I am a minister and it breaks my heart to hear that you are no longer a follower, but it hurts me even more to hear that the reason is because of people who claim to be the children of God. I am a Southern Baptist Minister. I was once an atheist mostly because of the people who were "Christians" made me believe that Jesus was not worth my time.

 

I would love to discuss with you any and all of these supposed contradictions in the Bible, as I have found none. But like I said, maybe you could teach me something. It is not a sin to listen to "secular" music. Whoever told you that was not getting their information from Scripture. I dont claim to be the best preacher on earth, but the sermons that I give tend to keep people enthralled, and tithes are only collected from the willing. There should be no pressure on anyone to tithe, unless that pressure comes from the Spirit. Once again I am so sorry that you were negatively affected by those who called themselves Christians. I am here for any discussion, or questions that you or anyone else reading this would like to have. My e-mail adress is consumedbyhim316@yahoo.com I look forward to hearing back from you, if that is what you choose to do.

[South2003]

Shit, I'm gonna e-mail him and invite him to the forums. woo hoooo

[Deva]

South 2003: Keep us posted if he does respond to your invitation. I am quite sure he has no idea how stupid he sounds as he tries to parcel out the reasons why we left Christianity. He is obviously clueless. If he would take off his blinders for a moment and get on here and read some of the testimonies, he might be enlightened. Better yet if he would participate in a discussion or debate. But I have little hope for any member of the clergy. He can take his "I'm so sorry" act elsewhere. We don't feel sorry for ourselves and don't appreciate the sentiment.

[South2003]

CLASSIC!

 

If you wish to peddle and whore your beliefs pastor Neil, may I suggest you attend a radical mosque in Pakistan and spew forth your desire to convert others. I think it would be your last vain attempt at spreading nonsense

 

Patrick

[South2003]

This is the e-mail I sent to Pasta Neil.

 

Pastor Neil, we would like to respond to your comments posted on November 14, 2007 at http://exchristian.net/testimonies/2007/11/im-free.html and as you stated “I am here for any discussion, or questions that you or anyone else reading this would like to have. My e-mail address is consumedbyhim316@yahoo.com I look forward to hearing back from you, if that is what you choose to do.â€

 

So, let us have a serious discussion about your faith.

 

This is a special invitation to join the below thread. Click the link below.

http://www.ex-christian.net/index.php?show...mp;#entry325830

[HuaiDan]

Consumedbyhim???

I thought we were supposed to eat christ, not be eaten by him.

 

 

 

So is it eat, or be eaten?

[Mythra]

Oh, I don't know. I still have a gaping hole in my back pocket that's a remnant of my faith in Jesus. Mutherfucker had no problem consuming me.

[Fweethawt]

Consumedbyhim???

I thought we were supposed to eat christ, not be eaten by him.

 

So is it eat, or be eaten?

When I read his e-mail addy, I immediately thought of him as another closet homosexual!

[R. S. Martin]

I want to thank all the Ex's who responded to Neil Carter's "fishing tactics" in his comment on Andre's testimonial "I'm Free!" and all the other Ex's on this site who have ever responded to this kind of behavior with such civilityand finesse! I am an Ex who doesn't feel strong enough to put illegitimate site users such as Neil in their place. When I read Carter's comment, at first I said to myself, "Oh, no, here we go again! I'm gonna get triggered by an alien user!" But then I read everybody's comment in response to Carter, and was blown away by each one! Such civility and finesse! I felt like somebody's little sister, standing by to watch as her big brother or big sister chased the bully away! And I wasn't even the one being bullied! Hooray for all of you! This was such a deeply healing thing for me to witness. Because of people like you, I feel as if I have found family and a home on this site! Thanks again!

 

I'm glad you are beginning to find healing. Like some of the others explained, the Main Blog is sort of separate from this part but it's also owned and operated by Dave the Webmaster. In order to post comments there one has to sign up separately. Some people post comments there and also here. I think the atmosphere is less personal there than here, maybe because people don't interact as much and don't know each other as much. All the same, I see a lot of the same people a lot on there, but I spend most of my time here.

 

I think the message promoted there is about the same as here. If you want to see Christians refuted, look at threads in the Lion's Den. If you feel vulnerable, you might not want to post in the Lion's Den because Christians are allowed to attack us there. On most of this site they are not allowed to attack us. This is our "church" where we are "right" and they are "wrong." Lots ofChristians come in here and forget that they are not so high and mighty so they preach like they were on their own turf. They get put in their place in short order. I think it catches some of them by surprise that they are not respected like they are used to.

 

As you read these forums you will learn to respect yourself as an exChristian. You will see how others handle issues with Christians. Some of us do most of our venting on exC. Some go to church with families and haven't "come out" yet. Others have been nonreligious for twenty or thirty years. We are at many different stages of healing and helping each other. You are welcome here and you fit in. Make yourself at home and relax.

[R. S. Martin]

Here is the email I sent to him just now:

 

Hello Neil,

 

You invited us to respond to your comment on exChristian so I decided to take advantage of the invitation. As people said, nothing you say is new but I have a question no Christian has yet addressed to my knowledge. It is for lack of answer to this question that I deconverted.

 

Here is the question: What happened on the cosmic level that made it possible for us to get to heaven when Jesus died that was impossible before he died?

 

This question came to me when I was told as a child that Jesus died so we can get to heaven. It made no sense then and I was told when I got older it would make sense. So I waited till I was forty. But it still made no sense. I am over fifty now and it still makes no sense. I finally deconverted because it is wrong to lie about sacred matters. I am not saved by the shed blood of Jesus because there is nothing to be saved from. Of course, if you can explain what changed on the cosmic level when Jesus died (it has to be something that is not in the Bible; I have read the Bible many times and it is not in the Bible) then I will reconsider. As stated, the Answer is not in the Bible. Nor is it in Christian philosophy of theology. If you think I am wrong, please outline the Answer in one hundred word and name the source where I can get more information. Thank you.

 

R.S. Martin

[ShackledNoMore]

If you click on the link, you'll see that in Andre's anti-testimony he says stuff like:

 

Then one day in the summer of 1998 I woke up to realize that life is too short to have my life dictated by a book that repeatedly contradicts itself.

 

to which Neil Carter replied:

 

I am a minister and it breaks my heart to hear that you are no longer a follower, but it hurts me even more to hear that the reason is because of people who claim to be the children of God.

 

 

Did he even READ the post? Andre's reasons for leaving focused on biblical contradictions and irrational church teaching and indoctrination, NOT on the people. While it is certainly true that xians don't tend to provide a stellar example of human goodness, it's usually not the reason people first leave the cult, and by his post, it most certainly looks like it wasn't the reason for Andre.

[R. S. Martin]

It seems Christians like being hurt. So if there are no legitimate reasons they make things up. I had the same thing happen to me. I corresponded for many years with the wife of a Baptist minister, the person through whose book I first learned about Myers-Briggs. Throughout the ten or more years of our correspondence I had questions about the faith that she simply did not answer. When I left Christianity she informed me that not all churches were as bad as the one that hurt me.

 

Shit! If she had listened to me she would have known that I had NOT deconverted because of hurt, though there had been PLENTY of that. I deconverted because SHE and a lot of other Christians failed to answer my questions. She claims to be a counselor. But she has yet to learn how to listen.

 

The main question she didn't answer was the one I posted above that I sent to Neil. Neil won't have an answer, either, I can practically guarantee it. But he will have something to say that is meant to evoke a guilt trip. I doubt that he can out-do my mother so I am probably prepared for any damage he can do. After a few exchanges in which I challenge his answers he will probably shrug me off with some lame excuse such as "If you don't want to believe there really isn't much I can do or say to convince you." They always have their guilt-inducing tactics. It's never THEIR fault....

 

I'm looking at my opening sentence of this post about Christians liking to feel hurt. I realize now that this isn't the case. That sentence about feeling hurt was meant to induce guilt--nothing more and nothing less.

 

What a disgusting guilt-machine Christianity is!

[girlfound]

Can you provide a link to what you're talking about? I'm not sure who Neil Carter is.

http://exchristian.net/testimonies/2007/11/im-free.html

[R. S. Martin]

Can you provide a link to what you're talking about? I'm not sure who Neil Carter is.

http://exchristian.net/testimonies/2007/11/im-free.html

 

Thanks. Someone else posted the link. I read it and responded. You can see my posts above in this thread.

[girlfound]

Here's the link. Sorry I took so long to post it.

 

http://exchristian.net/testimonies/2007/11/im-free.html

[South2003]

Pasta Neil didn't respond as yet? Oh well, I guess he was consumed.

 

Great, I can start looting.

[girlfound]

I want to thank all the Ex's who responded to Neil Carter's "fishing tactics" in his comment on Andre's testimonial "I'm Free!" and all the other Ex's on this site who have ever responded to this kind of behavior with such civilityand finesse! I am an Ex who doesn't feel strong enough to put illegitimate site users such as Neil in their place. When I read Carter's comment, at first I said to myself, "Oh, no, here we go again! I'm gonna get triggered by an alien user!" But then I read everybody's comment in response to Carter, and was blown away by each one! Such civility and finesse! I felt like somebody's little sister, standing by to watch as her big brother or big sister chased the bully away! And I wasn't even the one being bullied! Hooray for all of you! This was such a deeply healing thing for me to witness. Because of people like you, I feel as if I have found family and a home on this site! Thanks again!

 

I'm glad you are beginning to find healing. Like some of the others explained, the Main Blog is sort of separate from this part but it's also owned and operated by Dave the Webmaster. In order to post comments there one has to sign up separately. Some people post comments there and also here. I think the atmosphere is less personal there than here, maybe because people don't interact as much and don't know each other as much. All the same, I see a lot of the same people a lot on there, but I spend most of my time here.

 

I think the message promoted there is about the same as here. If you want to see Christians refuted, look at threads in the Lion's Den. If you feel vulnerable, you might not want to post in the Lion's Den because Christians are allowed to attack us there. On most of this site they are not allowed to attack us. This is our "church" where we are "right" and they are "wrong." Lots ofChristians come in here and forget that they are not so high and mighty so they preach like they were on their own turf. They get put in their place in short order. I think it catches some of them by surprise that they are not respected like they are used to.

 

As you read these forums you will learn to respect yourself as an exChristian. You will see how others handle issues with Christians. Some of us do most of our venting on exC. Some go to church with families and haven't "come out" yet. Others have been nonreligious for twenty or thirty years. We are at many different stages of healing and helping each other. You are welcome here and you fit in. Make yourself at home and relax.

Thanks, RubySera, for making me feel welcome, and for familiarizing me with things. It's a big help.

[R. S. Martin]

Thanks, RubySera, for making me feel welcome, and for familiarizing me with things. It's a big help.

 

You're welcome, girlfound.

[R. S. Martin]

Pasta Neil didn't respond as yet? Oh well, I guess he was consumed.

 

Great, I can start looting.

 

He has not responded to me, South. I am sure anyone else would have reported it if he had responded to them. Seems these Christians have nothing but empty promises and empty threats on their sides. Just take a look at Kat in the Arena. She's been backed into a corner and what does she do? She brings out her claws about us being in danger of hell fire if we reject so great a salvation, and how much of what is in the NT do we think Christ did do.

 

No, she did not put it in exactly those words but that is how I put it together because that is how fundies want us to see it.

 

Next strategy, when we do not respond to such definite threats, is resounding silence meant to intimidate us into "thinking" about our "condition."