You ever just get tired of it?

[Checkmate]

Neil, you gave me some inspiration here to update the Lakota Tribal Wisdom about dead horses.

 

Lakota tribal wisdom tells us that when you discover you are riding a dead horse, the best strategy is to dismount.

 

In Christian apologetics, other strategies are often tried with the dead horse of their religion, including the following:

<snipped>

Please feel free to add to this list.

Thanks. Don't mind if I do! I woke up this morning and my mind floated back to this "dead horse" list, so I thought I'd add to it. Here goes:

 

18. In order to understand the dead horse’s wisdom, one must first be filled with the dead horse’s spirit – which you can’t have unless you first believe in the dead horse being alive and well and sitting in the clouds. But you can’t believe any of this unless the dead horse first makes you alive with his holy spirit.

 

19. Claiming that the dead horse can’t or won’t work miracles or answer prayers or otherwise prove himself to anyone, unless they first believe in the dead horse. Unbelief stops the dead horse in his tracks.

 

20. Argue that those who don’t believe in your dead horse are deceived agents of the enemy, Glue Maker – he who puts blinders on men so that they can’t see the truth of the dead horse.

 

21. Accuse unbelievers of the dead horse of being rebellious. The reason they can’t ride the dead horse is because they lack faith. If they would only keep trying to ride the dead horse, then they would see that it lives.

 

 

I love this "dead horse" analogy!

[Amethyst]

I am getting rather tired of it myself. Maybe a few days away from the Internet will help.

[Checkmate]

I think I just need a break from Christians for a while. Nothing fruitful ever comes from arguing with them.

 

That is why you rarely see me in the debate forum anymore.

 

Debating Christians is good for the average ex-christian who needs to confront and work out some of their unresolved questions, I think. Or just needs closure to their time as a christian- sometimes it is cathartic to argue after all the years of sitting silently and accepting all the platitudes.

 

The crux of the problem is, you are going to hear the same arguments over and over again, because biblegod hasn't had anything new to say in 2000 years.

Good observation, Madame M. What I see happening is the normal cycle of this forum. We who have "worked out our demons", are ready to move on to more productive pursuits. I.E. HELPING ex-Christians recover. I, personally, have no desire to "debate" with brick walls. It was fun at first. Like you say, it was catharsis. A needed step, being able to rail, discuss and argue against ideas you were forbidden to speak against. But once you "grow up" you get tired of it.

 

It's simply time to let the "new kids on the block" bang THEIR heads against the wall for a change.

 

(But that doesn't mean I won't stop by for a Surgical Strike every once in awhile! Gotta keep the visiting Fundies on their best behavior.)

[Amethyst]

I, personally, have no desire to "debate" with brick walls. It was fun at first. Like you say, it was catharsis. A needed step, being able to rail, discuss and argue against ideas you were forbidden to speak against. But once you "grow up" you get tired of it.

 

Same here. It was very cathartic. I was never able to present my beliefs to my mother or members of my church, so for me, it was a good way to exorcise (spelling?) the ghosts of the past and deal with my unresolved feelings.

 

Now though, I'm very tired of fundies who present no new arguments & refuse to accept anyone else's ideas besides their own. If I get pissed off, I can always rant in my live journal or diary, or play a computer game and blast away at the bad guys.

[I Broke Free]

Debating Christians is good for the average ex-christian who needs to confront and work out some of their unresolved questions, I think. Or just needs closure to their time as a christian- sometimes it is cathartic to argue after all the years of sitting silently and accepting all the platitudes.

 

The crux of the problem is, you are going to hear the same arguments over and over again, because biblegod hasn't had anything new to say in 2000 years.

 

 

Same here Madame, I rarely visit the debate forums, and then only to look. At one point I thought winning an argument with a Christian would somehow prove something to me. I no longer need that kind of validation to feel secure about my beliefs.

 

IBF

[Taphophilia]

I've been here a little over a month and caught the tail end of the Daniel wars. I went back through some of the old debate threads and they're all the same damn thing, say the same things, argue the same points.

I can imagine it gets old.

 

The Christian sites I look at have the same arguements, but there, what they say is considered some kind of awe inspiring intellectual superiority. They don't understand we don't think of it that way and are offended when we don't kiss their and Jesus' ass when all they do is repeat things they are taught.

 

They think that if they convince you that your point is wrong, than by default, they are right and you should believe them. Even if our points are wrong, which they are not, why do they think we should just take their word for it? It's not like they are debating to learn anything and they just jump in without giving anyone here any type of respect and lump us all into one neat little package, mostly that we are all Athiests. They have the answer and that's it.

 

All they do is go in circles from one point to another and another than back to the first point.

Maybe they think that by tiring us out, we will just throw in the towel and be Christians.

 

They seem to get all pissy in the Lion's Den and scream no fair, when the rules are clearly posted. If they wanted more of a formal debate, go into the other forums. How hard is this to understand? It says to expect heated discussions, right underneath the title. Yet, when someone here asks them for a formal debate, they ignore the request.

 

Taph