Topic: should we engage in debate with die hard
RainbowTrout's photo
Sat 01/24/09 10:58 AM

Atheists?


The general religion forums on this site seem to me to be monopolized by folks who seem bent on bashing Christians in particular for their faith.

To me it seems like these people have not only hardened their hearts but have also taken it on as their life mission to attempt to ridicule our faith in every way possible.


Is it worth it to even engage in dialog with these folks?

Not for me it isn't. I applaud those that do.:smile:







TelephoneMan's photo
Sat 01/24/09 09:04 PM

wow, telephone man, hope you never have to use that survival suit you are wearing drinker


Not entirely sure what you mean by that... except its refreshing to be cut down by a fellow "Christian" instead of those darned atheists all the time...


...keep up the fight... you're saving millions...

willy_cents's photo
Sat 01/24/09 09:09 PM
It makes no sense to engage in a debate with one who is so close-minded that they refuse to dabatelaugh I have found on the general forum that when the christian bashing is in progress, just suggest that ALL christian beliefs be removed from any criminal or civil laws in this country; ie, the ten commandments in their entirety, All of Christ's teaching, ie give unto caesar that which is his, unto God that which is his, and immediately the thread dies...lol...seems as though the anti-christian group wishes only to bash those ideas with which they disagree, to pick and choose....laugh

TelephoneMan's photo
Sat 01/24/09 10:18 PM
Edited by TelephoneMan on Sat 01/24/09 10:21 PM

I suppose some people think this is what Jesus actually looks like:


Quikstepper's photo
Sun 01/25/09 05:59 AM
Ah well... I try to inject something in spite of the rapid decline of intelligence coming from the Christian bashing bigots on the boards. That speaks volumes of them but to those looking on it makes a big statement.

Not that I haven't had my share of sarcasm to throw around, but I just refuse to let others ruin my glory glow anymore. :wink:

AllenAqua's photo
Sun 01/25/09 07:40 AM
I'd like to thank one and all for your replies.flowerforyou


As for me, I guess I'll just try to not go in the atheist forums at all...

I do wish Mingle2 would reclassify them as the "agnostistic, atheiestic and those that are otherwise against Christianity thread"

That way unsuspecting Christians wouldn't necessarily be drawn into them.

Also, those on the fence would at least get a heads up before entering them.

In my mind, they aren't really about religion in any positive sense whatsoever, and only serve the atheist agenda.

Giocamo's photo
Sun 01/25/09 02:06 PM

Atheists?


The general religion forums on this site seem to me to be monopolized by folks who seem bent on bashing Christians in particular for their faith.

To me it seems like these people have not only hardened their hearts but have also taken it on as their life mission to attempt to ridicule our faith in every way possible.


Is it worth it to even engage in dialog with these folks?









nope !!...you can type until your fingers bleed...but...it goes in one ear and out the other...some of them are walking cliches'...almost like a recorded message...****beep****...:smile:

Quikstepper's photo
Sun 01/25/09 05:45 PM

I'd like to thank one and all for your replies.flowerforyou


As for me, I guess I'll just try to not go in the atheist forums at all...

I do wish Mingle2 would reclassify them as the "agnostistic, atheiestic and those that are otherwise against Christianity thread"

That way unsuspecting Christians wouldn't necessarily be drawn into them.

Also, those on the fence would at least get a heads up before entering them.


In my mind, they aren't really about religion in any positive sense whatsoever, and only serve the atheist agenda.



AMEN to that. It certainly would clear alot of things up. Disguising what goes on in the GRB is such a deception anyway. I suppose they should just rename it the Christian Bashing Bigot Board.

Call it by it's righful name for all to see.


AllenAqua's photo
Sun 01/25/09 05:52 PM


I'd like to thank one and all for your replies.flowerforyou


As for me, I guess I'll just try to not go in the atheist forums at all...

I do wish Mingle2 would reclassify them as the "agnostistic, atheiestic and those that are otherwise against Christianity thread"

That way unsuspecting Christians wouldn't necessarily be drawn into them.

Also, those on the fence would at least get a heads up before entering them.


In my mind, they aren't really about religion in any positive sense whatsoever, and only serve the atheist agenda.



AMEN to that. It certainly would clear alot of things up. Disguising what goes on in the GRB is such a deception anyway. I suppose they should just rename it the Christian Bashing Bigot Board.

Call it by it's righful name for all to see.





Actually I was quite shocked and taken aback when I realized this...

I'd never been around anyone who would expend so much time and energy bashing Christianity in particular.

It's been a real wake-up call.

Giocamo's photo
Sun 01/25/09 05:57 PM



I'd like to thank one and all for your replies.flowerforyou


As for me, I guess I'll just try to not go in the atheist forums at all...

I do wish Mingle2 would reclassify them as the "agnostistic, atheiestic and those that are otherwise against Christianity thread"

That way unsuspecting Christians wouldn't necessarily be drawn into them.

Also, those on the fence would at least get a heads up before entering them.


In my mind, they aren't really about religion in any positive sense whatsoever, and only serve the atheist agenda.



AMEN to that. It certainly would clear alot of things up. Disguising what goes on in the GRB is such a deception anyway. I suppose they should just rename it the Christian Bashing Bigot Board.

Call it by it's righful name for all to see.





Actually I was quite shocked and taken aback when I realized this...

I'd never been around anyone who would expend so much time and energy bashing Christianity in particular.

It's been a real wake-up call.


***ditto***

no photo
Sun 01/25/09 05:59 PM



I do wish Mingle2 would reclassify them as the "agnostistic, atheiestic and those that are otherwise against Christianity thread"


rofl rofl rofl

laugh That is a mouthful ! laugh

Hi Allenflowerforyou

A note of encouragement:

You said something a while back that I will never forget in the Gen. Rel. Forums. You said that more things unite us as humans than separate us. That is a huge statement! I have meditated on that many times since you wrote that and it has helped me in my ‘love walk’. That helped me, I wonder how many others? Thank you.


Quikstepper's photo
Sun 01/25/09 06:27 PM



I'd like to thank one and all for your replies.flowerforyou


As for me, I guess I'll just try to not go in the atheist forums at all...

I do wish Mingle2 would reclassify them as the "agnostistic, atheiestic and those that are otherwise against Christianity thread"

That way unsuspecting Christians wouldn't necessarily be drawn into them.

Also, those on the fence would at least get a heads up before entering them.


In my mind, they aren't really about religion in any positive sense whatsoever, and only serve the atheist agenda.



AMEN to that. It certainly would clear alot of things up. Disguising what goes on in the GRB is such a deception anyway. I suppose they should just rename it the Christian Bashing Bigot Board.

Call it by it's righful name for all to see.





Actually I was quite shocked and taken aback when I realized this...

I'd never been around anyone who would expend so much time and energy bashing Christianity in particular.

It's been a real wake-up call.



Yes well don't think for one minute that any of them would talk to someone in that manner if they were face to face with them. The truth is they wouldn't have the guts to.

Just remember that this is not for real. Neither are most people on these sites.

AllenAqua's photo
Sun 01/25/09 06:48 PM
Edited by AllenAqua on Sun 01/25/09 07:16 PM




I do wish Mingle2 would reclassify them as the "agnostistic, atheiestic and those that are otherwise against Christianity thread"


rofl rofl rofl

laugh That is a mouthful ! laugh

Hi Allenflowerforyou

A note of encouragement:

You said something a while back that I will never forget in the Gen. Rel. Forums. You said that more things unite us as humans than separate us. That is a huge statement! I have meditated on that many times since you wrote that and it has helped me in my ‘love walk’. That helped me, I wonder how many others? Thank you.




Hi Lauraflowerforyou

Thanks so much for the encouragement and I pray that you're doing well.:smile:

I believe that even since I was a small child, God has blessed me with the gift of introspection.

I remember watching the moonshot on tv then and was facinated with the astronauts, like most kids back then. I remember like it was yesterday how they'd always speak of looking back at the earth from space and having a deeply, almost spiritual realization that there were no visable borders and how the earth was so beautiful, contrasted against the void and lifelessness of space.

I remember thinking to myself at the time and considering these big adult questions about how we are all, everyone one of us, sharing the common experience of human life that's so precious and fragile, yet so seemingly expendable.

The Viet Nam war was in full swing and it was broadcast nightly on the news in sound bites that didn't fully edit out the horror or the reality of what was happening.
I had an uncle fighting there and he would write letters home that my Mom wouldn't read to us but it was apparent that they disturbed her deeply.

The folks who lived next door to us also had a son serving there and around 1968 he married and then brought home a young Viet Namese lady who had three very small Viet Namese children. The oldest being a girl just a couple of years younger than I was then.
Of course we neighborhood kids were curious about them but they didn't come outside very often. We lived next door to them for about two years and eventually, my mom befriended the young officer's wife and would visit her on occasion.
This is how I learned of her and her childrens tragic plight in the war. They were all very traumatized by their experiences. They had all lived a daily nightmare beyond anything most adult Americans could understand, let alone us kids.
They didn't come outside because they were literally scared to death of anything and everything.
My mom finally earned her trust and she accepted an invitation to attend Church with us. Afterwards, even though she was a Catholic, she became a member and that's when we learned the whole story about them through our Pastor.

I guess what I'm saying is that even though we can seem as different as night and day, this is an illusion because we all feel the same emotions, and we all have an instinct for God and we all want to feel safe. This is something I realized at 11 years of age.
Since that time, I've only come to realize this truth more and more.

I believe that most mental illness can be attributed to an unwillingness to accept the responsibilities of love.
I believe the author of lies has a tight grip over those that he tricks into believing that there is no Creator,as well as his other well known lies. I have to think that this is mental illness when carried to the extremes of atheism.

Even though the atheists frustrate us, we need to still be responsible in our capacity to show Christ's love. I'm speaking mostly to myself here but if other Christians can relate to this frustration, maybe they'll be comforted in this testimony also.

I do believe we're all God's children, and keeping that belief out in front I just have to lay it down to our Lord to intercede in their lives and bring the lost sheep home.

AllenAqua's photo
Sun 01/25/09 06:59 PM




I'd like to thank one and all for your replies.flowerforyou


As for me, I guess I'll just try to not go in the atheist forums at all...

I do wish Mingle2 would reclassify them as the "agnostistic, atheiestic and those that are otherwise against Christianity thread"

That way unsuspecting Christians wouldn't necessarily be drawn into them.

Also, those on the fence would at least get a heads up before entering them.


In my mind, they aren't really about religion in any positive sense whatsoever, and only serve the atheist agenda.



AMEN to that. It certainly would clear alot of things up. Disguising what goes on in the GRB is such a deception anyway. I suppose they should just rename it the Christian Bashing Bigot Board.

Call it by it's righful name for all to see.





Actually I was quite shocked and taken aback when I realized this...

I'd never been around anyone who would expend so much time and energy bashing Christianity in particular.

It's been a real wake-up call.



Yes well don't think for one minute that any of them would talk to someone in that manner if they were face to face with them. The truth is they wouldn't have the guts to.

Just remember that this is not for real. Neither are most people on these sites.


I think you're right about that, in a way...
In another way I do believe they are sincere in their negativity.
I probably won't be posting in many more of them but I'll still read some of them just to remind myself of how satan is grasping at straws.
I realize this kind of thing has been going on forever but I guess I've been naive in my assumption that pretty much everyone at least respected Christianity as a peaceful, loving, and nurturing faith.
It's shocking to me that fellow Americans would attempt to ban it.

feralcatlady's photo
Sun 01/25/09 07:09 PM
I for the most part don't fight. The only time that anyone gets to me is when they say that God, Jesus and the Bible are a Myth.......then I am not a happy camper. But for the most part I put it out there and what people do with it is their choice that is why we were given free will.


For me the behind the scenes work is where the Lord uses me. I have planted the seeds of some hard core athiests. Who now are looking at the Lord in a different way from miracles the Lord has bestowed on them. It's an amazing thing to be a witness for the Lord.


Acts says it all people.....read it....

AllenAqua's photo
Mon 01/26/09 05:37 AM

I for the most part don't fight. The only time that anyone gets to me is when they say that God, Jesus and the Bible are a Myth.......then I am not a happy camper. But for the most part I put it out there and what people do with it is their choice that is why we were given free will.


For me the behind the scenes work is where the Lord uses me. I have planted the seeds of some hard core athiests. Who now are looking at the Lord in a different way from miracles the Lord has bestowed on them. It's an amazing thing to be a witness for the Lord.


Acts says it all people.....read it....
flowerforyou

AllenAqua's photo
Mon 01/26/09 03:54 PM
I found this to be interesting, concerning this topic.

http://www.cracked.com/article_15663_10-things-christians-atheists-can-must-agree-on.html


I almost posted it in a GRF, but decided to first try and get fellow Christian's feedback first...


Blessings to allflowerforyou

no photo
Mon 01/26/09 09:30 PM





I do wish Mingle2 would reclassify them as the "agnostistic, atheiestic and those that are otherwise against Christianity thread"


rofl rofl rofl

laugh That is a mouthful ! laugh

Hi Allenflowerforyou

A note of encouragement:

You said something a while back that I will never forget in the Gen. Rel. Forums. You said that more things unite us as humans than separate us. That is a huge statement! I have meditated on that many times since you wrote that and it has helped me in my ‘love walk’. That helped me, I wonder how many others? Thank you.




Hi Lauraflowerforyou

Thanks so much for the encouragement and I pray that you're doing well.:smile:

I believe that even since I was a small child, God has blessed me with the gift of introspection.

I remember watching the moonshot on tv then and was facinated with the astronauts, like most kids back then. I remember like it was yesterday how they'd always speak of looking back at the earth from space and having a deeply, almost spiritual realization that there were no visable borders and how the earth was so beautiful, contrasted against the void and lifelessness of space.

I remember thinking to myself at the time and considering these big adult questions about how we are all, everyone one of us, sharing the common experience of human life that's so precious and fragile, yet so seemingly expendable.
flowerforyou

The Viet Nam war was in full swing and it was broadcast nightly on the news in sound bites that didn't fully edit out the horror or the reality of what was happening.
I had an uncle fighting there and he would write letters home that my Mom wouldn't read to us but it was apparent that they disturbed her deeply.

The folks who lived next door to us also had a son serving there and around 1968 he married and then brought home a young Viet Namese lady who had three very small Viet Namese children. The oldest being a girl just a couple of years younger than I was then.
Of course we neighborhood kids were curious about them but they didn't come outside very often. We lived next door to them for about two years and eventually, my mom befriended the young officer's wife and would visit her on occasion.
This is how I learned of her and her childrens tragic plight in the war. They were all very traumatized by their experiences. They had all lived a daily nightmare beyond anything most adult Americans could understand, let alone us kids.
They didn't come outside because they were literally scared to death of anything and everything.
My mom finally earned her trust and she accepted an invitation to attend Church with us. Afterwards, even though she was a Catholic, she became a member and that's when we learned the whole story about them through our Pastor.

I guess what I'm saying is that even though we can seem as different as night and day, this is an illusion because we all feel the same emotions, and we all have an instinct for God and we all want to feel safe. This is something I realized at 11 years of age.
Since that time, I've only come to realize this truth more and more.

I believe that most mental illness can be attributed to an unwillingness to accept the responsibilities of love.
I believe the author of lies has a tight grip over those that he tricks into believing that there is no Creator,as well as his other well known lies. I have to think that this is mental illness when carried to the extremes of atheism.

Even though the atheists frustrate us, we need to still be responsible in our capacity to show Christ's love. I'm speaking mostly to myself here but if other Christians can relate to this frustration, maybe they'll be comforted in this testimony also.

I do believe we're all God's children, and keeping that belief out in front I just have to lay it down to our Lord to intercede in their lives and bring the lost sheep home.



Hi Allen and Everyone !flowerforyou

Wow, I really enjoyed reading this. The gift of introspection, empathy, and compassion are great virtues… especially at such a young age.

The atrocities experienced by the Vietnamese were horrible…I can only imagine. I was not alive at the time, but my Father fought and received 3 purple hearts before being sent home. Your mother must have been a special lady to have reached out to a neighbor like that, especially one where there would have been cultural barriers given the time period and the war.

I guess what I'm saying is that even though we can seem as different as night and day, this is an illusion because we all feel the same emotions, and we all have an instinct for God and we all want to feel safe. This is something I realized at 11 years of age.
Since that time, I've only come to realize this truth more and more.


This is so true. Everyone is a child of God and God has known each one since before the foundation of the world. Not one person is an accident. (Psalm 139 is one of my favorite psalms.) Everyone has a conscience and knows the difference between good and evil, right and wrong. It takes hardness of heart and conscience searing until disagreeable behavior has no effect on a person any longer. Everyone knows how to pray. It is a basic intuition that comes from deep within. Some yield easily and naturally, others grow up and say it is ridiculous. When going through excruciating circumstances or something inexplicable and one cannot figure a way out through all deductive reasoning, humility and divine intervention do not seem so unreasonable.

I remember that I once considered myself a Christian because I had been brought up in a home that went to church a few times a year. I was sprinkle baptized and went through confirmation. I was not born again but I still prayed and would act very religious around people. I know that God heard me, loved me and answered prayer even back then because of His unfailing love, grace and mercy. It wasn’t until I felt completely helpless and hopeless while going through a terrible trail that I called out to God and surrendered my life to Him. (I was like a Cornelius in Acts 10 – agreeing with Christians, praying and doing good deeds but had not heard the Good News of Jesus Christ and made Him Lord in my life yet.) Yet, looking back I can remember God putting people in my path that shared Christ’s love with kindness and compassion, or that just lived the life for all to see. I can see the way He divinely orchestrated meetings with certain people and events in my life that led me to Him and I am so thankful for each one that was willing to step out of their comfort zones and reach out in their own way even though I vehemently believed I already knew Him. For this reason I have a desire to reach out to others.

I know that He has a good plan for each one of our lives, plans to prosper us and not to harm us, to give us a hope and a future (Jeremiah 29:11). He has a plan for each one of our future brothers and sisters in Christ as well because His Word says that He is not willing that any should perish but that all should come unto repentance…and He goes on to say that in verse 12 “Then you will call upon me and come and pray to me, and I will listen to you. 13 You will seek me and find me when you seek me with all your heart. 14 I will be found by you," declares the LORD, "and will bring you back from captivity.” This is a great promise and scripture I like to pray over others as well as Luke 15:7 - … there will be more rejoicing in heaven over one sinner who repents than over ninety-nine righteous persons who do not need to repent. He is the one that draws them, but He uses us – His earthen vessels if we are but willing to follow His leading…

flowerforyou :heart: flowerforyou

feralcatlady's photo
Tue 01/27/09 08:51 AM
There is no doubt the hardest part for a Christian is to "Not" be over zealous....Because these are human beings, and I have found from doing ministry work on the internet for over 10 years, that through example and with Love is the only way. You can plant the seed and then the rest is between them and the Lord. And always may come and ask questions...and again with Love, no judging, and be there for them.

I have also seen through my experience on line that most but not all athiests have had a bad bad experience, whether it be with a church, or in life and I think it's normal for people to blame God for all that goes wrong in ones life. But I think at least imo that all troubles, sadness, mental instability is the work of satan. I ask people all the time, why is it that you want to blame God for all the ugly, when was the last time you thanked him for anything.

SharpShooter10's photo
Tue 01/27/09 12:04 PM


wow, telephone man, hope you never have to use that survival suit you are wearing drinker


Not entirely sure what you mean by that... except its refreshing to be cut down by a fellow "Christian" instead of those darned atheists all the time...


...keep up the fight... you're saving millions...

one of your pics looked like you were wearing a survival suit for water like the people on fishing boats, hopin you never had to use it meant wishing you well and not having to utilize it for real. take it easy, have a good day, see ya around. wasn't cuttin you down in any way though.drinker