Padraic

[Lion IRC]

Sorry KichigaiNeko, youre not gonna like this, but another possibility is that he had an epiphany and left atheism.

That is just an assumption.

A possibility.

Your argument is that Padraic, an atheist, possibly had an epiphany and left atheism since he is not posting in this forum anymore.

Yes, and its not an implausible theory. (Not an argument BTW)
If Padraic came back here and said yes, I have reverted to open agnosticism or converted to some theistic position, would he be greeted in a warm friendly manner by everyone especially the theists?

...But now:

If a Christian left a Christian forum, would you also argue that he abandoned Christianity?

Its an interesting question.

Padraic/Bunyip didnt just leave ''a'' forum. He apparently has left a few. And under this particular working theory, he would have done so voluntarily and not without an intelligent reason. As some have noted, he is a smart guy.

And unlike Christianity which has invocations about persisting with defence of the faith, atheism has no equivalent canon. An atheist counter-apologist can just walk away if it gets boring or they feel themselves ''losing their religion''. They arent a baptized part of some universal apostolic church. So I think the attitudes would be somewhat different.

If I stopped going to church people would come to see what was going on and in order to make them go away, I would have to tell them that I wasnt interested in God any more.

I really can't recall ever seeing someone - a Christian equivalent to Padraic - leave a Christian forum suddenly, unexpectedly and without explanation. In my experience, most Christians on a close knit internet forum, equivalent to this one, who live close enough to each other will have met IRL and even if they couldnt meet in real life, they certainly would have at least talked to each other about what church each attends, what the liturgy/service is like
...and maybe a bit of inter-denominational rivalry.

IOW if Padriac was a Christian apologist and he and I both lived in the same city, we would have, by now, gotten to know each other by way of shared Christian links. (Fellowshipping) We would have likely sent occasional PM's to each other. And a quick visit or phone call by me to Padraics church would resolve his sudden mysterious absence. (Yeah, we havent seen him for a few weeks now - but we know where he lives, we know his relatives who are also part of the Church, etc. etc. etc.)

Anyway, as I said, it's just a theory and I am an optimist.

---

When can I expect your kudos vote?

Seriously though, isnt my theory more optimistic than some of the darker alternatives?

No, I'd rather be dead.

The theory isnt about YOU. (or the person who flipped a Kudos your way for that bizarre empathy)