(March 2, 2011 at 10:04 am)DoubtVsFaith Wrote: I keep doing this strange thing where I delete all, or almost all, of my contacts on MSN, Facebook, Twitter etc. I need to stop doing that.

I do that all the time, but generally I scare them off, then decide to talk to them again.

(March 2, 2011 at 9:15 am)Rwandrall Wrote: Expressing your religious views in public, whether they be for or against theism, is considered rude when unsolicited. Since this person did not seem to reference God in their post, it seems you were the rude one by bringing up religion in an unrelated topic i'm afraid :/

Yes. I implied earlier that I probably made a mistake in responding to it and should have ignored it. But I ignore so many! It's a challenge to ignore them all. lol

I have so many Christian friends on Facebook, left over from those few years when I was a teenage Jesus lover. I often wish I could call their beliefs into question like you did.

It just boggles my mind that I was the ONLY one who managed to leave theism behind, out of a huge group of people. The rest of them still have FB pages full of religious nonsense. I guess I'm afraid of appearing rude, so for the most part I don't talk to them at all. I wouldn't be able to resist trying to enlighten them

(March 2, 2011 at 10:57 am)OnlyNatural Wrote: I have so many Christian friends on Facebook, left over from those few years when I was a teenage Jesus lover. I often wish I could call their beliefs into question like you did.

You can and quite confidently, if you choose. You have all the evidence on your side. I was once a bit squeamish about debating believers, but their position is indefensible. And once you realize that and study some apologetics, it gets easier.

As a side note, my former worship pastor posted a few days ago that his "life group" (kind of like a small study group ... an offshoot of all those "The Purpose Driven Life" seminars) was studying apologetics, which is just a fancy word for all the synthesized arguments that believers come up with to try to "prove" their beliefs to the rest of us or to themselves. He said something to the effect that it was important for Christians to know precisely why they believe. I thought about replying with something cute like, "Yes ... apologetics" or "Been there done that." But I demurred.

(March 2, 2011 at 10:57 am)OnlyNatural Wrote: I guess I'm afraid of appearing rude, so for the most part I don't talk to them at all. I wouldn't be able to resist trying to enlighten them

Yes, as I mentioned, in the few times that I do speak up to my believing friends, I sometimes regret it because my comments weren't asked for and unwelcome. I do show restraint more times than not though.

(March 2, 2011 at 12:35 am)everythingafter Wrote: I love how believers are so cocksure that their god cares about them and their loved ones, but the moment you begin to call their beliefs into question, their defense mechanisms go into overdrive. If they were really that sure, why do they get bent out of shape? I took out the names, but here is me getting myself defriended. And sorry for the wall of text or whatever it's called. I don't think that particular thread would have a public link. In truth, I probably should have left it alone (since I "leave alone" a large daily offering of stuff like this from former fellow believerson FB) but water under the bridge now.

I was preparing an answer to the latter person, but learned that I had been defriended when I couldn't comment any further. *Shrugs*

You know, this is a general rule: all people are friends to you as long as you agree with them. The only way you can see who is really a friend is to strongly believe otherwise and show it. If you do this, many or most will hate you and despise you. That's a general rule: it doesn't matter who believes what.

Also, if a german in the Nazi Germany had not believed in the pure race and the theories of that age, his own friends and relatives might have killed him. That's why I fear the spirit of the crowd: the mob does not respond to reason, but is only loyal to what the majority (his party) believes and says and does. The mob is ready even to kill if the mob is allowed by the society (e.g. laws of the state) to do that (to a specific minority), especially if it's taught to.

following a crowd (e.g. party) means ceasing to reason, my opinion.

From my experiences in debating other people, I've noticed that if they couldn't prove me wrong they either told me "I don't want us to talk about this subject any longer", or I got to be avoided, regarded as a "heretic", even hated, etc. People chose to believe what they like to believe, and the worst 'mistake' is to show them what they don't want to see: that they are wrong. People HATE to be told that they are WRONG! And HATE to think that they MIGHT be WRONG!(here, I mean the really important things)

(March 2, 2011 at 1:12 pm)everythingafter Wrote: And once you realize that and study some apologetics, it gets easier.

I can't help but feel that if Christianity were factually correct it wouldn't need people to apologise for it being wrong.

(March 18, 2011 at 4:35 pm)Ubermensch Wrote:

(March 2, 2011 at 1:12 pm)everythingafter Wrote: And once you realize that and study some apologetics, it gets easier.

I can't help but feel that if Christianity were factually correct it wouldn't need people to apologise for it being wrong.

well, that's a wordplay:
apologetics = "the branch of theology concerned with the defense or proof of christianity."
(http://dictionary.reference.com/browse/apologetics)

while apologetic = "containing an apology or excuse for a fault, failure, insult, injury, etc"
(http://dictionary.reference.com/browse/apologetic)

:)))

It's funny that they look very similar though...

(March 18, 2011 at 1:43 pm)Zenith Wrote: From my experiences in debating other people, I've noticed that if they couldn't prove me wrong they either told me "I don't want us to talk about this subject any longer", or I got to be avoided, regarded as a "heretic", even hated, etc. People chose to believe what they like to believe, and the worst 'mistake' is to show them what they don't want to see: that they are wrong. People HATE to be told that they are WRONG! And HATE to think that they MIGHT be WRONG!(here, I mean the really important things)

There is a saying about how insanity is exhibited by a willingness to neither change one's mind nor one's topic. So I can't fault people for not wanting to talk about it any longer.

(March 18, 2011 at 5:49 pm)Zenith Wrote:

(March 18, 2011 at 4:35 pm)Ubermensch Wrote:

(March 2, 2011 at 1:12 pm)everythingafter Wrote: And once you realize that and study some apologetics, it gets easier.

I can't help but feel that if Christianity were factually correct it wouldn't need people to apologise for it being wrong.

well, that's a wordplay:
apologetics = "the branch of theology concerned with the defense or proof of christianity."
(http://dictionary.reference.com/browse/apologetics)

while apologetic = "containing an apology or excuse for a fault, failure, insult, injury, etc"
(http://dictionary.reference.com/browse/apologetic)

))

It's funny that they look very similar though...

I know, I was making the funny. It doesn't work when you explain the joke. YOU HAVE RUINED EVERYTHING!

Thank you for reminding me why I avoid Facebook as if it were the fucking plague. Far too many asswipes running around loose out there.