Another US based Christian joining the fold, 

I consider myself a gnostic theist, because I feel as certain about the existence of God, as I do my two hands.

I've joined the forum, because I like the company of my opposition, particularly because it help me learn to articulate my view better, and try and communicate them as simply as possible.

Not looking to win any converts, or to be a douche. 

Thanks for having me.

(January 16, 2019 at 1:17 pm)Acrobat Wrote: Another US based Christian joining the fold, 

I consider myself a gnostic theist, because I feel as certain about the existence of God, as I do my two hands.

I've joined the forum, because I like the company of my opposition, particularly because it help me learn to articulate my view better, and try and communicate them as simply as possible.

Not looking to win any converts, or to be a douche. 

Thanks for having me.

You "feel".... An that is the problem. Feelings are not facts. 

Welcome, but do understand here the best tactic is to treat everyone as individuals and don't assume we all agree just because we hold the "off" position.

(January 16, 2019 at 2:17 pm)Brian37 Wrote: You "feel".... An that is the problem. Feelings are not facts. 

While feeling may not be facts, your confidence or certainty about facts or truth is.

Quote:Welcome, but do understand here the best tactic is to treat everyone as individuals and don't assume we all agree just because we hold the "off" position.

I'm not new to atheists forums, have been part of them for over a decade. In fact, I kind of remember your name from the Rational Responders site years ago. :toast:

And I do try and treat everyone as an individual, and hope the same for myself.

(January 16, 2019 at 2:30 pm)Acrobat Wrote:

(January 16, 2019 at 2:17 pm)Brian37 Wrote: You "feel".... An that is the problem. Feelings are not facts. 

While feeling may not be facts, your confidence or certainty about facts or truth is.

Quote:Welcome, but do understand here the best tactic is to treat everyone as individuals and don't assume we all agree just because we hold the "off" position.

I'm not new to atheists forums, have been part of them for over a decade. In fact, I kind of remember your name from the Rational Responders site years ago.  :toast:

And I do try and treat everyone as an individual, and hope the same for myself.

Rational Responders is still up, but very little traffic because of the explosion of all other social media. The owner Brian Sapient has a daytime job that pays the bills but he keeps it up for posterity. It is also where Sapient allows me to  host my poetry thread.

Welcome Woof.

Sounds like we're practice dummies.

Welcome.

I'm the one to ask about hiding the bodies.

Welcome. I'm not sure I like being thought of as the opposition, since I don't oppose belief in god, but welcome, nonetheless.

(January 16, 2019 at 2:33 pm)Brian37 Wrote: Rational Responders is still up, but very little traffic because of the explosion of all other social media. The owner Brian Sapient has a daytime job that pays the bills but he keeps it up for posterity. It is also where Sapient allows me to  host my poetry thread.

Yes, i faded out around the time the forum started to die down.

I think atheism vs theism exploded around the time of the four horsemen, but has died down all over the place. A number of once big forums have closed shop, dawkin's and the thinking atheist, etc..

You take some of the major players at the time, and they've seem to have moved on to other topics like feminism, political correctness, safe spaces, toxic masculinity, etc, or just faded away.

The space once occupied by the four horsemen, replaced with Joe Rogan, Jordan Peterson, Ben Shapiro, and Sam Harris who seems to found a new lease on life.

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(January 16, 2019 at 2:46 pm)Shell B Wrote: Welcome. I'm not sure I like being thought of as the opposition, since I don't oppose belief in god, but welcome, nonetheless.

Sorry,  no offensive, I meant it more along the lines of opposing viewpoints, rather than people. 

http://movies2.nytimes.com/books/00/11/2...ition.html

Outside Hitchens dying, the other horseman are still out there, and they have not faded. Americans simply have a short attention span when it comes to news cycles..

Atheists got a lot of attention back then because it was new as far a size to the rest of society. But I wouldn't say atheists have faded, that would be a mistake.

(January 16, 2019 at 3:03 pm)Brian37 Wrote: Outside Hitchens dying, the other horseman are still out there, and they have not faded. Americans simply have a short attention span when it comes to news cycles..

Atheists got a lot of attention back then because it was new as far a size to the rest of society. But I wouldn't say atheists have faded, that would be a mistake.

They faded in the sense, that Haley Joel Osmond acting career has faded. We're no longer as interested in folks like Dawkins and Dennett as we were a decade ago.

And yes, particularly in the western world, non-believer will continue to grow, at the expensive of the religious, but they're likely to more apathetic about religion, as the trend in other western nations. You're probably not going to see a growth in atheists conventions, or a second generation of Rational Responders.