I'm curious. Do the resident christians really believe
all of the stuff they post? Which ones are real and
which are trolling? Or, are their beliefs really as
troll-ish as some of them sound? I'm starting to think
that christians are out of their minds. I'll name names
if anyone asks, but please don't ask me to quote posts
by them - I'm trying to forget.

Quote:Do the resident christians really believe
all of the stuff they post? Which ones are real and
which are trolling?

I might add that getting honest answers from dishonest people may not work. Some of them get high-strung when their beliefs are attacked so maybe that is a hint.

I am afraid that the ones who are not POES or SOCKS are quite serious about that which they post.

An interesting fact that I have noticed is that our resident theists are mostly male. I think BettyG was the only female.

I'm starting to think that none of the christians/other religious people really believe. Because if they really really believe, they'd hold the bible and god to a higher standard than themselves. But they don't. It's just a show or something. I mean if you really believe, you wouldn't have to deny evidence. You can face up to the evidence and say you still believe. IDK, it occurred to me in the subway today when I was looking at this ad that says: does the bible confuse you? Join a 6 week course on how to understand the word of God.

And it's like dude, if my report confuses anyone, I'm failing my lab. But if god's only book is confusing that's ok? Come on, you have to expect better from a god.

(August 22, 2013 at 9:05 pm)pineapplebunnybounce Wrote: ...if my report confuses anyone, I'm failing my lab. But if god's only book is confusing that's ok? Come on, you have to expect better from a god.

It occured to me today that, how you read the Holy Scriptures is more important than what you understand from them. Meaning, there are people I really admire who, when I talk with them, I do not fully understand. But I love them and keep listening, trying to understand. The Scriptures can be read on so many levels. That's why I find them so fascinating.

(August 22, 2013 at 9:43 pm)ChadWooters Wrote:

(August 22, 2013 at 9:05 pm)pineapplebunnybounce Wrote: ...if my report confuses anyone, I'm failing my lab. But if god's only book is confusing that's ok? Come on, you have to expect better from a god.

It occured to me today that, how you read the Holy Scriptures is more important than what you understand from them. Meaning, there are people I really admire who, when I talk with them, I do not fully understand. But I love them and keep listening, trying to understand. The Scriptures can be read on so many levels. That's why I find them so fascinating.

If you don't understand them, can you claim to love them, when you don't know what you're loving? Can you name a concrete example btw, if possible, I'm having trouble relating to this experience.

There are times when I don't understand things and I know it's because of my lack of knowledge instead of the material's problem. However, if god's aim is for us to know him and understand him, he could've done better. You write for your audience, you don't write in one language and wait for it to be translated and distributed, you write in all languages and make sure everyone on earth gets a copy. At this point you could fairly argue that we dont' know what god's aim is. In which case then there's no need to bother.

(August 22, 2013 at 7:39 pm)Maelstrom Wrote: I am afraid that the ones who are not POES or SOCKS are quite serious about that which they post.

An interesting fact that I have noticed is that our resident theists are mostly male. I think BettyG was the only female.

Females tend to be smarter...regardless their religious background. They know better than to lock horns with opponents on their home turf.

(August 22, 2013 at 7:39 pm)Maelstrom Wrote: I am afraid that the ones who are not POES or SOCKS are quite serious about that which they post.

An interesting fact that I have noticed is that our resident theists are mostly male. I think BettyG was the only female.

Isnt Alter2Ego a lady?

It's difficult to determine whether or not someone actually believes what they profess to consciously believe, but as far as faking it, I do not believe any Christian here is doing so. Sometimes the details behind their beliefs are sketchy or get embelleshed, but I see no reason to believe that any one of them being isn't genuine about what they believe. So, I would have to say that yes, they most likely really do believe these things.

As far as female Christians go, we've had several here, but the Christians that stick around for the long term tend to be predominately male.

(August 22, 2013 at 7:32 pm)freedomfromfallacy Wrote: I'm curious. Do the resident christians really believe all of the stuff they post?

When I was a believer, I certainly did believe a lot of that stuff and had no doubt that it was true. When you have accepted that god exists and believe this utterly and absolutely, you are determined to make everything else fit into that particular worldview. If something doesn't fit, it could bring the whole belief system crashing down, and that can be extremely traumatic.