(February 1, 2015 at 11:35 am)watchamadoodle Wrote: I wish there were more mainstream Christians on this forum. The Christian members we have seem to be nice, but their views are on the fringes of Christianity. I have encountered some very knowledgable Christians on other forums who know all about church history, psychology, philosophy, theology, etc. I don't even try to argue with those people, because I know I am out-classed. I wish they would join this forum and have discussions that I could watch.

Has anybody considered inviting Christians to join from other forums?

Maybe.. They are here, but the nature of the conversations we have here on this site tend to strip the theology and philosophy out of a given topic.

Maybe the reason 'we' seem to be on the fringes is because the threads here all center on the fringes of Christianity and not on theology, history or philosophy.

(February 1, 2015 at 11:36 am)thesummerqueen Wrote: We used to have several. They got scared off by some ruder members of the forums.

Maybe a sub-forum that prohibits rudeness, derails, etc. would encourage Christians to join and discuss things? For example, I would be curious how those Christians reconcile their beliefs with reality, what parts of the Bible they take literally and what parts they don't take literally, etc. There could be a variety of discussions.

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(February 1, 2015 at 11:57 am)Drich Wrote: Maybe.. They are here, but the nature of the conversations we have here on this site tend to strip the theology and philosophy out of a given topic.

Maybe the reason 'we' seem to be on the fringes is because the threads here all center on the fringes of Christianity and not on theology, history or philosophy.

It's hard for me to judge, but the beliefs you guys profess in your posts are not mainstream Christian theology IMO. In fact you each have distinctly different beliefs. That's o.k. of course.

Very interesting.
Who but someone out of the mainstream in Christianity would join AF?
Bad language, extreme hostility, mocking, are not things mainstream people tolerate very well.
I came from dishing out a bit of it in my BC days, so it is no big deal to me, but more normal people are put off by it.

(February 1, 2015 at 12:42 pm)professor Wrote: Very interesting.
Who but someone out of the mainstream in Christianity would join AF?
Bad language, extreme hostility, mocking, are not things mainstream people tolerate very well.
I came from dishing out a bit of it in my BC days, so it is no big deal to me, but more normal people are put off by it.

The one thing that is good about AF.org is that it's very lenient on what religious people can say. What I mean is that even the most "outrageous" claims are allowed, so long as the person claiming is then willing to have a sensible discussion about it. I'm pretty sure AF.com (for example) isn't so welcoming to outlandish claims.

(February 1, 2015 at 11:35 am)watchamadoodle Wrote: I wish there were more mainstream Christians on this forum. The Christian members we have seem to be nice, but their views are on the fringes of Christianity. I have encountered some very knowledgable Christians on other forums who know all about church history, psychology, philosophy, theology, etc. I don't even try to argue with those people, because I know I am out-classed. I wish they would join this forum and have discussions that I could watch.

Has anybody considered inviting Christians to join from other forums?

There lies a problem. Most mainstream Christians are uninterested in discussion of this type. They're fairly tolerant and respectful of atheists and wish no ill will towards them.

Never heard of such a forum. Religious shitheads simply cannot stand the thought that there are people who do not buy their fairy-tale view of life. It scares the piss out of them that their cherished horseshit can so easily be discarded.

Look at drippy for a pitiful example of such.

(February 1, 2015 at 12:42 pm)professor Wrote: Very interesting.
Who but someone out of the mainstream in Christianity would join AF?
Bad language, extreme hostility, mocking, are not things mainstream people tolerate very well.
I came from dishing out a bit of it in my BC days, so it is no big deal to me, but more normal people are put off by it.

I don't believe you have any business speaking about what is and isn't normal.

(February 1, 2015 at 12:42 pm)professor Wrote: I came from dishing out a bit of it in my BC days, so it is no big deal to me, but more normal people are put off by it.

BC? Before Christ? Sheesh, you're old, man.

(February 1, 2015 at 3:34 pm)Losty Wrote:

(February 1, 2015 at 12:42 pm)professor Wrote: Very interesting.
Who but someone out of the mainstream in Christianity would join AF?
Bad language, extreme hostility, mocking, are not things mainstream people tolerate very well.
I came from dishing out a bit of it in my BC days, so it is no big deal to me, but more normal people are put off by it.

I don't believe you have any business speaking about what is and isn't normal.

What professor means is that most Christians are hypersensitive when it comes to discussing belief in god and their feelings get hurt with the simplest honest question

Jokes? What are those? Whoever heard of such a thing??