Top Seven Ways Christianity is Debunked By the Sciences

[Shell B]

If you read what you've quoted me saying, you wouldn't ask that question now would you.

Yes, I would. I fail to see where I insulted him, even in the slightest, Frods. I understand that you were merely saying that my post fell by the wayside. However, I would venture to say it went more than by the wayside. Zaki went ahead and fully implied I was saying things I was not. That tends to rub me the wrong way. Would you agree that it is rather hard to have a conversation with someone when it essentially goes, "So, I don't think that the founding fathers were Christian." "Hahahahahahah. So, you agree that Benjamin Franklin was an alien?

I'm simply trying to encourange reasonable discourse over the usual flame baiting. the only people who sticck around in such conditions are people who like retaliating at times, like me. And you will occasionally get upset with me about that.

I respect that and I try to lead conversation in the right direction as much as possible. It's rather hard when the newb has already had a meltdown by the time I get there. Hard to tell people to lay off him when he is going batshit. As for getting "upset" with you. I assure you, you are not the only person I have told to take a chill pill, atheists are included. It's a thankless job as someone is inevitably irritated with me every time, but I try to step in when it seems necessary. I'm not an authoritarian type, though, so this is hard for me.

You should make your mind up about what you want... flame wars or logical discussion. It seems the flaming is all we're about really.

This is where I take umbrage, Frodo. This is not my forum. As mentioned above, it is difficult to do anything without ruffling someone's feathers, so I try to limit myself to enforcing rules, not dictating behavior. If people are flaming each other back and forth, there is naught I can do about unless the conversation has entirely deteriorated. As long as insults are still coupled with discussion, there is little I can do. These are not my rules, though I stand by them. So, despite the fact that my mind is made up, it hardly matters what I want. You are mostly adults. Why so much intervention is needed whenever a theist freaks out because the atheists are not pussyfooting is beyond me. I have tried explaining that denying god and all arguments that stem from the bible is not a personal insult and that theists should just carry on. I have tried explaining to people that I cannot chastise someone for being insulting if they give it right back. None of this has worked, thusfar. Either people get the idea that it feels like a mob because there is more than one atheist here or they run away. It's there prerogative. I am tired of trying to get them to stay only to feel like an idiot when they post a freakout thread saying they are leaving because atheists are all meanie poopy faces. I think that sometimes you forget that the ratio of atheists who hate Christians to Christians who hate atheists is not skewed in favor of Christians being victims. No matter how nice I am in private messages and how much I try to coax newbs, 1 out of 10, at best, actually respects me and stays.

Now I look at Ziki's first posts here... and I see an attempt at discussion and no name calling.

That's lovely. However, he reported no posts and relished jumping right in on the bandwagon. If he didn't like it, he could have reported it and rose above it. Instead, like so many others, he decided to join in because insulting atheists is apparently as much fun as insulting theists.

After a barrage of flaming he's now trading insults... which is the only reason he's still around, because he's actually not bad at it.

Yes, pretty pathetic, isn't it?

You reap what you sow. Don't complain about the harvest. Dickweed planted dickweed.

I am not to blame for the state of this. Theists do not get the right idea when they come in here. They think the atheists will be awed at their "proof" of god and inevitably are disappointed. I sowed that? Give me a break, Frodo. I might be present quite a bit, but I am not the judge, jury and executioner here. In fact, I think I need a break from this place.