I am an orthodox Christian, ask me a question!

[Ryft]

This board is entitled "Atheist Forums," yet here you are spreading Jesus dust and expecting to be treated as a fully functional human being, when all you really want to do is pretend that you are so much more holy than anyone else.

I had taken the time this afternoon to read every post in this entire thread, so my following perspective is by no means uninformed. First, I do not think Jon Paul has any expectations about how people here might treat him. His expectations are about how people here treat his arguments, given the extent of his experience with atheists claiming to esteem rational discourse. Those familiar with it know that rational discourse concentrates on the merits of the argument, not the character, attitude, circumstance, etc., of the arguer.

Second, he is a Catholic! It is practically impossible that he would think or pretend that he is holier than anyone else (given their doctrine on sin). So there are no less than three solid reasons to view your comment as extraordinarily retarded: (i) you neither know Jon Paul personally nor have magically privileged access to his internal motivations; (ii) nowhere in any of his posts has he given you reason to think he imagines himself so much more holy than you or others; (iii) the very idea stands in direct contradiction of the beliefs he does have.

We have rejected your fairy tales ...

The fact that you have rejected Christianity is not entirely relevant (however interesting it might be biographically), but rather the basis for that rejection. There is ample evidence on this board that most of the atheists here who were former Christians were so around adolescence or earlier; in other words, the level of theological literacy is comparable to that of Sunday School children. His position amounts to, "Let us evaluate now, as grown ups, the rational integrity of your objections"—with tremendous emphasis on the "rational" point, governed as it is by the unforgiving rigor of logic. And given the fascinating array of logical fallacies (e.g., Begging the Question, Straw Man, Prejudicial Language, etc.), that evaluation is, by all accounts, speaking volumes.

I suppose atheists are free to shield their beliefs behind logical fallacies, if they so choose. And theists like Jon Paul and myself will enjoy exposing those fallacies. He is not asking you to convert; he is not even asking you to be rational (although he expects you to be). But he is asking you to respond to the merits of his argument, with your response being evaluated by the unforgiving rigor of logic. If it holds up, that's great.

If it doesn't, that's great.