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Our role(s) as Christians on Atheist Forums
#12
RE: Our role(s) as Christians on Atheist Forums
Ok, next day here and I think I have a little bit of time. Let me respond better to Neo's post.

Neo, you said this: "By asking about the role of Christians on AF, I’m not concerned about our personal motives, such as finding community, verbally joisting, or playing games. I question, in general, if there are any justifications for Christians, as Christians, to participate on AF and if so what such reasons could be."

I think there are 2 and I talk about each of them bellow.

Reason #1: I would say a Christian role on AF would be to set forth a good example of Christianity and to dispel some of the misconceptions both about Christianity as a religion and about Christians as people. To what end? In hopes of opening some hearts and planting a seed, either for a member here or a lurker. Though as I said on my first post, I don't think this is realistic and isn't the reason why I'm here personally, but I can see it being a "Christian thing" to strive for.

Reason #2: Another Christian role here would be to be challenged in our faith, and in being challenged, to explore it more, seek more answers, and in the end... grow in faith and become better and stronger Christians for it. I believe Alpha talked about this as well, and like he said, there are certainly other ways of going about doing this that don't involve participating on AF. But participating here is, nonetheless, A way.

So my conclusion is that yes, Christians do have roles here. But if the only reason you're here is to fulfill a Christian role and you otherwise don't enjoy your time here, are those 2 reasons worth it? Are you wasting your time? .....Probably not, and probably. Because #1 is a long shot, and #2 you could gain some other way.

Neo, you said this: "you suggest that exposing yourself to the opinions and ideas on AF provides insight into the thoughts and feeling of other atheists with whom you interact elsewhere online or in real life. You also write about a desire to “engage with people of differing views”. But merely gaining insight has only personal value unless it in some way brings glory to God or builds the Kingdom. I see knowledge as a means to an end, not an end unto itself. As such, if you have no ambitions beyond educating yourself, such as overcoming objections of non-believers so they may come to Christ or strengthening your faith to be more effective in other missions?"

I fully admit I am only here for personal reasons. As a hobby. A pass time. A distraction/escape. My presence here doesn't glorify God, but I don't think it offends God, either. Neither does eating brownies, I suppose, but I enjoy that too. I'm not of the opinion that everything we do in life needs to be geared towards some higher purpose. There are acts that are neutral, that we simply do because we enjoy them, and I don't see a moral problem with that. Thoughts?
"Of course, everyone will claim they respect someone who tries to speak the truth, but in reality, this is a rare quality. Most respect those who speak truths they agree with, and their respect for the speaking only extends as far as their realm of personal agreement. It is less common, almost to the point of becoming a saintly virtue, that someone truly respects and loves the truth seeker, even when their conclusions differ wildly." 

-walsh
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RE: Our role(s) as Christians on Atheist Forums - by Catholic_Lady - May 6, 2018 at 10:15 am



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