Thank God for Atheist Forums!
May 23, 2013 at 2:25 pm
(This post was last modified: May 23, 2013 at 2:39 pm by The Reality Salesman01.)
I went on to a Christian Forum thinking that perhaps surrounding myself with individuals that agree with me, isn't the best way to have my perspectives challenged, which by the way, is something I do admire about the theists willing to participate on this site. However, some people fight to keep things one-sided so as not to disturb the sheep. Upon creating my profile, Atheist was a stance you could select under religion, and they even gave you a cute little Atom icon next to your name to indicate your stance. Christians got a little cross...etc.
A 19 year old kid posted a thread about prayer. He said that he didn't think anyone was listening and went on to list reasons that were beginning to convince him that this was a good possibility.
He got about 6 of these responses...
"God is listening, you just have to have faith that he knows what's best, and he will answer your prayers in His way."
or..
"The nature of your prayers sound selfish. If you focused on asking for things for other people, he would be more likely to grant them."
and of course these...
"It was probably not a good time as he has a plan for you. Continue to praise him and love him with your entire being, put him first and above all, and he will rain down blessings on you in due time."
I thought...hmm: Do these people honestly think that if somebody came to him a few months before the light bulb came on in his head, with the same concerns, that he would not give them the same standardized responses??!! Aren't these things that children are taught right out of the gate to get the ball rolling on these sorts of unflasifiable claims???
He responded to them with further concerns, and valid observations that confirm what he suspects, and yet still...more people offered the same advice in different words.
So...I offered a little Atheist perspective pertaining to his OP...This is the response from the mod that came the next day (I've edited the forums name because I'm not sure if it would be against the rules to post it or not)
Hi Texas Sailor,
Your post quoted below was recently reported for staff review. After careful review our moderating team has reached consensus and has decided to send you a Counseling Private Message (CPM) for this post which you made in the thread "Why doesn't prayer work?" for violation of the following XXXX Forums rule:
Congregational Forum Restrictions, Christian Only Forums, and Off-Topic posts
Do not post in the forums reserved for Christians only, unless you are truly a Nicene Creed, Trinitarian Christian (please see our Statement of Faith to know exactly what that is). If you wish to discuss unorthodox doctrines, you may do so in Unorthodox Theology.
Since you've identified yourself as an atheist, you may not post in areas marked "Christian Only". Your post will remain deleted from the thread. Please take some time to review our Sitewide Rules before making any further posts. You should also review the Moderation Protocol for XXXX Forums. This CPM does not expire and will remain on your staff record to verify that you have been contacted about following XF rules and guidelines. Any further violations will result in warnings and infractions.
All of XF sitewide rules, moderation protocol, and general information may be accessed through our FAQ's Link. Please also be aware that some of the forums have guidelines for posting in that forum. These guidelines are called the forum Statement of Purpose. These threads are sticky threads and are located at the top of the forum's page. It is your responsibility to read and abide by the Statement of Purpose threads before posting in any of our forums.
As it turns out...there is no forum that is not labeled Christians Only except the one titled "Exploring Christianity". I was told to post there, and my first thread was promptly deleted. They said that forum was strictly for people with questions pertaining to How to be a christian, and apparently not setup for challenging the claims made by the people that practice the religion.
Thanks Atheist Forums.org!
A 19 year old kid posted a thread about prayer. He said that he didn't think anyone was listening and went on to list reasons that were beginning to convince him that this was a good possibility.
He got about 6 of these responses...
"God is listening, you just have to have faith that he knows what's best, and he will answer your prayers in His way."
or..
"The nature of your prayers sound selfish. If you focused on asking for things for other people, he would be more likely to grant them."
and of course these...
"It was probably not a good time as he has a plan for you. Continue to praise him and love him with your entire being, put him first and above all, and he will rain down blessings on you in due time."
I thought...hmm: Do these people honestly think that if somebody came to him a few months before the light bulb came on in his head, with the same concerns, that he would not give them the same standardized responses??!! Aren't these things that children are taught right out of the gate to get the ball rolling on these sorts of unflasifiable claims???
He responded to them with further concerns, and valid observations that confirm what he suspects, and yet still...more people offered the same advice in different words.
So...I offered a little Atheist perspective pertaining to his OP...This is the response from the mod that came the next day (I've edited the forums name because I'm not sure if it would be against the rules to post it or not)
Hi Texas Sailor,
Your post quoted below was recently reported for staff review. After careful review our moderating team has reached consensus and has decided to send you a Counseling Private Message (CPM) for this post which you made in the thread "Why doesn't prayer work?" for violation of the following XXXX Forums rule:
Congregational Forum Restrictions, Christian Only Forums, and Off-Topic posts
Do not post in the forums reserved for Christians only, unless you are truly a Nicene Creed, Trinitarian Christian (please see our Statement of Faith to know exactly what that is). If you wish to discuss unorthodox doctrines, you may do so in Unorthodox Theology.
Since you've identified yourself as an atheist, you may not post in areas marked "Christian Only". Your post will remain deleted from the thread. Please take some time to review our Sitewide Rules before making any further posts. You should also review the Moderation Protocol for XXXX Forums. This CPM does not expire and will remain on your staff record to verify that you have been contacted about following XF rules and guidelines. Any further violations will result in warnings and infractions.
All of XF sitewide rules, moderation protocol, and general information may be accessed through our FAQ's Link. Please also be aware that some of the forums have guidelines for posting in that forum. These guidelines are called the forum Statement of Purpose. These threads are sticky threads and are located at the top of the forum's page. It is your responsibility to read and abide by the Statement of Purpose threads before posting in any of our forums.
As it turns out...there is no forum that is not labeled Christians Only except the one titled "Exploring Christianity". I was told to post there, and my first thread was promptly deleted. They said that forum was strictly for people with questions pertaining to How to be a christian, and apparently not setup for challenging the claims made by the people that practice the religion.
Thanks Atheist Forums.org!
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