Open discussion of the Christian Why We're Here thread

[Whateverist]

Mark, why do you hate God so much?  

Haters gotta hate.  What else can I do. 

But yeah whatever is going on in Neo isn't any fun to witness.

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I agree with most all of this except for two things.  One, I haven't read Drich because he belongs on ignore.  And two, Neo's obsession with a Christian agenda bothers me less than his obsession with treating people as objects.  Perhaps he is somewhere on the spectrum or maybe he is depressed.  People who suffer from anhedonia aren't motivated by the normal range of human responses and also have difficulty understanding the motives of others.  

My bold. I would have given your post a thorough response like I always do (to everyone, even people I should feel nothing but contempt for... and I actually really like you Whateves)

But... I stopped reading after the bolded part. I think you are confusing autism with psychopathy. I've had a stressful, unusual and very much lonely day (I did an hour's walk home at 1.30 in the morning in the dark) so perhaps I am being hypersensitive but this made my gut sink.

And yeah, Neo is an unfeeling cunt who treats people like objects. I don't though, and as you know I'm very much "on the spectrum." Unfortunately.

Well I don't think Neo is at all typical of folks on the spectrum.  So I hope you didn't take it that way.  But I guess you know the spectrum is called that for a reason.

[ignoramus]

Hammy, are you saying being anywhere on the spectrum and being cuntish are mutually exclusive?
Don't shoot the postman! Just asking?

[robvalue]

If anyone is a role model for how not to behave on forums, and how not to think about atheists, it has to be Chad/Neo. I hope the other Christians put him straight on some of the nonsense he's putting out there.

[Amarok]

For me, learning about atheism is a non-issue. As a former atheist, I already had extensive knowledge of atheism as expressed by the major philosophers such as Russell, Nietzsche, and Sartre. The majority of AF atheists are New Atheist groupies who spit out one-liners the way candy pops out of Pez heads. 

My favorite part of Wooters dumb rant 

1. No you clearly were a shitty atheist . If you ever were one . 

2. No you clearly don't know anything as you daily express in you moronic posts.

3. I doubt he's one of those people . Let alone all of them .  

4. describing the majority here as a new atheist (as if that's a refutation) is false .  

5. He's the groupie here Wooter spewing empty apologist talking points from his apologist pez heads .

Wooter confuses arrogance and bravado with understanding .

[I_am_not_mafia]

Well, it was nice until Neo showed up...

Yep, he's the only one I have on ignore on any forum. I find him even worse than Drich which is saying something. At least with Drich you can tell he's afflicted with stupidity and a lack of empathy. He seems born that way and can't in my heart hold it against him too much. Neo though is smug, condescending, obnoxious with a totally unwarranted superiority complex. A completely unpleasant character.

I do not believe their self-delusion that an atheist simply lacks belief.

For me, learning about atheism is a non-issue. As a former atheist, I already had extensive knowledge of atheism as expressed by the major philosophers such as Russell, Nietzsche, and Sartre

So he's read books by atheist philosophers and can't get his head around the idea that some people think differently. Evidence being that he has to call us all new atheist groupies. Religionists do that deliberately to make atheism appear as a cult, same as they use the world 'evolutionist'. It's why I started using the word 'religionist'. The whole term 'new atheist' really annoys me, especially as I don't even like the public figures who are supposed to be new atheists (who are only new in that they are willing to publicly state that there is no god)

[bennyboy]

I can end this thread.

Why Christians are here: they want to talk about religion, but also want to see what common sense looks like.

[Angrboda]

I haven't read the thread but it sounds like Neo wants to persuade the other theists to leave the site. Sort of like the way Jehovah's Witnesses shun former believers, only in reverse.

[robvalue]

It sounds like he wants everyone to leave.

[A Theist]

Rik's one of us.
He's done more for atheism's cause than anyone else could...

I don't think he realizes it though. Lolz. 

As for what I think of the debate and the posts within? 

CL: Joined here three months after I did. She's been a wonderful friend, even when we engage in back and forth posts where I strongly disagree with her opinions. Her thread prompting the birth of the Christian-only debate is a prime example of how she accepts my thoughts without taking it very personally. I love her dearly and as far as my RL friends go - I consider her to be in my small circle of people I trust.

She knows where I stood on having a section just for theists, as did everyone. Still - neither of us resorted to name calling each other. I believe there's a good reason for that. It is because CL never says a harsh word about anyone on here, regardless of who it is. Opinions about faith and beliefs run the gamut on here and CL has dealt with her share of being bullied (for lack of a better word). There are times she's wanted to leave. I convinced her to stay. Truth be told, we need her here. She's a great presence on this site. We've both learned from each other, I think. 

Given her viewpoints and tolerance with certain subjects, I'm hesitant to regard her as Catholic anymore. I can't even regard her as Episcopalian because her some of her views are far too progressive for either religion. And there's nothing wrong with that. I feel that she has a better understanding of the world and the way it is, because she is open to listening to others' thoughts on hotly contested topics. She also stands her ground when she feels she needs to.  This is why I feel she's a good influence on the forum. She listens and then she gives her thoughts. All without being brutal or calling names or being insulting.  

GC: He's a mixed bag for me, tbh. On the one hand, he's been incredibly supportive of me and my journey of being a non-smoker (ten months now smoke free). On many of the off topic threads he contributes to, he comes across as an average guy and for the most part, only brings religion into threads in the religion sections of the forum. He too, is another decent contributor but on the other hand, I feel that perhaps debating with him would work better if the preaching was left out of his posts. That's just my opinion, of course, but we're being honest and that's how I feel. 

I didn't join AF to be preached to. If I wanted that, I would have gone to a religious forum.

Alpha Male: As harsh as some of it was, I appreciate the honesty in his post. I miss him in Mafia. Religion aside - he's a really good Mafia player and I for that, I wish he was around more. Both him and CL have never, to my knowledge, brought religion into the Mafia games. I appreciate that because 99% of that game is mentally messing with everyone else and it can get really emotionally intense at times. 

He said this: 

So, on reflection, why am I here?

My presence here is nothing more than a bad habit.

It's a shame you think this way. When someone gets to know you through Mafia, you're not the same person that I see posting elsewhere on the forums. 

Prov. 26-11
As a dog returns to its vomit, so a fool repeats his folly.

Unless I see a convincing argument to the contrary, I'm going to leave the site at the conclusion of this discussion.

Personally, once we can cut through all of the mud-slinging and the insults - I think you make good contributions here, even if others are in disagreement with that. We can all learn something from each other, as someone else said. If I remember correctly, I think you're the one with five children. I have four myself. Perhaps we could trade parenting stories sometime. I'd like to find common ground with the theists here. Religion isn't necessary for that because there are so many other things we can learn about each other. I'm not going to convince you to stick around, as you are free to go, but I think this forum would be losing a good person from the Religious Team that's here. So, don't go. 

 @CL: There are plenty of Christian sites where you can make online friends, and those sites would be better for you.

I disagree with the undertone of saying that she can't make friends here. Of course she could make them elsewhere on the WWW. But I would never have known her if she hadn't ventured in here. She's been a wonderful friend to many of us here. 

Drich: I can't go there. I'm not ready to be forgiving as there's been a lot of fire between us on a lot of things. I won't apologize for that either. So I'm just going to leave it at that because I just can't find it in myself to say nice things at the moment. 

A Theist: I have come to personally know A Theist through a series of PM's in the first part of this year, I believe. He's also been one of the theists here that I've come to defend. Not that he needs it. But along with Deb, I feel he's a valuable contributor here. It's those two that I have a warm spot in my heart for. Believe it or not, the member's photo thread can be looked at as an opportunity to see the human side of those members we would not otherwise give a second glance to. I for one, look forward to seeing all of the wonderful hats he creates and I love teasing him for not smiling in his pictures. If anyone has the privilege of getting to know him "behind the scenes", he's really a nice, sweet person. 

So because of what I consider to be a friendship with AT, like CL, I tend to shy away from many religious threads where they are active because honestly, religion and politics are two of the topics I tend to avoid discussing with close friends unless they happen to share my views. It's a tightrope I don't have an interest in walking on because I value my friendships more than our differing of opinion on those topics. 

That said, I'm glad he posted his thoughts in the Christian only debate thread. That raw honesty gave me a chance to learn more about him than what I had previously known.

Why, thankee, Joods! I appreciate that! Here's a great big ol' smile for you! 😁 In all seriousness, I value our friendship too. I've always considered you to be one of the more insightful members here...and I do appreciate some of the "positive" feedback from a few of those who posted their observations. Also, I don't want you to feel like not wanting to challenge me in a discussion because of our friendship. Even from those who may annoy me just a tad from time to time, I don't take it personal. I would have been out of here a long time ago if I did. Here's another big ol' smile for you! 😁

[chimp3]

If Chad has any personal integrity he would make that his final post and depart AF.