What is preaching and why is it banned

[The Grand Nudger]

It's probably very difficult to engage in a discussion about a god you believe in without preaching, of course, you can solve alot of preaching issues with the a simple "i believe that".....in front of any given statement, rather than simply going through line by line as though it were the literal word. Even then you can still preach. Consider the following.

"In the beginning God created the heavens and the earth. 2 Now the earth was formless and empty, darkness was over the surface of the deep, and the Spirit of God was hovering over the waters"

or

"I believe that god created the heavens and the earth"

We've avoided preaching here.

Now, it doesn't always work.

"I believe that you, as a homosexual, are going to hell for your sins, which are an affront to god."

We're missing a few "I believes" in the statement above.

"I believe that you, as a homosexual, are going to a place I believe in called hell, for what I believe are your sins, which I believe are an affront to an entity I believe in called god."

A little bit more cumbersome, but all of the qualifiers break the impact of the sentence and make it (marginally) easier to swallow. All in all very sticky. Of course I haven't seen anyone reprimanded or banned yet for a single sentence. I have seen the statement above, in long and short form. Thing is, when asked why said person believes any of this, if the explanation is simply restating the belief over and over it does become preaching at a point. Especially considering the lack of "I believe" qualifiers day in and day out. Statements like this are often passed along as fact, unassailable by disagreement or discussion. I'm personally glad that I don't have to make such distinctions and ban this or that user. Mod seems more like a punishment than anything else on these forums more often than not..lol.

[Rev. Rye]

Why cant we just have something a peanut gallery where those who have been caught preaching will be confined. Better still a gladiatorial arena, where the said offenders have to fight the "beasts" of the forum.

I was under the impression that we did: It's called the Gauntlet. Perhaps a mod may correct me, but that's my interpretation of it.

[Erinome]

Preaching is a foreign concept to me because I grew up in the Catholic faith. There is no such thing as preaching in the Catholic mass, just mindless repetition and homilies which are speeches intended to cover practical matters rather than theological ones.

It's a bit harder for me to distinguish preaching from not preaching. I don't think it's possible for an atheist to "preach" because there is no doctrine attached to atheism, only a disbelief in god. I suppose one could preach their worldview to an extent, but as long as the person doesn't claim that their worldview is the absolute truth and we should all see it as such, I don't consider it to be preaching.

[The Grand Nudger]

LOL, if, instead of bans, preachers were sent directly to the gauntlet...I would live in the gauntlet, and I love the idea. Of course I have no experience running a forum, I'm new here and not privvy to the events that may have led to this or that policy, and so I'm unqaulified to comment...hehe.

[Erinome]

You know I'd be right there with ya, Rhythm!

[Minimalist]

you can solve alot of preaching issues with the a simple "i believe that".....in front of any given statement,

Their problem is they can stop there. After "I believe that" they always go on to say "and you should believe it too or your BURN IN HELL FOR ALL ETERNITY!"

[leo-rcc]

Would you call a stray rose a weed?

Yes.

[Cinjin]

I've heard this argument before.

"Atheists are allowed to preach and Theists are not on these forums." It's every theist's mantra when they get a PM from a Mod warning them about preaching. Curious how the complaint is never made until said theist gets busted. They pull the grade school classic, "well he was doing it first teacher."

There's nothing I can do about a theists claim that I am preaching other than to ask for an example ... which of course can be found. It's easy to find examples of preaching when you're the one defining the term. I couldn't care less. You can call the defense of my position whatever you want, I'm not the one arriving on theists websites trying to show them how wrong they all are. You know how my "preaching" differs from that of theist asshole? Mine doesn't come with a judgement of your eternal soul, a synopsis of how you feel, and a declaration of your complete lack of morality.

Theists, you are treated far better here than any atheist is treated on any christian forum. You don't like it here. Leave. Your shitty attitude and your whining about unfairness will not be missed. That's not going to happen is it? You love it here. You love the drama and you feel important. On a christian forum you blend in with all the other sheep, but here, you're somebody. So STFU or go home.

[fr0d0]

Maybe it's me Cin, or the claims of openness like you just alluded to, to mean that it's different in atheists hangouts to religious hangouts. We know that in churches, for example, that other views are not welcome. Perhaps they would state that they're open to other ideas too, when in reality they're not. Strikes me now I've been attending an atheist church all this time

I was just raising the question as it seemed interesting to me. I agree with Dad's point.. killing the discussion, or not participating is what I'd object to. I'd happily see offenders locked away in R'lyeh or kicked.

Plus I thought it might help some, as I don't see what staff here are on about when they're issueing warnings for preaching. Given the reasons suggested in the OP I was hoping for some clarification perhaps. Some reasoning either way.

[Cinjin]

I wasn't addressing you personally Frodo ... not in that post or this.

That was meant for all those certain theists who show up on this site, insult nearly everyone and than whine and bitch about the resulting treatment they receive.
I'm so sick of hearing about crybaby theists. You don't like it? Get the fuck out!!

...but like I said, that won't happen will it ..... the drama is precisely what they're here for. "Well, I'm a theist and I'm here to learn more about atheists/ strengthen my faith/ ask some questions/ blah blah blah ..."
BULL SHIT!!
Waldork, Godsdump and Loony are still here because they LOVE IT here!! They love the drama. They love pissing on people and using "jesus' sweet love" as an excuse to do just that. They love bending the rules and pushing everybody's buttons. I guarantee you .. not a single one of them will leave after reading this post.


The Point Is:
If you can't preach, and you can't witness, and your testimony sucks, and you start fights with everyone you talk to ... than what possible reason could you want to stay here as a christian?

Answer: None. You're here because you like being rude, you like being condescending, you like being notorious, and it's likely this forum is an exciting escape from an otherwise tedious and restrictive boring life. Bonus, you can justify your rude behavior by saying, "hey, they're atheists, god hates them anyway."

Congratulations, you're not good christians, you're GREAT christians. You're everything jesus wants you to be and if you're lucky you can be the ones giving him handjobs for the rest of eternity as a mindless zombie who cant remember your friends and family being burned in hell.