The Devils Scam
A short one here…first of all, we have our debate and our topic picked out, look for that real soon…this one should be fun for both sides.
Now…i have been frequenting a forum called “Christian Doctrine Discussion” for about 3 weeks now…its a tiny forum and I started going there because a friend said they were open minded—boy was I wrong. I just got banned last night, no warning given…nor a reason..and the last message addressed to me is by Rick, the administrator saying:
And preferably not to RevOxley_501 who wants to convert you into believing the devils scam.
The context was that a Christian was struggling and being encouraged to find someone to talk to…i told him that I certainly understood the doubts he was enduring as well as anyone there…that post has been deleted.
Thought i would share that with you, since I was nothing but kind at that place and tried to understand everyone’s point of view…Christian love is once again invisible and unseen.
Think I was probably rude? here are all my posts—I may have shown some confusion as some really hard to understand English, but I think I was more than respectful. What do you think?
Well anyway, Rick was supposed to be compiling evidence for me that the Bible was trustworthy as a source…he said the Holy Spirit told him he could—i guess the Holy Spirit changed his mind?
So , for the christians—here is a tip, if an ex-Christian comes up to your forum one day…talk to him, he might be a nice guy…im over my bitter stage I think…maybe you can learn from him, and him from you…give us a chance, and at least pretend to love us.
Interesting, innit, that you’re only perceived as welcome until you rock the boat. I’ve been blocked from commenting on people’s blogs lately because I tend to back up my points with, well, facts, and that tends to bug some folks.
As for your being banned from that particular site, I wish you luck in finding one that will welcome your opinions and experiences in the future.
Cheers,
RR
I’ve been part of some good discussions here: http://www.doxa.ws/forum/
But some of it is either above my head, or above my patience level, meaning I’d have to do too much reading to catch up!
I think it is a shame that you guys keep having this experience over and over and over. I’m very disappointed in my ‘church brethren’ for appearing to be scared of having legitimate discussion.
You guys all bring up very good points every time I’ve jumped in the mix with you – I guess I don’t get what the problem is – but I have seen this type of thing in the church for way too long. It really is time that those who claim to subscribe to the ‘church’ (I’m speaking of Christianity, but the principle applies to all religions in my mind) get a clue as to what they believe, why they believe it and get comfortable having it challenged.
And while it pales in comparison to Matt’s super sophisticated awesome site here, you are all always welcome to my site http://churchblogm.blogspot.com/ – though you might find it a bit boring – hey, at least I won’t ban you…
I guess I don’t see anything wrong with challenging status quo – isn’t that how we all grow and improve after all..? MM
Hey Rev,
Try not take it personally…people do tend to get banned pretty easily from that sort of thing.
On a more positive note, congrats for winning a free month of ads on Adgitize! We both got a free month and that’s awesome!
Matt, You have broken the mold for me as far as what to expect from atheists. You are extremely easy to talk to and down to earth and I think that is pretty cool that you come to my blog and comment, even if we don’t agree. I think that the forum thing is crazy.
Take care!
Tony
Real Christians don’t shy away from debates. Only people who say their Christain on the outside, but lack the real faith on the inside would’ve reacted in the way this site did.
In all my years of going to Christian churches I’ve never once come across a pastor unwilling to answer my difficult questions.
All insular communities can suffer from xenophobia. They try their best to maintain the normative behavior and reject outsiders (well, reject their ideas but really to do so they must reject the vehicles for those ideas). It’s too bad that community decided to make it neigh personal.
Surely you can understand they're perspective. They see you as a misguided person would could potentially lead another person down the same misguided path. The admin probably doesn't think you're evil or something but doesn't want you hurting other members of the community.
Of course their position is an incorrect one, but they're actions make perfect sense if you look at it from their perspective. Its not really an issue of whether or not your being respectful. They may understand you intentions are good but still think you actions are harmful.