Theists: Are you here to defend theism, or to convert people?

Theists: Why are posting here, engaging in discussion?

Are you here to defend theism, or to convert people?
Are you here to help people?
To come to your own certainty?
A combination of the above?
Other?


Please only theists answer the poll.

 

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I'm here because I like the subject of God, spirituality religion, and philosophy, among other things.

Why do you ask?

jan.

 

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Neither. I just like to discuss stuff that interests me

 

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So that non-theists can get a better idea of whom and what they are dealing with.

 

your all my support group . Trolls need love too . The discussion is not bad either . You all like to talk about things not normally spoken . Were else can you get that kind of love ?
Convert people to what ? Hopism? Inuitism ?

The other reason is the monster . Our system that dictates order in human activity . The Conglomerate of human blundering. I fight that beast so to kill it i figure if some bright minds can see the fallacy of assembly line education and how some kids are left out cold to no fault of there own then there might be some hope in humanity. I won't have to wipe humans off the face of the earth then . The jelly fish are hoping you all don't find soul to help the underprivileged. There waiting there turn to rule the world . The jelly fish not you

 

What do you mean?

jan.

 

Just what I said.

 

Honestly, to defend theism against the raving hatred of atheists.

From my experience (and this all my personal experience, I'm not generalizing), every atheist I've ever talked to about my beliefs has treated me like a tree-worshiping monkey. Most of the time without provocation. This has occurred to me enough times to give me the general belief that all atheists are dicks. So whenever I see a conversation in which an atheist is brow-beating a theist, I naturally side with the theist, regardless of whatever stupid thing they might be saying at the time.

I guess my other reason is to be proven wrong, that not all atheists are dicks, and that theists and atheists can get along when it comes to scientific discussion. So long as the theists don't say anything scientifically stupid and then attempt to defend it as truth, and the atheists don't say anything religiously insensitive and then try to defend it with being a dick.

I'm sorry if I have offended anyone thus far in my posting career, and am especially sorry if I've fallen into one of the above categories (either defending something scientifically stupid or being a dick

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).

And I think the "whom" question is pretty self-explanatory, but "what"? I mean, human, right? If anyone's on this forum who's not human, they may want to speak up. Just pointing out that "what" is a little vague.

 

It's a vicious cycle really. For every theist who only became combative after exposure to arrogant and dismissive atheists, there is an atheist who only became combative after exposure to arrogant and dismissive (or evangelical) theists.

A sure fire way to make sure that this cycle never ends however is for theists to continue to dangle the idea of judgment and damnation in front of the face of everyone else. As far as I am concerned, this is ultimately the idea from which the bulk of the conflict emerges.

 

I come here to help people.

I come here in an attempt to clear up misconceptions about The God of Abraham. In doing so i hope that people who have their misconceptions cleared up will then consider the Message of God anew. Not hindered this time by misconceptions.

Of course i have found that some people either hate the message of God or think it is foolishness. They are a lost cause as far as i am concerned.

I used to think clearing up misconceptions would be more productive then it has turned out to be. I thought once people discovered the truth then they would embrace it with enthusiasm. But now i realise that for some, once they have the misconceptions cleared up and have the truth revealed to them, these go on to hate the love of the truth as well.

So revealing the truth does not work if one is set against the truth. But one must give it ago and work hard on each case until it becomes obvious they know the truth and are rejecting it. Then you can focus on the next person.

Sadly in this forum i have revealed to people the truth that they reject and in doing this they have justified their eternal condemnation. Because they moved from rejecting a misconception to rejecting the love of the truth.

I find myself enjoying discussing God with other Christian theists where my wisdom can build up others confidence bring them to a more in depth knowledge of salvation. But there again there are many christian theists who also reject the love of the truth. They hold on to their traditions out of respect for their community who taught them or they simply agree with the traditions because it seem right to them. Accepting the Love of the truth really requires giving over ones security to God in this life, It takes humility. A lot of theists are just as proud as atheists. The world is full of control freaks who cannot trust anyone else, even God.


All Praise The Ancient Of Days

 

No, you didn't.

And here's your problem.
You claim it's the truth yet you fail to actually show that is so.

And the rest of your post is equally deluded.

 

As far as i am concerned. atheists don't have the right to get offended and act like dicks toward theists because the theist shares their belief in Judgement and damnation. Because it is a theists revealing what their Theism teaches them.

If i rejected the teachings of Judgement and damnation then i would not be a Christian, THATS WHAT THE BIBLE TEACHES and if you want to discuss religion with a theist who believes in the Bible, NATURALY THAT IS WHAT THE THEIST IS GOING TO TALK ABOUT WHEN THE TOPIC COMES UP.

It's NOT PERSONAL...

The Bible declares an eternal Lake of Fire. So naturally a theist will reveal that when the topic comes up. You cannot justify being a Dick towards a theist for revealing what His faith teaches.

Now i never bring up the topic of the Lake of fire in this forum. Hey it's been years since i started a topic at all. But when an athiest brings up the topic of eternal damnation ( and 99 times out of 100 in this forum it is the athiest who brings up the topic, as you have done in this instance) i will make comment to confirm it is a belief of the Christian faith.

Hating on a Christian for revealing belief in damnation and the lake of fire is totally unjustified and immature at the same time.


All Praise The Ancient Of Days

 

Yes i trully did and still wish to help people. I long to see people saved and have the peace of mind and happiness that being saved brings.

I cannot prove anything. It is the message and the Holy Spirit that moves people to accepting it. Some people hate the message, some think it is foolishness. I cannot do anything about that.

Well thats your decision. But it has absolutely no effect my eternal relationship with God.

Actually there is another example of the derogatory, denigrating hate speech that just comes easy from atheists. Totally unnecessary and totally unproductive.



All Praise The Ancient Of Days

 

Incorrect.
You want to bring them round to your belief: you have no evidence that doing so actually "saves them", helps them or improves their lives.

Then stop claiming it to be the "truth".

Your supposed relationship.

Hate speech? Wrong.
Unnecessary and unproductive? Like claiming you have access to the truth when you can't show you do?

 

@Adstar --

Oh dear, the "atheists should just shut up, bend over, and take it like a good little bitch" argument again. Well you can, perhaps, pardon me for saying that you can stick that idea up your ass and swivel on it. We tried that for the past ten thousand years or so, and it really didn't work out too well. In fact it usually got us things like the Inquisition and the Holocaust. So it's understandable that we might try to yank the steering wheel from you theists, after all, you've had control for the past ten thousand years or so, it's time to share.

But to say that atheists "don't have the right" to be offended when we're told by a theist(usually with a grin on their face) that we're going to be eternally punished for a finite crime and then to say that Dyw is engaged in hate speech? You must be out of your mind. Half of your posts are the very definition of "derogatory, denigrating hate speech". Perhaps you should heed the words of your prophet and "remove the plank from your own eye before attending to the speck in your brother's". Of course, I already know that you won't, your posts betray your sentiments towards atheists and agnostics.

Sure, of course this has never happened in my, albeit short, time here. Nor has it happened in the seven years I've been debating this topic(with roughly half that time being on the theist side of the debate). What I have seen happen is people bitch slapping the belief itself, not the person who stated it. The two are not the same thing, in fact they are quite different.

 

You're not just revealing what scripture teaches. An atheist can do that. You're embracing those teachings.

As I said in a different thread not so long ago:

My point in that thread was the same as it is in this thread:

 

You could have just as easily asked the atheists that.

As you know I'm not a theist, but my answer would be similar to the one that several theists' have given -- Because the subject of religion interests me and I like discussing it. I'm here largely for pleasure, because it's fun.

I might have some vague hope that I'll learn something from something that somebody else writes, or that my ideas will grow in sophistication from being bounced off other people's ideas. (We don't fully understand something until we are called upon to explain and justify it.)

I might have an even vaguer hope that I might be able to help somebody. I know about a few things and maybe I can help put something in context or something. I don't come here to teach though, but rather to discuss. If any teaching takes place, it's incidental.

I'm not motivated to convert anyone to anything, certainly nothing more than becoming a little more thoughtful and sophisticated in some cases. (Others of you need no help in that regard.) I don't have any grand religious truths to reveal. I see religion (and science and philosophy as well for that matter) more as a process than a destination anyway.

Don't worry, I didn't vote in the poll.

 

Adstar has responded to the OP.

Why are you bringing all this other stuff up?

jan.

 

It looks like Adstar's providing the perfect illustration for an idea about aggressive theist egoism that I suspect Signal was already thinking about when this thread was started.

 

It's quite simple: Adstar's claimed reason is erroneous.
And I brought up nothing - I merely responded to Adstar's comments.