Leaving the forum - Thanks for the ride

[fewwillfindit]

I have decided to permanently leave this forum, and I am posting this here so that anyone with whom I am presently debating will know why I am no longer replying. I can no longer deal with all of the negativity and the haters of God, His kids and His Word. It is seriously dragging me into the gutter and it is killing my spirit. It is the prolific God-haters like I AM ALL I AM, notachance, Zzyzx, etc., whom I just don't want forced into my life anymore, and their presence is inescapable on this forum. They and others like them are not interested in anything but spewing their venomous bile against Christianity. They have not taken the time to study and learn that which they argue against, and repeatedly demonstrate this ignorance of the Bible, Christian theology and history in their "debates." When confronted, rather than attempting to learn, they presume to rail even harder in their ignorance and refuse to even try to understand. Such "debaters" take center stage on this forum and are by far the most prolific and vociferous posters.

With nearly every new thread, there is a daily barrage of hatred leveled against Christianity, calling the holiness or our God and His precious Word into question. I think that this forum would be more adequately named "Hating Christianity and Religion" rather than Debating Christianity and Religion. Thank you Otseng for your valiant attempt to promote Christian Apologetics. Truly, I thank you. I know you meant well when you created it, but in my estimation it has become overrun with hatred, and it is doing far more harm to Christianity than good.

I do, however, appreciate thoughtful non-Theist debaters like McCulloch and many more, so this is not a diatribe against the entire group.

I do wish that I could stick around long enough to see Zzyzx actually debate instead of merely finding a myriad of creative ways to say "prove it," but I fear I would be waiting a long time for that. A five-year old could be successful using those "debate" tactics. Sorry, but I'm not impressed.

Anyhow, good-bye. To my Christian brothers and sisters, keep up the good work.

I will not be answering any more replies.

God bless you.

[EduChris]

...Hey Educhrist, does that mean you're staying? I pray you do, I very much enjoy your posts. God bless you my friend, .. let's continue to debate...

I've tried to kick the habit a few times and never succeeded, so I suppose I'll have to stick around until someone gives me the boot.

The one thing I agree with Otseng about is that this is the best Internet forum available--primarily because we do have a number of serious, thoughtful debaters from a broad spectrum of positions. All of the other negatives and distractions and disruptions are, by comparison, small potatoes.

Thanks for your encouraging words.

[JehovahsWitness]

I've had a few thoughts as of late, and this is a good chance to voice them, I think.

First,

I would disagree that this is an anti-Christian forum at heart. It is a forum to both argue for and against Christianity. Having people here that argue against Christianity is to be expected. As well as having people here to argue for it. So, it is neither pro nor anti-Christianity.

I completely agree. There is no way to be "in the world" without exposing ourselves to ideas that run counter to Biblical truth.

For me, and I think for many, the frustration has been dealing with the tendency for some non-theists to challenge without making a case for an alternative worldview. It leaves the theist constantly on the defensive and, in my view, is not a balanced approach to seeking the truth.
I've tried debating this, but have become convinced that it is fruitless. Rather, I believe that we should politely refuse to debate anyone who challenges without offering a counterclaim. I feel that this would both relieve a great deal of this frustration and increase the quality of the debates that do take place.

This is a very good post. There was a post that was closed down about "lazy athists" or something along those lines - point being that by there being nowhere (and no rule) that demands athesit (anti-theists or biblical critics) to support their position or even the premise upon which their questions are made, they do not have to present reasonable alternatives to the points they are objecting to. They may well be arguing against the most reasonable conclusion but that this cannot usually be demonstrated from a position of defense.

Theists have to learn to ask opponents for evidence and kick hard against a lazy wiki link/quote that rarely does the job.

This is still an excellent site because it is quite well moderated. If atheists get a little more wiggle room, that's just the nature of the beast.