Do any atheists in this newsgroup start religious debates or sit back and wait for others to make comments first? Or, do some of us
remain quiet so as not to make trouble?
In real life, I tend not to mention atheism much, even if people are discussing religion. There have been a few rather enjoyable exchanges when some loud, irritating [1] person starts making religious statements.
In one case, I trapped a loud religious person at a party after he started on about religion, and argued with him for several hours. The trapping refers to the fact that the third person in the conversation was a very reasonable Taoist, who also wasn't having any truck with this person's expression of his beliefs. Between the two of us we pretty much destroyed everything he had to say, to an interested circle of onlookers.
It was, alas, an all-too-rare pleasure, as normally I don't say anything.
(Vincent Cunliffe #358)
Same with flaming: I do not toss general insults around, or go trolling xtian NGs. But when some idiot fundie catches my eye, I see no reason to hold back.
In RL, I don't make a point of challenging theists, either - but neither do I hide my atheism. And when I hear or see something I don't like, I don't hesitate to make that clear. (Sarah Jaernecke #1102)
Most of the time I ignore the religious debates as I am not too interested in debating with fundies or creationists, as it is like arguing with a brick wall. Of course, if I see a really stupid one (example: Nameless) or a real lunatic (examples: Gladys, Veridican) I will occasionally flame, I mean, make a comment about their post.
Of course, like many here, I do like to "comment" to those first-time theists who coming here and post Pascal's Wager, or some other idiocy, thinking it is something "new and wonderful". I do notice that most
only post once, and then are gone. I believe the threat of "read the FAQ" sometimes helps to drive them away (of course, they aren't likely to read it, as it is written by "those evil atheists").
Hmmm..., seems like I mainly prey on the weak (minded).
Seriously, I sometimes with get involved in discussions with the more
open-minded theists, but I would say they are generally philosophical or defining a position type of discussions.
Mainly, I like to get involved in atheist to atheist discussions, whether religious or otherwise. Unfortunately, there don't seem to be enough of these type of discussions. (Keith Brannen #713)
Then, of course, there is Monica, my fundy secretary, who is always irritatingly eager to try to "convert" me. I think that I have actually made some progress on that front. She finally understands that I hold all gods (not just the Christian one) in equal disregard. This was a big step for her.
On this newsgroup, I tend to look for discussions which I think will be personally interesting
or I find personally irritating rather than starting them myself. I like threads that make me
think. Unfortunately, those seem too few and far between. OTOH, a.a. contains a LOT of posts
that really make me laugh. 8-) Since finding a.a., I have discovered that most atheists have
wonderful senses of humor. (Liz Huth #658)
Click here to return to master question page.