From: cjhs@minster.york.ac.uk
Newsgroups: alt.atheism
Subject: Re: FOR WHATEVER IT'S WORTH
Date: 21 Aug 92 09:33:47 GMT
Organization: Department of Computer Science, University of York, England
X-Newsreader: Tin 1.1 PL5

This posting also mailed to joyce@meaddata.com

In article <1992Aug20.201052.21811@meaddata.com> you write:
: I am convinced that people will believe what they want to believe so I
: could argue all I want until I'm blue in the face and people will
: still believe what they want. I respect that and hopefully, you'll
: respect my right to do the same. It's the first (and last) time I will
: ever be in this newsgroup but if the following is true from FAQ and I
: quote: "Many atheists would be happy to believe in the existence of a
: God; all that they ask is that he provide convincing direct evidence
: of his existence." then maybe it's worth it to put my 2-cents' piece
: in.

What I do not respect is an evangelical message which is not
following up on any thread, and in which you explicitly state
you will not be contributing further.

Take note: I was an active Christian for many years. It was not
any bad experience with Christianity which lead to my atheism;
I still look back on my time as a Christian as just about entirely
positive.

However, like you, I have had several bad experiences with Christians
that do not have any material affect on my actual theology; bad in the
sense of seeing rude and obnoxious behaviour that repluses me. Your
post is one of them.

The biggest reason it is obnoxious is the refusal to followup on what
follows. This shows you to be just another jerk indulging in the net
equivalent of running into a prayer meeting with your hands over your
ears, shouting "Great is Allah" and running out again.

: It seems like a good number have had very unfortunate experiences with
: "organized religion" and so-called "Christians". I have too but I
: cannot use those as a basis for my belief in God since all humans are
: fallible and will always fail me at one time or another. Sad also, is

Fine, we have all had bad experiences with people. Why do you assume
that this is of any relevance to the foundation of our theological
position any more than it is not the foundation for yours?

: the fact that too many people are masquerading as Christians when they
: really are not, based on the criteria that Jesus Christ himself, the
: center person in Christianity, has put forth. As a result, people like
: Mahatma Gandhi, for example, got turned off by "Christians" even
: though he said he liked Jesus Christ.
: 
: I have to admit, I am not here to convince you all that there is a
: God. There will always be arguments in people's minds for and against
: it, it's what people choose to believe. I just ask that you consider
: the person of Jesus Christ, the most loved and most hated person who
: ever lived, all because He claimed to be God. There are 3 possibilities to His

The Liar, Lunatic or Lord paradox. If you are really interested in
this, do feel free to return to alt.atheism with a better attitude.
Ask a question, maybe, and demonstrate some willingness to listen
as well as preach.

Rest of your post mercifully deleted. We can debate it if you like,
but you gotta come wanting to talk with us not to us.

Cheers -- Chris Ho-Stuart
Newsgroups: alt.atheism