ArchiveD wrote:So I can't disagree with you guys, fine.
No, you're welcome to, so long as you're polite about it. The staff doesn't allow rudeness among the Christian members, either - they're not picking on you.
Ive already got all I needed for my video. You're just the typical christians idiots but with childrens television added to it. Scary mix.
And there we go: direct insults.
You're probably not reading this anymore, but I'm going to say this anyhow.
You say people claiming to be Christians attacked you and called you names. I don't know about that. I don't know those people, and I don't know the state of their hearts. I'm sorry that they behaved that way in the name of Christ, as I'm sure you wouldn't wish to be identified with some of the things done by avowed atheists.
But that wasn't Christian love.
This, if I may be so bold as to say so, is Christian love:
You came to our forum openly acknowledging that you didn't agree with anything we believe in.
In some internet communities, religious-based or not, that would have gotten you banned on the spot. But we had no problem with you being here.
You claimed you wanted to ask questions about what we believed. So we listened and we tried to satisfy your puzzlement as best as we could. In return, you were increasingly rude, arrogant, dismissive, and inflammatory. We wondered whether you were sincere in your inquiries or whether you had just come here to pick a fight. But nonetheless, we were patient with you and responded to your questions and statements with courtesy and respect.
And finally you depart, making your exit by insulting and attacking us directly (never mind the fact that you came here complaining about being insulted and attacked), and implying that this was all apparently some sort of experiment or material-gathering expedition rather than a genuine search for knowledge.
And you know what?
We don't mind.
You think what you accomplished today is that you got material for your video. Congratulations. I hope it's a hit. But what you also accomplished is that you got a whole forum's worth of people praying for you. You've heard people say they're praying for you before, I bet. You don't care; you think prayer is a waste of time. Well, we won't care that you don't care - we're going to do it anyway. We're going to pray that you will truly open your heart and your mind and really sincerely look to see if God is out there. Because if you do, you'll find Him; or, more precisely, He'll find you. We don't mind any of your behavior here, because it's given us a chance to pray for someone. There are few greater joys for a real Christian than "wasting" time that way.
That's Christian love, I think.
For all that, my friend, I hope you're on the right side of this issue. I hope that prayer is a waste of time, and that there's no such thing as souls, and that God doesn't exist. I hope it for your sake. And I don't say that because I'm trying to tell you you'll end up in hell or anything like that. That's beside the point. The stark facts are that you have a lot more to lose by being wrong than I do. I waste my life in this world if I'm wrong. You waste your life in the next world, your eternal life, if you're wrong. And actually, I don't even waste mine if I'm incorrect; right or wrong, believing what I believe makes my life better - it makes me happy. I hope believing what you believe makes you happy in this life, if you think this life is all there is.
I'm guessing you won't put any of this in your video, huh?
See you around, man. God bless you.