Raf

My opinion is only stupid people reject Christ. That's just my opinion. I'm not trying to get you to accept Christ. I'm just expressing my opinion, don't you know. (For those reading: I don't really feel that way. I'm just making a point).

That's a real anything-goes type forum. Not for the faint of heart. Edit note: I was thinking of a different forum...Refiner corrects me later... Here's another one, more Christian than not, and FAR more tame. But FAR fewer members.

No, that wasn't directed at me personally at all. Don't pee on my leg and tell me it's raining. Go buy some tact.

It's called having an opinion.

Listen, I'm, getting a little tired of your constant condescension toward me, so stuff it already, k? I defend your right to post here because someone else challenged it. I still defend your right to post here whether you can grasp that simple concept or not. A'ight?

Yes, it is a surprise. You're one of a tiny, tiny number of people who fit that description, and between Waydale (the predecessor of this site) and the Cafe, we've been around for about five years now. (There was a predecessor to Waydale, but I wasn't there so can't speak for it). Bottom line: most people don't find us unless they're actually looking for info on The Way International. And not a whole lot of people have ever even HEARD of The Way International. So yes, it IS a surprise.

I don't think there's an official policy, Refiner. If you want to convince me there's no God, have at it. If I want to convince you there is one, I get the same privilege. The only policy I know of is respect, and as you can see, it's sometimes, umm, loosely enforced. Sometimes the Christians and the agnostic/atheists will square off with each other. I usually choose not to engage in that. Most often, the Christians will discuss their differences and either try to come to an agreement or (more often) let the argument peter out. On occasion an agnostic will step into one of these discussions and tweak us about how superstitious we're being, but they mostly give us our space. Best as I can tell, you did not violate any policy. Whether your thread is distasteful is up to the individual reader. Dot obviously had enough. I'm not too nuts about it either, but my reaction was more lazy-fare (or something). Others think there was nothing at all distasteful about it. Everyone here was once a Christian. Some of us have held onto that and, speaking for myself, it hurts me to see people who once shared our faith now mock it or openly reject it. It's not easy, but it's also not my call. I'm sure other Christians here feel the same way. It's hard enough to see ex-TWI people rejecting Christ. It's a little harder, and I don't quite know how to explain it, to see someone with no TWI background come in here and, just to see what the reaction will be, attack a belief system we hold dear. (P.S. Changing the thread title didn't help. We love our Bibles, too). As for editing: After a while, no one edits an old post because we don't expect it to be read. Sometimes we'll edit an old post to remove something we regret having said. It may make the responses look silly, but [a] people can tell what happened and by then no one's reading those posts anyway.

What can I tell you that's different from what you've already heard? Are there magic words I can utter to convince you that there is a God who loves you and wants you to have fellowship with Him? You find that illogical? Well, nothing I say is going to convince you otherwise. My point was not whether Refiner was right or wrong. My point (now) is that it's disingenuous to say belief in Christ is illogical but I'm not trying to get anyone to reject Christ. You are. Which is fine. That's your right. Just own up to it. I repeat: don't pee on my leg and tell me it's raining.

Actually, yes he is. To quote Judge Judy (pre-TV), don't pee on my leg and tell me it's raining. He says it's logical to reject Christ. So if you accept him, you're not logical. Fine, that's his opinion and he's entitled. And maybe he didn't explicitly ask anyone to adopt his belief, but he doesn't have to. Not when he names the thread "Why I reject Christ" and states that it's logical to do so. Oh come on, I have to OWN the site to defend your right to post here? Is that how things work in Oz? Come back to Kansas, will ya?

Here, I'll make it easy for you:

Priscilla, I recommend going back to my original post where I brought that subject up to get the full heart of what I posted. I'm not going to defend myself against the insinuation you make when my original point defends your right to post here.

I sent him an e-mail. Look at his profile: I can't find a bio of the author. I'd be surprised if it ain't him, but hopefully he'll stop in and settle the question.

I love you too, Cynic. I'd bet good money it's the same guy. Will have to ask him if he turns up sometime. In the meantime, I still think the analogy holds. A non-TWI person who comes in telling us to accept the trinity has the same standing as a non-TWI person who comes in telling us to "reject Christ." Call it superficial if you want, but you still haven't discredited the analogy.

Translation: Raf is full of crap. it's okay for a never-been-way person to come here and tell us to accept the Trinity, but it's not okay for a never-been-way person to come here and tell us Christ is not Lord. :)--> By the way, I've always thought it was the same David Reed. You sure it's not him?

Sounds like the world's sassiest catfight.

Isn't this thread about those I am rejecting? :D-->

And I'll tell you something else: I reject THIS lady, too... You're under arrest, for SMOKING, lady!

You can't talk me into it. I've heard all the arguments before. Yup, I've heard them all.

Still I look to find a reason to believe...

That and the restraining order she put on me when I was stalking her back in 1992. Wench.

I tell ya, ya need a Street Corner on this site. That thread just don't seem to fit right in Doctrinal. Just my two bits.

By the way (shameless plug alert) if anyone is interested in a forum where their faith in Christ won't be challenged, there's always that other message board. Click on the logo and you'll go right to it. (Click on the name and you'll go to my NAHJ campaign site).

I'm having a bit of a hard time with this. I too am an ex-JW, but unlike Refiner, I'm also ex-TWI. How would I feel if someone who's not ex-TWI showed up and started posting on how we all need to accept the Trinity? Don't know. It hasn't happened (I'm assuming DA Reed is ex-TWI, but I don't know that for sure). Do people who are not ex-TWI have to respect some kind of boundaries before posting? Is it trolling if they try to start an interesting/controversial discussion? I should hope not. But at the same time I understand how folks like Dot and Goey are feeling. When George Aar or Sudo post their anti-Bible sentiments, I tend to stay out of their way. I also have no comment on Refiner's rejection of Christ (or anyone else's). I wish I could convince you otherwise, but there's nothing I can say that you have not already heard, is there? I say this topic is interesting to people who are ex-TWI. I'm not happy about it, but I'm just one voice among over 100, and my views have been welcome here. If Refiner's acting like a troll, his posts will ultimately bear that out. Trolls don't tend to stick around or continue posting. They're more hit-and-run as far as I can tell. Refiner seems to be interested in conversation, and wants to see how ex-TWI folks respond to his viewpoints. Maybe my viewpoint is biased. I'm more interested in his comparisons between TWI and JWs. If that means I have to put up with his Christ-rejection, well, I don't see a way around it. Does anyone else?

Welcome to the cafe. You've lurked, so you know how it can be. So to start things off, would you like some tea? Oh, all right. Coffee it is. :)-->

You know, that sounds like... Oh never mind. He's being literal folks. Sorry to hear that Steve!. I found out when I woke up. A bummer of a way to end the trip.