Re: [asa] Responding to Atheists, Agnostics & Apatheists

Heya Merv,

Thanks for the response. A few things.

* I'm not an AAA. I may be a somewhat passive christian who needs to get
more active in my faith, but intellectually I am committed to, and place my
faith in, God and Christianity (Byzantine-rite Catholic myself). I wouldn't
intrude on ASA elsewise, as there's some value in having lists and such
where belief is the common ground, rather than the focal debate.

* The sites I lurk on are pretty various, usually ones more philosophically
or science oriented, on both sides of the spectrum. What I generally see
there (and what I see in my browsing of online christian sites in general)
is part of the reason I'm posting this.

* Time is short for me at the moment, so this response will be briefer than
I'd like. But what I'm hoping for is that greater thought is given to how to
spread and communicate Christianity among the AAA set, and I'm motivated by
a belief that current practices fall far short of what's necessary. Mind
you, I'm not just talking about personal, one on one correspondence (though
that's important too.) I'm talking about broader scopes - internet ministry,
communicating with groups, and so on. My belief is that AAAs tend to
comprise a certain 'kind' of group, one that is alternately written off or
misunderstood because of the current climate. I don't believe they're all,
or even mostly experienced and once-committed christians who fell away from
the faith and now know it inside and out and reject it all. I think many are
caught up in their cultures and remain so because, frankly, no one is
bothering to approach them. Not in any serious and thoughtful way.

On Tue, Oct 28, 2008 at 6:01 PM, <mrb22667@kansas.net> wrote:

> It occurred to me after sending the last post, that I had taken your last
> point
> in the direction you didn't intend --speaking about the "militant" ones
> rather
> than the "passive" ones. Actually the passive ones, if they come from a,
> say,
> "militantly apathetic" variety, would be the toughest ones to witness to in
> my
> opinion. If they don't see the issue as relevant or meriting attention,
> then
> that is hardly fertile soil for any extended or involved conversations. I
> think
> God has to get hold of them first --the Spirit will convict them when the
> time
> is right and then they are ready to give real attention to an issue.
>
>
> If they are passive in the sense of just not wanting to be argumentative
> (smiling and nodding while somebody continues saying things they totally
> disagree with), then it may be much easier to have genuine exchange. Such
> a
> person needs to be engaged by drawing out where they are. Overbearing
> people
> will shut others down and then leave the exchange smugly thinking all were
> in
> agreement with them, when actually they never took the time to actually
> find out
> what the others thought. Head nodding could be a sign of somebody who is
> just
> too weak or tired to put up an objection at the moment, and may not at all
> agree
> with the person even though they decline to mount an opposing position.
>
> Having said all this already, I would put to you, what is your experience
> in all
> this, and where do you come from in these "blog combats"?
>
> --Merv
>
> Quoting Schwarzwald <schwarzwald@gmail.com>:
> >
> > * Have you seen any effective targetting of AAAs by any particular
> person,
> > ministry, or even faith?
> >
> > Mind you, I'm talking less about emotionally/politically charged AAAs -
> more
> > about passive ones who, for whatever variety of reasons, just hold the
> views
> > they do. I have my own views on these things, but I'm hoping others will
> > chime in with their thoughts before I add my own.
> >
>
>
>

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Received on Tue Oct 28 18:41:33 2008