I as much as the next person who enjoys a good debate now and then, enjoy debating. It’s interesting, and I enjoy the outlet it gives me as a stay at home mom. Most my conversations are about Dora the Explorer or Princesses, and those conversations are not only with my daughter. Most conversations with friends and family revolve around my kids, so Dora sneaks her little self into those conversations also. So it’s nice once and a while to have a conversation where I don’t have to use Dora’s last adventure as a reference to make my point.
Recently I have been frequenting a the Circle Of Moms website, and have joined a group labeled, “Parenting Debates & Hot Topics”. I have enjoyed hanging around there and let my opinions fly on many topics. However, in the past week a lot of the topics have been centered around religion. Which I find annoys me to no end. We usually find these groups involved:
1. In one group we have illiterate Christians spouting off their belief of what MAY or may not be Biblical as the God spoken truth. This annoys me, because if you don’t know what you are talking about on ANY topic, then don’t discuss it. Your foot will end up in your mouth and you will look stupid. Take it from me, I have done this often in my debates. LOL
2. We have every sort of unbeliever who are honestly just enjoying a good debate, and pointing out with Biblical verses where the illiterate Christian is wrong.
3. We have the unbeliever hell-bent on being rude and intent on making any one who does believe in God feel like an idiot for doing so. Which usually gets the illiterate Christians in a rage and they start feeding the trolls. In this groups defence they are often being baited by the inital posts of the holier than thou illiterate Christians.
4. We have the diffuser. These are the people trying to apologize for groups 1 and 3. Trying to bring the thread back on topic, and make the whole conversation peaceful without the mud-slinging that had just been happening.
5. We have the Christians who are literate trying to bring in an intelligent Christian view-point. To no avail, as everyone is too busy slinging mud back and forth by the times groups 4 and 5 step in.
You may be wondering which group I fall into. Well, I usually post at the beginning of the thread before this time of debate breaks out. Then once a debate about religion is raised over “How old were your children the first time they tried peanut butter?”, I step out. I like to debate, but I highly doubt that anyone online is going to take my or anyone elses opinion seriously enough to actually change their beliefs. I know I don’t.
If as a Christian, I want to impact other people’s life or belief, the last resort I will ever take is internet preaching. I don’t think it works. I love my friends and family. I want to see them all in Heaven one day, but I don’t think beating someone over the head with my interpretation of scripture is going to do it. I would rather love others, and be their friend. Then allow them the same free will that God gave us, without trying to force them into my beliefs.
