Posting on Message Boards

[Glipe]

i guess i want to talk about Christians posting on secular boards. I go on to a board and take the Christian viewpoint on issues. The posters there are incredibly hostile to a Christian point of view. It is an Irish site and I am Irish but it is used mainly by folks from the US.
For example I was just posting on the topic Creationism versus Evolution. It was a discussion about what is happening in Kansas. I took the Cristian point of view and was explaining about what Intelligent Design means and how it was presented in regard to the study of Evolution.
Well I started to get attacked by increasing numbers of posters who were becoming increasingly hostile. The ystarted calling me nasty names and ridiculing my beliefs. There wasn't one person who believed in a Christian perspective. I guess I got out eventually because I started to feel myself losing it because of all the badgering that was happening.

I looked for a Christian site and found this one. I felt like I needed an oasis to refresh myself again. Has anyone else had this kind of experience? I am just wondering if it is worthwhile going in to talk to these people. Am I wasting my time. Am I really serving God if I lose my temper because of the viscous slurs that are coming my way?
I don't know if I am making a difference to these people. The only thing is that hundreds of people log on and don't post so they may be reading the topic and the posts.
I guess I'm feeling a little discouraged right now and wonder if maybe I should drop going into secular boards to discuss the things of God.

The atheists, occultists, secuar humanists and agnostics who reply are just viscous in their view of Christians and say nasty things about the bible.

I realize this kind of thing has been happening since the dawn of time but I take it so personally when someone slanders my saviour. It is worse than an attack on my family whom i love and hold very dear to me.

 

[kiko]

I found this verse with explanation:

"You are the salt of the earth. But if the salt loses its saltiness, how can it be made salty again? It is no longer good for anything, except to be thrown out and trampled by men."
-- Matthew 5:13

Jesus wanted us to never give up our moral distinctiveness, our redemptive influence, nor our loving impact on those around us. The purpose of our presence in the world is to be an influence in our culture against further decay and to season the bitter, dog-eat-dog world with grace and mercy.

 

[Jesuslovesu]

The bible does say that people will not understand and think of us as foolish. And will hate us, I have had a situation (before coming here ) where the abuse to Christians was terrible so I choose not to go back after much prayer. God Bless

 

[Adstar]

We are called to give the Message of Jesus to all whom will listen. I have faced what you are facing. You should not feel anger over being attacked and mocked for your faith. In fact you have been greatly hounored to have suffered abuse for His name sake.

Acts 5
40 And they agreed with him, and when they had called for the apostles and beaten them, they commanded that they should not speak in the name of Jesus, and let them go. 41 So they departed from the presence of the council, rejoicing that they were counted worthy to suffer shame for His name. 42 And daily in the temple, and in every house, they did not cease teaching and preaching Jesus as the Christ.

And you are right more people come to forums and read posts then people who post. You do not know how many people will hear the message or how many seeds your words will later come to bear fruit. Often words can take months or years to work on people conscience before they will come to accept Jesus as Messiah.

All Praise The Ancient of Days

John 15:
18 " If the world hates you, you know that it hated Me before it hated you.

 

[toohumble]

Oh Boy I totally understand your confusion on this issue. I have spent the past three years debating regularly on a 'philosophical and belief systems' discussion board . As a believer, Ive had my intelligence insulted as a matter of routine, and have also been called lots of names etc. On the flip side Ive made some great 'cyberfriends' there. Even some of the athiests are genuinely lovely people, who I can joke around with and who don't resort to insult slinging (not many but some!). Ive been through the 'phase' (Ill call it a phase) of feeling personally hurt when Ive been insulted, however at the end of the day it makes no difference so I stopped letting it bother me, and continued to post my Christian thoughts regardless. However after all this time, Ive never seen anyone come to Christ through that particular discussion board, but Ive seen one person give up on seeking Christ, he was swayed by the athiests slogan "(I will not be brainwashed") and started tacking it on the end of all his posts. I was very disheartened to see someone who called himself a "Christian" and said he had felt the presence of the holy spirit get swayed into believing he was brainwashed, and change his beliefs to athiesm and evolutionism. About a year ago I began feeling weak in my spirit with regard to that discussion board, and started seriously questioning whether or not my posting there was infact unhealthy for my own spiritual growth. On one hand the bible says we are indeed called to spread the word of Jesus, and that we can expect to be hated by the world.
On the other hand, 2 Timothy:16 says "Steer clear of foolish discussions which lead people into the sin of anger with each other" and again Titus 3:9 says "Dont get involved in arguing over unanswerable questions and controversial theological ideas; keep out of arguments and quarrels over the law, for this kind of thing isn't worthwhile; it only does harm."
So like you, I went looking for a "Christian" site and found this one. I havent been back to that debating board for awhile now. I probably havent helped answer your question of whether or not its worthwhile talking to these people, because after three years and lots of indepth discussion, some nasty insult slinging and some arguments that went beyond my intellectual understanding (leaving me feeling like Id lost that particular argument) I still don't know whether or not Ive ever really been heard by ANYONE there. I know Ive left some athiests literally speechless to the point that they give up on that particular argument, leaving me wondering if something has gotten through. Then the next debate would begin and the same ones would attack me with a vengeance clarifying the fact they heard nothing! I am now of the opinion that most people aren't there to learn, but to give their own opinions repeatedly. Maybe Im no better who knows. Good luck if you continue debating. If so, stay quietly strong in your spirit. Pray before you post each time, ask for the holy spirit to guide you in what you say. If you do that I don't believe you can go wrong!

 

[lll3]

Glipe, you are blessed! Remember, Jesus said "Blessed are you when people say all manner of evil against you for my name's sake". The Bible also says "Natural man receives not the things of the Spirit of God nor can he understand them for they are spiritually discerned". These people you are talking to do not have Jesus,so they are not able to understand. Some people in other chat rooms take shots at me, but that's to be expected. Remember Jesus said "If the world hates you remember it hated me first"