Maybe it would be a good idea to make a new subforum "Atheism vs. theism" to keep these atheism vs. theism discussions out of all the other subforums. I realize this means making concessions but I think discussion in all the other threads would improve.
I agree. We have "Comparative Religion. All other topics about religion are in the "Religion" subforum.
I agree that it should. But by creating the proposed subforum you can have all that stuff in one place. And apply stricter moderation in all other places regarding these discussions. I understand that the proposal is not widely agreed upon among moderators though. If that is correct you may delete this thread, there is not use for it then Please Register or Log in to view the hidden image!
It's a slight sidetrack, but one of the problems with an Atheism v. Theism subforum would be that every few weeks, the new topics would simply recycle. Think about it this way: Someone posts a thesis, someone else counterpoints it. One side of the argument doesn't find the point relevant, and two days' worth of discussion ensues, perhaps forty or fifty posts between the factions. Eventually, the topic question is forgotten and the discussion dies off. Three days later, a new topic is posted, the same counterpoint is raised, and the same argument ensues. After sixty or eighty posts, the discussion dies off and nothing is resolved. The next day after that, someone posts a topic. The same counterpoint is raised, and suddenly you find yourself shouting at people: "What the hell is wrong with you people? How many times do I have to say this? And why won't anyone actually address it? How many times do I have to write the same damn posts over and over and over again?" It would be more economic, then, to simply write yourself about ten relevant posts, save them as text files on your computer, and simply spam each new topic with them. What happens is that people just don't want to read through a whole bunch of posts to find out if their point has been covered. It would be fine, I suppose, if folks read through, saw the counterpoints, and said, "Yes, but ...," or, "I disagree with the counterpoint." In the end, though, it looks like a lot of people just don't care if the point has been addressed. It happens a lot with topics where religion is involved, like creationism or homosexuality or "my God is better than your god". And what's really strange, Enmos, is that people will complain if someone breaks the cycle. I'd drag up that link, but, frankly, I happened to ignore it at the time and can't remember where it is. Think of it this way: How many times, and in how many topics, are you willing to repeat the following inquiry: "Yes, I understand that you disagree, but why do you disagree?" Eventually, you end up staring at the screen, wondering what the hell is wrong with people. "Is he retarded?" you might say to yourself, "Or is he just a prig?" This may be what's becoming of the Religon forum as it is, but I confess there's no reason to go out of our way to put together a specific forum for that. It would be more useful, in the long run, to throw out the Religion forum altogether, modify Comparative Religion to CR/Theology, and start pushing Sciforums back toward respectable discussion on that front. There are rational discussions to be had about theology, the history of religion, &c., but not in a forum dedicated to proselytizing. For instance, I heard a spot on the radio the other day about Tertullian (I can't find a link, else I would), pointing out that in the beginning his work was largely ignored because he wrote in the wrong language. Why did his work become so popular later? Was there an element of theological truth in it, or was it the mere political convenience? I would assert the latter; some would assert the former. How long would such a debate go before it broke down to evangelism and retort? There are some fascinating debates about religion out there, but neither our evangelists nor the most part of our participating atheists seem willing to have those discussions. As to the atheists, I understand to a point. But it's part of history, and surely their cynicism doesn't run so deeply that they cannot look at religious ideas in that context. I mean, I'm glad Sciforums has a legion of attack poodles to nip at the ankles of half-wit evangelists, but I'd rather curb such disputes than give over to the pointlessness of it. Atheism v. Theism? We might as well have fora for Foxy Boxing, Democrats & Republicans, and Divorce Factions ("His v. Hers"). Or ... so says me.
Tiassa, that is exactly why I proposed to get these discussions out of the other subforums. "..the new topics would simply recycle.." The topics recycle right now. Creating a new subforum would simply restrict these ramblings to one cesspool rather than have them spread up around the forum. Anyway, it was just a thought. If the mods do not agree, this thread hasn't much use Please Register or Log in to view the hidden image!
