Have you encountered a user in R&S that has managed to soften your position on their ideology?

definitely dear dogma :) several atheists have had an impact upon my thinking (here and outside the forum too), come to think of it, people of all manner of different ideologies have affected me... people here are forever surprising me, i love it.

have a beautiful day (((seekers))).

In a way yes, though not exactly what you are indicating. When I first showed up here I was a typical atheist, ready to challenge assumptions and right the wrongs of commonly misunderstood aspects of science such as evolution, and using the tools of snark along the way.

Since then though I met some nice and funny people (including some that became contacts) that I would also classify as fundies. I've also seen the atheist snark get too aggressive on here lately, and now I'm more likely to make fun of other atheists as I am of any other ideology.

What I've realized after several years on here is that good vs. bad ideology matters a lot less than good vs. bad people. Each side has its jerks & each side has its wonderful people.

Not really.

The few decent, moderate Christians on here are just as I have found most moderate Christians to be in real life, so I was already a little "soft" on their brand of Christianity and have learned nothing new.

The fundamentalist Christians - and assorted other crazies self-identifying as Christians - on here are another matter altogether. They are far worse than I ever imagined! I have lost any respect or tolerance I might once have had for their version of Christianity - I should also add that goes for all types of religious fundamentalism.

I'm one of the few who's sat on both sides of the fence during R&S tenure, so having had this experience, I have found that people run the spectrum on both sides.

When I first joined R&S, I was the typical militant, trolling atheist, with nasty ***** being my middle name. No one was going to change my way. Then, I met Debra M, a devout Catholic (it's OK to use her name, because she is deceased). No matter how awful my behavior, she met each question and statement with kindness and love. Took her all of a week to break me, to shame me deeply. In fact, Deb had such a way about her that she calmed the beast in all of us. R&S went from being a battlefield to a place where we could agree to disagree, and have in-depth discussions. Those were the days.

A few years ago I became a believer. If my belief in the divinity of Christ makes me a Christian, then so be it, but I like to say I simply follow His ways and His words... The red letters, so to speak. While I have no reason to soften my stance towards atheism (having been one for 33 years) I am shocked by the sheer ignorance and spite that many atheists proclaim. I have sat here and wondered about ages, expecting these people to be teenage boys with anger issues, but then I find they are nothing of the sort.

This saddens me, because to expand human rights and bring others to acceptance, the atheists really do need to calm it down a bit. There's no need for 60 year old men to be calling the Christians idiots and delusional. By the same token, there is no need for the Christians to be anything less than loving to the atheists and those with differing beliefs. If they truly follow Christ, they need to put the hatred away.

There are a few kind, loving Christians here, just as there are a handful of kind, truly intelligent atheists. But the days when actually getting to know someone so deeply that your entire perspective changes seems to be long gone, my dear. And that is unfortunate, because R&S was once a truly great place to be.

When I came here, I called myself an agnostic. The agnostic atheists quickly convinced me--without proselytizing, but simply by posting on other people's questions--that I was in fact an agnostic atheist.

I grew up thinking there was nothing worse than an atheist, so I was reluctant to employ that term. But an agnostic atheist is precisely what I am.

Yes. I was very angry...very anti religion....very anti institutional religions, especially, but not limited to the RC Church....

Some Christian contacts I felt bad about them reading hate filled posts, but one in particular, a nice Methodist fella (don't want another VN for naming names, LOL) has been so fair & even through all the hate....well he really mellowed me......

I can now separate the individuals from the historical ills suffered in my area & family due to the big religious institutions.....something I really could not do when I first got here....

Still atheist to the bone.....but not angry as much, lol or at least about this...

Very interesting Q

Eh. Sort of. I already knew that every single Christian in the world is not like the Texas fundamental, George Bush-esque type of Christians I deal with in daily life before coming here. Some users here remind me more of Pope Francis, others remind me of little Georgie.

Brittany's a good example of a Pope Francis-esque Christian

My thoughts are the same as ever, that is, they depend on evidence, argument and inference. I don't get these people who think some way about an idea because they dislike some people in their lives who held those ideas. That is totally irrational. Who we know should not affect what we think about descriptive claims although they might affect what you want. Meeting the love of your life might change your priorities and wants, but it should not affect what you think is true about your surrounding world.

Yes, T.J. Bradders (have not seen him in operation here for some time though).

He is an agnostic and kindly corrected an answer I gave as to what agnostics are. He explained what agnosticism actually is (and, no, it is not just not knowing if any God/gods exist). Once I got a clearer understanding I realized the philosophical basis of this stance. It is not that I am persuaded agnosticism is possibly correct - not in the least! But I am grateful for learning it presents a more formidable argument than most folks seem aware of. I also now understand why agnostics think so poorly of atheists.

I sometimes answer questions about agnosticism by quoting from J.T. Bradders. Helps stir things up a bit! AiH

Not really.

I wasn't christian by any means when I began here.

But now, I see much more clearly. If the dishonest posts here are typical of christian thinking, we are in big trouble in our country. Back to living in caves soon if the religious have their way.

Until I cam here I had no idea of the magnitude of christian dishonesty and connivance.

Nothing is too low for those who post here. Their hatred is almost palpable, Someone should explain to them that hatred is caustic to it's container (the person who hates), and will rot your insides in you continue to hate so strongly.

I receive hate mail almost daily, containing threats of both hell and violence from "loving christians".

This place exposed the foul parts of religion much better than any other media I have seen.

I know by this that we need to defend our country from fanatics if we wish ot continue to have a country for people.