Mauled by a Christian

I have not been posting for a while, I am sad to admit that I almost gave up on all of this after a rather unpleasant encounter with a poster on a christian blog.

This guy was arrogant, rude and abusive. He was posting stuff that would have got pulled on any site that was not moderated by someone who considered him the second coming. On the one hand he did manage to demonstrate just about all the issues that most people come up when trying to talk to a fundy, he ignored my questions, or refused to answer them, insisted on using personal attacks, did not read my citations and insisted on using a number of logical fallacies (appeals to authority and appeals to popularity). All the verbal garbage I could have dealt with but when he started accusing me of being either uneducated or to young to understand,(I am university educated and rapidly approaching middle age) I rather felt there was little that he could say that would be of any interest to me.

The worst thing of this whole affair was that he said he was a professor, an educator who thinks that belittling the person who has come ask for information seems a very poor teacher indeed, it made me feel briefly sorry for his students, until I realised that he probably lectured in theology (given his stated expertise in the subject) and it was unlikely many of his students would be challenging the fundamental basis of his world view. It was also sad to see the sycophantic hangers on that basically sat on the side lines and cheered him on regardless on how pointless and personal his attacks became.

I suppose I get that people get angry when you start to suggest that their sky fairy may be all made up but if it is going to make them abusive they should probably not be in the public domain.

Perhaps I need to develop a thicker skin? strangely I don't feel that I should extend courtesies to people on the Internet that I would not in real life. If some one insults me to my face the least they should expect is for me to walk away from them.

Well this is turning into a long post

Another point that came up during my little eye opener was he was questioning my ability to argue based on the fact that I say I am an atheist because there is insufficient evidence or argument to believe in any god, rather than because I fundamentally believe that there is no god. This actually really wound him up, which baffled me. As a believer in the scientific method surely I have to allow for the fact that we cannot prove there is no god, otherwise you are not a non believer, you are a devotee to a religion that has core beliefs (that there is no god). Would that not make me as biased and closed minded as the theists?

I know that theists have a real problem with understanding that most atheist do not actively disbelieve, I was reading a post saying that atheists all appear a little dumb because they are using up most of their brainpower denying the creator, as if I walk around all day reciting ' there is no god' to myself? I think it bothers them that I only ever think of god when someone or something brings it up. Why should I spend my time thinking about something that does not exist?

Any way I think I shall bring this ramble to a close, I shall see if anything else is happening in the real world.