# I am leaving SDMB **URL:** \ **Category:** Miscellaneous and Personal Stuff I Must Share\ **Created:** [July 30, 2003, 6:01am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-am-leaving-sdmb/191856 "2003-07-30T06:01:35Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 3
**Author:** ![Marley23](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/45deac/32.png) [@Marley23](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Marley23)\ **Post date:** [July 30, 2003, 5:58pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-am-leaving-sdmb/191856/41 "2003-07-30T17:58:58Z")
Maybe he’ll only spend 40 days in the desert, being tempted by Cecil. 😛 ---
**Author:** ![SkipMagic](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/skipmagic/32/20706_2.png) [@SkipMagic](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/SkipMagic)\ **Post date:** [July 30, 2003, 6:04pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-am-leaving-sdmb/191856/42 "2003-07-30T18:04:15Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by Mangetout \* > \*\*No, it isn’t, because he posted it on a message board to which more people than himself, Polycarp and God have access… \*\* All right. Who told God where the party was? [sub]Firggin’ big-mouths who can’t get their lips shut…[/sub] ---
**Author:** ![Coldfire](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/a587f6/32.png) [@Coldfire](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Coldfire)\ **Post date:** [July 30, 2003, 6:14pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-am-leaving-sdmb/191856/43 "2003-07-30T18:14:54Z")
Good luck in life, **Nomadic\_One**. If your sole purpose to come to the SDMB was witnessing, then yeah, you probably picked the wrong board. FWIW, I’m not familiar with your posts: I’ll therefore refrain from jumping to conclusions about “closed minds” and such. I know plenty of highly intelligent Christians. If I may ask, how do people online generally respond to witnessing? I honestly have no idea. Of course, I’m talking about places that don’t have a religious slant to them to begin with. Are people agressive? Dismissive? Respectful? How does that work? And why would you choose the Internet as a medium for witnessing, anyway? Isn’t a personal matter like religion much better dealt with in a face-to-face situation? ---
**Author:** ![Priam](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/77aa72/32.png) [@Priam](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Priam)\ **Post date:** [July 30, 2003, 6:18pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-am-leaving-sdmb/191856/44 "2003-07-30T18:18:46Z")
Eeek. I’m terribly torn here. Part of me wants to be nice and considerate, while my inner five year old wants to stick out his tongue and call Nomadic\_One a doodoo-head. What the heck… I don’t agree with fundamentalist Christians because they prejudge and demand everyone conform to their standards. I think they’re a moral perversion of what God really wishes humanity to be. But thats all okay and don’t be upset by my sweeping generalizations and ridiculous assertions because LOOK LOOK LOOK. I can put a smiley at the end and you’ll know its alllll better 🙂 ---
**Author:** ![The\_Mad\_Hermit](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/b5ac83/32.png) [@The\_Mad\_Hermit](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/The_Mad_Hermit)\ **Post date:** [July 30, 2003, 6:34pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-am-leaving-sdmb/191856/45 "2003-07-30T18:34:35Z")
Be careful when you meet Tan-Ru, **Nomadic\_One.** And always remember your “father.” ---
**Author:** ![iampunha](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/i/74df32/32.png) [@iampunha](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/iampunha)\ **Post date:** [July 30, 2003, 7:14pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-am-leaving-sdmb/191856/46 "2003-07-30T19:14:06Z")
**Coldfire** , IME if it’s done in a respectful way and one that therefore respects the wishes of the witnessees (see **dreamer** ’s thread), then it turns out nicely, usually. If OTOH one comes in expecting people to drop the goats they’d been a’fornicatin’ and come worship JAYSUS…well, then it doesn’t go over well. You’ve seen some stuff in the Pit on both ends, as well as stuff in GD on both ends and certainly a smattering or two in SIMS. ---
**Author:** ![Zenham](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/z/a5b964/32.png) [@Zenham](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Zenham)\ **Post date:** [July 30, 2003, 7:48pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-am-leaving-sdmb/191856/47 "2003-07-30T19:48:15Z")
Thanks for dropping by. Can I ask not to be prayed for by you, though I just find that really offensive. ---
**Author:** ![Ephemera](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/8baadc/32.png) [@Ephemera](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ephemera)\ **Post date:** [July 30, 2003, 8:44pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-am-leaving-sdmb/191856/48 "2003-07-30T20:44:57Z")
\*He had alot to say… he had alot of nothing to say; we’ll miss him. So long… we wish you well. You told us how you weren’t afraid to die… well then, so long. Don’t cry or feel too down. Not all martyrs see divinity but at least you tried.\* ---
**Author:** ![Esprix](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/esprix/32/7899_2.png) [@Esprix](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Esprix)\ **Post date:** [July 30, 2003, 8:50pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-am-leaving-sdmb/191856/49 "2003-07-30T20:50:50Z")
> [@](#): > > _Originally posted by **Nomadic\_One** _ > > Esprix: Listen with a small voice. The hell? 😕 Esprix ---
**Author:** ![Delly](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/85f322/32.png) [@Delly](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Delly)\ **Post date:** [July 30, 2003, 9:33pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-am-leaving-sdmb/191856/50 "2003-07-30T21:33:03Z")
Nomadic\_One… Learn a lesson from this: You cant convert everyone to your way of thinking, so would you and your kind please stop? Seriously imagine how boring your life would be if we were all the same? Thank you for taking the time to get to know us all before judging us… Oh wait you didnt. You stayed here roughly about 5 months and yet managed to judge all 35000 members? All I can say now is Good Riddance. ---
**Author:** ![Shodan](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/9f8e36/32.png) [@Shodan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Shodan)\ **Post date:** [July 30, 2003, 9:48pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-am-leaving-sdmb/191856/51 "2003-07-30T21:48:18Z")
May the Father in Heaven, for Jesus’ sake, renew and increase in you the gift of the Holy Spirit, to your strengthening in faith, to your growth in grace, to your patience in suffering, unto the blessed hope of eternal life. Regards, Shodan ---
**Author:** ![Mangetout](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/mangetout/32/19_2.png) [@Mangetout](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mangetout)\ **Post date:** [July 30, 2003, 10:58pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-am-leaving-sdmb/191856/52 "2003-07-30T22:58:42Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by Esprix \* > \*\*The hell? 😕 > > Esprix \*\* I don’t know how it reads to you (and I know it’s just between you, **N\_O** and God), but to me, “Listen with a small voice” reads as if to say “Please, stop talking, pleeeease”. YMMV ---
**Author:** ![Q.E.D](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/q/51bf81/32.png) [@Q.E.D](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Q.E.D)\ **Post date:** [July 30, 2003, 11:12pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-am-leaving-sdmb/191856/53 "2003-07-30T23:12:58Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by UncleBeer \* > \*\*Ya know, some of these parting comments are kinda cheap shots made at the back of this guy as he’s leaving the room. I find some of them a little disappointing. > > And for anybody who thinks they have outstanding issues with him, his e-mail address is right up there. \*\* To be perfectly fair, we’ve all heard the “I’m leaving the Board!” bit so often, we’ve become inured to it, and anytime someone makes a post like that it automatically triggers a “yeah, later…don’t let the door hit ya” response. To be honest, I had a similar reaction myself, and I’ve been here mush less time than most in this thread. Frankly, if someone’s sole intent on coming here (or anyplace else for that matter) is to witness and garner converts to their One True Way™, then usually no one is too upset to see them go when they finally throw up their hands in defeat. It’s just as annoying here as it is in Real Life. ---
**Author:** ![David\_Simmons](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/9de053/32.png) [@David\_Simmons](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/David_Simmons)\ **Post date:** [July 31, 2003, 2:12am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-am-leaving-sdmb/191856/54 "2003-07-31T02:12:18Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by Q.E.D. \* > \*\* Frankly, if someone’s sole intent on coming here (or anyplace else for that matter) is to witness and garner converts to their One True Way™, then usually no one is too upset to see them go when they finally throw up their hands in defeat. It’s just as annoying here as it is in Real Life. \*\* Well, it’s not quite as annoying but its close. What is _really_ annoying is to sit down in an airplane headed for Boston from Los Angeles and when the seat belt sign goes off having the guy next to you turn and say, “Have you been saved?” ---
**Author:** ![Cliffy](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/59ef9b/32.png) [@Cliffy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Cliffy)\ **Post date:** [July 31, 2003, 2:51am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-am-leaving-sdmb/191856/55 "2003-07-31T02:51:40Z")
But **David** , we godless heathens don’t have a moral code, remember – so we can just lie and say we have. **Nomadic\_One** , I don’t know you, but I wish you luck in your future endeavors. That said, you don’t have permission to pray for me. –Cliffy ---
**Author:** ![Mukluk](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/b77776/32.png) [@Mukluk](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mukluk)\ **Post date:** [July 31, 2003, 3:08am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-am-leaving-sdmb/191856/56 "2003-07-31T03:08:02Z")
I’m a Christian who is more than willing to witness to anyone who would like to hear it. However, that doesn’t mean that I’m going to try to witness to or convert someone who doesn’t want to hear it. After all, the Bible talks about sowing seed on rocky soil and casting pearls before swine (that’s a metaphor - I’m not calling anyone a pig). 😃 After all, my personal relationship with Christ is something I cherish and I’m not about to open it up to scorn and ridicule by someone who just can’t/doesn’t/won’t appreciate it. **For those who don’t share my Christian faith:** I prefer that we agree to disagree and think each other is wasting their (eternal/finite) life by their own (God given/personal) choice. Those who dump on Christians collectively are just as guilty at being bigoted, judgemental, and uncouth as those they protest against. So what if I think you are casting away your salvation or not walking the “One True Path” ™? You don’t believe in either. It certainly doesn’t bother me that you think I’m a dogmatic, fundamentalist jerk whose mindset hasn’t evolved past the middle ages. **For those who do share my faith in Christ:** I’m not convinced that thumping those who “have ears and will not hear” is the answer. God gave us our free choice and the unfortunate thing is that people will use it in an unfaithful manner. If you have a different view however, email me - I’d love to learn about it. Man I gotta stop running off at the keyboard - God has not Graced me with a talent for brevity. 🙂 ---
**Author:** ![verbenabeast](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/v/c4cdca/32.png) [@verbenabeast](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/verbenabeast)\ **Post date:** [July 31, 2003, 3:20am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-am-leaving-sdmb/191856/57 "2003-07-31T03:20:44Z")
a couple of “Braveheart” quotes leapt instantly to mind… First King Edward said > [@](#): > > Who is this person that speaks to me as though I needed his advice? … I mean really… who was this cat to start with… ummmmmm… buh bye… kthanks and then Stephen said (and I find this one REALLY apropos): > [@](#): > > The Almighty thinks he can get me out of this, but he’s pretty sure you’re fucked. ---
**Author:** ![Lissa](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/85f322/32.png) [@Lissa](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Lissa)\ **Post date:** [July 31, 2003, 3:38am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-am-leaving-sdmb/191856/58 "2003-07-31T03:38:11Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by Mangetout \* > \*\*I don’t know how it reads to you (and I know it’s just between you, **N\_O** and God), but to me, “Listen with a small voice” reads as if to say “Please, stop talking, pleeeease”. > > YMMV \*\* I think it was supposed to be “Listen _to_ that small, still voice.” I remember in Christian school that it was supposed to be the Holy Spirit talking to your heart. ---
**Author:** ![flood](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/bbe5ce/32.png) [@flood](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/flood)\ **Post date:** [July 31, 2003, 3:52am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-am-leaving-sdmb/191856/59 "2003-07-31T03:52:59Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by Aesiron \* > \*\*\*He had alot to say… he had alot of nothing to say; we’ll miss him. > > So long… we wish you well. You told us how you weren’t afraid to die… well then, so long. Don’t cry or feel too down. Not all martyrs see divinity but at least you tried.\* \*\* I like the way you’ve managed to incorporate Tool into this discussion. Points to you from me (if that means anything). By the way: [hijack]Did you know that the song was about Ron Hubbard and not about Jesus? At least that’s the way I interpret it…[/hijack] ---
**Author:** ![Mama\_Tiger](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/6de8d8/32.png) [@Mama\_Tiger](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mama_Tiger)\ **Post date:** [July 31, 2003, 4:03am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-am-leaving-sdmb/191856/60 "2003-07-31T04:03:17Z")
Sorry if my comment about a closed mind was objected to – but when someone comes along and tells me that their beliefs are vastly superior to mine and therefore I am wrong and must change what I believe, I am deeply offended. If I WANT to be witnessed to, I’ll ASK for it. Until I ASK for it, don’t waste your time with me! See, I believe that there are many paths to the Truth. Spokes on the wheel. Yours may well be a valid one – but who are you to say that yours is any more valid than mine? Heck, I could assure you that mine is more valid than yours, but I don’t interrupt you in the privacy of your own home, whether by door-to-door witnessing or spouting off in an online forum where it’s pretty clear that witnessing doesn’t fall on fertile ground, to assure you that your beliefs are wrong. Strange concept – I don’t believe in forcing my beliefs upon those who aren’t interested in them! So yes, I believe that anyone who engages in unsolicited witnessing has a closed mind. My opinion, and I’ve yet to run into any proof to the contrary. This is NOT an anti-Christian statement, any more than it’s an anti-Islam statement or an anti-Buddhist statement or an anti-atheist statement. I know many devout Christians who I have nothing but the deepest respect for. But the single overriding characteristic that makes this so is that they respect MY beliefs, too. No witnessing, please, **Mukluk**. But if I’m ever interested, you’ll be the first I ask. 😃 [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-am-leaving-sdmb/191856.md?page=2) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-am-leaving-sdmb/191856.md?page=4)