# Opining that Jesus or God are fictional characters is trolling, by definition? **URL:** \ **Category:** About This Message Board\ **Created:** [September 2, 2014, 3:50am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/opining-that-jesus-or-god-are-fictional-characters-is-trolling-by-definition/697227 "2014-09-02T03:50:37Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 2
**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:** [September 2, 2014, 7:41am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/opining-that-jesus-or-god-are-fictional-characters-is-trolling-by-definition/697227/21 "2014-09-02T07:41:37Z")
> [@Mangetout](#): > > It’s just lame. It’s pretty much the same kind of lame as it would be if someone answered “Jesus!” in a thread titled “Who is the nicest world leader?” or “Who is the best action hero?” I guess I should have added: Do we really need to moderate lameness? I’m in big trouble if we do. ---
**Author:** ![bucketybuck](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/898d66/32.png) [@bucketybuck](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/bucketybuck)\ **Post date:** [September 2, 2014, 9:33am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/opining-that-jesus-or-god-are-fictional-characters-is-trolling-by-definition/697227/22 "2014-09-02T09:33:32Z")
> [@Mangetout](#): > > I guess I should have added: Do we really need to moderate lameness? > > I’m in big trouble if we do. Seems like they weren’t moderating lameness, they were simply trying to avoid a derail. ---
**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:** [September 2, 2014, 10:33am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/opining-that-jesus-or-god-are-fictional-characters-is-trolling-by-definition/697227/23 "2014-09-02T10:33:29Z")
Sure, lame arguments _of any kind_ can derail a thread, and I think that can legitimately be moderated, if required (sometimes, the derailment turns out to be a pleasant excursion). We definitely don’t need rules listing specific lame arguments that should be avoided. ---
**Author:** ![C\_K\_Dexter\_Haven](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/b2d939/32.png) [@C\_K\_Dexter\_Haven](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/C_K_Dexter_Haven)\ **Post date:** [September 2, 2014, 10:58am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/opining-that-jesus-or-god-are-fictional-characters-is-trolling-by-definition/697227/24 "2014-09-02T10:58:21Z")
**Twickster** ’s remarks were clearly about Cafe Society, and about a specific thread, and about the hijack potential. It’s a specific ruling for a specific type of thread in Cafe Society. The thread was about poplar fictional characters, not about religion, and we’ve seen several Cafe Society discussions hijacked over the years by religion/politics. No warning were issued, **Twickster** was trying to forestall the hijack that she anticipated as inevitable. (I think it’s pretty clear that a response of “God as played by George Burns” would have been fine.) ---
**Author:** ![twickster](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/ec9cab/32.png) [@twickster](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/twickster)\ **Post date:** [September 2, 2014, 12:59pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/opining-that-jesus-or-god-are-fictional-characters-is-trolling-by-definition/697227/25 "2014-09-02T12:59:25Z")
**Colibri** and **Dex** – and **RivkahChaya** and **Princhester** – have already done a fine job of explaining the reasons for the ruling. I was not forbidding any discussion of God as a fictional character. If you wanted to start a thread discussing various depictions of him in pop culture, per your list, **czarcasm** , that would be fine. You didn’t provide that list in your post – you delivered a contemptuous (“fan fiction”) throwaway line that could easily derail the thread. Similarly, **Penfeather** , if you wanted to start a thread to discuss Armstrong’s book – perfectly okay. In short, as others have said, it’s not a matter of God having a protected status on the SDMB in general, it’s a matter of preventing Cafe Society threads on a broader topic from getting sidetracked into theological debates. And if Zeus were a figure currently worshiped by millions of people, many of them posting at the SDMB, I’d include him as well. ---
**Author:** ![Marley23](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/45deac/32.png) [@Marley23](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Marley23)\ **Post date:** [September 2, 2014, 2:54pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/opining-that-jesus-or-god-are-fictional-characters-is-trolling-by-definition/697227/26 "2014-09-02T14:54:19Z")
> [@twickster](#): > > I was not forbidding any discussion of God as a fictional character. If you wanted to start a thread discussing various depictions of him in pop culture, per your list, **czarcasm** , that would be fine. You didn’t provide that list in your post – you delivered a contemptuous (“fan fiction”) throwaway line that could easily derail the thread. > > Similarly, **Penfeather** , if you wanted to start a thread to discuss Armstrong’s book – perfectly okay. To that end we have - or had? - a long-running series of Cafe Society threads called [“SDMB weekly Bible study”](http://boards.straightdope.com/sdmb/showthread.php?t=729645) that treated the Bible as a work of literature and evaluated it purely on that basis, which is kind of similar to what **twickster** is talking about here. I’d be surprised if we’ve never had a thread comparing the gods in various works of literature. ---
**Author:** ![Inner\_Stickler](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/inner_stickler/32/318_2.png) [@Inner\_Stickler](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Inner_Stickler)\ **Post date:** [September 2, 2014, 3:01pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/opining-that-jesus-or-god-are-fictional-characters-is-trolling-by-definition/697227/27 "2014-09-02T15:01:50Z")
> [@twickster](#): > > And if Zeus were a figure currently worshiped by millions of people, many of them posting at the SDMB, I’d include him as well. Please update the list to include Santa as the US alone has roughly 40 million children between 0 and 11 who would not consider him a fictional character. Thank you. ---
**Author:** ![Colibri](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/colibri/32/1841_2.png) [@Colibri](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Colibri)\ **Post date:** [September 2, 2014, 3:30pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/opining-that-jesus-or-god-are-fictional-characters-is-trolling-by-definition/697227/28 "2014-09-02T15:30:10Z")
> [@Inner\_Stickler](#): > > Please update the list to include Santa as the US alone has roughly 40 million children between 0 and 11 who would not consider him a fictional character. Thank you. Given that all of them are below the age limit for posting on the board, the likelihood of that leading to a thread derailment are minimal.😉 ---
**Author:** ![Inner\_Stickler](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/inner_stickler/32/318_2.png) [@Inner\_Stickler](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Inner_Stickler)\ **Post date:** [September 2, 2014, 3:34pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/opining-that-jesus-or-god-are-fictional-characters-is-trolling-by-definition/697227/29 "2014-09-02T15:34:37Z")
60+ million between 0-17, then. ---
**Author:** ![Colibri](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/colibri/32/1841_2.png) [@Colibri](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Colibri)\ **Post date:** [September 2, 2014, 3:37pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/opining-that-jesus-or-god-are-fictional-characters-is-trolling-by-definition/697227/30 "2014-09-02T15:37:18Z")
> [@Inner\_Stickler](#): > > 60+ million between 0-17, then. Like I said, the number of individuals older than 13, the age limit for posting here, who still believe in Santa Claus is going to be virtually nil. ---
**Author:** ![Inner\_Stickler](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/inner_stickler/32/318_2.png) [@Inner\_Stickler](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Inner_Stickler)\ **Post date:** [September 2, 2014, 3:43pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/opining-that-jesus-or-god-are-fictional-characters-is-trolling-by-definition/697227/31 "2014-09-02T15:43:07Z")
The number of derailments in that thread regarding the existence of deities was nil but that didn’t stop you guys from jumping in. ---
**Author:** ![twickster](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/ec9cab/32.png) [@twickster](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/twickster)\ **Post date:** [September 2, 2014, 3:50pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/opining-that-jesus-or-god-are-fictional-characters-is-trolling-by-definition/697227/32 "2014-09-02T15:50:03Z")
> [@Inner\_Stickler](#): > > Please update the list to include Santa as the US alone has roughly 40 million children between 0 and 11 who would not consider him a fictional character. Thank you. Plus there’s a difference between “belief in” and “worship of.” ---
**Author:** ![Colibri](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/colibri/32/1841_2.png) [@Colibri](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Colibri)\ **Post date:** [September 2, 2014, 3:51pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/opining-that-jesus-or-god-are-fictional-characters-is-trolling-by-definition/697227/33 "2014-09-02T15:51:13Z")
> [@Inner\_Stickler](#): > > The number of derailments in that thread regarding the existence of deities was nil but that didn’t stop you guys from jumping in. Invalid argument. Just because someone speeding hasn’t caused an accident on one occasion isn’t an argument not to caution people who are speeding. ---
**Author:** ![GrandWino](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/grandwino/32/67_2.png) [@GrandWino](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/GrandWino)\ **Post date:** [September 2, 2014, 4:05pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/opining-that-jesus-or-god-are-fictional-characters-is-trolling-by-definition/697227/34 "2014-09-02T16:05:28Z")
nm ---
**Author:** ![Inner\_Stickler](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/inner_stickler/32/318_2.png) [@Inner\_Stickler](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Inner_Stickler)\ **Post date:** [September 2, 2014, 4:10pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/opining-that-jesus-or-god-are-fictional-characters-is-trolling-by-definition/697227/35 "2014-09-02T16:10:02Z")
> [@Colibri](#): > > Invalid argument. Just because someone speeding hasn’t caused an accident on one occasion isn’t an argument not to caution people who are speeding. It would have saved us all this thread and wouldn’t that have been a treat. ---
**Author:** ![Procrustus](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/procrustus/32/2994_2.png) [@Procrustus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Procrustus)\ **Post date:** [September 2, 2014, 4:13pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/opining-that-jesus-or-god-are-fictional-characters-is-trolling-by-definition/697227/36 "2014-09-02T16:13:53Z")
> [@twickster](#): > > In short, as others have said, it’s not a matter of God having a protected status on the SDMB in general, it’s a matter of preventing Cafe Society threads on a broader topic from getting sidetracked into theological debates. > . That is clearly not true. Cecil decided to weigh in on “is god real?” and instead of a simple “no, of course not,” he waffled like the pancake house. If not for the aforementioned “protected status,” Cecil would have answered truthfully in the interest of fighting ignorance. We all died a little inside that day. ---
**Author:** ![Colibri](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/colibri/32/1841_2.png) [@Colibri](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Colibri)\ **Post date:** [September 2, 2014, 4:40pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/opining-that-jesus-or-god-are-fictional-characters-is-trolling-by-definition/697227/37 "2014-09-02T16:40:25Z")
> [@Inner\_Stickler](#): > > It would have saved us all this thread and wouldn’t that have been a treat. The fact that someone might question a valid moderation action is also not a reason not to take it. ---
**Author:** ![GrandWino](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/grandwino/32/67_2.png) [@GrandWino](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/GrandWino)\ **Post date:** [September 2, 2014, 4:42pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/opining-that-jesus-or-god-are-fictional-characters-is-trolling-by-definition/697227/38 "2014-09-02T16:42:42Z")
\*\*Czarcasm \*\*knew he was pushing buttons. He likes pushing buttons. Usually he’s good at skirting the line on what’s allowed and what will get him a scolding and this time he pushed across the line a bit too far, and now he’s butthurt about the scolding. Is that a fair recap of the situation? ---
**Author:** ![Colibri](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/colibri/32/1841_2.png) [@Colibri](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Colibri)\ **Post date:** [September 2, 2014, 4:48pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/opining-that-jesus-or-god-are-fictional-characters-is-trolling-by-definition/697227/39 "2014-09-02T16:48:07Z")
> [@GrandWino](#): > > \*\*Czarcasm \*\*knew he was pushing buttons. He likes pushing buttons. Usually he’s good at skirting the line on what’s allowed and what will get him a scolding and this time he pushed across the line a bit too far, and now he’s butthurt about the scolding. > > Is that a fair recap of the situation? **Moderator Warning** No, that’s clearly a personal attack, which is prohibited in this forum. This is an official warning. If you want to attack a poster, take it to the Pit. Colibri Moderator ---
**Author:** ![Boyo\_Jim](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/87869e/32.png) [@Boyo\_Jim](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Boyo_Jim)\ **Post date:** [September 2, 2014, 4:53pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/opining-that-jesus-or-god-are-fictional-characters-is-trolling-by-definition/697227/40 "2014-09-02T16:53:27Z")
> [@Colibri](#): > > Her name is **twickster** , which both of you have been around long enough to know. … Apologies Twickster, I was probably thinking of the breakfast cereal. Also, to Colibri’s comment in this thread: > [@](#): > > That doesn’t justify the kind of throwaway lines that were made in the thread. … What do you mean by this? The Jesus and God posts were pretty much indistinguishable from all the other nominations, except for the names of course. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/opining-that-jesus-or-god-are-fictional-characters-is-trolling-by-definition/697227.md?page=1) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/opining-that-jesus-or-god-are-fictional-characters-is-trolling-by-definition/697227.md?page=3)