So, Polycarp, how you doin'?

Miscellaneous and Personal Stuff I Must Share
1

Alright, alright, I apologise for the thread title. I’m male, hetero, and in a committed, monogamous relationship. It got whoever’s reading this in here, at least.

In the Religion Pit Thread Du Jour, your reply seemed uncharacteristically upset. A few things I wanted to say, out of the Pit:

A: ) Your statement

is erroneous. I, for one, entered the SDMB an Obnoxious Atheist, and ended up simply an atheist. I credit and thank Triskademus, Siege, Zev, you, and a thousand other thoughtful, intelligent, articulate religious Dopers for pointing out to my previously pointy-headed self that religious belief was by no means an irrational proposition.

B: ) Some posters are claiming that you and yours are being non-empirical. It’s a rather silly claim: anyone who experiences personal evidence of a deity comes up upon C.S. Lewis’s trifurcation, with no usual out about the possibility of false accounts. My full statement is in the thread, but a sample of it is here in case you decide not to go back to that one:

C: ) Your statement

worries me. If you’re just having a rough period, I’d point out that there are innumerable people around who’d be happy to talk and share a metaphorical or actual drink or five. If you’re currently a problem with something or a general tough time, I’d point out that there are a few thousand of us ready with comfort, advice, possibly-useful facts, what tangible support we can drum up, and a place to hide the bodies after*. Finally, if whatever is wrong (if anything is) is something you can’t talk about freely on a message board, well… my email address is rligouri@vt.edu. You probably either can’t talk about whatever it is with a random stranger from the Dope, but if you could use the services of a rather poor college student from Williamsburg, VA, they’re yours.

Anyway, I hope I’m just reading too much into things. So, to be sure, I ask: how are you doing, Poly?
*Mods: I do not actually advocate forming a Straight Dope Brute Squad for dealing with whatever problem may exist and then making it cease to do so. That would be wrong.

2

I want to chime in and express that I hope you’re okay as well, Poly. That reply was somewhat worrying and very uncharacteristic.

3

Just chiming in to agree with the others. If there’s anything at all you need, Poly, we’re here for you.

-picker (another formerly militant and condescending athiest who’s learned a bit of tolerance and open-mindedness from you and others here)

4

That post worried me too. I am a militant and condescending atheist right now, but if there were more people like Polycarp, I probably wouldn’t be.

5

Yes, indeed. I held the view that religious people were mainly brainwashed sheep who preferrred their delusions to the rigors of actual thought, until I became a Doper, after which I had to add “…except for a few religious people like **Poly **.”

Frankly, my first reaction was that someone else had logged on **Poly **'s account.

6

{{{{Polycarp}}}} just because.

7

That thread is heeeyyoooge.

Not so long ago I decided to dump the ‘obnoxious’ part too. I respect Polycarp for his amazing knowledge and civil manner. Him and this place played a big part in my decision to stop the atheist ‘preaching’ which I failed to do without obnoxiousness.

8

Polycarp (along with Siege and Trisk) is the kind of Christian I really, really want to be. He puts us all to shame. hugs for him

9

Even though I’m not involved in this battle at all, I felt like I understand how Polycarp felt in that thread. All he wants to do is increase the peace, and all some people want to do is get in his face about it. I’d get discouraged too.

I hope you were just in a rare bad mood, Polycarp, and that it’s nothing more serious. And I hope this thread encourages you to keep up your good work.

10

Eh, I’m not going to presume to speak for Polycarp, but I imagine it gets tiresome for anyone to be the one Doper that everyone trots out as the lone spokesperson for blank.

There are only so many times you can put your viewpoints on a matter out there for other people to read, state your case as convincingly as you know how, respond to someone with understanding instead of anger, and still see the same stuff trotted out again and again, the same weak points made over and over, and nothing changing. It’s “SDMB Fatigue.”

I’ve a huge amount of respect for Polycarp. Still, he’s just as entitled to get pissed off and frustrated and angry as anyone else.

The idea that he hasn’t made an impact on the board is just absurd; for one more example, he and I are pretty much on the “same side” and I’ve still learned a hell of a lot from his posts. But the idea that getting a little pissed off and frustrated – in the Pit, no less – is reason for real concern, is equally absurd.

11

You’re right, SolGrundy. But it’s never, ever a bad idea to hold out a peaceful hand and say, “Dude. Thinking of you. Love ya, and thanks for being here. You’ve made a difference in my life.”

I’m not going to say we should try to track down Poly’s ISP address and call the police to go check his garage for bodies. But what does it hurt to let him know he’s appreciated? If he’s feeling down, maybe we’ll help. If he’s not, who cares?

So, **Polycarp **- Thinking of you. Love ya, and thanks for being here. You’ve made a difference in my life.

12

Polycarp’s alive and well, or at least he was on Sunday morning. The thing is, we all have rough times and it gets tiresome reading that I must be stupid, illogical, or insane because I happen to be religious. While I’m not sure what’s going on in Polycarp’s life right now, I can tell you I’m relying on my faith more than usual, as is to be expected under the circumstances.

Polycarp and I have both had experiences which cannot be accounted for by science as we know it. In my case, I’ll also point out that my faith has helped keep me alive, well, and sane in difficult situations. We’re human. Every so often, it feels like we don’t make a difference, that, despite all we do, the people whose actions we see as damaging our faith get all the headlines and the common, good, ordinary people get overlooked. I know that’s not the case, but that’s how it feels and it can get lonely sometimes.

Thanks for this thread, though, and for those of you who posted in it. While I can’t speak for my brother-in-spirit, I know it’s been a useful reminder to me.

CJ

13

Polycarp has an incredible knack for posting answers that I agree with wholeheartedly, on a variety of subjects, and expressing his views with more knowledge, insight, and erudition than I could ever hope to offer. I can’t begin to say how many threads I have refrained from adding my US$0.02 worth, since my responses would have been little more than “what Polycarp said.” If the war against ignorance were a bowl of salad, Polycarp would be the romaine lettuce.

Here’s hoping that all is well with you, magister.

14

Of course! That’s a great sentiment, and I apologize for making it sound like I was dumping on the thread.

All I was saying (and saying it poorly) was trying to head off the idea that everybody has to stay on his best behavior at all times, lest panic ensue.

15

All I can say is “Wow!”

Yeah, I’ve been quite down lately about a bunch of things, none of which even qualify for MPSIMS as far as seriousness goes. (Childlessness, for example; I’ve been reading stories about people who take in homeless children and create families for them – which may in retrospect have been a mistake.)

And I still carry something of a sense of guilt that I’m not doing enough, or for the right people. (For example, UnaBoarders will know more detail than I care to give on this more public forum about an 11-year-old, my son’s nephew by marriage, who is carrying a lot more emotional baggage than any adult should be expected to bear up under, and for whom I’m one of only two friends he can trust with his feelings, the other being his amazingly intuitive 10-year-old cousin, my protegé at this line of work ;). And I’m 700 miles from him, and can only communicate on a useful level when I’m there visiting.)

I look on SDMB as “my assigned ministry” – it’s what I’m Called to do, to be the person you know me as here. And I’ve been allowing the rancor of GD and the Pit on the subjects that are of meaning to me to get to me a lot more than it ought to.

Everybody has a point where they snap. That was mine.

I’m recovering – but I need to figure out how to be more what I want to be, on a more practical scale. I have a sense that That Will Be Revealed at the Proper Time – and I’m in a “Give me patience, Lord – and make it quick!” mode. :slight_smile:

16

Is it okay if penis ensues?

17

Reminiscent of Father John Francis Patrick Mulcahey (I can even hear his voice saying that; canot you?:D), and you could do FAR worse, my friend:)

18

Well, if it does any good, Polycarp, I admire and respect you. I wish more people, including myself, could be like you. If ever there were a Christian who had Christ’s teaching figured out, it would be you.

19

Polycarp : I don’t know you or you me, really–but I wanted to say that it was reading your posts and Siege’s (there are more, but you two spring to mind) that pulled me into some of the more heated debates. I would read venom and anger and then there would be this post where reason and tolerance seemed to live. You showed (and continue to do so) that the Pit and GD don’t have to disintergrate into slanging matches, hurt feelings and sophomoric insults.

Thank you for that.

20

I’m sure that most Dopers will agree with me when I say that if you sold all your worldly possessions and gave the money to the people you want to help, you’d still feel guilty that you didn’t do enough.