She has more conditions, and the debate topics are limited to the questions that already appear in the current column. (These questions tend to be rants against a certain narrow sector of conservative Christianity whose influence is felt out-of-proportion to its numbers.)
I know there are some pretty sharp Christians on this board. Would any of you like to take her on? Or debate her questions here?
No offense if you like her or anything, but she seems like a bit of an idiot. The Ten Commandments argument is just plain farcical, of the 2 abortion arguments she throws out one (the partial birth one) is a strawman and the other displays a woeful lack of, well, pragmatic common sense as much as anything else.
As for the public prayer thing, doesn’t that apply only to fundies? I think we can all agree fundies are idiots. Who cares what they think?
Her page is also replete simplistic analyses and silly comments like:
Sprechen sie Deutch, Fraulein? :rolleyes:
Frankly, I’d rather stay here and debate some smart atheists.
Yeah, her articles seem to put brainpower on the second-tier rack in favor of working herself into a lather.
Perhaps she’s never debated a Christian with a brain before – having only been exposed to the hick variety of Fundamentalists. Which is why this sounds like a good opportunity to giver her a sobering dose of real debating.
I refuse to pay any attention to a website that attempts to make my computer monitor look textured, or implies that they text was written with a fancy quill pen.
An online acquaintance informed me of your search for a Christian online debate/discussion partner.
I would be quite interested in taking part in this.
A little about myself:
My name is Mike, I am in my mid-thirties, a family man and I live in Southern England.
I am a long-standing member of the Methodist Church, I consider myself a Christian - I would not describe myself as a fundamentalist or conservative though, indeed I think I’d be quite unable to address many of the pointed questions/statements posted on your current page, for example “Why are you so insistent on public prayer?” - I’d have to honestly and simply answer “I’m not”.
Anyway, if you’d find it at all useful to have my input, such as it is, I gladly offer it.
Regards
Mike
PS, I’m well aware that debates in this arena run hot and so I have created this email account specifically for the purpose of this dialogue; I will attempt to honestly reply to everything that arrives here for as long as I am practically able, but I reserve the right to close down the account if abuse (from third parties) starts to become a serious problem.
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Well, I think I’m a fundie, and I know I’m not an idiot.
I believe, as do fundies, that God created man on the 6th day, that the flood really did happen, and Jesus will return someday.
however, unlike all other fundies, I am to the left politically, and have no problem with gay marriage (Canada just had one today!)
So…am I an unusual fundie?
Assuming she does take you up on your offer, do please keep us informed! I’d love to read a debate between this woman and a SDMB veteran like yourself.
Assuming she takes me up on the offer, hopefully she will also make good on her offer to publish the dialogue on her site and I’ll just be able to post a link.
Several years ago, she and I had a short run in. I told her that she should either lighten up or change the name of her site, since there was nothing happy about its content. She replied that she had a large following among college students that were questioning their religious beliefs. My answer was that it was not hard to find or impress college students engaged in such a search. If I remember correctly she told me to go have sexual relations with myself. :eek:
Somewhere in that exchange it became clear that she attacks fundamentalist ideas, but actually has little use for anyone that believes there is a Higher Being.***** Her intent is to convert everyone to her atheistic beliefs. I personally think she has issues with her Lutheran upbringing.
[ul]*[sup] This is why I agree that it is unlikely that she will accept Mangetout. If she does accept, remember you’ve been forewarned and hopefully forearmed.[/sup] ;)[/ul]
For what its worth, I contacted her earlier too (this morning) inviting her to bring her arguments to a thread on this board, rather than running it ‘behind the scenes’, as it were.
I have yet to hear back from her either. Keep us informed on whats going on, Mange.
I got a reply stating that I had been one of 45 applicants and she would let me know - I thanked her, but I suspect I may not be the right material.
Good call on the invite to the board, Aro, although from what I’ve read of her site, she would find it tough going here (in the same sort of way that Lolo did (remember him?)
Good luck to you, Mangetout, although I think she may think non-Fundies aren’t nearly as much fun.
By the way, to risk a hijack, you do realize I’ve got a fair number of relatives running around southern England. Next time I’m over visiting them, shall I see if I can include at least one non-relative?
