Admin (hymnsinger) has limited membership because of the atheist Spammers that post porn and fake medicinal aids, but don't let that stop you from registering and posting if you love Christ.
Way back when I used to frequent chat rooms I found one of the best ways to handle such people is to try to befriend them. It takes a lot of time and patience....listen to me, now....A LOT of time and patience. There would be Satanic people who would come into the Christian chat room, of course, just to stir up trouble. Just to make people mad. At first, whoever was moderator would kick them out. Finally, I found that if I engaged them and got them to focus just on me then I could just calmly answer their questions, their hateful comments and keep up a constant friendly, loving tone to my replies they would eventually settle down.
"A soft word turneth away wrath: but grievous words stir up anger." Prov. 15:1
There was actually one guy who began to come in regularly to chat with only me. I don't mean to sound like I'm tooting my own horn here...but he said I was like no other Christian he had ever met before. And...he finally admitted to me that he did this sort of thing only for entertainment purposes; he liked jerking Christians' chains. He told me because of my responses to him I was no fun, but just enjoyable to talk to. I would "joke" with him that if jerking people's chains was his idea of fun he had some deeper problems he wasn't admitting, too.
I think we should respond to the comments made by people such as this atheist. I believe they are seeking answers and they won't admit it. If he's such a devout atheist, why would he be discussing this so adamantly with a Christian? Is he trying to "convert" someone? No, because by his own belief there is nothing to convert to. It's a sad, twisted cry for help. "I want you to believe I have the answers because I'm still trying to prove to myself I have all the answers but the answers I have don't seem to answer the questions I have."
The basis of what we believe is love. God is love. Everything in the Bible boils down to love. Everyone in the world is looking for love. (I feel a country song coming on.....) This guy is no different. The thing that makes us different is that we found Love. We need to show him what he's looking for.
Don't argue with him. That's exactly what he wants. Just like we discuss things in here...that's why we're all here, isn't it? We enjoy a good discussion on spiritual matters. Sometimes we even disagree on some points but we do it with love. If you feel you should converse with this guy you need to always stay focused on why you're talking with him...to show him Love...God. You will never change his mind with words because he's using words as a smoke-screen for what's really bothering him. He was forced to read the Bible at gun-point? I'm sure that's a slight exagerration but it does sound like maybe he was forced into "religion" and not taught about the Love part. Maybe his parents taught the Christian faith but didn't live it.
Read between the lines...there's nothing but fear there:
"he hates the religion...not the people who follow it" fear of organized action
"murder unbelievers, gays..." fear of being persecuted
"Christianity against freedom" fear of being controlled
"his belief in evolution" fear of being thought un-intelligent/ not p.c.
"spare me the Bible quotes" fear that The Word might actually speak to him.
and on and on.......
As for us being imitators? And how did he learn to eat? talk? walk? read? write? multiplication tables? spout his arguments? He learned all that from someone else.
And excuse me? Does it take more faith to believe that God created everything that was created in 6 days...(tell him creation didn't take 7 days...God rested on the 7th day)? Or does it take more faith to believe that "something" exploded "somewhere" and a bunch of gases happened to collect in various and random locations then just happened to start revolving creating hardened masses from which the gases happened to form a single, living cell which happened to divide and do so continuously. Then that continuously dividing cell happened to form a "creature" that happened to leave the water it happened to be in and happened to form air breathing lungs and through a myriad of continuing "just happened-ings" ended up being an ape which happened to evolve into a human? (ever use a word so much it stops sounding like a word? ) If you ask me that takes an awful lot of faith...more than a grain of a mustard seed which, if memory serves me correctly is all we are asked to start with as Christians.
All kidding aside, my advice would be to first, pray seriously for this guy. Second if you feel you should, I would engage him but only with love. Remember, if you start getting frustrated or angry at things he's saying...you're on the computer...he can't see your face or hear any other tone of voice than what you type in. You might want to excuse yourself for a bathroom break or a drink of water. Take a time out for prayer and then return when you feel you can speak with him quietly and send him those love vibes. I think you'll be surprised at the difference if you can just hang in there and be patient with him.
....lets start with these "wise-guys". They're Holy Ghost toast and don't even know it yet!
smiley
