SermonIndex Audio Sermons
SermonIndex - Promoting Revival to this Generation
Give To SermonIndex
Discussion Forum : General Topics : Cyber Christian

Print Thread (PDF)

PosterThread
allhavsinned
Member



Joined: 2005/8/1
Posts: 201
North West England

 Cyber Christian

Has anyone tried registering onto an athiest forum and asking them questions or offered answers to them?

It's something I've been thinking of doing for a week since I had a look at one. I spend a lot of time on the PC and it could be an opportuninty for me to witness.

What I like about the idea is that you have the time to think about an answer and can get some stuff off the web to back you up. When witnessing on the street if you cannot give an immetiate answer then you lose the opportunity, though you learn from your mistakes.

Or is it a waste of time, perhaps you've tried it and have some stories, comments or warnings.

Anything welcome.

Ste


_________________
Ste

 2007/1/15 20:31Profile
iansmith
Member



Joined: 2006/3/22
Posts: 963
Wheaton, IL

 Re: Cyber Christian

The difference between witnessing in person and witnessing via electronic messages are hard to describe... the main difference is in person it's more difficult to get away! Online they can just press the back button if they see something they don't like.

I also imagine that an athiest forum is much like this forum -people go there looking to argue or fight over some bit of knowledge, and no matter how many tomes can be written in the forum, generally the people tend to stick to their original battle lines... no offense to anyone on this forum.

Nothing is ever going to replace going out and meeting these people and talking to them face to face!


_________________
Ian Smith

 2007/1/15 21:28Profile
Smokey
Member



Joined: 2005/2/21
Posts: 417
Edmonton Alberta Cda.

 Re: Cyber Christian

It is always right to try and reach out to others with the gospel. If you feel led by the Lord to undertake this effort, go for it.
Personally, for the last couple of years, I have felt led to go to a local mall for a couple of hours on Saturday, and just sit in the food court and read my bible. I have been blessed on several ocassions to share the gospel with someone who was passing by, and stopped to talk.

Blessings Greg :-)


_________________
Greg

 2007/1/15 21:42Profile









 Re:

Though I've read the Bible for years on end, I wasn't truly convinced and convicted in the heart until I heard the spoken word by the late A.W. Tozer. Something about hearing the spoken word did something the reading didn't.

But considering what an influence SI.org has had on me, being in the electronic medium and all, I imagine that it doesn't matter how, where, or when the Word is preached... it's so powerful it will influence someone.

 2007/1/15 21:58
allhavsinned
Member



Joined: 2005/8/1
Posts: 201
North West England

 Re:

Quote:

Smokey wrote:
It is always right to try and reach out to others with the gospel. If you feel led by the Lord to undertake this effort, go for it.
Personally, for the last couple of years, I have felt led to go to a local mall for a couple of hours on Saturday, and just sit in the food court and read my bible. I have been blessed on several ocassions to share the gospel with someone who was passing by, and stopped to talk.

Blessings Greg :-)



Yeah, I do go out onto the streets each week but I spend 9 hours a night at work and I have a lot of time I could be witnessing on line, I guess I am just looking for suggestions and seeing if anyone out there has done or is doing something similar so I can learn from them.

Thanks

Ste


_________________
Ste

 2007/1/16 16:16Profile









 Re: Cyber Christian

ste,
if God is telling you to do it, go for it!

my gut reaction/advice would be to lay back and just read, figure out who's who, the alpha dogs, the know it all's, the argumentative, the queen bee....every discussion forum has a certain pecking order and culture...and it would be ESPECIALLY good if they have a PM feature, that way you can discern those who have the hunger for Christ in their hearts. The PM's is where the fruit will be. Out on the public forum, thats where the devil's gonna wait for you.

May God bless that outreach, neil

 2007/1/16 17:38
allhavsinned
Member



Joined: 2005/8/1
Posts: 201
North West England

 Re:

I agree but I've jumped in and joined a science forum that has some threads about religion, I'm in the middle of a discussion as we speak!

I picked the forum because it had 100 guests and 30 members online so it wouldn't take a week to get a response.

As to finding out who the alpha dogs are, well we'll find out soon enough, my name on the forum is 'Biblebeliever' so I'm nailing my flag to the mast!

I agree about the PM's I realise there's only so much that they'll let you put on a public forum, I'm just there to answer any questions the true searchers have.

Thanks for your comments


_________________
Ste

 2007/1/16 20:20Profile
SeanHobson
Member



Joined: 2005/12/9
Posts: 150
Cleveland, OH

 Re:

I've had that same idea but I never pursued it. What has God wrought by you so far? I look at my own ignorance of religion and the bible and I fear going against those with not just more knowledge than me, but also impowered with devils. If you due pursue this for Jesus Christ sake, I commend you greatly brother.

1Co 8:11 And through thy knowledge shall the weak brother perish, for whom Christ died?


_________________
Sean Hobson

 2007/1/18 19:54Profile
allhavsinned
Member



Joined: 2005/8/1
Posts: 201
North West England

 Re:

Well I've gone in at the deep end and I have learned a lot...

Firstly Bartle's wise comments would have been useful had I taken them onboard before the plunge, there are many on the site who not only have a 'Christian' perspective but are highly literate and knowlegable, far more so than I.

So my initial reaction was that I am wasting my time, but I carried on, took a few blows to the chin and tried to put subtle point across, mainly in the guise of questions.

One thing I learned is that they use the argument 'we've dismissed that in thread xyz123 so we're not going there again' and when you go to the thread there's a 100 post debate on something with no obvious conclusion, so really it's not a viable answer.

The other thing is one person can rant on about how Darwin was the bomb, but as soon a you open your mouth and mention Religion / God / the bible, you warned because of preaching. I have read some long posts that are 'preaching' but be cause they are from evolutionist talking about how obvious it is that there is no god, no one bats an eyelid.

I have got a few good comments in about the law and it's consequenses and recently I put one on saying how God saw me as 'deceitful and wicked' though I left the Jer 17:9 bit off.

I have also put in some genuine science questions to help my 'credit' but sometimes I think I'm on a looser from the start.

But I'm not there to improve me but to be there for any one who wants to go deeper, like Bartle said, it's in the PM's that will show the fruit.

My tree's empty at the moment.

I'll keep you informed if anything interesting happens.


_________________
Ste

 2007/1/18 21:35Profile
Compton
Member



Joined: 2005/2/24
Posts: 2732


 Re:

For what it's worth...

Quote:
I also imagine that an athiest forum is much like this forum -people go there looking to argue or fight over some bit of knowledge, and no matter how many tomes can be written in the forum, generally the people tend to stick to their original battle lines



I understand the sentiment but in the case of SI I would have to disagree with this summation. Speaking for myself, I have lost count how many times I've changed my thinking as a result of discussing issues on this forum.

One important ingredient for any fruitful dialogue, cyber or otherwise, is often a bit of time...stay engaged for about a year and see what happens!

Blessings,

MC


_________________
Mike Compton

 2007/1/18 23:06Profile





All sermons are offered freely and all contents of the site
where applicable is committed to the public domain for the
free spread of the gospel.