From a Skeptic

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Post after post after post filled with half-baked guesses about me, fantasies involving me, and attempts to goad me into giving you all even a little bit of my attention.

And I’m the one who’s “obsessed”? You need to get out more.
 
Post after post after post speculating about me, working me into fantasies, and goading me into giving you all even a little bit of my attention.
I don’t think we are trying to “goad” you - your attention seems easy enough to capture based on your level of activity on this forum for the past decade. In fact, it seems difficult to post a thread that evades your attention.

I think my brother is correct - this is an obsession, not just a hobby. You have been making 3.25 posts a day for more than a decade.

If Eric’s estimate of 30 minutes per day (which sounds VERY conservative) is true, you have invested about 240 eight-hour workdays to CAF. And you insist that you believe these are the ONLY days you will ever have, so you have invested substantially more than half a year of productive workdays to CAF. I wonder, if the doctors told you that you had six months to live, would you continue to post 3.25 messages a day. Because (real) atheists believe they only have some fixed time to live - I don’t see any difference if the doctors give you an actual estimate of what time you have.

At current Federal minimum wage rates ($7.25/hr), your time investment so far would have been worth nearly $14,000. You give this up for free, when you could otherwise be flipping burgers and making this money? I would rather flip burgers and have $14,000 than devote my time to debunking alien UFO theories (or anything else I didn’t believe).

And you have been doing this for more than TEN YEARS. Your total postings rival Eric’s and mine combined, and your posting frequency easily exceeds his and mine combined. Thousands of professed Catholics have come and gone from this forum, yet here you are - you are often the most senior member (or, at least, one of the most senior members) in any of the MANY threads that you contribute to.

I think you are more committed than you are willing to admit. Someday, some Grace will touch your heart, and you will realize it.
 
Guys, I’m confused…

AntiTheist has been a member since 2009 according to his bio. Where are you getting the idea that he’s been a member for a decade?
 
Guys, I’m confused…

AntiTheist has been a member since 2009 according to his bio. Where are you getting the idea that he’s been a member for a decade?
Your outlook is my understanding as well, which is why I’ve been simply saying that AT has been here “a year and a half.” Maybe David read the wrong figure or has an additional reference that I am unaware of. But in light of this, let me take this opportunity to point out that even if AT’s involvement in CAF is only a year and a half, that is still plenty enough time for a person to develop obsessive behavior, as I have demonstrated in my previous posts.
 
even if AT’s involvement in CAF is only a year and a half, that is still plenty enough time for a person to develop obsessive behavior
I post more often than he does…wait…what are you saying? :rolleyes:
 
I post more often than he does…wait…what are you saying? :rolleyes:
LOL - well to put this into the context of the ongoing discussion, it means that what you profess about yourself is likewise reflected in your behavior. For you, Catholicism is a very important aspect of your life which motivates you to spend a lot of time on CAF discussing it. The reason you give for being here is backed up by what your posting statistics say in your profile. Hence no discrepancy.

It is the same thing with me, despite my lower posting statistic. I spend a lot of time checking CAF and reading posts periodically throughout the day because Catholicism is a big part of my life.

So my focus in this discussion is not the obsessive behavior in and of itself, but what that behavior indicates. As you can see in what I have elaborated upon earlier, in AT’s case I find a discrepancy in his stated reasons for being a CAF participant (i.e., debating with Christians is a casual hobby) with the notably large amount of time & energy he spends herein.
 
Post after post after post filled with half-baked guesses about me…
I understand that you would like to believe that I’ve made half-baked guesses about you, but my conclusions resulted in the evidence-based analysis I outlined in Post #37. The statistical ratings in your profile demonstrate a high level of activity on your part within CAF. Hence, labeling your activity on CAF as an obsession is an irrefutable fact. As the old saying goes, “Numbers don’t lie.”

This led me to ascertaining the reason behind the obsession (once again, in Post #37) and my examination and conclusion were conducted in a highly rationale manner. Very little speculation was needed, so there were no “half-baked guesses”. If you see my hypothesis or examination as being flawed then refute it in a logical fashion, supported by proper evidence. So far the only “evidence” you have provided is nothing more than your “say so.”

Obviously you are aware that what people say about themselves is not always accurate. Some people present a façade in order to hide an internal reality. Sometimes this façade is created intentionally (i.e., the person wants to fool other people) and sometimes the façade is created unconsciously (i.e., the person wants to fool other people and himself). Being human, you are not immune to this phenomenon, so I am not simply going to take your word for it when you claim my analysis of your behavior is incorrect. There is clearly a discrepancy between the time and energy you spend on CAF and your explanation for it. If you continue to deny this then, once more, I ask you to present evidence backing up your claim. And I mean proper evidence, mind you, not just your opinions and unsubstantiated speculations concerning this topic.
…fantasies involving me…
The greater a person suppresses subconscious desires, the greater he may feel compelled to indulge in those desires after he decides to end the suppression. Given the high level of denial of the attraction you have for Catholicism, and given the long amount of time you’ve been expressing this denial, I expect that you will not simply fall, but fall hard. Therefore, what you call “fantasies involving you” is nothing more than predictions based upon human behavior and observances on how you conduct yourself. Simply put, right now you are in some kind of “love/hate relationship” with the Catholic Faith.
…and attempts to goad me into giving you all even a little bit of my attention.
Oh please. Anyone who has observed your interactions on CAF knows that the idea of someone having to goad you to get your attention is like saying that I have to “goad” the paperboy to deliver the newspaper each day. It’s pretty much a certainty. But, come to think of it, it may not be a certainty if someone “hits a raw nerve…”

Along these lines, it is interesting to see that you suddenly feel “goaded” in this thread. A person feels goaded in situations when they are reluctant to respond, and you are not especially known for reluctance. So why all of a sudden feel reluctant now? Is it because this line of discussion is touching on areas within you that you are uncomfortable with? It is hard to continue to suppress hidden desires when people are directly making inquiries about it. Once again, it’s that whole “raw nerve” thing.
And I’m the one who’s “obsessed”?
That’s what the evidence clearly points to. Like I said before, “Numbers don’t lie.”
You need to get out more.
Thanks for the advice. Maybe I will.

I would also say to you, “You need to get out more”, but I know that for you it is no longer a choice. As I have been saying, for you CAF has developed into a full-blown obsession. The more I think about it, the more I feel my earlier theory is correct: Your soul desires Catholicism for spiritual nourishment, but your mind rejects the validity of Catholic beliefs, so participating on Catholic apologetic forums is the compromise between the two.

But you won’t be able to continue this suppression of your deep desire for Catholicism forever. The day will come when you invite Jesus into your life and fully embrace what you have long denied yourself. Of course, on that day you will feel compelled to change your CAF user name. Even though you will want a new user name to truly reflect how you see yourself, might I suggest that “GospelSingingBibleThumpingDemonStompingSwissGuardWannabe” is too long and unwieldy. Instead, consider something a bit shorter. “ProTheist” has a nice ring to it.
 
Guys, I’m confused…

AntiTheist has been a member since 2009 according to his bio. Where are you getting the idea that he’s been a member for a decade?
Oops - you’re right - I must have gotten his profile mixed up with somebody else. I sometimes get goofed up when I make those posts after midnight.

At any rate, the essence of my remarks still apply.
 
“ProTheist” has a nice ring to it.
And it’s not taken - I’m amazed.

I did a user search for any name with “theist” in it - the large majority were atheists (but a few were not - such as theistgal).

And you wanna guess which atheist has the most posts? By far?
 
A little about myself… my name is Jordan Woods and I’m from California. I was born and raised a Christian my entire life and around the age of 19-20 I started questioning and doubting the existence of God and now I’d most likely be labeled a skeptic. I’ve never visited a Catholic church or even read from their Bible or really even researched anything about them honestly. I saw a movie today called “The Rite” that has to do with a Priest and exorcism and it really led me to think that if exorcisms are real and the devil is real, then God has to be real … I don’t know, it just struck a cord with me… any advice?
Hello JordanWoods and welcome to CAF! 🙂

Pardon my emotions, but, I am absolutely thrilled to read your post. My heart is leaping with joy! I just thought The Rite might just have the effect on people that it had on you. Praise be to God! I bet the priests permitted the story to be written and published and finally a movie to be made of it, exactly with the hope that it may bring some souls to God.

Here is a thread I started after seeing the movie: forums.catholic-questions.org/showthread.php?t=533548 I also mentioned The Rite in a thread about Demonic Possessions: forums.catholic-questions.org/showthread.php?t=545426

Of course, now that you have started or picked up the journey towards God, you want to stay away from Satan and his demons. You do not want to seek an encounter with demons or Satan to come to recognize the existence of God. Stay on the straight path to Heaven, the search for Our Lord Jesus will lead you right, you do not need an encounter with evil. Follow Jesus and your knowledge, wisdom, and faith will be strengthen. In other words, search for God not Satan in order to come to know God. You do not need Satan to come to know God. Dedicate yourself to learn about His Church, the Catholic Church and pray, ask him to help you and guide you. Read the Bible.

You may want to see an interview of Father Fortea. I rented a DVD from the seminary several months ago of an indepth interview with Father Fortea, it is great and very informative. I forget the title right now though. Check out YouTube and search also for Father Gabriele Amorth youtube.com/results?search_query=catholic+exorcist&aq=f

Blessings,

Abba
 
And it’s not taken - I’m amazed.

I did a user search for any name with “theist” in it - the large majority were atheists (but a few were not - such as theistgal).

And you wanna guess which atheist has the most posts? By far?
And the correlation is?
 
And the correlation is?
Well, that AT’s posting activity is unusual among atheists. This leads to further suspicion that he is not quite as atheistic as he claims (and he might believe it himself, but I don’t).

I saw 27 user account handles (out of 39 total) which included the word “theist” from which I could infer they were atheists.

23 of these (88%) have fewer than 10% of the total posts of AntiTheist.

There’s no Bell curve here. Only three accounts surpassed just 10% of AT’s posts (and most were FAR less). The VAST majority of atheists don’t participate even as much as 10% as AT.

The second-most prolific atheist account is “AnAtheist” who joined in Summer of 2004 and visited the forum as recently as two days ago (as of this post), but has not posted here since last Christmas Eve. His posting frequency is 0.60 per day. As of this writing, he has “only” 1,476 posts, easily surpassed by AT’s 1,782 - a difference of 306 posts, even though AA has been around since 2004, and AT since 2009.

This difference of 306 posts might sound small to many forum participants (many of whom exceed this number themselves), but it is HUGE for “typical” atheists. It exceeds the number of posts of the most inactive 16 atheists (almost 60% of the group) combined. Not only does AT absolutely dominate the atheist posting field - he exceeds the closest runner-up by the combined posting of more than half the field. That’s like a quarterback who has more pass completions than the next-best quarterback PLUS 60% of the other quarterbacks in the league *combined *- there has NEVER been such a mythical creature.

CAF has never seen a more prolific or dedicated atheist than AntiTheist - not even close. AT is no typical atheist. Kinda makes a person wonder what makes him so different.

Maybe it’s because he yearns for the Faith.
 
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