The philosophy and mindset of religion forum trolls

[ronnie_bonigli]

I was just wondering, how come if you go to a Sports Forum you don’t find “anti-sports” minded posters there mocking those posters who actually care about sports? Or if you go to a Cooking Forum you don’t find “anti-cooking” posters there condescending to all the lesser minds who care about cooking? Or if you go to a Politics Forum, you don’t find anyone there ridiculing those who care about politics. Why is it only on Religion Forums that you find these unhappy souls who seem to come there for a wholly negative purpose? You find them on all Religion Forum, for instance the Amazon.com Religion Forum is completely dominated by these types, there are hardly any “religious” people left on that one.

just wondering, what’s drives someone to spend so much of their valuable time mocking and ridiculing others, it seems a pointless, unhappy and empty way of life.

 

[edwest2]

1. Astroturf - A term to describe fake grass roots people who are paid by others to post whatever they tell them. They pose as “average” people.
2. Frustated non-believers who may have something against religion in general, Christianity in general or the Catholic Church in particular.
3. Relativists who have decided the human mind is the be all and end all. All religions and belief systems are human mental constructs devoid of any real connection to a deity or higher power. They try to bring others around to their way of thinking. Man becomes god and tries to overthrow religion. Only by overthrowing religion will man be free.
4. A few who simply want to taunt those they feel some enmity or uncomfortableness toward.

Peace,
Ed

 

[LifeIsAbsurd]

ronnie bonigli:

Why is it only on Religion Forums that you find these unhappy souls who seem to come there for a wholly negative purpose? You find them on all Religion Forum, for instance the Amazon.com Religion Forum is completely dominated by these types, there are hardly any “religious” people left on that one.

By pre-judging all “those people” are trolls you have your answer by definition:

Wikipedia: “[A] troll is someone who posts inflammatory, extraneous, or off-topic messages in an online community, such as an online discussion forum, chat room, or blog,** with the primary intent of provoking other users into a desired emotional response** or of otherwise disrupting normal on-topic discussion.”

If you actually want to understand someone, that usually begins with setting aside prejudices–consider asking a particular person why they say what they say if you’re curious.

If you just find someone annoying, ignore them, or choose a forum with active moderators who see things your way. Trolls are everywhere, and almost as common as claims that non-trolls are trolls.

Yours,
A relatively happy, non-theist, non-gnostic, non-troll.

 

[Gregory_I]

What I love about number three is that there is no such thing as a true relativist.

If there was, they’d keep their opinions to themselves, only admitting that they MIGHT be true, but you never know…making them effectively worthless.

Gosh I love logic!

It’s like the person who writes a book on the meaninglessness of language. Such stupidity is WORTH paying to see (or read)!

 

[Pieman333272]

By pre-judging all “those people” are trolls you have your answer by definition:

Wikipedia: “[A] troll is someone who posts inflammatory, extraneous, or off-topic messages in an online community, such as an online discussion forum, chat room, or blog,** with the primary intent of provoking other users into a desired emotional response** or of otherwise disrupting normal on-topic discussion.”

If you actually want to understand someone, that usually begins with setting aside prejudices–consider asking a particular person why they say what they say if you’re curious.

If you just find someone annoying, ignore them, or choose a forum with active moderators who see things your way. Trolls are everywhere, and almost as common as claims that non-trolls are trolls.

Yours,
A relatively happy, non-theist, non-gnostic, non-troll.

I don’t think he meant every atheist or agnostic on every religion board in the entire world is a troll, I think he was referring to those who specifically ridicule, insult, or are jerks towards theists. Fortunately, CAF is a moderated board, so a large chunk of the atheists who stay longer than one month tend to be much more respectful, kind, logical, and open-minded.

 

[ronnie_bonigli]

I don’t think he meant every atheist or agnostic on every religion board in the entire world is a troll, I think he was referring to those who specifically ridicule, insult, or are jerks towards theists. Fortunately, CAF is a moderated board, so a large chunk of the atheists who stay longer than one month tend to be much more respectful, kind, logical, and open-minded.

EXACTLY

Obviously, many of the atheists here are not trolls, CAF moderators seem to have a low tolerance for religion forum trolls and keeps the place pretty civil, there seems to be a bunch of decent atheist regulars here. But without those mods, this place would be overrun with the trolls, I’ve seen how ugly it can get, I use to post on the Amazon.com Religion Forum and somewhere around 80 to 90% of the regular posters there are atheist and maybe half of them are solely there to mock, ridicule, and attack any new Christian posters who show up, not knowing what cess pool the place really is. It’s sad, that there are so many out there who want to turn Religion Forums into places like that.

 

[kk23wong]

Inappropriate Manipulations from the God

Illusions and witnesses are so alike. Eyewitnesses can seldom be found.
The God abused the GIFTED POWER FROM BIRTH to enforce her will on us.
Many people are being forced to enter “silence”.
Because the God is invisible, the manipulations become more and more serious.
The power of the God is irresistible. At the same time, the God was BORN TO BE.
In another word, MORTALITY is not guaranteed.
How many people have to die before the God confess?

The stubbornness of the God has already trashed our world.
Almost everyone knows that this subject, which manipulated our world, really does exist.
However, many of us think that she is only a freak by bottom heart.
Why a BILLION-YEAR-OLD BEING become like that?
We now have 925 million living in chronic hunger and AT LEAST 1.1 billion lack water access.
Should we wait until two thirds of us have no water (and no food) by 2025 (according to the UN predictions)?
When should we start to discuss the behaviors of the God instead of in the books?
The God is going too far away from the charity and love taught by the churches.

At the end, we will find everyone know that the God exists but she is only a freak.
Then the God is only a monster with gifted power from birth and forced all those who are telling the truth into hospitals. Those who refused to compromise go mad.
This is what really happened in our world.
Why don’t you speak out for the truth?
The world is only a planet and all lives are possibly end with it.
It makes our planet a joke when we continue to avoid talking about real things in the real world.

Psychology must have close linkage with the presence of the God.
The God abuses the ability to communicate with us.

In this Christmas, try to think about our future.
What would happen if we continue to hide the truth?

 

[alacoque]

Inappropriate Manipulations from the God

Illusions and witnesses are so alike. Eyewitnesses can seldom be found.
The God abused the GIFTED POWER FROM BIRTH to enforce her will on us.
Many people are being forced to enter “silence”.
Because the God is invisible, the manipulations become more and more serious.
The power of the God is irresistible. At the same time, the God was BORN TO BE.
In another word, MORTALITY is not guaranteed.
How many people have to die before the God confess?

The stubbornness of the God has already trashed our world.
Almost everyone knows that this subject, which manipulated our world, really does exist.
However, many of us think that she is only a freak by bottom heart.
Why a BILLION-YEAR-OLD BEING become like that?
We now have 925 million living in chronic hunger and AT LEAST 1.1 billion lack water access.
Should we wait until two thirds of us have no water (and no food) by 2025 (according to the UN predictions)?
When should we start to discuss the behaviors of the God instead of in the books?
The God is going too far away from the charity and love taught by the churches.

At the end, we will find everyone know that the God exists but she is only a freak.
Then the God is only a monster with gifted power from birth and forced all those who are telling the truth into hospitals. Those who refused to compromise go mad.
This is what really happened in our world.
Why don’t you speak out for the truth?
The world is only a planet and all lives are possibly end with it.
It makes our planet a joke when we continue to avoid talking about real things in the real world.

Psychology must have close linkage with the presence of the God.
The God abuses the ability to communicate with us.

In this Christmas, try to think about our future.
What would happen if we continue to hide the truth?

huh – ???

 

[Gregory_I]

CHinese english.

 

[alacoque]

CHinese english.

yeah, I get that part…it was the ‘philosophy’ I had a brain freeze over. I’m sure you’ve noticed the contradictions and the statements that go absolutely nowhere and/or state the obvious as if it’s this person’s newly discovered amazing truth…i.e. “mortality is not guaranteed”.

(you don’t say… amazing!! Here I’ve been laboring under the misconception that mortality was guaranteed, low these many years! )

 

[Suni_Moon]

Those aren’t trolls. Those are spiteful people, but they’re honest… A troll does it to get a response, and a good troll is subtle. They make sure you don’t KNOW they’re trolling. They’re not blatant, attacking… They plant their seed, and see how it grows.

With people who troll religious forums, it’s sometimes out of hostility towards the religion…
BUT I know plenty how have done it as more an experiment, to see how the people here will behave.

While some trolls are just obnoxious, I’ve found others to be almost admirable.
Why? Because they’ve done what they’ve done to see a persons true colors.

Y’see, the term troll is tossed around far too lightly… Someone who insults, jabs, stabs, and twists the knife… Those aren’t trolls. Those are simple bully’s, wanting a fight.

A troll is the person who has an idea in their head that they knooow will upset the people here, so they make an account, and make a thread on the matter. And watch the thread grow into… Well…

Hurricanes, anyone?

So, while I can’t say trolling is “good” by any means… I can relate to them sometimes.
There are moments where the behavior of CAF members has disturbed me enough to wonder what WOULD happen if they were trolled, and would it merely bring out their worst behavior. ):

Sure, I don’t like anyone who comes in and bashes religion, that’s just… ick…
But there are other varieties of trolls on religious forums that I can sorta respect.

 

[kk23wong]

yeah, I get that part…it was the ‘philosophy’ I had a brain freeze over. I’m sure you’ve noticed the** contradictions** and the statements that go absolutely nowhere and/or state the obvious as if it’s this person’s newly discovered amazing truth…i.e. “mortality is not guaranteed”.

(you don’t say… amazing!! Here I’ve been laboring under the misconception that mortality was guaranteed, low these many years! )

I have noticed contradictions in your religion.

Charity and love of the God are being revealed by the number of deaths in developing countries.

The God denied the physical presence and it resulted in disaster – population bloom, exploitations of natural resources and overproduction of consumer goods.

The physical presence of the God allows us to understand the nature the universe. The natural role of the humankind is the life cycles of this planet. The biosphere will eventually come to an end and the regenerations of the Earth must not be infinite. It explained the absence of lives on the nearby planet. It keeps our natural role and each planet itself is a higher level of lives. Hence, their biospheres have already ended.

Chinese English?

It is ridiculous to see people admire the God for their own fortune and forget those living in hell on the other side of the Earth. Soon the water and food shortage will spread to developed world. We have the evidence from the UN statistics. Only one person dares to speak out in this planet. You see how worse the situation is. The God manipulated our world by the GIFTED POWER from birth. Power does not equal to mortality. Every opponent was FORCED to compromise the God’s will. Otherwise, they have illusions. It is a TYRANNY.

---

Look at the crown on Jesus. Power has corrupted the God.

Teru Wong

 

[alacoque]

I have noticed contradictions in your religion.

Charity and love of the God are being revealed by the number of deaths in developing countries.

The God denied the physical presence and it resulted in disaster – population bloom, exploitations of natural resources and overproduction of consumer goods.

The physical presence of the God allows us to understand the nature the universe. The natural role of the humankind is the life cycles of this planet. The biosphere will eventually come to an end and the regenerations of the Earth must not be infinite. It explained the absence of lives on the nearby planet. It keeps our natural role and each planet itself is a higher level of lives. Hence, their biospheres have already ended.

Chinese English?

It is ridiculous to see people admire the God for their own fortune and forget those living in hell on the other side of the Earth. Soon the water and food shortage will spread to developed world. We have the evidence from the UN statistics. Only one person dares to speak out in this planet. You see how worse the situation is. The God manipulated our world by the GIFTED POWER from birth. Power does not equal to mortality. Every opponent was FORCED to compromise the God’s will. Otherwise, they have illusions. It is a TYRANNY.

---

Look at the crown on Jesus. Power has corrupted the God.

Teru Wong

Well, Teru, you are to be commended for your obvious concern for the less fortunate and for those who suffer and struggle. That’s about the only positive thing I can say about your philosophy as stated. Maybe as you grow and learn, you will moderate and sort out your beliefs to something more rational. Meanwhile, I hope you will work for and serve those who need you. Peace –

 

[CB_Catholic]

I think people do this because they don’t have the creativity or mental and emotional resources to do something more productive with their time.

 

[TheRealJuliane]

When I first found this forum (these forums?) I was also amazed and distressed at the number of hostile atheists I found arguing theology with Catholics, who were usually charitable and kind in response. I even started a thread about this!

It still puzzles me, but now I just figure that these people are getting something from it. Maybe they have been prompted by a longing deep inside them, maybe it’s the Holy Spirit awakening them. Who am I to deny the Holy Spirit?

Maybe some really are just mean old trolls, wanting to disrupt things and choosing their chief complaint, religion, to focus on… But maybe, just maybe, one of them will actually carry the process through and recognize his or her mistakes, and convert. If so, all the silliness will have been worth it, and the Father will celebrate the return of the Prodigal.

Blessings on Christmas Eve!

 

[alacoque]

…
It still puzzles me, but now I just figure that these people are getting something from it. Maybe they have been prompted by a longing deep inside them, maybe it’s the Holy Spirit awakening them. Who am I to deny the Holy Spirit?

… maybe, just maybe, one of them will actually carry the process through and recognize his or her mistakes, and convert. If so, all the silliness will have been worth it, and the Father will celebrate the return of the Prodigal.

Blessings on Christmas Eve!

RealJuliane: I think you’re on to something!! We know that God never permits any evil or bad thing unless He brings some good out of it that is better than the condition that existed before the evil…so, I agree: This is the domain of the Holy Spirit - who operates more, and more effectively, in these fora, than anyone of us would imagine!

God bless the trolls…the source of our acquiring virtue! (and hopefully of their conversion/salvation).

Blessed Christmas Eve to you as well…

 

[Pieman333272]

I have noticed contradictions in your religion.

Charity and love of the God are being revealed by the number of deaths in developing countries.

The God denied the physical presence and it resulted in disaster – population bloom, exploitations of natural resources and overproduction of consumer goods.

The physical presence of the God allows us to understand the nature the universe. The natural role of the humankind is the life cycles of this planet. The biosphere will eventually come to an end and the regenerations of the Earth must not be infinite. It explained the absence of lives on the nearby planet. It keeps our natural role and each planet itself is a higher level of lives. Hence, their biospheres have already ended.

Chinese English?

It is ridiculous to see people admire the God for their own fortune and forget those living in hell on the other side of the Earth. Soon the water and food shortage will spread to developed world. We have the evidence from the UN statistics. Only one person dares to speak out in this planet. You see how worse the situation is. The God manipulated our world by the GIFTED POWER from birth. Power does not equal to mortality. Every opponent was FORCED to compromise the God’s will. Otherwise, they have illusions. It is a TYRANNY.

---

Look at the crown on Jesus. Power has corrupted the God.

Teru Wong

Man, I say the opposite. God is doing justice to those people - not because he lets them suffer, which is our problem, but he makes it up in the end. Remember what Christ taught - [BIBLEDRB]Matthew 5:3-12[/BIBLEDRB]
those who “live in hell on the other side of the earth” seem to fit at least the first 6, wouldn’t you agree?

Even if God didn’t let them into heaven for whatever reason, that wouldn’t make him corrupted because he’s unchanging. In order to be corrupted, you have to change, or at least be able to.

 

[Pug]

Maybe believers make the best patsies.

 

[kk23wong]

Well, Teru, you are to be commended for your obvious concern for the less fortunate and for those who suffer and struggle. That’s about the only positive thing I can say about your philosophy as stated. Maybe as you grow and learn, you will moderate and sort out your beliefs to something more rational. Meanwhile, I hope you will work for and serve those who need you. Peace –

**I grow and learn, ****and **found out that billions are living in hunger. By 2025, two thirds of us have no water. I found out that the God abuses the gifted power from birth (the ability to communicate with us) to create psychology. Putting those refused to compromise into the hospitals. I found out that consciousness can be fully explained by neuroscience. Then we come to the conclusion that physical presence always come first. I found out that most of us are unaware of our position in the universe. Religions are already heritages, but they influence our cosmology. Compare the Earth with a mother cell. We soon realize that the biosphere is the life cycles of this planet. This is a discovery. I feel like holding a globe to persuade the barbarians. “The Earth is the mother cell. Compare the most basic unit of lives with its structure. We have the clues of how the hierarchies of lives work.” I repeated endlessly in many forums. The God is the manipulator. If she refused to confess, the humankind (life cycles) can hardly bring it (the past concepts of the God in religions) down. The God must have made so many mistakes. The denial of her physical presence is fatal. It will push the population to the limit and our societies will continue to use all resources to produce consumer goods. The physical presence of the God has located our NATURAL ROLE in the universe. The truth gives us the sense of danger (to realize that LIFE CYCLES will eventually end). It completely changes the mindset of the public. We allow capitalism to stay, but invest most of the resources to do the right things (to slow down the aging of this planet / decaying of the biosphere by increase the government sectors / efforts since the government can mobilize more resources than any enterprise).

To achieve this aim, we have to let the public to realize the truth. Neuroscience has already explained “consciousness”. Physical presence comes first. We compare the Earth with a mother cell and get the clues on how “lives in different levels” work. If the societies continue to hide the truth, we are no different from a “barbarians planet”. The world will end with hates (against those who try to hide the truth including the God herself).

The origin of lives is actually “a-live”.

For those whom suffered from the abuses of the God
Teru Wong

 

[alacoque]

**I grow and learn, ****and **found out that billions are living in hunger. By 2025, two thirds of us have no water. I found out that the God abuses the gifted power from birth (the ability to communicate with us) to create psychology. Putting those refused to compromise into the hospitals. I found out that consciousness can be fully explained by neuroscience. Then we come to the conclusion that physical presence always come first. I found out that most of us are unaware of our position in the universe. Religions are already heritages, but they influence our cosmology. Compare the Earth with a mother cell. We soon realize that the biosphere is the life cycles of this planet. This is a discovery. I feel like holding a globe to persuade the barbarians. “The Earth is the mother cell. Compare the most basic unit of lives with its structure. We have the clues of how the hierarchies of lives work.” I repeated endlessly in many forums. The God is the manipulator. If she refused to confess, the humankind (life cycles) can hardly bring it (the past concepts of the God in religions) down. The God must have made so many mistakes. The denial of her physical presence is fatal. It will push the population to the limit and our societies will continue to use all resources to produce consumer goods. The physical presence of the God has located our NATURAL ROLE in the universe. The truth gives us the sense of danger (to realize that LIFE CYCLES will eventually end). It completely changes the mindset of the public. We allow capitalism to stay, but invest most of the resources to do the right things (to slow down the aging of this planet / decaying of the biosphere by increase the government sectors / efforts since the government can mobilize more resources than any enterprise).

To achieve this aim, we have to let the public to realize the truth. Neuroscience has already explained “consciousness”. Physical presence comes first. We compare the Earth with a mother cell and get the clues on how “lives in different levels” work. If the societies continue to hide the truth, we are no different from a “barbarians planet”. The world will end with hates (against those who try to hide the truth including the God herself).

The origin of lives is actually “a-live”.

For those whom suffered from the abuses of the God
Teru Wong

Teru: You speak to us (others) in these fora as if we know nothing, are ''barbarians" (your term) and as if you are the only one who knows anything, has learned anything, has any opinions of value and truth. You are young. You will hopefully get over this tendency to believe you, and you alone, have discovered truth - and must correct and educate everyone else. You will learn humility and wisdom with age and more study, learning and listening to others.

There is indeed much suffering in the world. This has always been the case and will, to one degree or another, continue to be the case, until the end of time. If you choose to blame God for this, so be it. It shows at least that you are outraged by injustice and suffering - as any reasonable person should be. I suggest you stop talking down to others and learn to be humble. I also suggest you seek others’ opinions and thoughts - that you might learn even more.