Summations Only

Despised - no.People disagree with some of what you post, particularly when what you post is factually wrong. But there is nothing personal in disagreeing with what you post. As far as I can tell, nobody here despises you.

If you had not ended that message with "good riddance", I would have given your post a cheer. I agree with most of what you said, except that last line.

Here, we see the crux of the problem. You say that we have to convince you before you will believe what we take to be facts. But you want us to believe what you take to be facts.Doesn't the same requirement exist in both direction? You have to convince us before we can believe what you take to be facts. But now you protest that we want evidence. How is this convincing going to work without evidence?

Okay, fair enough.You are going to run into problems if you present opinions in a science thread. People are likely to assume that you are making claims of fact.My suggestion would be that you express such opinions only in non-science threads (either religious forums or the Coffee House). Where appropriate, ask questions and request clarifications in the science threads. How you word your posts will influence whether people take you to be making factual claims, challenging their facts (which amounts to you making factual claims), or just engaging in informal discussion and self-education.Always keep in mind that this is a site where there is a history of intense debating over creation vs. evolution. It is likely that what you post will be taken as a debate issue, unless you word your post in a way that makes it clear that it is something else.

I don't agree with that part.Science exists because we (or some of us) have a burning curiosity that only science can hope to resolve.

What would be wrong with having doubt about the Gospels?If you don't have doubt about the Gospels, then your religion is not based on faith - it is based on stupidity or naivety.

This may appear to be a response to a post by jar, but it is really a response to foreveryoung who was being quoted. I know it can be hard, but you will be more effective if you can control that rage. There are probably many quite different philosophies of life among those debating you. That many of us disagree with some of your views does not imply that we agree with one another on other things. I think I have suggested this before. Just slow down. You don't have to reply to every post that disagrees with you. If several people disagree on one point, then you can just make a single reply. And if you slow down your posting rates, that will also slow down the rate at which people respond to you.Yes, I know it is easier to say that than to do it. But at least give it a try. You might want to consider The Great Debate, where threads have a single pair of debaters.

Think about the lurkers -- the many people who read this forum but rarely or never post here.You are arguing to persuade the lurkers. You aren't likely to persuade the regular participants here, and you should already know that. So your aim should be to leave a clear record behind, for the benefit of the lurkers.When you lose your cool, you also lose many of the lurkers.

If you ever watch CSPAN, you will see congress-critters saying nasty things about one another. After that, they go out to dinner and have a good time together.What they do in Congress is about the issues, not about the people. They are performing for the public.It's the same with Internet debates. What you say in an Internet debate is a performance. It isn't about you, it is about the positions you are arguing.If you met some of the participants outside the debate environment, you would probably get along fine with many of them.

I wish foreveryoung the best. I hope he stays around. But I also hope that he learns to better manage his post and to pace himself a little better.Defending your ideas in debate can be a good experience. You learn the weak points of your argument. You perhaps learn how to better present your position so that others won't misunderstand it. However, piling on can be frustrating, and pacing oneself is one way of dealing with it.