OK, do I have this correct about R&S participation?

Question

Having just wandered in today, I find R&S one of the most interesting places on Answers. I realize that having to dodge pirates probably doesn't happen every day, but aside from that, are my first impressions correct?
- the most predominant voices here are pretty much equally divided between Christians and atheists.
- About half of the Christians are arguing with each other about who's right, saved/not saved, a real Christian, etc.
- The Catholics are pretty much the most reasonable Christians, as a group. At least they're not into slamming everybody else.
- The pagans are pretty cool, for the most part, and seem to be the least likely to slam anybody.
- The atheists here like to goad fundamentalists just to get a reaction.
- If you're easily hurt or offended, this probably isn't the best place to be.

So do I have it, pretty much? I'd love to hang out here, just want to make sure I have the lay of the land. Um -- arrrrr.

Crocoducks?? Hmm. I'll have to do a search.

So if I happen by mistake to ask one of the questions that require a drink, does that mean I have to buy the round? (I don't drink, but somehow I don't think that matters)

My apologies to whatever belief/unbelief systems I left out, but gimme a break -- I can only read so much in one sitting.

Bananas, too?

Oh, and it cracks me up that someone thinks I'm Catholic. What, you want a bio? I'm a 32-year-old redhead with an opinion.

Answer 1

Aye Lassie you'll fit in just fine you will -and mateys I saw the serving wench first.Keep your stumps off her

Answer 2

You pretty much got it all, except for the fact that we drink too much!

Since I'm allergic to alcohol, I've resorted to chugging milk, which has caused me to develop lactose intolerance, but I guess that's better than religious intolerance!(R&S humor)

*Drink*

EDIT: I don't know if anyone has posted this yet (too many to read at this point), but here are some of the the things that we include in our drinking game:
1. Why are Atheists here, isn't this a religious section?
2. Some form of: What if you're wrong and there is a God, wouldn't it be better to hedge your bets and believe just in case? (Pascals Wager).
3. If people evolved from monkeys, then why are there still monkeys?
4. Could God create a rock that is too heavy for even Him to pick up?
5. If God doesn't exist, then explain how the Earth is perfectly suited to sustain life?
6. Any question that has Atheist spelled wrong.

That's just a sampling.

Answer 3

Excellent assumption.
Some days tend to have themes, especially when there's a related news article featured on the Yahoo homepage. A good example would be the day Yahoo posted a news article speaking about new scientific information that may challenge some previous theories on evolution. Creationists were coming out of the woodworks to bash evolutionists, and those who took the time to read the article in its entirety suggested that the creationists do the same.
Also, there used to be a bit more Muslim-bashing, but those times seem to have come to an end after the increased popularity of the report button.

Answer 4

Well, sometimes people do come to this page to actually get answers.

Yes, there is a lot of goading.

Yes, both sides can be thin-skinned. Don't look to be accepted by everyone, because someone IS going to be offended.

But, guess what?
Having heard the Good News, they are then responsible for what they do with the truth! I am not responsible for anyones faith or lack thereof. So, why should I be offended?

Discerning what is true and what is false is not that hard: the truth is that which comports to reality; that which is false is that which does not fit reality.

Now, you have to decide where the evidence leads, Atheism or faith. Oh, yeah, atheism IS a religion, and requires as much (or more) faith as does the Faith. Christianity is at least as reasonable as atheism, one just has to acknowledge the world view with which you come to the discussion.

Answer 5

You're increadibly perceptive!

I don't spend ALL my time here, sometimes I just need to walk away.

And in addition to the squabbling and drinking, and redundant questions, R&S is a wonderful community of people. For the most part people disagree with a smile on their face, as evidenced by the amount of humor in posts. Even though some issues are hopless there's always still reason for debate.

Welcome to R&S!

Answer 6

Yar! Ahoy ye wench! Welcome to R&S!

Sounds like you have a good grasp on things, especially about Christians arguing with each other. A lot of them like to point fingers and accuse others of not being "true" Christians. It's amusing.

The level of scholarship here can be pretty low, but there are a lot of great thinkers, too. You'll come to identify them in time, certain people just jump out.

I think the #1 thing to know is that despite religious differences, we can all get along with enough peace and tolerance. That's my warm and fuzzy thought for the day.

Answer 7

That sums it up, more or less. You have a much more accurate first impression than others sometimes get. Very few questions here are sincere. The Pagans I've noticed usually get flamed by both the atheists and Christians.

Also: since this is a Q&A forum and questions don't stay on the first page for more than 10 minutes (due to how fast new questions come in), a lot of the same questions come up again and again. This lead to the R&S drinking game, where we take a drink for each trite question. So if you see "*drink*" in somebody's post, that's why.

Answer 8

"- The Catholics are pretty much the most reasonable Christians, as a group. At least they're not into slamming everybody else.
- The pagans are pretty cool, for the most part, and seem to be the least likely to slam anybody."

That's because the Catholics are christianized pagans, although you'd be hard pressed to get them to admit it.

As far as being goaded into a reaction, well, that used to be true. Now not so much.

Be 'cool', and drink away, cause this is your last chance, and you can't say you never heard that to do so is to love death.

Ba bye.

Answer 9

mostly. every now and again, we do get an unreasonable Catholic.

We also get a few reasonable Muslims, a few clearly-fake Muslims trying to spread hate, and a once in a while someone who is hard to tell whether he/she is a militant angry Muslim or a fake.

The pirate thing is becauuse Sept 19 is Yalk Like A Pirate Day.

We also take a virtual
*Drink!*
when someone repeats one of a number of lame questions that have been asked a zillion times: "Why are atheists in the Religion section?", "If ... evolved from ..., why are there still...?" or anything about Pascal's Wager.

Answer 10

I pretty much agree. The most common verbal sparring match is between Protestant Christians and atheists/agnostics. Every once in a while all of them gang up on us Catholics, that is OK we can handle it.

There are few Jews, Muslims and others here. Pretty much anything a Muslim posts gets torn to pieces immediately.

Answer 11

More or less. You forgot christian fundamentalists "The earth is flat, created 6000 years ago and men roamed around together with dinosaurs".

All the rest - masterly sum, I'm impressed. Especially the part about being easily offended. Welcome to R&S.