I'm sure most (if not all) of my readers are familiar with Poe's Law, but for anyone who isn't, a Poe in this context is an atheist who is pretending to be a religious nut. I've been having quite a few discussions with theists lately (mostly on twitter) and have spent my share of time wondering if the people I'm talking with are for real. It does seem like a waste of my time if I'm just arguing with an atheist who is screwing around. So part of me doesn't want to talk to them if they aren't really Christians, but instead are just pretending. If I really get an obvious vibe that someone isn't really a Christian I will sometimes disengage from the conversation.
On the other hand, because of Poe's law it is really hard to tell if those people are actually Christians. And part of me wonders if it is even worth thinking about. The great thing about twitter is that it is a public forum. Even if the person I'm talking with isn't really a Christian, it is possible someone who sees the exchange is a Christian and actually agrees with what the Poe said. It could also be worth it for me to just have a bit of practice arguing a certain point.
I think a much better measure for when to stop arguing with someone is when they get annoying. Whether they are actually Christians or not doesn't really matter much to me, what I care about is that we have a good conversation. If someone is being completely illogical, or if they are jumping from one argument to another every time I make a point, that is when I want to stop talking to them. This is independent of whether they are misrepresenting themselves.
I am very grateful for different views, for I learn so much. I am a Christian although not fundamental anymore. The atheists have taught me why they don't believe, but confirmed why I still do. And the progressive Christian blogs have pushed me away from the strict fundamental background. And those who are neither give me good reads! I must say I enjoy religious blogs of any sort better than blogs on other topics.
ReplyDeleteI agree, the best part of blogging and arguing on twitter is getting into the heads of people who think differently than me. We rarely change each other's minds in a big way, but I think we all benefit by hearing each other's ideas.
DeleteI can usually tell the difference, because I came from a heavily fundamentalist background, I've heard many of their lines and opinions, and I've personally spouted them before, it's fairly easy for me.
ReplyDeleteI have noticed that there is often a big disconnect, many atheists who have never been a fundamentalist before, have a hard time understanding what that life is like, or they can't fully understand that mentality
How do you know you can tell the difference?
DeleteExcellent question Grundy. There are certain times that I think I can tell if someone is being fake, but I am never completely sure.
DeleteI don't engage with those that sound like they could be parodies of themselves. Even if they are for real, they are doing their ideology a disservice with the hyperbole and irrational behavior--probably turning off more theists than I do promoting atheism. Generally, I think that's a Poe motivation as well, but an underhanded one.
ReplyDeleteI've pretended to be a Christian apologist in the past, but as reasonable a Christian as possible. It was just an exercise to debate from the opposite point of view. I feel like it helped me anticipate where debates will go. (and showed me how not to be a jerk like some of the atheists I debated against.)
"Even if they are for real"
DeleteI think that is really the key. There are certain types of theist that I have decided to avoid, but it is based on their argumentation techniques rather than me deciding if I think they are fake.
It's actually an interesting technique to argue the other side of things. Your are right that it's a good way to anticipate how your opposition will argue. Did you let them know at the end that you are really an atheist? Where did you do the debating?
Just online. I didn't do it much and told about half of them. I wouldn't tell if the conversation went of long enough, I didn't want to break the news they wasted their time. I usually just said they had a good point and moved on. I also wouldn't tell jerks.
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