EVANGELISM ON USENET NEWSGROUPS

Rough notes from an Internet Evangelism for the 21st Century Workshop, Lynchburg Virginia, May 2005. (http://ie-21stcentury.com:/ )

INTRODUCTION: Who are we? (For Rowland Croucher see the John Mark Ministries websites (jmm.aaa.net.au) (priscillasfriends.org) and Google! )

Daniel 12:1-4, 2 Timothy 4:1-6

If you were to reach more people in the world via one communications medium, which would you use? What would your message say?

WHAT IS THE INTERNET? The world’s largest-ever network of information

USENET NEWSGROUPS.

a.. Other groups – Web-based groups, blogs, chat-rooms

b.. How many Usenet groups? 50,000 – 100,000

c.. Ratio of ‘lurkers’ to posters – 10:1

d.. ‘alt’ (alternative discussion groups), ‘comp’ (computer stuff), ‘rec’ (recreation, hobbies), ‘sci’ (sciences), ‘soc’ (socializing, social sciences), ‘talk’ (for debates on a range of subjects), ‘biz’ (business), ‘k12′ (teachers and students), ‘misc’ (topics that don’t fit anywhere else). Binaries (non-text). Most unmoderated; some moderated (any retromoderated?)

e.. ‘Best’ religious newsgroups? Criteria: your interests/expertise; ratio of ‘signal’ to ‘noise’. Highest quality: uk.religion.christian, soc.religion.christian. Lowest: alt.atheism. Most ‘interesting?’ – aus.religion.christian (FAQ – http://jmm.aaa.net.au/arc/), alt.christnet.christianlife (Regulars’ testimonies – http://members.cox.net/christian_life/testimonials/testim.htm ) The Usenet Constituency: (anarchy, not an ordered community). Most (but not all): wealthier, well-educated; many: lonely, searching; some: attention-seekers, ego-trippers, nutcases (where else can one get an audience of thousands so cheaply/quickly?).

Netiquette – first, lurk for a couple of weeks; read the group’s FAQ; send a couple of posts to misc.test or alt.test; don’t cross-post excessively; stay on-topic: find the most relevant newsgroup; include only original poster’s relevant material in response – indicate with <> where material deleted; avoid top-posting; recognize spam/trolls/ego-trash – don’t respond: if excessive, contact isp; DON’T SHOUT; spelling flames aren’t considered good taste; say more than ‘I Agree’ ‘Amen!’ etc. be careful with humor and sarcasm; pray over your posts: sometimes leave the ‘hot’ ones while you sleep!

Apologetics on Usenet is not about winning arguments, scoring points, belittling others; good theology and hermeneutics; moving from ‘simplicity this side of complexity to simplicity the other side of complexity’ (concrete vs. formal thinking – Piaget); Google research; don’t use Bible texts-out-of-context as weapons; use non-sexist language (without being a slave to ‘political correctness!’); be ‘irenic’ and teachable; ‘what unites Christians is much more important than what divides them: but we often have less patience with the one denying half our creed, than with another who denies the whole of it: learn to affirm Christian unity-in-diversity (‘In things essential, unity; in things doubtful, liberty; In all things, charity.’ Thomas a Kempis.

Tips: OE – ‘mark as read’; view/current view/hide read messages; order: ‘from’; disguise your email address; master Google’s Usenet archive – add a Google bar plus Browster on your browser; try to keep your lines of text to less than 80 characters;

Biblical Principles for Online Communication: 1 Peter 3: 10,15,16; Proverbs 15:1; Matthew 12:35-37; Luke 6:27,28; Romans 12:14-21; 2 Timothy 2:24-26; Colossians 3:8; 4:6; Ephesians 4:29-31; Galatians 5:22-23; Philippians 4:8-9; James 3:5-10; 4:11-12.

Post unto others and you would wish them to post unto you!

Wisdom From Usenet friends: ‘Be careful of just how transparent you are, and above all, share nothing you wouldn’t share with the entire world. ’ ‘On Usenet everything’s archived, unless you request otherwise. THINK before you post, and if you can’t stand by it, don’t say it.’ ‘If you don’t want your faith challenged, stay off the ‘Net.’ ‘You cannot make any assumptions about the people. All you deal with is black characters on a white background. All you have is the text, and no context.’ ‘People in most newsgroups are not here to truly listen, they are here to prove their point. For most, logic and reason are used for the first post or two, then when attacked (personally or ideologically) it reverts to name calling.’ ‘This is not a place for the faint hearted or the easily upset!’

WHAT CAN ONE PERSON DO?

2. USENET RESOURCES

Internet for Christians – http://jmm.aaa.net.au/articles/9792.htm

Internet and Usenet Introduction – http://www.bbc.co.uk/dna/h2g2/A157466 http://www.bbc.co.uk/dna/h2g2/A3765035

Introduction to Usenet Newsgroups – http://www.islandnet.com/~tmc/html/articles/usentnws.htm http://www.harley.com/usenet/whatis-usenet.html http://www.newsreaders.com/groups/groups.html

Usenet FAQs – http://www.faqs.org/faqs/

History of Usenet – http://www.usenet.com/articles/history_of_usenet.htm

Most Popular Groups – http://www.newsadmin.com/top100msgs.asp

Netiquette – http://www.newsreaders.info/newsgroup-etiquette.htm, http://www.newsgroups.com/articles/etiquette_for_newsgroups.htm

Key Usenet Newsgroups – news.announce.newusers, news.answers, news.newusers.questions, news.announce.newsgroups, alt.internet.services

Free Usenet Posting Services – http://www.news.individual.net/ http://groups.google.com/groups?group=*&hl=en

Private Google groups http://groups-beta.google.com/group

20 year Usenet Timeline -http://groups.google.com/googlegroups/archive_announce_20.html

Advertising on Usenet – http://www.furrs.org/FAQs/advo.htm

Spam – http://www.templetons.com/brad/spamterm.html

Is Usenet Public Domain? http://www.otterbein.edu/home/fac/jhnfltlr/YouandCopyrightLaw.htm

http://www.templetons.com/brad/copymyths.html

http://www.faqs.org/faqs/law/copyright/faq/part3/ http://www.benedict.com/Digital/Internet/Usenet.aspx

Famous Usenet cases/posts – The Karla Homolka case http://www.kkc.net/eye/cv940519.htm

Most Humorous Usenet posts – http://www.geohumor.com/forumdisplay.php?f=14

Alt.atheism website – http://www.alt-atheism.org/index.php

Internet Evangelism Coalition: Sunday 24 April 2005 – ‘Internet Evangelism Day’ http://www.InternetEvangelismDay.com

3. USENET HUMOR

(Not-so-Christian) Repartees:

· They say Liberals laugh too much, Fundamentalists too little…

· ‘Ahhhhh sweet Lucy, your mouth is honeyed but your blood’s damn vinegared’

· ‘A little sincerity is a dangerous thing, and a great deal of it is absolutely fatal’

· ‘Always forgive your enemies: nothing annoys them so much’

· ‘How clever you are my dear; you never mean a single word you say’

· ‘Some cause happiness wherever they go; others whenever they go’

· Most people are other people. Their thoughts are someone else’s opinions, their lives a mimicry, their passions a quotation’

· ‘Never attribute to malice that which can be explained by stupidity’

· ‘The trouble with the world is that the stupid are cocksure, and the intelligent are full of doubt’

· ‘Best to shut your mouth and be thought stupid, than open it and remove all doubt’

· ‘O Lord, ……’s posts are so dull that I think I must be dead. But if it be, Lord, by your grace and favour, that I am not in fact dead – merely stunned into mind-numbing oblivion by the overall tedium and general inconsequentiality of the proceedings – grant your servant this: grant that …… becomes ‘called up yonder’ to that ‘place which you have prepared for him’ right away … if that be not too forward a request, of course.’ Amen.

· The Anti-MoronT software on my PC went crazy when I started to read your post. You are obviously suffering from Clue Deficit Disorder. A long period of non-posting would be most welcome on your part. I am reminded of something relevant that Benjamin Disraeli said: “He was distinguished for ignorance – for he had only one idea and that was wrong.”

· A: Any suggestions, besides curse words? B: I have a very simple suggestion. Why not donate your computer to a charity? Then cancel your internet subscription.

· A: I thought this group was uk.rec.humour and not uk.spelling.police, please correce me if I am mistaken. B: Consider yourself correced.

· I have made but one prayer to God, a very short one: ‘O Lord, make my enemies ridiculous.’ And God granted it. – Voltaire

· ‘These comments are meant to offend everyone equally. If, for some reason you are not offended, please write me with a description of yourself including your name, race, weight, religious views, political party, strong opinions, physical disabilities and anything else that you are touchy about, and I will try to offend you in a future comment.

·

Quotes from ‘sigs’:

a.. ‘Be paranoid – they’re out to get you!’

b.. ‘The fourth law of computing: anything that can go wrong……

c.. ‘I just met a person who is a nun.’ ‘How do you know she is a nun?’ ‘She told me.’ ‘Maybe she was lying.’ ‘Nuns don’t lie.’

d.. ‘Throw the theologians into the cellar and bring more oysters and hot sauce’ (Garrison Keillor, The Book of Guys)

e.. ‘It’s best to read the weather forecast before praying for rain!’ (Mark Twain)

f.. ‘Abou ben Adam’s name led all the rest because the list was compiled alphabetically’ (Isaac Asimov)

g.. ‘Never criticize anyone until you’ve walked a mile in their shoes. Then, if they don’t like it, you’re a mile away and you have their shoes.’

h.. ‘Imagine if horse-racing had no horses… thousands of people could go to the race-track each day and save millions of dollars.’

i.. ‘Everything can be fixed by driving a nail into it. The only problem is finding the right sized nail’

j.. ‘Millions long for immortality who don’t know what to do with themselves on a rainy Sunday afternoon!’

YOU CAN HELP START A NEWSGROUP!

4. SAMPLES OF USENET ‘THEOLOGY’’/ QUESTIONS/ISSUES

How would you respond (briefly) to these:

* ‘Was Hitler a Christian? He said he was.’

* ‘Were there Australian koalas and Antarctic king penguins in Noah’s ark?’

* Bishop Spong says ‘Paul said “Christ appeared to me also”, but almost certainly not in a physically resurrected body. Why couldn’t Christ have appeared to the other disciples like that?’

* ‘The Bible condemns some same-sex practices, but not homosexuality as an orientation’.

* ‘You have your God. I have an Invisible Pink Unicorn. Same evidence for the existence of each!’

~~

If Jesus = God, was God dead???????

If God died, then we would not exist.

If the Messiah is God, then God died.

Which brings us back to level 1 in cumulative quantum theory.

Lost in space I guess.

~~

‘Someone told me one time that to see God, all you have to do is drink enough Uzo. Another one told me that he had seen Satan after doing some kind of drugs. I guess that makes Uzo better than drugs?’

~~

‘Sorry, prayer doesn’t work. I prayed for all the mentally ill people in the world to be cured, but they’re all still posting pseudo-scientific crap on the Usenet.’

5. URBAN LEGENDS

* NASA scientists discovered a lost day in time.

* Atheist professor challenges God to keep a piece of chalk from breaking.

* Son discovers wealth secreted in a spurned Bible.

* Alabama redefined the value of pi to 3 to bring it in line with Biblical precepts.

* You must sign a petition to stop Jesus from being portrayed as a homosexual in an upcoming film.

* Atheist Madalyn Murray O’Hair is circulating a petition to have religious broadcasting banned from American airwaves.

* The Rev. Joe Wright offered a controversial prayer at the opening of a Kansas legislative session.

More… http://jmm.aaa.net.au/articles/13891.htm

* God Miraculously Protects His People, Christians in Meulaboh, from the Tsunami – see http://jmm.aaa.net.au/articles/14507.htm

6. SAMPLES OF USENET APOLOGETICS

Dr. A wrote:

The Jesus who was called Christos,”Anointed,” took his title from Middle-Eastern savior-gods like Adonis and Tammuz, born of the Virgin Sea-goddess Aphrodite-Maria (Myrrha), or Ishhtar-Mari (Hebrew Mariamne).

B: Nonsense.

A: > The Gospels were not were not written in his own time, nor were they written by anyone who ever saw him in the flesh.

B: The testimony of antiquity is otherwise.

A: > The names of the apostles attached to these books were fraudulent.

B: This claim is fraudulent.

A: > Impossibilities have always been the props of religious credulity, as Tertullian admitted: It is believable because it is absurd: it is certain because it is impossible.”

B: Those of us who read De carne Christi 5:4 know that this is a thorough misrepresentation of what Tertullian said. But impossibilities have always been the staple of anti-Christian invective.

A: > contradictory Gospels. As late as 450, Bishop Theodore of Cyrrhus said there were at least 200 different Gospels revered by the churches of his own diocese, until he destroyed all but the canonical four. The other Gospels were lost as stronger sects overwhelmed the weaker, wrecked their churches, and burned their books.

B: There is no record of any time in the church when other than 4 gospels were used, and Irenaeus says so ca. 180 AD. The removal of the Diatessaron, a harmony, by Theodoret (spelling) is neither here nor there.

A: > The discovery that the Gospels were forged, centuries later than the events they described, is still not widely known even though the Catholic Encyclopedia admits, “The idea of a complete and clear-cut foundation of history.”

B: Nonsense.

A: > No extant manuscript can be dated earlier than the 4th century A.D.; most were written even later. The oldest manuscripts contradict one another, as also do even the present canon of the synoptic Gospels

B: Since P52 dates from 125 AD, it is unnecessary to say more.

A: > The cynical Pope Leo X exclaimed, “What profit has not that the fable of Christ brought us!”

B: No such passage is recorded in his works or within a century of his death.

A: >Modern theologians tend to sidestep the question of whether Jesus was in fact a fable or a real person.

B: Not least because none of them believe the question to be indicative of anything but softening of the brain.

A: > In view of the complete dearth of hard evidence, and the dubious nature of the soft evidence, it seems Christianity is based on the ubiquitous social phenomena of credulity.

B: This post is so based. Christianity is not.

B: All the best,

[Name withheld].

~~

A: >Easter is a rip-off of the pagan spring equinox celebration.

B: It is not a ‘rip-off’, it is the new and improved version;)

Shalom! Rowland Croucher

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