I 'believe' that more believers should follow that way. I'm not saying that they should keep their mouth, but why wasting so much time in endless debates?
Sure, I get what you're saying. Often times these threads ask something "religious", but the point of the thread isn't to find a "religious answer". It's simply to state in general why religion is incorrect, crazy, nonsensical, etc.....Sometimes it's a healthy debate, but the most times it's not. Often times it's not discussion that is being sought....it's just a platform that is desired.
When I speak of Jesus Christ my goal is always simple. Share the gospel. Share how Christ has changed my life. Represent Christ in all that I do and be that salt and light for the world. What I always pray for is that someone will read my words (which is really the words of others before me) or the words of another believer and then contact me/them privately to talk more about it. Not that I don't mind putting everything out their publically, but within the "free for all" of the thread voices get lost, purpose gets murky and threads deviate dramatically.
It is how you say what you say and whether or not you mean it with all that you are. I simply state what I hold to be true, either by faith or fact.
What Scott says here is correct and I agree.
Most often I will defend my faith as best I'm able to without reservation in a thread. Still, when I've done that repeatedly and the same players keep regurgitating the same comments despite my attempts to present myself with honesty and humility and even redirecting/correcting their incorrect ideas about my faith, Christ, Christians, etc.....then it's time to step away for a bit or stop altogether with that particular audience.
I do persist for the sake of others that may be reading the thread and aren't posting though....for some these threads may be the only exposure to "religion" they get in their day to day.