[Linux4christians] Defending the faith online (was Re: List of Christian Distro's?)

[Ron Ostrander]

On Friday 14 January 2005 07:23 am, Samuel Clough wrote:
> Just read slashdot to see the typical Linux/geek
> mindset.  It's downright scary.

Which is a great intro to a topic I've been thinking about introducing here 
for a while. Last year the use of Linux by Christians earned a little bit 
of notice by way of a few different articles posted to various Linux news 
sites (Don's great "GNU Believers" article, for one). But it seems like 
whenever Christianity is mentioned in the geek world, trolls and 
anti-religion bigots head straight for the talkback forums. No doubt these 
folks represent only a tiny fraction of the geek community at large, but 
somehow they always seem to be around. This link to Don's article from 
Linux Today, for example - check out the postings from "wsd" and "The 
Other Guy."

http://linuxtoday.com/infrastructure/2004083001826OSCYDP

And as Samuel hinted - the mere mention on a Slashdot forum of 
Christianity, the Bible, or Jesus sends half their regulars into 
"hysterical ranting" mode. 

Seeing this in the Linux community just burns my biscuits, and I personally 
occasionally find it hard to follow Proverbs 29:11. My question here is 
pretty general - how do we, as Christians, respond to posters like wsd? 
Should we even respond, or should we ignore it (and thus avoid 
accidentially damaging the credibility of ourselves and our cause)? What's 
different about defending the faith in an online forum, as compared to 
other forms of communication? Are there any hints or thoughts on the topic 
anyone would like to share?

Ron