Off The Map opened this blog on February 2, 2006 with the announcement Off The Map Hires eBay Atheist .
Hemant posted his church reviews here. We invited comments from atheists and non-atheists on his reviews and such issues as “Why is our agenda to hear what an atheist thinks about church rather than to ‘convert’ him?”
Hemant’s church visits ended but we kept this blog open to continue the friendly dialog between atheists and Christians. (We also opened another atheist-Christian conversation blog: Conversation at the Edge)
The current host is Helen Mildenhall (me). Mike O and Jason are currently blogging here. Josh posted a few posts early in 2008. Siamang was blogging here until recently when he became too busy.
Mike O started commenting on Off The Map blogs in the summer of 2006 (a few months ago). Mike is a conservative Christian who wants to help Christians connect better with atheists. When Mike showed up we were impressed by his interest in understanding atheists better. Mike is helping his church set up events for atheists and Christians that atheists might actually want to attend. You can read more about Mike in Interview with Mike O.
Jason’s own blog is The Magnificent Frog. I met Jason over on Bill’s Friendly Christian blog. His ability to remain friendly while talking with people who didn’t share his beliefs impressed me and I asked him to blog here when Siamang got too busy to continue.
Siamang is not a monkey; that’s his screen name! He was one of the first atheists to start commenting here. We were impressed from the beginning by his respectful, articulate and fun comments. You can read more about Siamang in Siamang’s life story.
Josh was doing a ‘holy conversations’ assignment for a course at school. This involved talking with someone who isn’t a Christian about Christian topics. Josh posted about what he was learning through the project.