He is refuting the specious arguments of the Christians and he is looking for advice: should he continue or not?
Question

                There is a Christian website which published a lot of specious arguments about Islam and the laws of Islam. By Allaah’s grace, I am refuting these specious arguments via Islamic sites, and sites that refute the specious arguments. But in these chat rooms they revile the Messenger (peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him). Should I carry on in these chat rooms to refute their specious arguments? Or if I stay in the chat rooms, will the following verses be applicable to me? 

“And it has already been revealed to you in the Book (this Qur’aan) that when you hear the Verses of Allaah being denied and mocked at, then sit not with them, until they engage in a talk other than that; (but if you stayed with them) certainly in that case you would be like them. Surely, Allaah will collect the hypocrites and disbelievers all together in Hell”

[al-Nisa’ 4:140] 

“And when you (Muhammad صلى الله عليه وسلم) see those who engage in a false conversation about Our Verses (of the Qur’aan) by mocking at them, stay away from them till they turn to another topic. And if Shaytaan (Satan) causes you to forget, then after the remembrance sit not you in the company of those people who are the Zaalimoon (polytheists and wrongdoers)”

[al-An’aam 6:68].
Praise be to Allah.
    We appreciate 
    your protective jealousy towards the religion of Allaah, and we value your 
    attitude in defending it against its enemies and doubters. But this will not 
    prevent us from advising you and directing you towards that which is better 
    for you and for the religion of Allaah. 

    This advice 
    may be summed up by telling you not to get involved in dealing with specious 
    arguments and refuting them until after you have gained a strong knowledge 
    of the rulings and laws of Islam, and until your faith has become strong and 
    certain. This is not something that is mustahabb or recommended, rather it 
    is obligatory in your case and in the case of everyone who wants to get 
    involved in dealing with specious arguments and refuting the followers of 
    innovation, misguidance and deviant religions. There are a number of 
    important reasons for this: 

    1 – Protecting 
    the religion and laws of Allaah from zealots who do not have any real 
    knowledge. These people see the specious argument but their answer misses 
    the point, and sometimes their response is so weak that it may reinforce the 
    specious argument and weaken truth. 

    2 – Protecting 
    the Muslims who are eager to refute them from being misled by these specious 
    arguments and their proponents. Many of those who get involved in this field 
    enter with little knowledge, and the specious arguments penetrate their 
    hearts and they can find no answer to them, so they become confused and 
    begin to doubt. Examining specious arguments too much weakens the heart. 

    Ibn al-Qayyim 
    (may Allaah have mercy on him) said: 

    Shaykh 
    al-Islam (may Allaah have mercy on him) said to me, after I had posed some 
    questions to him, one after another: 

    Do not make 
    your heart like a sponge for questions and specious arguments lest your 
    heart be filled with them and they start to affect your thinking and your 
    behaviour. Rather make it like a sealed bottle, so that the specious 
    arguments will bounce off its surface and will not settle in it, then you 
    will be able to see them clearly and ward them off because of the resolve 
    you have. Otherwise if every specious argument that crosses your mind 
    settles in your heart, it will become an abode for specious arguments. – Or 
    words to that effect. 

    I not know 
    that I benefited from any advice to ward off specious arguments as I did 
    from this advice.  

    Miftaah Daar 
    al-Sa’aadah 
    (1/140). 

    Imam 
    al-Dhahabi narrated that Sufyaan al-Thawri (may Allaah have mercy on him) 
    said: 

    Whoever hears 
    of an innovation should not tell it to his companions lest it reach their 
    hearts.  

    He commented 
    on that by saying: 

    Most of the 
    imams of the salaf issued similar warnings; they thought that hearts were 
    weak and that specious arguments could easily penetrate them. 

    Siyar A’laam 
    al-Nubala’ 
    (7/261).  

    3 – Taking 
    care of one’s time and not wasting it on stubborn arguers, and not wasting 
    time on one aspect of knowledge which should be preceded by other kinds of 
    knowledge. It is not right to refute those who attack Islam until after one 
    has learned the Qur’aan and saheeh Sunnah, which takes a lot of the 
    knowledge-seeker’s time. Some specious arguments may be answered from the 
    point of view of language, others from the point of view of Tafseer, or 
    hadeeth, or logic. What zealous beginner can master all of that? 

    4 – Choosing 
    the right way to call people to Islam. Calling people to Allaah needs 
    knowledge on the part of the caller, and it needs wisdom so that he will 
    handle matters appropriately. Some of those who are called may be 
    open-minded, easy going and close to the truth, and some may be stubborn, so 
    the caller needs to know the appropriate way to deal with each of them, and 
    be strict with some and gentle and kind with others. 

    Allaah says 
    (interpretation of the meaning): 

    “Invite 
    (mankind, O Muhammad صلىالله عليه وسلم) 
    to the way of your Lord (i.e. Islam) with wisdom (i.e. with the Divine 
    Revelation and the Qur’aan) and fair preaching, and argue with them in a way 
    that is better”

    [al-Nahl 
    16:125] 

    “And argue not 
    with the people of the Scripture (Jews and Christians), unless it be in (a 
    way) that is better (with good words and in good manner, inviting them to 
    Islamic Monotheism with His Verses), except with such of them as do wrong”

    [al-‘Ankaboot 
    29:46]

    How can the 
    beginner know the appropriate way to deal with these people? How can he 
    implement it? When should he give up? All of that needs the caller to have a 
    considerable amount of knowledge and wisdom, and this cannot be found with 
    the majority of zealous beginners. 

    Hence the 
    answer to the brother’s question may be known: should he remain in the chat 
    rooms even though he sees them reviling Allaah, may He be exalted, and His 
    Messenger and His religion, or should he leave? Does what is mentioned in 
    the verses quoted in the question apply to him? There is no definite answer 
    to that, unless we know the state of the chat room and the state of the 
    caller, and the state of the specious arguments, and whether he is allowed 
    to respond and comment, or is he only reading and not taking part? If we 
    know all that we can form an idea of the appropriate answer.  

    We have seen 
    some of our zealous brothers who are eager to engage in da’wah entering chat 
    rooms on “Pal Talk” where heretics revile the Sahaabah and label them as 
    kaafirs, and they insult the Muslims in immoral speech, but they prevent the 
    Muslim brother from commenting verbally or by typing. What point is there in 
    staying in those evil rooms?   

    In this case, 
    what is mentioned in the verses quoted in the question is applicable; this 
    is unlike one who listens in order to compile and document their words or 
    one who listens in order to refute them when it is his turn to speak. In 
    those cases, what is mentioned in the verses quoted in the question does not 
    apply. 

    This is 
    general advice, and we ask Allaah to cause it to be of benefit. 

    Shaykh 
    al-‘Uthaymeen said: 

    It is not 
    permissible for a person to read a misguiding book of the Jews, Christians, 
    mushrikeen or innovators, unless he has deep knowledge that can protect him. 
    But if he is a beginner in seeking knowledge, then it is not permissible for 
    him to start by reading these books of falsehood, because he may be 
    influenced by the falsehood contained therein. We advise these people to 
    leave these books alone until they have fortified themselves with sound 
    shar’i knowledge before they look into those misguided books. If a person 
    wants to protect himself against a flood, he builds a barrier and implements 
    other means before the flood comes; he does not do that after the flood 
    comes. So we say: First of all, fortify yourselves with shar’i knowledge and 
    let it take root deeply in your hearts, so that you will be strong and it 
    will not matter what you read and you will be able to refute the specious 
    arguments and false notions of the people. 

    Liqaa’aat 
    al-Baab il-Maftooh 
    (47/question no. 7) 

    Please see 
    also question no. 22029 and 
    83621 for the ruling on reading the books of Ahl 
    al-Kitaab and debating with them via the Internet.