Results 1 - 3 of 3
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Results from: Answered Bible Questions, Answers, Unanswered Bible Questions, Notes Ordered by Verse | ||||||
Results | Verse | Author | ID# | |||
1 | Study Bible Forum -- or Circus? | Gen 1:17 | Hank | 6718 | ||
Now we have God creating the sun, moon, and stars in his workshop -- a cut and paste operation of sorts -- and putting them wherever He saw an empty space that needed something in it -- like decorating a Christmas tree. Wonder if He had elves in His workshop to help Him build stars? Folks, I'm not trying to be cute and most assuredly not to be sacreligious. I'm merely attempting to illustrate how far off base this forum has wandered and how dangerously close we are to becoming a world wide joke, a Biblical circus of the Internet. Lionstrong posed the question of whether we were at liberty to ask any question or post any note. The sure answer is emphatically not! I am not at liberty to ask anyone on this forum for a recipe for fudge brownies and you are not at liberty to give me an answer. Have you, Lionstrong, and have you and I, the other users, forgotten what this forum is all about? In the last several weeks this forum has been bogged down by endless debates over emotionally-charged denominationally-biased issues, such as the Arminianism verse Calvinism debacle and before that the Oneness fiasco. Read the purposes and aims of this forum set out by the Lockman Foundation. Read their criteria for what constitutes a good posting as listed on the voting bars. Questions should be Biblically oriented and answers Biblically supported. Lockman has given us ample freedom within clearly-defined guidelines. But with freedom come our own personal responsibilties. Folks, I know that many of you, like I, love the idea of having a study Bible forum and see in it a real potential to honor God and His word. And I know that many of you, like I, are displeased and even disgusted with some of the postings that have been made and continue to be made that bring only discord and benefit nothing except perhaps the foolish vanity of the authors of this kind of trash. The forum is in trouble, of that I have no doubt. Unless we mend our ways and get back to the fundamentals of what this forum is all about, I would not be at all surprised that eventually it will cease to be. I've said my say. It's up to you. If you have anything positive to add or suggest that will help this forum, please come forward and make yourselves heard. If you are unwilling to submit to Lockman's guidelines and come only to disrupt, do the rest of us a favor and log out. --Hank | ||||||
2 | Study Bible Forum -- or Circus? | Gen 1:17 | Chris | 6860 | ||
Hank, I am inclined to agree with you. As one of those who has been involved in arguing, I apologize. I do not, however, believe that this forum should simply be a Bible trivia game or a stage for us to compare notes in our study Bibles. I believe this forum should be an opportunity for true seekers of GOD to discuss their understandings and experiences as Christians. I believe we should be exhorting, encouraging, and challenging each other to be more devoted bond-slaves of Christ Jesus. I think one problem has been that many folks (including myself) have asked questions that they have already made a decision about and are simply hoping to defend what they believe! I believe that we have been too busy defending what we believe rather than revealing what we don't know. Perhaps we still have not realized our helpless states, for though we admit to Jesus that we are helpless, we are still unwilling to admit it to each other! If we want to create a limitless Study Bible we need more than verse searches and book interpretations! We need progress reports from genuine Christians with genuine motives and genuine humility. We need to use each other as resources and encouragement. Since I am the one with all the suggestions, I'll be the one with a new line of questions: I've been struggling for some time now with GOD's will for my life. I know all the Scriptures, and I know that GOD's will for me first is to be sanctified, my question is, how do I know when I should be hearing from GOD? There have been times in my walk when I truly believe I would've been willing to drop everything and leave for Africa, but I never heard the 'call'. How do I know GOD has a particular will for my life, if I don't hear His 'call'? For any who have heard His 'call' for service, how did it happen, how did you hear, how did you know? I know the Bible teaches that He has a plan for each one of us, but at times I question that because I don't know what I should be doing! Has GOD dealt with any of you on this matter? How has GOD spoken to you? Do we all get a 'call'? As one Christian to others, I ask, what do I do next? GOD bless! |
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3 | Study Bible Forum -- or Circus? | Gen 1:17 | kalos | 6863 | ||
Chris: Thank you for a very fine, thought-provoking posting. Generally I agree with the content of your answer. I especially agree with you when you write: "I think one problem has been that many folks (including myself) have asked questions that they have already made a decision about and are simply hoping to defend what they believe!" I think with some it goes beyond merely *defending* what they believe. In some cases the writer's apparent intent is to post a question for the purpose of arguing the question to death with the aim of convincing everyone else to change their views and agree with the writer. Sometimes it seems the writer's motive is to draw attention to himself/herself. Other postings are obvious attempts to impress the rest of us with the writer's supposed great erudition and vocabulary. (I'm not impressed with such, although I am often impressed when a writer humbly and with good intentions posts an answer whose thoroughness and accuracy I applaud.) Many, if not most of us, are too busy defending what we believe to listen to the other side. To paraphrase the Word, "Knowledge puffs up, but love builds up." Which would one rather be -- a baloon or a building? This is only my opinion, but I see nothing wrong in quoting from study Bibles and other references to answer a question. First, whether the reader agrees with a quoted reference work, at least, when selected properly, the reference quotation is often more relevant to the subject at hand than the original writings of some of the posters. I would rather read a quote from a respected publication than to see the Forum degenerate into a mere pooling of ignorance. Not that all or even a majority of original writings reflect ignorance, but too many of them do. What I often object to is not the "rightness" or "wrongness" of a reply, but the fact that views are presented that are inappropriate, highly irrelevant, unstructured, illogical and, most important of all, not biblically based. I honestly don't mind reading something with which I disagree if there is a sound argument for it. There are not a few disputed passages or interpretations for which a good biblical argument could be made for 2 or more sides of the issue. I say let the repliers present a good biblical argument for their views -- not rambling, incoherent, pointless, mocking replies that often do not cite even one verse of scripture. It's irksome and insulting after spending much time and care composing an answer or note, only to have one's answer lightly dismissed or mocked. Or worse, what often happens is that someone will reply and mockingly or flippantly disagree with another's interpretation when the replier has NO interpretation of his own. This is the height of arrogance and ignorance. Chris: none of this criticism pertains to or is intended for you personally. I am merely expressing concerns for many of the postings I read here. I have been enjoying your informative and well-written postings, Chris. |
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