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Results from: Answered Bible Questions, Answers, Unanswered Bible Questions, Notes Ordered by Verse | ||||||
Results | Verse | Author | ID# | |||
1 | Authorized name vs. Unauthorized? | Matt 16:18 | stjones | 52243 | ||
Raven; You have not attended every denominational church across the world (I doubt you've attended mine), so you do not know what is preached in them. I'm going to go out on a limb and assume that you know nothing about sermons preached in Bolivia in 1983. Your blanket condemnation of things you don't know about says much more about you than it does about the denominations you find so distasteful. Perhaps you could restrict your "strong talk" to things you actually know about. Sadly, I don't think I'd count the use of Scripture among them. You are very good at taking verses out of context and twisting them to your own purpose. In every one of these passages, Paul is writing about heresies that few modern denominations would think of embracing. He is not writing about denominations or the imagined evil of their existence and no linguistic trick can make it so. In my humble judgment, the prideful, narrow exclusivity you promote makes yours one of the most divisive voices on this forum. Satan must revel in your hateful assaults on the faith, character, and intelligence of people whom you should be welcoming as brothers and sisters in Christ. Jesus dealt regularly with people who were judgmental, bound up in rules, angry, and insulting. They were called Pharisees. Instead of poring over the book of Acts and Paul's letters in search of passages that you can use to prove your arguments, perhaps you could spend some time in the Gospels and see what kind of people Jesus drew to himself. You might also discover that it was the ones who had all the answers and knew all the rules who crucified him. Peace and grace, Steve aka Indiana Jones Privileged to be a member of a Presbyterian congregation that supports missionaries in Djibouti, Japan, Kenya, Russia, and Campus Crusade for Christ |
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2 | Authorized name vs. Unauthorized? | Matt 16:18 | Hank | 52299 | ||
Steve, the Indiana Jones brand of Steve that is! Hello, brother. We haven't talked since my pet cow was a little calf! Yours was an excellent post, Steve, and BradK's also in this same thread. Too bad and how sad it is that posts of this nature are so often needed on the forum; I've also had occasion to make a sizeable amount of posts along these same lines; it's never pleasant for me to dress anyone down or speak bluntly to anyone, but sometimes its like, well, hitting a mule between the eyes. You've got to get their attention somehow...... You know, Steve, as I think tonight about the events on the forum over the last several days, I can't recall in my year and two months on this forum having seen anything even close to the display of -- and I hate to use the word -- bigotry than has been plastered on these pages in huge quantities for days on end. It's both sad and futile what bigots try to do: They are never content merely to state their position for what it may be worth and let it stand or fall on its own merits or lack thereof. Somehow they seem possessed of a burning need to push their views on their audience at any cost and by any means. And if their audience doesn't accept them, they retaliate by attack, by insult, by innuendo, by abusive and judgmental remarks, by mean and hateful accusations. They do nothing to promote their cause and a great deal to harm it. It has been a genuine test of my personal faith and forbearance not to develop animosity and hatred in my heart because of what I've witnessed happening on this forum in recent days, as I feel sure it has been for other regular users as well who have been aware of the situation. The Lockman Foundation is aware of what goes on at this forum and from time to time they do intervene and revoke a user's account. There are a number of ex-users who have been removed for failure to follow the guidelines that our sponsor has set forth; those are the ones we agree to every time we enter a post. So all of us who enjoy the fellowship and group learning that we experience from interacting with each other on biblical topics need to be ever mindful of the guidelines and of the nature of this forum: that we are all of us equal, in a common community in which our lives abut the lives of other living, flesh-and-blood human beings, created by God, with hopes and dreams and aspirations and emotions not much unlike our own. It seems only common sense that we need to treat our fellow users with the same courtesy and respect that we expect from them. Sounds like the "Golden Rule" doesn't it, and indeed that's what it is! Well, Steve, I'm preaching to the choir when I put on a post in response to yours reminders about decent forum conduct, for your posts reflect you to be a gentleman and a good example to others. But there are, sadly enough, a few users who would do well to brush up on Forum Etiquette 101 right now, and all of us would do well to keep it in mind as we go about our business of participating on the forum..... So, what do you think of my unique gift of being so remarkably able to say so little with so many words? :-) --Hank | ||||||
3 | Authorized name vs. Unauthorized? | Matt 16:18 | stjones | 52316 | ||
Hi, Hank; You and I have held opposing views in some pretty lively "discussions" in the past. We disagreed passionately but respectuflly. It can be done. Tim Moran is my hero in that respect. I'm usually reluctant to point out the plank in another forum member's eye for fear that I may have two that I haven't noticed. But we are called to speak the truth in love, so I occasionally wade in. Besides, aren't we Christians supposed to be known by our love for one another? You're right that there have been many un-loving, judgmental posts lately. The Bible is a large, complex book. It's silly for anyone to think that they have mastered the one true meaning of every word of every passage. In one way, the Bible is like statistics; if you misuse either one - intentionally or not - you can "prove" almost anything you want. It's not always easy to distinguish between spiritual maturity and sheer pig-headedness, at least not for me. As for your "unique" gift, you can see that we share it. Sometimes I think I should stick Proverbs 10:19 on my monitor.... Blessings to you, my friend. Peace and grace, Steve aka Indiana Jones |
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