Bible Question:
Some of us accepted that challenge, and we were humbled and sobered by it. But it seems to me that the greater challenge still remains. The challenge is to help a brother. I hope that one is allowed to ask that when one’s heart goes out to a brother. The brother may not accept that he needs help, but it is my considered opinion that a person does need help when he seems to have become fixated. I hope this is not judged to be ad hominem, or an attack, because it comes out of a desire to help, to help all of us. Quite often a person becomes stuck, or overtaken with a fault, as in Galatians 6:1. Brethren, if a man be overtaken in a fault, ye which are spiritual, restore such an one in the spirit of meekness; considering thyself, lest thou also be tempted. It is my observation that our brother is stuck in a box and apparently unable to think outside of it. Well meaning attempts to get him out may result in his become more firmly stuck; like pulling someone down through a funnel, if you understand what I mean. So the question is: How do you help such a brother? It is probably difficult for any of us to change our minds. There is something called perseverance that we may confuse with obstinacy. It would not be bothersome if someone had some idiosyncrasy, such as saying “Amen” to everything or “Praise the Lord” before everything. We get into habits. And I suppose that the need to capitalize all pronouns that refer to deity is a harmless habit. But when a fascination with capitalization leads one of us to propose that there is a holy spirit to go along with the Holy Spirit, then we may think that the brother needs help. If he does not admit it, he may think that he has a valid point that he needs to hold on to, or even teach. Then we may conclude that he needs help. So the question, and the challenge, must be faced, I think. And this writer has this habit of saying, “I think”, “It seems to me”, and suchlike. It is a habit developed in training; “It is my impression” is better than “I am sure”, etc. But I suppose it should not matter if one’s supposition is based on scripture. And I suppose we should seek to help because of passages such as Galatians 6:1. Then there is Galatians 2 where Paul helped Peter, and Romans 15 where the weak are to help the strong, and Hebrews 12 where we are to make straight paths for our feet lest the lame be turned away, and James 5 where one of us, hypothetically, errs from the truth, and one converts him. and learns that he who converts the sinner from the error of his way shall save a soul from death, and shall hide a multitude of sins. We are told that we are to restore such an one. The challenge is to find the way to do it. |
Bible Answer: Aixen, I appreciate your thoughts; I truly do; and the soft words in which they are clothed. Not only you and I but others on the Forum as well have agonized over the problems that continue to ensue from this fascination of one user with capitalization. This situation has been going on for years, and for years I viewed it as little more than a harmless but pointless preoccupation. But this preoccupation has led to the invention of a theory about the Holy Spirit/holy spirit, which is clearly an adulteration of sound teaching. The user has been admonished by a large number of Forum users to stop posting on this unorthodox theory. and to devote himself to other topics instead of continuing with the one theme, capitalization, that has dominated his posts from the beginning. Other users time and time again have made efforts to dissuade him in his one-man pursuit of interpretation through capitalization. Thus far all efforts to "restore such an one" have produced no measurable results. I believe that a sufficient number of Forum users have met the challenge to "restore such an one" by the only means available short of filing abuse reports and let the Lockman Foundation decide how they want to handle the problem with this user. I will add this. Should a brand-new user come on this Forum teaching a "Holy Spirit/holy spirit" theory or any other theory unsupportable by Scripture, he would be dealt with swiftly, even to the point of revocation of his privilege to post if such a measure became the only way to contain him. --Hank |