Okay. I'm a pretty nice person. I always give people the benefit of the doubt. But I have to say I'm done answering any inflammatory posts. I have never claimed to have any supreme knowledge about anything, and I am writing from the viewpoint that the Bible is the true and inspired word of God. If you do not agree, you are welcome to your opinion. But I will no longer argue about it.
This is not to say that it is wrong to question and to seek answers for those questions. There are other blogs, other sources that will gladly take these things on, if the questions are serious, and I encourage those with questions I cannot answer to find someone who has the time and energy to discuss these things.
Resources I would recommend include
http://www.rzim.org/ (Ravi Zacharias, apologetist)
http://leestrobel.com/ (Ex-Atheist)
If you are a reader and you like deep, C.S. Lewis is an excellent choice.
As for my blog - sincere questions to which we can find the answers together are as always welcomed and appreciated, even if you disagree with the conclusions I've drawn. But it must be with the understanding that the Bible is the source for finding those answers.
Any comments that discuss inappropriate topics to this blog(to be determined by the blogger) will be immediately deleted.
Thank you for reading, as always, the musings of a really really busy and really really tired wife and mom.
This busy wife and mommy missed something, but by glancing at the last post it was something crude and immature that I don't need clogging my mind.
ReplyDeleteThank you for posting rules for comments. I'm sorry you had to though. Debate among people with different opinions is acceptable, challenging and stretching, but using crude examples, statements, ideas or even language is just plain infantile and unnecessary.
Don't let it hinder or flavor what you blog... I've noticed a tiny change and it saddens me. Write what you know pleases God without fear of anything that might be said in contrast (or fear of healthy debate).
Love ya, Friend
Thank you for defining this exercise of yours more clearly. Other readers seem to presume the comments you deleted of mine were crude or otherwise inappropriate. They were not, by any common understanding of decorum. To allow your readers (e.g. Amy) to believe otherwise is dishonest.
ReplyDeleteI appreciate the references to Zacharias and Lewis. However, I have read the majority of their works and find them soul-less, full of apologetics and absent of critical thinking. (I do enjoy Lewis's "Out of the Silent Planet", though). If you believe either of these authors offer answers to questions your blog posts have raised, you have either read some of their works I have not, or you are misled. I find this to be typical of a certain demographic of the christian population - those who have been told there are "answers out there" to their questions (and then they wave their hands and make an argument from authority in the form of recommending the writings of other authors like Lewis and Zacharias, or even go so far as William Lane Craig, or Habarmas or Licona, or Plantinga), and then take comfort in knowing there are "answers out there" but then never really investigate with their own given critical thinking abilities. Instead of resorting to these authors, I tend to refer to the text of the collected works of Hebrew and New Testament scriptures, which is all my questions alluded to. If you believe what I said was crude, you should take it up with the scriptures.
Besides, when I ask you a question, I am not particularly interested in what the authors you recommend say. I am interested in what someone at your walk in life and your education level with your understanding of christianity (as described by yourself in this bog) has to say. As it is ascribed to Paul, be ready to answer at anytime anyone who asks for the reasons of your beliefs and assertions and always be willing to defend them (1 Pet 3). Also, let your speech in such matters always be with grace, such that they may in turn answer others similarly (Col 4). Both these instructions are given with the command (by Jesus through Paul) to be always done.
For someone who describes themselves as "always give[ing] people the benefit of the doubt", your comments and others on this blog toward me have proved otherwise.
Thank you for reading the comments of a really busy and usually tied young professional, seemingly a fellow searcher for truths, hopefully open to wherever that road leads.
Regards
-D.
D,
ReplyDeleteI did happen to read your comments before they were deleted, and I agree with the decision to delete them. You weren't trying to seek real answers, you were trying to poke fun and irritate. Don't kid yourself. Even if you don't realize it (which I doubt) your goal is not to learn or discuss, it's to irritate, berate, or make yourself feel smart.
You aren't seeking for truth. You have decided that you are the measure of truth. You are settled in your mind concerning biblical issues. As are we. Agree to disagree and move on.
If you approach the Gospel with a humble heart that is broken by the weight of sin, you will find truth. And peace. And joy. And all of us here would be more than happy to assist you in any way we can.
But if you're here just to try to make yourself look oh-so-smart and are getting your kicks by making the Christians look stupid, spare us. It's not really working out in your favor anyway.
Nobody is saying you have to agree. But you do need to stop being the schoolyard bully and try to be respectful (and a dose of humility wouldn't hurt either). If you can't manage that, this isn't the blog for you. Leave her be and stop sucking the joy out of writing for her.
I made a comment and it disappeared!
ReplyDeleteI think tone and intent are difficult to convey and perceive in this medium. I believe that there are likely misunderstandings, misperceptions, and perhaps misrepresentations on both sides of this (and similar) discussions. I believe that straightforwardness can sometimes be perceived as arrogance, and that sometimes intent can be erroneously interpreted and falsely ascribed. I believe that what may be perceived as bullying may actually just be one person challenging another to think about something differently, or to communicate it in a way that is more meaningful and understandable to them in the context of their background and way of discussing things. I believe that different people have different brands of humor, and that attempts at such are not always intended to be crude or constitute poking fun. I believe that one states their intent, and attempts to explain where they are coming from, we are likely to be better served if we take them at their word, since the words on the screen are the only means by which we can judge them in this medium.
ReplyDeleteI say this as one who has spent much of her life in an "us vs them" sort of mentality, and it's becoming more apparent with time that discussion cannot thrive in that sort of setting. I also speak as one who knows people on both sides of the discussion, and I think I can honestly assess that nobody on either intends to hurt, malign, berate, irritate, inflame, make fun of, one-up, or generally torture anybody else. I don't think anybody is trying to beat anyone or win anything; again, we all have different ways of communicating. It's the communication process, the discussion, that's often more than half the fun. Or the battle.
My two cents are on sale for a penny this week, in honor of Black Friday. If this happens to be a duplicate post because my first attempt vanished, you got an even better deal!
G - I'm sorry, but I have to draw the line somewhere, my dear. Remember that none of the following applies to you. You are my sister in so many senses of the word, and I love you.
ReplyDeleteI spent some time talking to the One it's all about today to make sure I hadn't been hasty in my response to someone crossing that line. This is what I was assured. You can take it or leave it, but I'm settled.
"Turn away from godless chatter and the opposing ideas of what is falsely called knowledge..."
"Am I now trying to win the approval of men or of God? Or am I trying to please men? If I were still trying to please men, I would not be a servant of Christ."
"For the message of the cross is foolishness to those who are perishing, but to us who are being saved it is the power of God." (1 Corinthians 1:15ff is a great passage to study)
My final words to "D." This is all I have to say on the matter: God turns away from arrogance. You didn't have a thing to do with the creation of this world. He deserves his place. He deserves to get the final word. And he will, the easy way or the hard way, with every single one of us. God embraces humility and brokeness over sin. If you are on a quest to have God prove himself to you, don't get your hopes up. You are on a slippery slope headed nowhere you want to end up. You seem to have already made your choice, but my final and closing argument to you is this: "We are Christ's ambassadors, as though God were making his appeal through us. We implore you on Christ's behalf: Be reconciled to God."