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Good thread, JViello! And a warm welcome.... so good to see you!
You know I came to this sub-forum almost a year ago and it was the best thing that ever happen to me.... 1. The Lord used it to strengthen and deepen my faith. 2. To know when and how too stand firm and still in Him. 3. He use some to share their faith in where He was teaching them and opened the door and led me into a deeper understanding of His word. 4. He used it to show He is my shepherd and I so recognize His voice among the voices of this world. 5. He had so sheltered me He wanted to teach me how to recognize the false teachings that sound so close to His truth. So that I could help another that may fall for them. 5. He taught me what good anger is compared to bad anger! 6. He has taught me how to love the sinner and hate the sin. 7. Most of all that He used this forum so that I could meet many people, make many friends and that I know with all my heart.....He is my God, Lord and Savior. And He has sanctified my heart in Him.....and I hear Him calling other's and me His friend!!!! Yahoooooo!
Well said and I remember some of those times too.
Thanks to all for the kind words.
I honestly work about 14 hours a day to support my family. (Combined with the fact that my son's first and last day of daycare was Wednesday of this week it's about to get a lot tougher financially! But God will provide.) I run a small service business and am away from the computer more than I can be on it...I'm eating my lunch right now while typing! LOL Combined with the new baby and family it's hard to get a lot of forum time.
Being away for a bit made me realize some of the things I brought up and why I wanted to do so.
This is the Christian forum - That means it's our forum, and up to us to stink the place up or make it a welcoming friendly place. I hope we can do the latter.
Granted, you all pretty much know I don't mince words and don't believe in compromise on key issues...I'm not saying to do that - but as it has been said "Sometimes you have to lose a battle to win the war."
I would like to try and start a daily post with "something" in it that I can share with everyone. New's, a video, a link whatever. I'm still working out the ideas in my head.
I hope all you brothers and sisters do something of your own to make this a community and "more gentle" place as well.
True, Jesus kind of love is kryptonite to our enemy. He has no defense for it.
I noticed something about this forum. It's always a battle. Always. It's always arguments, banter etc etc...sadly even among ourselves a lot.
I would like to take the soapbox and proclaim we set a new attitude, a new standard here. One that is not only debate and controversy.
Lets show our love for life and the Lord to the world.
How about some posts of postive things.
Perhaps a favorite link to a study site...maybe a video that inspires. Share a new song you like. Share a victory in your life this past week or a salvation story.
Perhaps even some personal tesitmony (Being mindful of personal disclosure on the web at the same time!).
Lets be light and salt instead of on the ropes trying to defend our faith at every turn.
This forum - I believe can also be one of fellowship among us and not just a battle board.
BUT it will not happen unless we all make a concerted effort. That means making a daily post or ignoring and/or reporting the troll (I mean a real troll) and not taking offense if someone dismisses or belittles your testimony or "story". Let the moderators take care of that stuff.
Lets do this for the Glory of the Lord.
They will know we are Christians by our love.
Amen and thanks for your petition;
God Bless You
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Good thread, JViello! And a warm welcome.... so good to see you!
You know I came to this sub-forum almost a year ago and it was the best thing that ever happen to me.... 1. The Lord used it to strengthen and deepen my faith. 2. To know when and how too stand firm and still in Him. 3. He use some to share their faith in where He was teaching them and opened the door and led me into a deeper understanding of His word. 4. He used it to show He is my shepherd and I so recognize His voice among the voices of this world. 5. He had so sheltered me He wanted to teach me how to recognize the false teachings that sound so close to His truth. So that I could help another that may fall for them. 5. He taught me what good anger is compared to bad anger! 6. He has taught me how to love the sinner and hate the sin. 7. Most of all that He used this forum so that I could meet many people, make many friends and that I know with all my heart.....He is my God, Lord and Savior. And He has sanctified my heart in Him.....and I hear Him calling other's and me His friend!!!! Yahoooooo!
I couldn't agree more with all of this, Curly. This forum is a great learning tool as to what Christians need to be aware of and in learning how to deal with certain things. It will teach you patience, understanding, and, in my case, has taught me more about scriptures and where to find them.
As far as setting a new tone....I just don't think that is going to happen, Vielo. When you have deliberate trolling and monsterous responses to the truth, it is our responsibility as Christians to set it straight. If we ignore it and leave the lies unchallenged, then Satan has won.
The only tone we have control of is our own. Holy anger is justified....fleshly personal attacks are not. Because we are human we can expect to not handle everything perfectly each and every time we are attacked as Christians. But we can learn from it.
Moderator cut: context has been orphaned
"Religion" is controversial....no way to get around it.
Christianity is not controversial. It's the ONLY WAY.....but that truth will continue to anger the enemy and his minions, so attacks should be expected and dealt with accordingly. Some of the most absurd, hate-filled, twisted lies come from many claiming to be Christians.
Last edited by Alpha8207; 08-11-2008 at 09:34 AM..
I'd also like to see an end to the judging of other faiths in this section, I really don't see that as being a Christian thing to do. Why can't we just respect other faiths even if we don't agree with them. No one living on this earth has any right to say someone is going to hell if they don't attend their church, let God be the final judge. Instead use this section to lead by example, and discuss and share the word of God and his blessings to all of us.
Excellent thoughts! This should be a forum to discuss, learn, inspire and think. I'm still fairly new and the first time you have someone slam a response is such a shock. Then you realize it is just the bell shaped curve of life out there. But this is a Christian forum and we should be a witness to the unsaved and an encouragement to the other believers.
When you have deliberate trolling and monsterous responses to the truth, it is our responsibility as Christians to set it straight. If we ignore it and leave the lies unchallenged, then Satan has won.
I wouldn't be so sure I agree with all of that. Jesus did not jump to his defense when falsely accused. He was a "silent lamb".
We are also told to rejoice when persecuted and insulted. We are not told to "fight a death match".
We are sheep. Ever see a sheep defend itself? It's not pretty. Pathetic actually.
The battle is the Lord's. I do not believe Satan is God's equal. He is the intrument of evil being used for a purpose. Not a rebel God can not control.
I believe God is in control of the good and the bad.
Soon, the bad will disappear.
I do agree the trolling gets old. So do the attacks. What if we all responded with "blessings"? How do you fight somone trying to hug you?
So I agree and disagree with you. Nothing wrong with correcting misinformation, but when the thread degrades into 35 quotes of 6 word sentences and strays way off topic...No good IMO. Most people don't even read that stuff when it gets to that point. They just skim over it.
Quote:
Originally Posted by j760
I'd also like to see an end to the judging of other faiths in this section, I really don't see that as being a Christian thing to do. Why can't we just respect other faiths even if we don't agree with them. No one living on this earth has any right to say someone is going to hell if they don't attend their church, let God be the final judge. Instead use this section to lead by example, and discuss and share the word of God and his blessings to all of us.
Point in case from the the quote above.
J760: I do agree about respect. That respect carries all the way to include the Christians who's Savior says "He is THE way - THE truth and - THE light" And that there is no other way but through him.
So in essence, you are asking us to abandon our faith.
I can certainly "respect" someone if they don't believe, but I can't change my core beliefs to placate them either.
I hope you find understanding about our paradox.
Moreover I think if this rule was enforced more things would clean up as well.
Stay on topic. Attempts to hi-jack threads by switching topics or going off topic will be deleted and infractions issued. This is not a chat room - when people hi-jack threads by posting messages that are of interest to only few people, the threads often stop being useful discussions of initial topics.
I wouldn't be so sure I agree with all of that. Jesus did not jump to his defense when falsely accused. He was a "silent lamb".
We are also told to rejoice when persecuted and insulted. We are not told to "fight a death match".
We are sheep. Ever see a sheep defend itself? It's not pretty. Pathetic actually.
The battle is the Lord's. I do not believe Satan is God's equal. He is the intrument of evil being used for a purpose. Not a rebel God can not control.
I believe God is in control of the good and the bad.
Soon, the bad will disappear.
I do agree the trolling gets old. So do the attacks. What if we all responded with "blessings"? How do you fight somone trying to hug you?
So I agree and disagree with you. Nothing wrong with correcting misinformation, but when the thread degrades into 35 quotes of 6 word sentences and strays way off topic...No good IMO. Most people don't even read that stuff when it gets to that point. They just skim over it.
Jesus was setting an example and a precedence. He was perfect and we are not. Even so, Jesus did lambast when it was necessary!!! He lost his patience with the disciples, and when the people were getting too demanding for Him, what did He do? He disappeared into the mountains!!
You have to be realistic and put everything in context. Yes, we are sheep, but only in the fact that we are His sheep and He is our Shepherd. We are lost without Him, and we recognize His voice when He calls us.
Nowhere in the Bible does it say that we are stupid like real sheep and are not allowed to defend God's Word. We have a voice, and we are to use that voice to speak up as loud and as long as we possibly can. I make no apologies for it, and neither should any other Christian.
Saying that Satan is going to lose is a no brainer. That's a given. But he is winning as far as lost souls right now, and that's why it is important to challenge the lies.
If someone is not up to the challenge, then it should be left to someone who is. But there should be encouragement for the challenger, not criticism. Sweetness and niceness has it's place, but firmness, self-control and the TRUTH are more important when dealing with the lies of Satan.
I don't disagree with changing the tone, but it's never going to happen. We are in the last days, and the lies are rampant. It's not realistic to expect someone like me to not challenge these blatant lies of God's truth while I'm still breathing. God needs people like me, and more Christians should have the backbone to stand up to this nonsense.
John the Baptist told it like it was.
Repentance was needed then, and repentance is needed now.
Sin was preached then, and sin needs to be preached now.
We have to learn to refute and challenge false teachings and lies:
I see your point about the droning on and on about things that cannot be resolved.....that I agree with. We need to refute it, put the truth out there and move on. I personally like to see it through so the other person tires and the last post is about the truth. That's my motivation for continuing on.
I don't think people realize just how many people are reading these threads and posts.....when you get reps from non-members and take notice of the amount of readers as opposed to the amount of posts in a thread, it's obvious that this is NOT a waste of time.
I see your point about the droning on and on about things that cannot be resolved.....that I agree with. We need to refute it, put the truth out there and move on. I personally like to see it through so the other person tires and the last post is about the truth.That's my motivation for continuing on.
On that note, I'll just say I don't agree with you. That sounds like a someone being a bully...But I'm not going to write a book in response to your book on why in detail as I try and set a new tone among us here.
But I would point out that when Jesus chastised anyone it was believers, or religous leaders who were hypocrites. I can't find him lashing out at the "general public" even when they were there to challenge him.
On that note, I'll just say I don't agree with you. That sounds like a someone being a bully...But I'm not going to write a book in response to your book on why in detail as I try and set a new tone among us here.
But I would point out that when Jesus chastised anyone it was believers, or religous leaders who were hypocrites. I can't find him lashing out at the "general public" even when they were there to challenge him.
Besides - you are not Jesus.
Now, see.....this is exactly the criticism of believers that I was referring to. Like I said before, the only tone we have control over is our own.
In one fell swoop, you have, in your own words, called me a bully, accused me of being a hypocrite and told me that I am not Jesus......like there is somewhere that I claimed to be Jesus???
Where's that "new tone" you are advocating?
Let's go back a little bit and see who's the hypocrite, shall we?
[Original posts by JViello]
Quote:
Lets cut the B.S. At least be a man and stand up to your own words.
Quote:
Who says being a jerk is wrong? Who are you to tell me that being a jerk is wrong? For that matter, what's wrong with hurting someone? It happens in nature all the time. Primates hurt one another. Why should we be any different?
Quote:
The first amendment of the constitution says I can TELL you anything I want, (so long as I am not threatening physical harm etc) and you are free to do the same towards me. You don't have to listen to me, and I don't have to listen to you. It's easy!
Restricting ones speach is the complete opposite of what this country was founded on.
As for the "laws" of the land - gee, what do you think the basis of our founding laws came from? I'll give you a hint - it's starts with a B ends with an E and has IBL in the middle.
And here is the contradiction/hypocracy. Amazing.
It seems that your idea of wanting to set a new tone is only for others, and not yourself.
It appears that because I have simply stated that I disagree with the possibility of setting some kind of "new tone" to the R&P has caused your "old tone" to produce itself.
This is a discussion board, for crying out loud!! Be who you are, and let the mods handle the rest!!!
Now, see.....this is exactly the criticism of believers that I was referring to. Like I said before, the only tone we have control over is our own.
In one fell swoop, you have, in your own words, called me a bully, accused me of being a hypocrite and told me that I am not Jesus......like there is somewhere that I claimed to be Jesus???
Where's that "new tone" you are advocating?
I'm replying to this to set the record straight so you don't continue to feel "victomized" in some way.
I would like to get the word twisting out right off as things are going off track quickly. I was not criticizing you nor calling you a hypocrite. I was pointing out JESUS' behavior and who he lashed out at. The same Person you said set's our example. It had nothing to do with you.
You then decided to go on an "attack JViello" tirade. I'm not "Satan" out trying to "get you". Far from it.
The bully comment was an observation of the behavior you stated you are actualy doing. It is not an accusation or attack.
This is what you said:
Quote:
Originally Posted by DayoftheLord
I personally like to see it through so the other person tires and the last post is about the truth.
That IS a bully tactic.
As for my quotes: I'm not sure why you decided to launch a smear campaign towards me by taking comments out of context which were at times rehtorical to prove a point. (More bullying?) That frankly is what I would consider a personal attack with no other purpose than to inflict "harm" but I'll count it as all joy and say I love you like a brother anyway.
I won't call you Satan and say the devil is attacking me. Dont' worry.
Now, lets please drop this and move on and get back on topic so this thread does not degrade into what it's supposed to be about changing.
Thanks.
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Amen
