Regarding the Stone-Campbell movement — I firmly believe that we Calvinists totally blew it in the late 1700s and early 1800s by imposing ordination requirements that go beyond Scripture. Literally hundreds of thousands of Scots-Irish settlers on the frontier had been Presbyterians for generations in Scotland and Ulster, and wanted to be Presbyterians in America, but we could not provide enough ministers so most of the elder-led churches they started ended up in some other group that could provide ministers. The same can be said of Puritans from New England who moved westward into western New York, Ohio, Indiana and Michigan.
I'm a hard-right Calvinist. I affirm the regulative principle, which means among other things that if we can't find something in the Bible, we ought not find it in the church. More than two hundred years later, your own Stone-Campbell movement still retains that fundamental principle of Calvinism, including being non-instrumental in worship, though we obviously disagree on certain applications of the principle. There is absolutely no good reason why we violated our own principles by elevating ordination standards beyond the clear rules of I Timothy and Titus, and we destroyed our churches on the frontier as a result.
As a Campbellite, that was to your benefit and our loss — but we deserved what we got by going beyond what is written.
On Tue Aug 21 2012 23:14:18 GMT-0500 (Central Daylight Time) MarkBsnr wrote: “There are a bunch of FReepers who would disagree with the second and (possibly) the first if applied to yours truly. But I will give Darrell standing applause in his work here. He has excelled in presenting facts and accuracy. And for that, he needs to be recognized.”
23 posted on Tue Aug 21 2012 22:43:22 GMT-0500 (Central Daylight Time) by re_nortex: “Again, I appreciate the information and it just serves to confirm my long-held notion that Free Republic attracts some of the brightest (and nicest) people on the planet.”
Thank you to both of you. Not sure I deserve the compliments, but I appreciate them.
FWIW, I've been a Freeper for a long time, but read a lot more than I posted until recently, and didn't even register for an account for a long time and read rather than posted.
From offhand conversations at political events, and private emails, it has become obvious that some of the most powerful people in American conservative politics read Free Republic regularly even if they participate anonymously or don't post at all. I've pretty much decided that anytime I write something about a conservative leader or interact with someone defending a conservative leader, I'd better act as if I'm talking to that leader via email because it is very possible I am interacting with him or at least one of his staff members.
Anonymity can allow people to be keyboard ninjas. That's a bad habit.
It's especially bad once we realize the guy on the other end may be somebody we would **NEVER** address with anything short of the highest level of respect if we were talking in person or knew who we were talking to.
Just some things for all of us to consider — not something directed toward you in any way, and probably directed more to my own conduct as a self-reminder than anyone else.
Agreed. I've had indications as well, although I am less connected with the political world than some. I have had a couple of people from the religious world enquire...
Nonetheless, our conservative candidates had better look in the mirror and see how their conservative principles will stand up under the scrutiny of this election. And the skeletons. This election is very very important...