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To: Secret Agent Man

The computer flame wars do not really bother me. I look at the Mac vs. PC rivalry much like I look at sports rivalries.

But it does seem to be a bit different to me when the religious types snark at each other. I can’t help but feel disappointed (Which is strange because I am not religous. Not yet anyhow.) when I see Christian types of whatever denomination bashing their fellow Christians over what to an outsider appear to be very minor doctrinal points rather than celebrating and cherishing the points they have in common.

Rather than wondering how many angels can fit on the head of a pin, I sometimes wonder if Guardian Angels ever get the urge to knock heads together like angry nuns on a playground.


147 posted on 07/24/2010 9:43:48 PM PDT by Ronin
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To: Ronin

With respect, the ‘snarking’ is not all the same degree. What you may think is “bashing” is a heated exchange over a legitimate point, and perhaps you might not be able to tell what doctrinal points are more critical than others, given you said you aren’t religious/Christian at the moment. I know plenty of non-religious folks that believe doctrine is just like a ‘party platform’ that can bend and shape and is formed by majority vote and is more or less arbitrary, so to folks who aren’t religious and don’t get why the differences are important in certain things, I can see why you’d think that all of it is ‘snarking’.

I don’t think I’ve ever read a post here that has ever been as blunt as “You suck because you’re _____”. I have come across people just looking to argue for the sake of argument. They aren’t trying to convince anyone of anything, they just enjoy arguing.

Doctrinal beliefs are important because when they are incorrect, that means there’s a problem in that places’ teachings. That error is going to be passed on, and will affect teachings after it if they build other teachings off that error. If they keep preaching that error for years, and base additional teaching off that, when those that come and point out the error and get back on course point it out, they will be that much harder to see the error, human nature being what it is. Think how hard for example it is to get government to ever apologize for mistakes. Think how it is for evolutionists to admit mistakes and errors. Global warming scientist fraud, still haven’t admitted doing anything wrong, never just came out and said what we all know.

I guess I don’t think you’re in the best position, not being religious, to determine what is a “very minor doctrinal point” or if it’s a critical one. I don’t think you have much frame of reference not ‘being in the game’ so to speak.

Me personally, I left one denomination for another after studying the denominations for a couple years to determine which one appeared to teach and believe the Bible most closely.

Don’t be fooled by folks saying legitimate infighting about doctrine is always bad. Without the debate people don’t have to defend why they believe what they do. If you don’t know why and can’t explain it correctly youre faith isn’t really that strong or real.

Remember shortly before Jesus left us he said “I don’t come to bring peace, I come to divide. Brother against brother, son against father, daughter against mother-in-law.” Christ knew that belief in Him would cause people to separate from each other, it would divide families even. Yes Christ wants unity of believers, but all of them having the proper correct beliefs on core ideas gives real Christian unity, not a false unity where everyone’s just singing ‘kumbaya’ and it’s that fake love you see at any secular benefit concert where most of the money goes to electricity and the performers and whatever’s left goes to some token charity group.

Also it is critical you are aware that there is such a thing as biblically separating from those that will not correct their error. You try and work with them for a period, bringing more and more folks to them in order to discuss the problem, and if in the end they will not see the error and turn away from it, we need to separate from them in order for their error(s)to start impacting your own teaching. Our Founding Fathers used this biblical concept in our separation from england. They tried for over 20 years prior, in all manner of petition and pleas to King George to stop doing what he was doing, to restore proper justice to the colonies, to ask him to end forced slavery in the colonies (George said as long as the colonies were under british control, they all would have slaves), to no avail. The Declaration was their document saying they would separate from England, finally, as King George would not admit the errors and not turn away from his course of actions. We left peaceably, the British were the ones who would not let us leave peaceably. Therefore we had to fight back in order to leave them.


191 posted on 07/25/2010 9:35:53 AM PDT by Secret Agent Man (I'd like to tell you, but then I'd have to kill you.)
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