Thanks for your post. The difficulty with online message boards is that only the written word is conveyed, perhaps less than half of the information conveyed in a face-to-face conversation.
I think you know, from long experience posting here, the points I am trying to make about dealing with a number of posters at once who make false accusations in nearly every post to me, to whom it does no good to reply, who flame and blame it on the people they are flaming, etc.
You also know why they accuse in nearly every post, because they want to convince people of Total Depravity (really Total Inability), and so they think their false accusations are okay and in the service of God. They are not.
So if you know what I need to say, perhaps you can help me wordsmith it so no one will misunderstand or will think I am baiting the hook. Give it a try, but remember, you have to word it so that no one misunderstands or thinks you are baiting.
>> I believe it is possible to discuss LDS doctrine, Calvinism, Arminianism, Catholicism and every other ism, with a modicrum of respect.
Where there is mutual respect, of course. Where respect is just a one-sided thing, see above.
>> That being said, it seems that your contribution to this thread could be objectively seen overall as an attempt to bait some of your past antagonists into flinging a little mud your way in order to prove your points to the sidebar moderator.
Not so. Suggest some wording changes that will convey my meaning so it will not seem so to you, or to anyone else.
>> Your little stab about other people needing a "life changing experience" or Ca Gal working in "accusations, incite inflame and nasty" are comments which are obviously intended to inflame and bring about the worst in the reader.
Calling people on their inflammatory behavior is not being inflammatory, as you would know from a face-to-face conversation. See above.
>> When they respond ... will you turn the other cheek or push the abuse button?
They have been posting that way without any provocation on my part, though they of course insist otherwise. That is how they operate, and have operated for months and years. Keep throwing mud at the wall and claim that some of it is sticking.
This is not an abuse button thing unless they get worse. This is a call to repentance thing. Help me wordsmith how I should call them to repentance on this misbehavior in an effective manner.
It's not your place to call them to repentance. I would suspect that if you believe they have made false accusations against you, that you have every right to push the abuse button. If you feel they have made false allegations against your church, then your duty is to prove them wrong using facts and persuasive arguments.