“Questioning the doctrines of so-called Christian churches is not abuse”.
I am not sure what you mean by “so-called” Christian churches. Perhaps you can clarity that category.
I agree—questioning is not abuse. I don’t believe that a thinking person would call questioning abuse—with the proviso that the questioning is a sincere desire to learn something about another’s beliefs, and not just a fulcrum with which to agitate against the other’s beliefs.
“Getting threads closed or shut down because someone doesn’t like what is posted, is childish-—”
I’ve been here since 2002 (I asked for a screenname change) and rarely have I seen it to be the case that someone personally actually had a thread shut down. Some may have wished that a certain thread would come to an end, but I would think that it is quite rare for a thread to be shut down by request of a poster. It seems that they are more often shut down by the Moderator due to the general behavior of all.
As for attributing motives—I have seen so many occasions of that happening on this forum, when the Moderator was either off-duty or on vacation or SOMETHING—and these types of posts often get swept under the radar screen.
It’s all too apparent to me that we all have defects in our personalities. I belong to that unfortunate club along with everyone else. I also think that if someone is called to “preach the word”—if they feel they must on a self-proclaimed discussion/debate forum—then it should at least be done in a way that is not openly offensive (which I would not consider “preaching”)
I agree with everything you wrote in the third full paragraph of this post and could have written it myself.
“The posters who cite Scripture so repeatedly and faithfully...are not doing it to abuse anyone.....but using it instead of their own opinions and words in fruitful debate”.
Heavens, I wish it were so. But many Scriptural quotes are accompanied by demeaning remarks that ARE the poster’s own opinions and words. They come as personal embellishments to the Scipture quotes. That is not part of fruitful debabte.
I don’t understand why you have this embedded in your last paragraph: “....which does tend to antagonize others for reasons we are aware of”.
I don’t understand the inference in that phrase. Who are the “others” who are antagonized? Why do you charge those “others” with being antagonized (by Scripture)? And what are the reasons for the so-called antagonism you mention—the reasons that “we” are aware of?
And who is “we” in that phrase you wrote?
John 3:19
And this is the condemnation, that light is come into the world, and men loved darkness rather than light, because their deeds were evil.
3:20 For every one that doeth evil hateth the light, neither cometh to the light, lest his deeds should be reproved.
3:21 But he that doeth truth cometh to the light, that his deeds may be made manifest, that they are wrought in God.
John 16:8
And when he is come, he will reprove the world of sin, and of righteousness, and of judgment:
16:9 Of sin , because they believe not on me;
16:10 Of righteousness, because I go to my Father, and ye see me no more;
16:11 Of judgment, because the prince of this world is judged.