[WPaCon]

“What is Christian decency?”

I’d say it’s something like trying to act like Jesus would.

“Are you the decency police?”

I was suggesting Christian charity and decency. How does that make me the decency police? Does suggesting homosexual people stop committing sodomy make someone the sodomy police?

“Religious/theological debate is raucous. It is the nature of debate. If you are uncomfortable defending what you believe, it is probably better not to get involved in the discussion.
Jesus called people out, Paul called people out, John the Baptist really called people out, if your feeling is that to be all touchy feely then go ahead, I intend to call people out when blapshmin my God.”

There is a difference between debate and what is going on in the religion forum, which includes blasphemy.

[svcw]

Would that be the Jesus that drove out money changers? Or the Jesus who publicly called the Pharisees out?
Where in your opinion does the blasphamy come from?

(Good deflection on the decency police and homosexuality equation.)

[right way right]

John 13:34 A new commandment I give to you, that you love one another; as I have loved you, that you also love one another. 35 By this all will know that you are My disciples, if you have love for one another.”

Religious people stink this place up.
That is the problem. It is our flesh condition and it ain't gonna change.

[Running On Empty]

“There is a difference between debate and what is going on in the religion forum...”

I tend to agree. The paradym for a “town hall” meeting is —pretty exclusively—for political issues, and even then, there is usually someone sitting in a position of moderator to keep the “civil” exchanges civil.

However, IMHO, theological debates would be better defined as authentic debates if there are reasonable efforts to actually debate, and in a way that reflects one committed to spiritual values.

Lobbing cyberspace tomatoes and rocks over the walls at one another doesn’t look like the best atmosphere for authentic debate.

Then there’s the very real disadvantage of not actually seeing your “opponent” face-to-face and seeing his/her style of communicating, visually and vocally. So, what happens is that person the behind the screen name is anonymous. Because of this, each person can feel quite free to give whatever value they deign to give to the poster they are contending with. There is sort of a disconnect with reality here, and I personally think it has certain negative influences on one’s spirituality.

Scripturally, it’s actually better to meet and discuss with each other face to face.

Even though it’s true that much time these days we live in the cyberspace world of communication, that one-on-one contact still has extraordinary value.

[Elsie]

There is a difference between debate and what is going on in the religion forum, which includes blasphemy.

It is a bit hard to be 'decent' when pointing out MORMON heresy.

The TBM's get all huffy about it.