Replies

SR: But truth is still truth, and the Gospel must still be proclaimed, and falsehood discredited.

LB: I hope that such proclamation of truth and discrediting of falsehood will be sober. More people would take the Religion Forum more seriously if the conversation were more serious and less angry, sarcastic, barbed, and vengeful.

Do you, reader, oppose indifferentism? Take care that what you post in the Religion Forum differs from the brawling of the world. (The Religion Moderator profile isn't full of regulations just for fun. I have been tempted to misquote "where the Spirit of the Lord is, there is liberty.") If your faith doesn't seem to make much difference in your posting and thus in your life, a lurker just may conclude interesting things about your faith or your God.

I completely agree that our communication here should be informed by our trust in Christ and our love for Him, for our brothers and sisters in Christ, and for those who might be in some sense our enemies. How that affects our writing style at any given moment is another question. In general, yes, absolutely we should be wise as serpents, harmless as doves, communication that is wholesome and straightforward, speaking truth in love.

But by example of Jesus, Paul, and some others, there are still a lot of different ways to make a point, and some of them can be a bit more pungent than others. I'm thinking, for example, of this:

So they took the bull which was given them, and they prepared it, and called on the name of Baal from morning even till noon, saying, "O Baal, hear us!" But there was no voice; no one answered. Then they leaped about the altar which they had made. And so it was, at noon, that Elijah mocked them and said, "Cry aloud, for he is a god; either he is meditating, or he is busy, or he is on a journey, or perhaps he is sleeping and must be awakened." (1 Kings 18:26-27)

Seeing Elijah outright mocks the prophets of Baal, we understand that mocking idolatry is a valid style of criticism. So I'm not willing to say that any particular style is inherently wrong. There are plenty of examples in Scripture of not pulling punches, like Jesus clearing out the temple, calling the Pharisees vipers, Paul openly hoping the judaizers would injure themselves, etc. Not that we are in a position to copy everything they do. Just that the style can't be inherently wrong if they used it.

As for me, I'm not good at snark. I actually tried it occasionally in my first year or two on FR. What I've found is that for my own well being, as well as for the calmness and usefulness of the conversation, I should just try to be myself. My wife thinks I'm too laid back: "The house is on fire!", "OK, honey, let me finish this FR RF post first ..." That sort of thing. :) And like you say, you never know how this plays with the lurkers, so best to try and maintain a gentle spirit. Not that I always attain that to which I aspire, but like Paul, I press on toward the goal. It's not easy being a fallible human.

Peace,

SR

(I've been sidetracked from this thread:)

So I'm not willing to say that any particular style is inherently wrong. There are plenty of examples in Scripture of not pulling punches, like Jesus clearing out the temple, calling the Pharisees vipers, Paul openly hoping the judaizers would injure themselves, etc. Not that we are in a position to copy everything they do. Just that the style can't be inherently wrong if they used it.

I'd agree to a certain point (though maybe our precise interpretations don't exactly align--for a number of reasons, I don't see Paul as "openly hoping" but instead using what we may call a particularly "pungent" phrasing).

That "certain point" isn't to contradict anything that you've actually said but to contradict something that goes beyond what you said, namely an idea that the normative Christian ideal would be using the "pungent" indiscriminately.

A silver lining of my noticing what goes on in the Religion Forum is that I've reviewed some parts of the Bible, particularly the New Testament letters, concerning speech and related conduct.

It's interesting to compare these passages to certain posts around here. For example, Paul told the Phillippians (4:5), "Let your moderation be known unto all men [newer translations usually use a wording related to 'gentleness']." I notice this verse especially in light of what reputation the Religion Forum has acquired among some members of this site, a reputation that I would say is not fully undeserved. How do outsiders (as in lurkers on the site or people who avoid the Religion Forum) "know" the forum?

I'll respond to your last paragraph later, when I have a little more time.