Report Card I want to offer everyone here, believer and unbeliever alike, my impression (so far, since my arrival) of a few notable Christian voices within this forum. I want to do this both to highlight a few observations for the unbelievers, and to challenge the believers to improve their image and their message. Im not here to win, but I do want everyone involved to grow a little, to become a better person, even if only incrementally -- because if nobody does, were all wasting our time. I want to post this critique openly and publicly, both for the efficiency of writing it once, and because I consider it disrespectful to talk about people behind their backs. Robert (B): I have a lot of respect for you, overall. You seem mostly decent, calm, even-tempered, articulate, and lots of other good things. If we met in person, Id probably enjoy your company. If I sometimes seem harsh on you, it is generally along the lines of challenging you to do better, because Im pretty sure you have that potential, like a coach being especially harsh with some of his best players. That said, your Achilles heel appears to be narcissism. Youre pretty full of yourself, and it comes across in your presentation. You casually dismiss challenges raised, without due consideration, out of a presumption that nothing that disagrees with you could possibly be right. You presume this, not just because you believe God and the Bible are inerrant, but because you believe you, personally, cannot be mistaken in your understanding or interpretation of them. You probably think presenting yourself this way gives you an air of strength and authority, but it actually has the opposite effect: it makes you appear cowardly, and willfully ignorant. Ive been watching how others respond to you online, and while believers generally seem to support and even admire you, unbelievers consistently seem to perceive you as a self-important buffoon. I dunno, maybe believers are your real target audience; maybe you proselytize mainly in order to garner their praise, to feed the insatiable hunger of your obese ego. Strong people dont need to artificially inflate their self-image like that. Genuine authorities have the confidence to recognize, accept, and admit when they have made a mistake, and correct it immediately. It doesnt even require much humility, only honesty with oneself. That self-honesty is so important; if you cant even be honest with yourself, how can others trust what you have to say to them? So, bearing that in mind, I suggest that you read and reflect upon these 100 Bible verses about pride: openbible.info/topics/pride Otangelo (D): you have plenty of enthusiasm, and Im sure you have the best of intentions. But, I have to assume you are not a Poker player (at least, not a successful one), because you ooze revealing tells from every oozing pore. Your Achilles heel is projection. To see where your arguments go wrong, one needs only to pay attention to where you tell your opponents their arguments go wrong. You opened with, Are you open minded to recognize where this leads to ?? but it didnt take long to recognize that your mind is tightly closed. You said, Thats bad pseudo science, based on ad hoc explanations, then went on to support your points with bad pseudo science, based on ad hoc explanations. You complained about the puddle analogy as an, old tiresome argument, repeated ad nauseum by atheists, when it was my reply to you trotting out the old, tiresome fine-tuning argument, repeated ad nauseam by creationists. Do you see the pattern? I sure did. It leapt out at me almost immediately. I have not yet been able to discern whether you do this out of insecurity of your own shortcomings, out of reaction to what others have accused you of doing (in the same way bullies and abusers tend to deploy the methods they learned through being bullied or abused), out of sheer, blind hypocrisy, or for some other reason. All I know is that you do this, do it habitually, and do it to the point of demolishing your intended message. You could benefit from a healthy dose of Jesus teachings from Matt 7:1-5. Ill even include the unflattering verse 6, as a bonus: Do not judge, or you too will be judged. For in the same way you judge others, you will be judged, and with the measure you use, it will be measured to you. Why do you look at the speck of sawdust in your brother’s eye and pay no attention to the plank in your own eye? How can you say to your brother, ‘Let me take the speck out of your eye,’ when all the time there is a plank in your own eye? You hypocrite, first take the plank out of your own eye, and then you will see clearly to remove the speck from your brother’s eye. Do not give dogs what is sacred; do not throw your pearls to pigs. If you do, they may trample them under their feet, and turn and tear you to pieces. Awa (F): I dont have much to say that I havent already said. You seem consumed with anger, fear, and hate. You are evidently a deeply broken person. You need help. Seek it. I cant think of any verses offhand that might be relevant, but it may help to start by learning how to love and forgive yourself. (For what, I dont know -- but maybe you do.) Angi (A+): You havent said much yet, but what you have said is exemplary. You led with the message of love, the core message of Jesus ministry. Its a good message. You dont just give lip service to it, you live it in how you present yourself -- with positiveness, kindness, and respect. It draws me in. I am interested in discussion with you. I feel like I might be able to learn something of value from you. Every evangelist should aspire to have such an effect. Dustins reaction made me cringe, not so much out of pity for you, but because it seemed like such a wildly inappropriate, disproportionate reaction to what you were saying. To be fair, his apparent expectations of the nature and purpose of this group were poorly calibrated, but I was shocked nonetheless. Even in the face of that, you responded not with defensiveness and rage, but with patience and humility. Well done! It got my attention, in a big way. Every believer here would be wise to look to your example, and emulate it. I have nothing negative to say about you or your approach. (At least, not yet. lol) Ill leave you with a passage I have mentioned here on other threads already, not as a reprimand, but as a reinforcement of what you are already doing, quite well (1 Peter 3:15-16): But in your hearts revere Christ as Lord. Always be prepared to give an answer to everyone who asks you to give the reason for the hope that you have. But do this with gentleness and respect, keeping a clear conscience, so that those who speak maliciously against your good behavior in Christ may be ashamed of their slander. Overall (C): I perceive a lot of stunted spiritual growth among you. Your faith is weak. Your fear is noisome. Over two decades ago, at a mission in Papua New Guinea, I had an epiphany that changed my life, irreversibly, for the better. I finally understood precisely what I was supposed to believe: Jesus was the Son of God, sent to die, to atone for my sins. Asinners prayer is not necessary, nor baptism, nor confessing with ones mouth, nor any action at all -- just faith in this core tenet. (It is immaterial to my point whether or not you agree with this. I am only saying, this was the core belief upon which I had settled.) With that clarity, I finally had the security I needed in order to be willing to question every single other doctrine I held dear. If I was going to be a missionary, I wanted to be a good one, a responsible one.* I wanted to thoroughly understand exactly what I should believe, why I should believe it, and why others should believe it. I wanted to understand the truth, as fully and accurately as possible, regardless of whether or not it aligned with my preconceived notions. And I believed a God worthy of worship, a benevolent God of truth, would want me to seek that truth.** I had full faith and confidence that examining each of the many doctrines of my belief system in turn, with honesty and humility, would only serve to reinforce that central tenet of my faith. Really, everyone who has been a Christian for more than a few years should have such strong faith.*** With that basis of strong faith and a desire for truth, I prayed for wisdom (in the tradition of Solomon), and embarked on an epic spiritual journey. Of course, it didnt turn out how I expected, but that shouldnt discourage you. If you summon such fullness of faith and embark on a similarly bold quest for truth, you may come to a different conclusion -- at which point, I would be very interested in your findings. Out of hundreds of conversations I have had since my apostasy, with pastors, missionaries, apologists, friends, family, and many other believers, none of them has abandoned their faith as a result of the conversation I had with them. Rather, they consistently have said their conversation with me strengthened their faith. I dont have any illusions of trying to de-convert anyone. I want to strengthen your faith. Indeed, I want you to have such strong faith that you stop being so palpably afraid to critically analyze your personal doctrinal beliefs, openly and honestly. In the end, I care far more about how you behave than what you believe. What you believe is your business. But from what I see so far, many of you could benefit from some significant personal growth (1 Cor 13:11): When I was a child, I talked like a child, I thought like a child, I reasoned like a child. When I became a man, I put the ways of childhood behind me. * Not many of you should become teachers, my fellow believers, because you know that we who teach will be judged more strictly. - James 3:1 Do your best to present yourself to God as one approved, a worker who does not need to be ashamed and who correctly handles the word of truth. - 2 Tim 2:15 ** If we claim to have fellowship with him and yet walk in the darkness, we lie and do not live out the truth. - 1 John 1:6 Ask, and it will be given to you; seek, and you will find; knock, and it will be opened to you. - Matt 7:7 Then you will know the truth, and the truth will set you free. - John 8:32 *** ...Truly I tell you, if you have faith as small as a mustard seed, you can say to this mountain, ‘Move from here to there,’ and it will move. Nothing will be impossible for you.” - Matt 17:20 Brothers and sisters, I could not address you as people who live by the Spirit but as people who are still worldly—mere infants in Christ. I gave you milk, not solid food, for you were not yet ready for it. Indeed, you are still not ready. - 1 Cor 3:1-2 We have much to say about this, but it is hard to make it clear to you because you no longer try to understand. In fact, though by this time you ought to be teachers, you need someone to teach you the elementary truths of God’s word all over again. You need milk, not solid food! Anyone who lives on milk, being still an infant, is not acquainted with the teaching about righteousness. But solid food is for the mature, who by constant use have trained themselves to distinguish good from evil. - Heb 5:11-14
Posted on: Fri, 14 Mar 2014 14:37:47 +0000
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