Quote:
Originally Posted by Igzy
The real weakness of this board is that by nature it requires people to dwell on the past. Or more basically, it's a board that requires a somewhat negative attitude. You have to have a problem with the LC to fit in. Any social setting based on a negative can turn into a death march.
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A board is merely a device to communicate. Christians have been communicating with each other since the first sayings of Jesus began to be written on parchment and passed around. It is instinctive, reflexive, and easily habitual.
If you look at Paul's epistles to the Galatian believers, to the Corinthian believers, there are a lot of "negative" comments. The seven epistles to the churches in Asia in John's Revelation come to mind as well. The Hebrews epistle has some pretty strong language to its recipients, who are ostensibly discipled believers.
Sometimes we have to get through some negative stuff to get where we are going. If I had my way, the Israelites would have made it through the Red Sea, pharoah and his chariots would be buried forever, and they would have then waltzed into the Promised Land a few happy, celebratory days later. Surely none of that wandering in the wilderness! What could be the gain of all
that!?!
Then, the captivity in Babylon...why? Why not a glorious kingdom from Solomon onwards which got better and better? Why make it to the Good Land, only to be dragged off in chains...yet again?
My guess is that for us who follow Christ, obstacle = opportunity. Opportunity to praise, to thank, to confess and repent, to forgive as we have been forgiven, to trust and believe. I dunno what hardship equals for others, but for us it ain't weeping and wailing. Our victory is at hand.
We are duly bound to point out the obvious, when someone's "ministry" is wearing no, or few, clothes. Paul took this hard road on at least one occasion, and pointed out Peter's unwitting collusion with the religionistas from Jerusalem (the famous confrontation scene in Galatians). Sometimes we have to call it like we see it, or else our journey becomes man-pleasing versus God-pleasing. But God has other plans for us than a perpetual discussion based on a negative. So I don't think we have to get stuck on rancorous exchanges.
It seemed to me why this board sprung up and got populated in the first place, that people got tired of "did too" - "did not" exchanges that were dominant elsewhere. So the discussion seems to be a little more in the Hallelujah/praise the Lord vein than before, which is a good thing, imho.