The LCS Factor

[Matt Anderson]

Originally Posted by Hope

The following is from Matt

It would have been better if you had not isolated the sentence. Here is the entire statement.

Hope, Don Rutledge

Hope,

I quoted out both items in isolation because I had already quoted the entire post just a few posts previously.

I had read the quoted portions in context.

Originally Posted by Hope

None of the blaming of the parents or of the environment in which the parents placed the child is of much profit. Remember there is an enemy.

I just re-read the context again and I am not seeing how these are Biblical even with your added explanation.

Let me clarify. It is a primary responsibility to take care of a child's environment. Even when a parent tries to put their child in a good environment they cannot control everything. This is very true, but to realize that you did put your child in a bad environment (knowingly or unknowingly) should generate a remorseful response about the environment and not a defensive one that tries to carve out a very, very, very small section of the bad environment as being better. This is what you have done. You've basically said, "We tried to do better and Dallas wasn't as bad as Houston, OKC, etc". The fact is that the whole thing was corrupted and unhealthy for kids.

Let me go straight to the crux of my concern.

Looking backwards do you believe that having your children in the LC environment was a good one for them? I'm asking a specific and direct question to you because your responses are pointing in many other directions towards various generalized anecdotals about others. This can be evasion, so I am just asking the direct question. Your response to this question may shut me up.

As you can tell by now (and before now) this thread has really bothered me. The role I've seen you play on this thread has really bothered me. I know you probably feel the same way about me right now. Sorry.

Originally Posted by Hope

There is profit in seeking the Lord to learn from our short comings and to course correct but be careful not to be drawn into the devils game of accuse, accuse accuse.

You used this statement to try and counter djohnson who was making an accusation. The devil's game is to accuse. However, it is also the Lord's job to accuse (or better said, convict). The Lord accuses and convicts the guilty for the purpose of repentance and mercy. The devil accuses for the purpose of condemnation and destruction. So, Biblically speaking it is not just the devil who does the accusing. God does it when it is righteous to do so. So again, I say that your statement in it's context was not Biblical. You were actually on a path towards accusation against djohnson that came a few posts later.

In this case, I think there is a level of righteousness to what djohnson has been saying that the system of the LC was very messed up and it has had a big impact on children who grew up there. Trying to paint one bad situation against the backdrop of other bad situations is evasion. If there was sin (and there was) then it should just be addressed and root causes determined. Roger said this better than I could.

Although, I do realize that there is need for balance I have no stomach for it when it is done BEFORE root causes are established as appropriate before the Lord.

I'm being very direct because to be terribly honest I am watching what appears to be a pattern of evasion in your posting. You are very, very smart and capable of moving around something like this so I am putting myself in the path (not as a pharisee), but as a little roadblock that you can move right around while others wonder what I am doing. I'm doing this in all seriousness before the Lord and not just to accuse, accuse, accuse.

Matt