posted 09-04-2000 03:19            

Many weave so much of their own spirit into the presentation of truth, that the truth has the appearance of bearing the impress of man. In dealing with those who are in error, they argue, argue, and contend, and thus obscure the beauty and sacredness of truth, because their own hearts are not sanctified by it. The spirit of debate, of controversy, is a device of Satan to stir up combativeness, and thus eclipse the truth as it is in Jesus. Many have thus been repulsed instead of being won to Christ. {RH, February 9, 1892 par. 12}

posted 09-07-2000 12:08            

I wish that forum rules would state that all posters must respect the sanctity of this forum and regard this fellowship as a church (Matthew 18:20).

This is our problem.

quote:

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“The place of meeting was not held as sacred, but was looked upon as a common business place. Then how could those assembled receive an inspiration which would lead them to enthrone truth in their hearts, to speak words in the tender, loving spirit of the Master?” The Paulson Collection of Ellen G. White Letters, page 350.

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Here are some related, inspired guidelines that we can profit from. They’re all from Counsels on Sabbath School Work by Ellen G. White.

Shouldn’t we regard each thread as if it were a Sabbath school? I suggest that we apply these counsels to each thread.

The Great Goal Of Each Thread

“Lessons should be taught in the Sabbath school that will shed light into the chambers of heart and mind. And that this may be accomplished, the teachers must be under the influence of the Holy Spirit, that all selfishness may be subdued, that no hasty word may be spoken, no inconsiderate action may be performed, but that the grace of God may be manifested as working with human effort for the salvation of souls. This should be the great end of Sabbath school work.” CSW 117.

No One Thread Should Be Devoted To Manifesting Differences of Opinion

“The Sabbath school should not be made a place for controversy; it is not the place to make differences of opinion manifested. Let all this kind of work be kept out of the school, and let harmony be maintained. If ideas are advanced that are questioned by members of the school, let not a combative spirit arise and discussion and controversy follow.” CSW 117.

What Shall We Do When Someone Starts A Thread Upon Which There May Be A Difference Of Opinion?

“While there is need of thorough investigation of the word of God, that precious truth may be discovered and brought to light, we should be guarded, that the spirit of controversy does not control in our discussions of the Sabbath school lesson. In bringing out points upon which there may be a difference of opinion, the grace of Christ should be manifested by those who are seeking for an understanding of the word of God. There should be liberty given for a frank investigation of truth, that each may know for himself what is the truth. Among the pupils of the Sabbath school there should be a spirit of investigation, that those who are old enough to discern evidence may be encouraged to search for fresh rays of light, and to appreciate all that God may send to His people. The light which God will send to His people will never appear unless there is a diligent searching of the word of truth.” CSW 27.

Never Scold Nor Complain On A Thread

“Superintendents, never scold nor complain before your teachers or scholars. If you wish to influence the school for good, put away the whip, and exert a heaven-inspiring influence, which will carry the minds of all with you.” CSW 168.

Censorship Quenches The Spirit Of God

“Precious light is to shine forth from the word of God, and let no one presume to dictate what shall or what shall not be brought before the people in the messages of enlightenment that He shall send, and so quench the Spirit of God. Whatever may be his position of authority, no one has a right to shut away the light from the people. When a message comes in the name of the Lord to His people, no one may excuse himself from an investigation of its claims. No one can afford to stand back in an attitude of indifference and self-confidence, and say: ‘I know what is truth. I am satisfied with my position. I have set my stakes, and I will not be moved away from my position, whatever may come. I will not listen to the message of this messenger; for I know that it cannot be truth.’ It is from pursuing this very course that the popular churches were left in partial darkness, and that is why the messages of heaven have not reached them.” CSW 28.

Eugene Shubert
http://www.everythingimportant.org/

IP: Logged

posted 09-07-2000 12:34            

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Jesus IS Enough

posted 09-07-2000 13:36            

And if anyone has stirred up 'controversy', it was EGW!

posted 09-07-2000 14:51            

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posted 09-07-2000 15:26            

I'm curious though what advice there is for this situation.

We have an open message board where anyone and everyone can question the teachings of the Adventist Church. This is a good thing.

What happens, however, is that there are some here who vehemently and dogmatically oppose our views... that would be fine except it is 99% of the time very subtle. Example: in the midst of a post that is not even related to the topic at hand they rattle off 4/5 errors. So what are we to do? Ignore them? By doing so we lend credibility to their argument in that it is perceived there is no case to be made. That wouldn't be so bad as most of the posting Adventists here realize what they are presenting are the same tired arguments that are either "straw men setups" or don't have any real Biblical backing anyway.

I am very concerned though for all those lurking here who may not know their Bibles that well. Do you realize there are over 500 users registered on this forum? We don't see nearly that many posting! Btw, out of curiosity I think it would be cool if the webmasters of this site posted stats... e.g. hits and visits/day as well as posts/visits per day.

Anyway, what do you guy's think? Should we just all abandon the message boards altogether because the enemy is working to sow tares in with the wheat here?

Again, I think the points brought up are excellent... but what's the remedy?

In Christ,

jps
btw, please don't take any of my post as being sarcastic toward you or anyone else at all... those are honest questions and concerns of mine.

posted 09-07-2000 17:43            

The moderator has now split the forum into three sections with the following titles:
LDS Discussion Forum
This forum is for those who wish to discuss, or debate, the doctrine, teachings or policies of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. Topics include such issues such as Prop 22, Are Mormons Christians?, Book of Mormon evidences, etc. Enter at your own risk. Not for those who are thin-skinned. Hosts are: ScottQHOST (LDS) and NeHOST (Atheist).

Latter-day Saint Forum
This forum is for anyone who wishes to discuss the doctrines of the Church in an uplifting, positive, and Christlike manner. Topics include such things as inspiring conversion stories, LDS movie reviews, daily trivia, discussion of gospel principles, etc. Debate and contention are not allowed in this forum. Hosts are: Raadsel (LDS), CarrieHOST(LDS) and GaryHOST(LDS).

Latter-day Saint News
This forum is for those who are interested in discussing news pertaining to the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints and it's members. Everyday the Church makes the news. Come join the discussion. Hosts are: CarrieHOST(LDS).

When it was just one forum, there were many LDS members who left very frustrated at the many evil people who would post terrible things on the web. The folks running it would try their best to keep things clean, but in the interest of free-speech, it got hard. It is much better now that there are options.

I do find this discussion to be interesting. Compared to what I have been used to over at that forum, you folks have NOTHING to complain about. There is less than 1% of the anti folks here as there are at other religious forums. I think you have a very clean an fairly "centric" group of people here.

posted 09-07-2000 20:25            

quote:

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Originally posted by jps:
I'm curious though what advice there is for this situation. … Example: in the midst of a post that is not even related to the topic at hand they rattle off 4/5 errors. So what are we to do? Ignore them?

In Christ,

Jps

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Jps,

The practice of disrupting threads is unconscionable all by itself. The effort to reprove the perpetrator often backfires because the wrongdoer, who is not guided by conscience, often replies to justify himself. I think it would be best to ignore the disrupter on the thread he’s disrupting and reprove him on a separate thread. Disrupting Threads Devoted To Specific Discussion Topics would be a good place.

To follow up on this, I think that the administrator should delete a disruptive comment from where it’s at and should transfer it to a “Disfellowship Hall” area as an example of wrongdoing.

These Scriptures should be followed:

“Those who continue in sin, rebuke in the presence of all, so that the rest also will be fearful of sinning.” 1 Timothy 5:20. NASB.

“Reject a factious man after a first and second warning.” Titus 3:10. NASB.

posted 09-07-2000 20:41            

Debate can be a tool of satan, taking our eyes off Jesus Who is the only important issue in all of Christianity, but it also could be used as a great tool to lead others to the Lord.

I agreed with the first two posts because I do see that these forums have become a den of vipers...all hissing and spitting at each other and ready to strike at a misspelled word. (you know whereof I speak).

But I also have to agree with JamesNew that if the true Spirit of the Lord permeated these forums, we could agree that Jesus is where it's at and these other issues are only to drive us back to the Word.

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Jesus IS Enough

posted 09-07-2000 23:12            

Soooooo it seems that this is the nature of the beast. This is why I am wondering what the value of a forum, any forum, really is. Wouldnt our time be better spent reading books, especially books by Venden?? Or perhaps doing something constructive like making a new oak chest or table. Or changing a sink pfaucet, or adding an outlet to the tiled bathroom wall, or adding a vent to the garage roof area, or weeding in the garden, or planting a conifer in the frunt yard.
--Doug  
[Views expressed here are not necessarily mine, and do not necessarily represent the views of anyone.]

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posted 09-07-2000 23:50            

I particpated on a forum on prodigy for several years, it was a wonderful experience, there were many people from all over who participated, we had some realy great bible studying we had some pretty ruff debates but there were people who grew in thier walk with the Lord from the testimonys and studys shared there. It was doing realy well until we had a swarm of people come in with disrupting post, and yes their biggest complaint and number one purpose was to attact the Spirit of Prophecy, and any one who believed in it. It was quite discouraging to see it come about. Come to find out a lot of them were not even SDA's they were there to simply make trouble to make fun. One of the first things I noticed here was that EGW's name will be brought up out of the blue for no real purpose. If we are an SDA BB should we not teach, preach, study, pray, and believe as SDA's? I am not sure what an SDA is any more! I think we are in the time of William Millers dream were there were a lot of Jewels in a box they were admired and adored by lots of people, as the people touched these Jewels they became dull and not as attractive, then one day some one spilt the box of jewels and they scattered all over the house. A man walked in swept the house clean and dumped through out the trash. The people were afraid that he had thrown out the jewels with it, but when they looked again there was a new box on the table, and in it all the Jewels as before only this time they were shinnier then ever before and there seemed to be more tiny ones that sparkled. We are living in the time of the spilt Jewels soon The Holy Spirit will come and the truth, all of it will be placed in its proper order and will shine for all to see clearly.

Darwin White

posted 09-08-2000 01:28            

Present the Truth.--The best way to deal with error is to present the truth, and leave wild ideas to die for want of notice. Contrasted with truth, the weakness of error is made apparent to every intelligent mind. The more the erroneous assertions of opposers, and of those who rise up among us to deceive souls, are repeated, the better the cause of error is served. The more publicity is given to the suggestions of Satan, the better pleased is his satanic majesty.-- Testimonies to Ministers, p. 165. (1892) {Ev 166.1}

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