Well, I definitely agree with Bro. Parrish - that we should avoid the bickering...so let it be known that the purpose of this post is simply to 'share' a little word study that I have done that has helped me (and I believe will help anyone reading it) to understand the foundation of some of the squabbling on here! (And perhaps with this realization, the situation could be remedied!)
I guess a good 'jumping off place' would be Bro. Parrish's proposed "dislike for George." Bro. Parrish has, of course, cleared this up and has stated on more than one occasion that he has a LOVE for all of us. BUT, the fact is that George absolutely delights in being a very UNlikable person - hence his chosen description of himself
..."the old curmudgeon!" Now, I don't mind telling you that I had never even heard or seen that word until I saw George use it here (many times) to refer to himself. So, naturally, I was curious as to the definition of "curmudgeon." (I was shocked by what I've found, which is why I am posting this!!) I used three dictionaries so that hopefully I could get a complete picture:
curmudgeon: a surly, cantankerous person
curmudgeon: a crusty, ill-tempered, and usually old man
curmudgeon: an avaricious,
churlish fellow; a miser; a niggard; a
churl
and more on those defining words...
surly: gloomily morose; crabbed; snarling; sternly sour; rough; cross and rude
surly: arrogant, imperious; irritably sullen and
churlish in mood or manner
surly: bad-tempered; sullenly rude; uncivil
cantankerous: bad-tempered; quarrelsome
cantankerous: difficult or irritating to deal with
crusty: peevish; snappish; morose; surly
crusty: insolent [insolent: impudent]
crusty: giving an effect of surly incivility in address or disposition
churlish: marked by a lack of civility or graciousness; difficult to work with or deal with
churlish: resembling or befitting a boor (a rude or insensitive person)
churlish: rude; surly; austere; sullen; rough in temper; unfeeling; uncivil; selfish; etc.
Now, before I proceed, let me remind everyone that
ALL OF THIS IS GEORGE'S ASSESSMENT OF HIS OWN PERSONALITY, not MY description of him!!! (That is what is so mind-boggling about this!) Next, all you Bible readers will recall that the only 'churlish' man in the Bible is Nabal. (Who in their right mind glories in that their disposition matches Nabal's - a man that God killed for railing on David's men!!!???) Also, you can see the 'churl' in Isaiah 32:5 and 32:7 - the words associated with him are "vile," "evil," "wicked," and "lying words." Again, remember this is the very definition of the word George always uses to tell people about himself...I guess we can't say he didn't warn us!
When I saw that George had equated himself with Nabal, I read the whole story of Nabal again to gain more insight. In I Samuel 25:14, one of the young men told Abigail that Nabal "railed on" David's messengers. (This, by George's own admission [remember: "curmudgeon,"] from my own experience with George, and from Bro. Parrish's witness, is very characteristic of George!) Then, to find out what our reaction to a railer should be, we search Paul and find I Cor. 5:11 - "But now I have written unto you
not to keep company, if any man that is called a
brother be a fornicator, or covetous, or an idolater, or a
railer, or a drunkard, or an extortioner; with such a one no not to eat." (emphasis mine)
Since Chette wisely pointed out that in these posts we cannot hear intonation or have eye contact or see body language, I thought that we should consider that maybe George is being facetious when he calls himself "the old curmudgeon." But the first thought that comes to mind is Prov. 14:9 - "Fools make a mock at sin..." Yes,
I know that we all have our problems in the flesh, but are we to make light of them...joke about them? I have a rather diverse sense of humor, but flippantly boasting that you are imitating Nabal or Isaiah 32's "churl" IS NOT FUNNY! What's next? Demas? Judas?
Just to be clear, let me say it again...this post is only made up of GEORGE'S APPRAISAL OF HIS OWN CHARACTER!!! I simply didn't know what a "curmudgeon" was and wondered how many of the other forum members knew. And, like I said, I am posting this because it is shocking and disgusting - and it definitely helped me to see where George was coming from...so, thank you, George for that (one)
word of testimony!
This made me really wonder too, Chette, why you would choose to label Bro. Parrish and me as "ingrates" in reference to all the time you say George has put into Bible study. What are you suggesting that we should be grateful for? I am grateful for my King James Bible, the Holy Spirit, and my concordance! If I had to choose between NOT having a human Bible teacher and having a
self-proclaimed "curmudgeon" as a Bible teacher, I would choose to have only the Holy Spirit any day...who wouldn't?
Well, I know this post is still off-topic, but in light of all the seeming confusion about
what has transpired between
who, it is clear that
George's commentary on himself would be more appropriate than anything the rest of us say in relation to him...wouldn't you agree?
As an aside, Jassy, I appreciated your post and would like to make it clear that I have not had any problem PERSONALLY with George (his curmudgeonliness is between him and the Lord!)...my 'gripe' all along (and I've told him this time and again) is that he refuses to discuss scripture when it disagrees with his position!
Thanks for listening!
Pam
www.custerfamilyfarm.com