View Single Post
  #24  
Old 07-18-2009, 01:31 AM
tonybones2112's Avatar
tonybones2112 tonybones2112 is offline
 
Join Date: Feb 2009
Posts: 754
Default

Quote:
Originally Posted by Diligent View Post
Some of the ruckus in some of the threads here have driven me to near apathy over the forum. So, I decided I would try an experiment.

Instead of shutting down the forum, I've taken a look at the small group of posters who are constantly injecting vitriol into threads. Not just sometimes, but pervasively. And I am not talking about "tone." I am talking about substance. So, I am handing out a few temporary bans. We're going to have a little vacation for one month from a few people. I want to see what happens.

Let me be clear about two things:

1. I am not seeking a debate-free forum. There is nobody here who posts with any substantive frequency that I always agree with. There are lots of people on both sides of several issues -- dispensationalism, church governance and structure, etc. I am not singling out people who disagree with me. I am singling out people who are constantly making things personal and tending to avoid Scripture in doing so.

2. This is my forum. If you think I am being a poor moderator, go somewhere else. If you have a criticism to offer over what I am doing, email me privately, do not insult me or insinuate things about me on my dime. If you don't like it here, you can go start your own forum. It's not hard, and then you can be the one people complain about when someone else posts something they don't like and you don't automatically delete it.
Brandon, I hope I have been part of the solution and not the problem. To be honest with you when I became part of this forum I expected to be here maybe a week and then sent packing because of my dispensational convictions. I was wrong wasn;t I? Thank you for your grace and the love of Christ in you.

I have several problems. For one, I'm a cynic. Finding things that are good about life in me is rare and very hard to do. The gospel of Christ is one of the few things I see is good about and in the world. Another is prior to my ministry work I was involved and much of my life revolved around "the street". I was not raised to be a strong arm and and didn't actually "live" on the street, I was thrown into a survival situation where I spent a great deal of time there. Many people think they know about "streetfighting" due to a silly video game. There are no rules on the street, all conflicts are resolved in the dirtiest and most brutal manner imaginable. The news being reported by any media testifies to that.

You don"t back down.

You don't back up, you don't take a step back, on the street the god is Darwin, not Jesus Christ. You don't retreat, they will eat you alive. I'm a little stubborn in my religious convictions. I think we all need to be.

Another thing is I'm a hypocrite. Having a street background you'd think I was bigoted. I don't tolerate bigotry of any kind. I get testy when fellow Grace believers are called "heretics", "false teachers", "Bullengerites", when they and me are none of the three. There are bad guys in the Grace movement, as in all beliefs. You know my views on race from the Curse Of Noah thread. At the same time I am probably the most bigoted person in the world against a Bible Corrector/MVer/ Original Manuscript Frauds. That's why I stay away from FFF and the like. I praise people like brother Will and the others here, it's just that 20 years ago I found myself doing more Bible Defending than Cross Preaching.

I hope the forum settles into what you want it to be, and pray that it does. There is more Biblical education in this forum than in any 10 Christian "colleges" you want to name.

Grace and peace brother

Tony