| Author | Message | ||
| Jude the Obscure |
Dear Dr. Tazz, You wrote the following to a child of the kingdom who had shown no animosity toward you: "All of you are part of a group based on a negative premise. You are determined to slam Adventism with negative propaganda. I pick it up in the tone of most of the messages I have read on this board. Perhaps this is a way of venting." And this: "Moving on in this case would mean using what He gives to build up and encourage others, not to dwell on the negative experiences of the past." And this: "Your claim of 'deliberate deceit' is something you assume about Mrs. White. In spite of the negative claims of Walter Rea and others (including yourselves) who have sought to assasinate her character, none of you have evidence of a sinister motive. Mrs. White describes her borrowing in the introduction of The Great Controversy, if you care to read it. While I don't consider her use of the writings of others as a great idea, I, nor you, know enough of the context of the situation to judge her any more harshly than we judge ourselves." And this: "You folks talk about 'the truth' in the same way that you decry in Seventh-day Adventists. You believe that 'the truth' is something you have and they don't. The arrogance of this position pours forth in every message I have read, and frankly, I have a hard time stomaching it." And this: "If you have a hard time with dogmatic, narrow minded Seventh-day Adventists, then why do you engage in the same behavior?" "You decry the "remnant church" claim as arrogant, but you folks have learned nothing about arrogant claims. Your messages are full of them." And this: "You know, Lynn, you are sounding very high minded and preachy here! Don't worry, I'll be fine." You must be aware that these accusations of yours are nearly 100% unsupportable by any measure -- as you amply demonstrated by refusal and/or inability to answer ANY of my questions. But quite apart from that, and in gospel terms UNIMAGINABLY MORE GRAVELY than that, you offended a gentle and sensitive person who has done no evil of any sort to you. Your behavior reminds me of something Jesus said (Matthew 18:6-8) in his sermon on the mount: "But whoso shall offend one of these little ones which believe in me, it were better for him that a millstone were hanged about his neck, and that he were drowned in the depth of the sea. "Woe unto the world because of offenses! for it must needs be that offenses come; but woe unto that man by whom offenses cometh! "Wherefore if thy hand or thy foot offend thee: it is better for thee to enter into life halt or maimed, rather than having two hands or two feet to be cast into everlasting fire." Now, Dr. Tazz, my questions this time are only two: 1. What do you think Jesus means by this statement? 2. How do you think it applies to the situation that right now obtains between you and Lynn? And again, I don't want to be referred to your church's "extensive writings" on the subject. I only want to know what YOU WHO CLAIM TO BE A CHRISTIAN have to say. Waiting for your answer, your brother in Christ, Jude | ||
| Lynn W |
Jude, thanks, but as you said, don't count on an answer. | ||
| Jude the Obscure |
Lynn, No, but I AM counting on a certain special READER. As the old prosecutorial saying goes, "The [offender] always returns to the scene of the [offense]. Isn't that right, Dr. Tazz? Jude | ||
| Cas |
Ernie, Thanks so much for the referral to the www.ccel.wheaton.edu website. I have also bookmarked it so I can refer back to it. There is a piece that some of you guys might want to check out that I came accross. It is called The Change of the Sabbath by Thomas Shepard, published in 1853. It is also found on the wheaton site. It is a long piece that I have not read yet but it looks interesting. There are a lot of treasures on this site, thanks again. | ||
| Colleentinker |
It's interesting how we humans, when unable to answer a question, turn on the questioner with defensiveness and insults as a way of avoiding discomfiture. It's a most disruptive and upsetting tendency! I don't always respond very well to those insults. I really love how supportive y'all are (no, I'm not a Texan, but nothing else works like "y'all") on this site. Thank you for being open to ministering God's love. Colleen | ||
| Jude the Obscure |
Colleen, Unfortunately, some of what Dr. Tazz was saying about us had some truth in it. Sometimes we do "vent" on this website. Let me hasten to add that this is entirely appropriate as long as it doesn't cross certain lines of propriety. This is, after all described as a "safe place," isn't it? Dr. Tass and others of his ilk are e-predators. I could use another image -- "wolves in sheep's clothing" or even "roaring lions prowling the earth seeking whom they may devour" -- but will contain. They pounce on someone, not because that someone needs to be attacked, but because that someone is perceived by the e-predator to be weaker or crippled or in some other way more vulnerable and unable to fight back and so qualifies as the next victim or even "food" for their canibalistic appetites. Their "law of the jungle" behavior arouses my righteous wrath. Then I have to control my own instinct to fight back as savagely. I literally tremble. It's hard to know where to draw the line of defense. I try, in general, to obey Jesus' commandment, "Do not return evil for evil." I know He means evil directed at me. But what about evil directed at others? Surely Jesus did not mean for us to lie supine and watch wolves use the sheepfold as their own personal restaurant with no tab to pay! Did you know that Dr. Tazz asked us in his original post to please not "savage" him? That's a new one on me. Can you imagine someone with a machine gun bursting into your house saying, "Please don't shoot me!" I mean, wow! Some of these people can be really creative! I guess I feel this way because I fell for the line. I -- like so many others here -- thought he was sincerely seeking the truth from us. But, nooooo. He came here -- as someone so aptly phrased it -- only to blast away and disappear! "God give us the patience to accept what we cannot change, the courage to change what we can, and the wisdom to know the difference" -- something like that, anyway, the serenity prayer. So how does one assist those who need protection without becoming just as vicious as the predators themselves? On the one hand, Jesus overturned the tables of the predatory money-changers in the temple and drove them out with a whip. I wonder if the tip of that whip ever found its mark or if it only cracked the air like a pistol shot. And I'm NOT going to "Desire of Ages" to look up the answer! (Do you read me, Dr. Tass? You who referred me the church's "extensive writings" for the answer to every single question I ever asked you?) Can't you just see all the "little people" scrambling for the scattering talents and the rolling shekels that had for years been extorted from them? I'd like to think the tip did find its mark. God said, after all, "Vengeance is Mine!" And Jesus was as much God then as ever before or ever after. But on the other hand, when Peter's "vorpal" sword cut off the ear of the high priest's servant (bodyguard), Jesus put the ear back on and let the world know that his kingdom was not of this world. I've done a lot of puzzling over this. And as you can see, I'm having difficulty getting past it. Colleen, you have as good a head as anyone on this website. What do you think? And anyone else who wants to comment is welcome too, of course. In His peace, Jude | ||
| Lynn W |
Jude, we are not judged so much by how we act as how we react. I have a sign in my house to remind me, "repay a good deed with a good deed, repay an evil deed with two good deeds" (Lynn Wunische). Or to apply it here, when someone slings mud at you, wipe it off and offer your hand in grace. Dr. Tazz is obviously hurt & confused, or he wouldn't be slinging mud. My ex-SDA friend told me they were taught that no one has ever left the SDA church for doctrinal reasons; it just couldn't happen. When everyone on this site proved that wrong with their answers, it was a blow to SDA teaching. I think it was too much for Dr. Tazz to take. Now that he's come & gone, it's best to just let it go & remember him in prayer. Don't worry about me, I never took his remarks personally in the first place. I don't lose any sleep over it; I pray that you won't either. |
