Is there value in Christian discussion board

[BobRyan]

This board is greatly useful to me in several respects.

#1. It has done wonders for my own self-written commentary/review files going chapter-by-chapter in the Bible. Many people here "think" I post this from some denominational source - but in fact it is my own source unless I point to a link elsewhere. And those files get continually updated based on responses from this board that help me research another point or line of thought.

So even in cases were someone thinks their argument is "succeeding" by simply closing their eyes and harping on one point without actually paying attention to any other detail on the thread -- I still benefit because that one point gets debunked in my file.

#2. I have found a wide variety of common ground agreement with different board members across a wide variety of denominations. That has been a strong encouragement to frame arguments that would be acceptable in those contexts.

#3. I have seen people change their views on something -- actually take a step forward. And I have seen how much it is in human nature (no matter what denomination) to avoid doing that at all costs.

#4. I have seen people post using totally bible-vaccuous -- nothing more than "I think...I think...I think..." and I have learned to pick-up on that when I hear it even from members of my own denomination. These people are often very pleased with what they think - but very Bible intolerant to the inconvenient facts of scripture.

#5. My files on the blunders gaffs and failure of atheist darwinism have been greatly advanced by those Christians that have posted here defending the Christian faith and "actual science" -- and ALSO by those posting here who embrace the pseudoscience religion of atheist darwinism whenever it conflicts with the Gospel. (In fact the latter group has contributed to the advancement of those files magnificently).

So on a personnal learning level the board scores high.

On a making-new-friends and finding common ground level it also scores high.

Last if not least - it has allowed me to "step back" from my beliefs and see them as "Sola Scriptura" in a way that leaves me totally immune from the ad hominem retorts of a failing argument positioned against the Bible. I can actually find humor in those kinds of responses instead of simply getting steamed about it as if it was "MY BIBLE" not God's that was attacked. I have learned the lesson "When reason and argument fail ad hominem prevail" as it has been played out in triplicate on this board at times. A facinating study in human nature.

In Christ,

Bob

 

[Chemnitz]

A person complaining that "heretics" on a debate board should be admonished by the moderators to toe the line must be somebody afraid to defend their beliefs or maybe doesn't want their errors brought to light and be faced with the possibility that they themselves might be the heretic. :tonofbricks:

Personally, I would welcome the chance to debate JW's, Mormons, etc. It would be interesting to have some insight to their thinking. At the same time I can understand why the board would want to limit discussions to Christians and not allow the pagan religions to confuse the mix.

 

[Jack Matthews]

From a personal perspective, I see that there is value in participating and having a message board like this. I enjoy the dialogue, have had some questions answered, almost immediately, and feel it is a good exercize of both my thinking and my skill at looking things up and interpreting scripture.

On the other side of it, I see a lot of people here who have "immaculate perception," in thinking that the way they see the Bible is the only correct way to see it and that anyone else who differs from their view (or that of the favorite pastor or Christian writer whom they have adopted as their only doctrinal source) is not being Biblical, even if there are several other very valid, and substantiated perspectives. From the time I joined a Baptist church, I used to wonder why other Christians, and even non-Christians and seekers, had such a negative view of Baptist churches as being narrow-minded, arrogant, and more committed to their own traditional literalism than to the actual principles and precepts of the scriptures. I'd never met any Baptists like that. Now, I have.

I wonder what non-believers and seekers think when they see some of the discussions here about why everything Baptists believe is absolutely in line with the scriptures, and the things that other denominations believe are so heretical and damaging as to actually be a hindrance to people entering the kingdom. How can Church of Christ people be Christians, to believe what they believe? How can Pentecostals and Charismatics go to heaven, believing what they believe? I wouldn't want to venture a guess as to how many people might wander in and out of here, without anyone knowing about it, and be permanently blinded to the truth. And keep in mind, those other groups all claim to be on as solid a scriptural foundation as Baptists do, which should tell us something, anyway.

On this side of heaven, we are only going to see "as through a glass, darkly." The Bible is sufficient for us to have a relationship with God through faith in Jesus Christ's substitutionary atonement on the cross. I often wonder how many of the details we seem to be so bothered with are all that important to Him?

 

[El_Guero]

Roger,

I think that in today's world where high stress, high speed, no time for relating to other people can negatively impact people's ability to interact with each other - people move to Internet communication.

Internet communication is a series of cold and heartless 0's and 1's. Whether in email or on a board, people are communicating in less and less friendly manner- we are developing a culture devoid of many of the sensibilities of a century ago (or even 20 years ago).

Without boards like this, Christians would communicate in the world of email and other boards without the positive drag (influence) of other Believers that they would find on boards like this. Or in other words, for all of the times that I have been slandered on this board - this is a better place for a Christian to make a mistake like that and risk burning a bridge for communication then in an email to a fellow worker that is lost and going to Hell.

Does that make a Baptist Board more enjoyable? No. Does this make a Baptist Board more Christ-like. No. Is the Baptist Board supposed to be a church? No. Can the Baptist Board be expected to be perfect? No.

Can we each do a better job in our communication of God's love to each other? Yes.

But, for each person that has offended me over time, I pray that there is one less lost person in this world that they have offended. Doubtless there are those that pray the same about me and I dare say, many others.

God bless you and remember

:jesus: Saves!

I am posting this in respons to the now closed thread ( http://www.baptistboard.com/showthread.php?t=33401 ) and with the approval of the moderator who closed the thread.

I am posting it here so that anyone can enter the discussion.

I have recently been aware of a debate involving the value of Christian discussion boards. Some have said that they are simply a waste of time, others have said that they are evil or "disgusting" because of the occasional bit of rancor or debate.

The topic has been discussed the in the IFB publication "Frontline" magazine and a resolution concerning them was passed at the FBFI (Fundamental Baptist Fellowship International).

The question before us is this - do the benefits outweigh the negatives on Christian discussion boards or vice-versa. Are they a waste of time, or are they a place for positive fellowship and ministry?

Below are my own feelings from the closed thread.

quote:
I am offended by what takes place here at times, we all are. I have also been challenged, had my interest piqued, and even greatly edified. People here have encouraged me during some of the darkest days of our ministry. There are people here who pray for our ministry every day as a result of conversations here. In many of the cases we have disagreed on issues yet they still love us and pray for us. We have received care packages from friends in the states we have met here. As a direct result of this board's existence there is a meeting taking place in Co Sligo, Ireland today between a Baptist pastor and a man who is seeking to know more about Christ. His interest was piqued by a member of the Baptist Board and her faithful dealing with him for seven years. The connection was made through a thread on this board.

What do you think folks?

 

[Eric B]

On one hand, the boards, as well as the internet in general, is one of the best things that have ever happened, since they allowed sharing of ideas. On the other hand, it has magnified just how divided we are.
I used to think "orthodox Christianity" was all united against the world and the "cults' and liberal churches, but looking at many of the debates here, it seems no two people agree completely on everything. There are many interesting ideas and premises that claim to be a lost "true" interpretation of the Bible, which helps clear up many questions on things that didn't seem to add up (such as the preterist understanding of prophecy, or a couple of people's distinction of "spiritual salvation" versus "eternal salvation" which explains scriptures on "falling away".
Yet after awhile of this, we end up with endless circular debates with no way to prove anything, because even the very meanings of scripture have been called into question as misunderstood, taken out of context by everyone, etc.
So even the common statement "The Bible says..." loses its meaning and carries no weight. One can just "show" where it's being read wrong. I myself have done this, and it is all possible that many people can be reading something wrong, but then it becomes impossible to determine what it really teaches.
This just encourages more groups to come up with all sorts of ingenious argumentative tactics tat play on the disunity. Like we have just had a spate of Catholic and Orthodox posters who used all of this to claim that "Church tradition" is the answer. "Using the Bible alone only has created the thousands of Protestant denominations and sects", so then the obvious solution is that us reading the Bible for ourselves is the problem, and we should just follow the oldest Church and no matter what we think, or whether it looks scriptural or not, have faith that it preserved the key to understanding the scriptures through doctrines and practices handed down from the apostles orally only. And you all see how difficult it was to respond to that (especially since it was only a few of us who stood up against it).
This plus the barrage of debates on the OT Law before that, and the tactics used to prove that the whole Ten Commandments are in effect, but not the rest of the Law, or only other parts of it, and the tactics in proving this, such as one passing reference to something in one passage, plus another passing reference (in a totally different context), plus another is supposed to prove what is "binding" on all, and then recasting the opponent's view as "ignoring the Word of God"; and then the differing responses on our part (Yes the Ten are in effect, but one was changed; or only one was omitted, or the whole Law was abolished and replaced with a new one, etc) which the opponents used to their favor.

I'm trying to take a break now, because all of that is consuming; both mentally, emotionaly, even, sometimes, as well as time consuming (With me having to run out to work in the morning, or finish up during a break at work). Just the utter stubborness of some, and me having to match that to keep up. I just confessed to my wife this morning, that maybe I'm trying to prove it all to myself. I can see now why many have told me in the past not to get wrapped up in intellectualism and debates, and many Churches; especially the emotionally infused contemporary non-denominationals (particularly the charismatics) advocate a "just pray and worship God; don't get wrapped up in doctrine" stance. It's just like "stick your head in the sand and focus on God in your life". The more doctrinally oriented Christians: old line fundamentalists, evangelical apologists, and the Reformed types alike, have made a sound criticism of the modern Church on their doctrinal apathy, and I have always agreed with that, but I can see first hand why many would think it was a waste of time. "Just follow the Spirit". But as the catholists point out, even that has not worked but so much.
I guess you have to guard against error, but all of these ideas and tactics even blur the line between truth and error. Does belief in modalism, or souls sleep/annihilation make one a heretic bound for hell? How about some of the other wild sounding ideas people have expressed here in certain areas that we have never heard before? Different people are either harder or more lenient on those kinds of issues. Or do those views have some points that the traditionalists have missed? Could the traditional views even be wrong? Then, debates such as Calvinism/Arminianism, which touch upon thigs we cannot understand, like how God predestnes, and how our wills fit in. Some range from just agreeing to disagree, up to denouncing the "false god" of the other side! Many admit that we all see in a glass darkly, and hence think we should not argue on those things so much.
Basically, all of this seems to prove total relativism more than anything else. One of the biggest charges from the agnostic world is "y'all can't even agree on what that Bible teaches". This proves to them that it is just a manmade book to begin with, hence no "right interpretation" to be found, and no "Spirit" guiding anyone into any truth, and ultimately, God, (if there is one), is completely above us, our experience/comprehension, and our affairs.

So of course; I'm not saying there shouldn't be a board. Still; I just think it has shown how much utter disarray and confusion the Church is in, and it can be very discouraging. It seems the only hope is Christ returning (and that only if a futuristic view is true). Politics is another area, where no one can agree what leader or policy is good for us. Hence the world's cliché "don't argue religion or politics", which is basically the modern "praise and worship" Church's position.

 

[El_Guero]

Bob

Keep up the good work!

Wayne

This board is greatly useful to me in several respects.

#1. It has done wonders for my own self-written commentary/review files going chapter-by-chapter in the Bible. Many people here "think" I post this from some denominational source - but in fact it is my own source unless I point to a link elsewhere. And those files get continually updated based on responses from this board that help me research another point or line of thought.

So even in cases were someone thinks their argument is "succeeding" by simply closing their eyes and harping on one point without actually paying attention to any other detail on the thread -- I still benefit because that one point gets debunked in my file.

#2. I have found a wide variety of common ground agreement with different board members across a wide variety of denominations. That has been a strong encouragement to frame arguments that would be acceptable in those contexts.

#3. I have seen people change their views on something -- actually take a step forward. And I have seen how much it is in human nature (no matter what denomination) to avoid doing that at all costs.

#4. I have seen people post using totally bible-vaccuous -- nothing more than "I think...I think...I think..." and I have learned to pick-up on that when I hear it even from members of my own denomination. These people are often very pleased with what they think - but very Bible intolerant to the inconvenient facts of scripture.

#5. My files on the blunders gaffs and failure of atheist darwinism have been greatly advanced by those Christians that have posted here defending the Christian faith and "actual science" -- and ALSO by those posting here who embrace the pseudoscience religion of atheist darwinism whenever it conflicts with the Gospel. (In fact the latter group has contributed to the advancement of those files magnificently).

So on a personnal learning level the board scores high.

On a making-new-friends and finding common ground level it also scores high.

Last if not least - it has allowed me to "step back" from my beliefs and see them as "Sola Scriptura" in a way that leaves me totally immune from the ad hominem retorts of a failing argument positioned against the Bible. I can actually find humor in those kinds of responses instead of simply getting steamed about it as if it was "MY BIBLE" not God's that was attacked. I have learned the lesson "When reason and argument fail ad hominem prevail" as it has been played out in triplicate on this board at times. A facinating study in human nature.

In Christ,

Bob

 

[DHK]

A person complaining that "heretics" on a debate board should be admonished by the moderators to toe the line must be somebody afraid to defend their beliefs or maybe doesn't want their errors brought to light and be faced with the possibility that they themselves might be the heretic. :tonofbricks:

Personally, I would welcome the chance to debate JW's, Mormons, etc. It would be interesting to have some insight to their thinking. At the same time I can understand why the board would want to limit discussions to Christians and not allow the pagan religions to confuse the mix.

I have no problem debating them either. However, if you or I am not there to debate them, and no one else takes up the cause that has the ability to defeat their arguments, then that thread becomes a sounding board or advertisement for a false cult and heretical false doctrine being disseminated from this board. That is one of the reasons the Catholic apologists were banned. Their purpose was recruitment of others and advertisement of their own religion.
DHK

 

[SBCPreacher]

I am relatively new to this board, but I can see its value. I don't agree with quite a bit of what I read, but I do find myself having to sharpen my skills as I read the debates. I don't think this is a place of senseless name calling, but it is a place to share ideas. Those I do not agree with are as equally entitled to their points of vew as I am. For those who I know I will never see eye to eye with, the ignore feature works great!

I enjoy the humor. I, in a way, need the challenges to what I believe to be true. This helps me better understand why I believe what I believe.

Let's keep the board. Let's keep discussing ideas.

(Let's ignore the trolls!)

 

[lbaker]

As someone new to the Baptist church and Baptist Board I find this all VERY enlightening.

Keep the Board!

Les