I'm partly to blame here. I didn’t anticipate a thread being started and until it started getting ugly didn’t intend to respond, but in a PM to Evan I mentioned that I was contemplating leaving this board. While I understand your reasoning and would have preferred a private discussion to have remained that way, you have attributed to Evan intent in error. I messaged him, apologized if he thought I was harsh in some of my responses, and encouraged him to be faithful.
But since we are here I will offer my undebatable opinion. There are some on this board who evidence a denial of Christ through their interactions and comments. There are some who have probably never experienced Christian debate and will reply “this is a debate forum,” as if it excuses their ungodly behavior. A few here will stand by the declaration that God regenerates and makes a spiritually dead person alive, a new creation, yet prove by their own posts that they are not a part of these people. There are some here who lean on their own understanding, cannot defend their positions with Scripture yet insist dogmatically that their view entitles them to personally attack people who believe differently. In other words, there are some here, if their interactions on this forum evidence their spirit, who have a cultic apprehension of Christianity but are void of Christ Himself. They hold a Christless Christianity in that Christ is to them doctrine only. To use the erroneous illustrations of some, they are goats who think themselves sheep. And we know this. Many will say on the last day “Lord, Lord” only to hear “I do not know you” in return.
We are called to judge by one’s fruit, and certainly we cannot know the heart of another. Yet we are still called to judge by the fruit exhibited by people who call themselves believers – and this forum is a gathering of professing believers even if it is online. We (who genuinely believe) are called not to associate with those who through their actions exhibit ungodliness while professing faith within the pretense of excepting them within the Body of Christ (2 Thes. 3:14; 1 Cor. 5:9; 2 Cor. 6:14-18). I am not talking about arguing and debating, and sometimes responding emotionally and inappropriately to a brother or sister in Christ. I am talking about intentional sin, intentionally attacking and insulting members of the Body of Christ (which is essentially attacking and insulting Christ).
We are not perfect and we all sin, we get angry and we respond emotionally. But there is an element on the BB (and it is present on other boards as well) that seeks to personally attack people, who view “debate” as having less to do with working through and defending doctrine and more to do with trying to indoctrinate others to their understanding while personally attacking anyone who disagrees. These team up, run in pacts, try to tear down, insult, and indoctrinate. This is cultic behavior, not Christianity.
Yet there are also many godly men and women here. I have dealt pleasantly with everyone on this thread, and I believe all of you to be brothers and sisters based not only on your professions of faith but also on your interactions here (even when we disagree). And I have enjoyed the fellowship here, and I’ve learned from several members of different theological persuasions. There are several here who do understand what debate is, who do know their faith, and who can deal with Scripture and other people’s interpretations. Therefore I’m contemplating just ignoring several members and sticking around to enjoy the company of others who do appear to be brothers (even when we argue, occasionally get out of hand, and disagree), or simply leaving the board to spend more time working on sermons and studying.
So, while I did not intend to go here I also did not want to see Evan take insults for something I mentioned in a message. Evan and I disagree on quite a few issues, strongly so on some. I also question the way that he sometimes interacts on this forum – but I do believe he is a brother in Christ and I know that he does not deserve the abuse that is often thrown his direction (even and unfortunately when it is thrown his way by my hand).
