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Don't Encourage Them


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Here is my sugestion..when a non-Progressive Christian comes here and reply to a post..then simply don;t reply and let the thread die. If we were to keep doing this..then maybe the non-Progressives would stop being encouraged to come here.

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Here is my sugestion..when a non-Progressive Christian comes here and reply to a post..then simply don;t reply and let the thread die. If we were to keep doing this..then maybe the non-Progressives would stop being encouraged to come here.

You say "we" as if there were a huge movement afoot to eliminate non-progressive opinion from the board. As far as I can tell, Beach, you're the only one on this crusade.

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I say as long as the dialogue is civil and courteous we can only grow in our understanding of one another by cultivating a lively and diverse conversation... All perspectives should be welcomed as long as the posts meet the standards of the board, and stay on the topic without digressing into rants or mudslinging...

 

Were there any threads/posters in particular that you were concerned about when you posted this message? Perhaps you should address them directly rather than through this sort of "back door- let's not let 'them' in" approach...

 

Just a thought- do what you want with it...

 

Peace,

 

John

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Here is my sugestion..when a non-Progressive Christian comes here and reply to a post..then simply don;t reply and let the thread die. If we were to keep doing this..then maybe the non-Progressives would stop being encouraged to come here.

 

Beach, this is an open forum. If the moderators and owners of the TCPC forum wished to close it to all but avowed "progressives" then we all would have had to write a letter of introduction asking to be placed on the list. There are many such message boards out there. This isn't one of them. Any individual who wishes to visit or join this forum is welcomed to do so. That's the way the TCPC message board has been set up. If you have a problem with this maybe you should take it up with the moderators. But keep in mind, as Fred has pointed out, that you are only speaking for yourself, as the rest of us seem quite comfortable being hospitable and open-minded toward all who come and post here.

 

lily

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Fred, Peace, Lily - while I completely agree with what you wrote, not responding was the clearer message!!!   :D

 

What? You are bifurcating here Cynthia- which is it- do you think anyone should be allowed to post here as long as they follow the board guidelines, or should it become a closed membership group (which I am not in favor of), where each prospective new member would have to "apply" for membership to the moderator or admin of the board...

 

If you personally don't want to respond to or even read posts you consider "non-progressive," you certainly have that right, although I think that sadly shows you are not very secure in your beliefs and perhaps afraid that someone with differing views may unsettle yours.

 

Of course there are times when a post is so 'out there' that the best thing may be to just let it die or get buried by other more relevant threads, but if that is the consensus of this online community then that will happen on its own without admonishment- that is just how online forums function...

 

With these sort of forums those are the main options, unless of course you have an over-zealous moderator or admin who would like to do to 'non-progressive posts' what Jefferson did to the Bible...

 

:rolleyes:

 

Peace,

 

John

Edited by peacemover
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What?  You are bifurcating here Cynthia- which is it- do you think anyone should be allowed to post here as long as they follow the board guidelines, or should it become a closed membership group (which I am not in favor of), where each prospective new member would have to "apply" for membership to the moderator or admin of the board...

Nah, she meant not responding to this post would have sent a clearer message of disagreement.

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Just got back to the board... I did mean this thread - thanks for "getting" me Fred and Aletheia! :) .

 

I like all the different viewpoints... only reading things you know you will agree with is a temptation I try to avoid. It is, however, much more comfortable.... I enjoy the more conservative posters here - they tend to write in a way such that I can entertain their point of view with more respect and thought than (sadly) I can muster in other arenas.

 

Bifurcating is a great word though, I'll be working it into conversations for a while! :P

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Just got back to the board... I did mean this thread - thanks for "getting" me Fred and Aletheia!  :) .

 

I like all the different viewpoints... only reading things you know you will agree with is a temptation I try to avoid.  It is, however, much more comfortable....  I enjoy the more conservative posters here - they tend to write in a way such that I can entertain their point of view with more respect and thought than (sadly) I can muster in other arenas.

 

Bifurcating is a great word though, I'll be working it into conversations for a while!  :P

 

Okay, okay wisenheimer... I just wanted to make sure we are making progress in all areas of our lives not just with all this heady theological debating (or non-debating as it were)...

 

;)

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LOL Peace!  It's summertime... perhaps Fall will bring back the intense intellectual bent of this group.  :lol:

 

Yes, I like diversity and we need it. As iron sharpens iron.....

I also like to play devils advocate and I think that there is a benefit to discussing issues whether we agree with them or not. The challenge to some of our deeply held beliefs and suppositions is an imporant exercise in growth.

 

I enjoy reading Spong's works, even though I do not agree with everything. Some of his arguments have holes big enough for a conservative theologican to drive a truck through. Nonetheless, much of what he says is thought provoking. Same could be said for Borg, Crosson, and others. I do not agree with all Grudem writes (Calvinist Systematic Theologian) but again I enjoy reading his perspectives.

 

I dislike attempts to shut off true dialogue (not disrespectful & unsubstatiated). We grow through it. I recall being annoyed once at a group of Missouri Synod Lutherans who smugly laughed at Mormons so although there are many problems with Mormon Theology I went to a Mormon aplogetics site. The Mormon running it had some thought provoking reasons for looking at God in the way they did using scripture, etymology, Church Fathers, history. I do not think my Lutheran friends would have had good answers because they were not engaging in intellectual analysis but some form of self congratulatory backslapping 'we are not as stupid as they are' retoric.

 

So keep the debate coming.

 

North

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I see two sides to this issue. I have been a member of several congregations over the last 40 years. In some of them there were many progressives and in others there were very few. Being in a progressive minority challenges one. It is like vigorous exercise, and it makes one stronger. But, in addition to exercise, one needs rest. Progressives need a supportive environment where we need not constantly defend our positions. I think that the original poster was feeling that her refuge was being taken away from her. Yes we all need to be challenged, but not all the time. Not all conversation should be debate.

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Progressives need a supportive environment where we need not constantly defend our positions.  I think that the original poster was feeling that her refuge was being taken away from her.  Yes we all need to be challenged, but not all the time.  Not all conversation should be debate.

Of course not. Ironically, I seem to spend more time lately debating this free speech issue, than actually debating theological positions. :D As has been pointed out in another thread, this site is tame compared to beliefnet -- which I don't visit because I don't want to be engaged in debate all the time. :lol: The vast majority of threads going on here at any given time are not even close to being overrun by conservative posters. As has also been pointed out, we only have 3 regulars in that category, and none of them have ever tried to convert anyone.

 

To me, the whole thing comes down to free speech. No matter what I personally believe on some theological issue, I will passionately defend anyone's right to post in a civilized and non-threatening way. More angles on a viewpoint can only help. But when my defense of a conservative's right to free speech gets interpreted as a defense of their position, that misses the point entirely.

 

I guess I'm harder on liberals when it comes to free speech, because I feel like we ought to know better. If you're a Nazi, you don't believe in free speech anyway, so you're not being inconsistent when you don't practice it. But if you're going to go to so much trouble to identify yourself as a political liberal, I feel like you have a basic responsibility to uphold it. But hey, that's just my $.02...

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"But, in addition to exercise, one needs rest. Progressives need a supportive environment where we need not constantly defend our positions. I think that the original poster was feeling that her refuge was being taken away from her. Yes we all need to be challenged, but not all the time. Not all conversation should be debate."

 

THANK YOU :)

I feel we already have had to deal with CONSTANTLY defending our Progressive views when dealing with our conservative family members..It does not seem fair that we feel we HAVE to defend our Progressive views here or on ANY Progressive or Liberal themed site. I am going to address this issue on my own Progressive Christianities site on MySpace as well as the other Prog and Lib sites on Myspace.

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