ChristiansUnite Forums

Oklahoma Howdy to All,

There have been a few discussions on this topic in various areas of the forum. Some of the new folks may not know that we've had a war here for the last 8 months. I do hope and pray that it is finally over.

I would really appreciate it if everyone would participate in this poll and let everyone know what your thoughts and feelings are about having a debate area or not having a debate area on Christians Unite. I put a "Other - Please Specify" choice for those who don't like any of the choices.

It would also be nice for everyone to make a post here and let your wishes be known.

Love In Christ,
Tom

My vote is keep it, with some of the changes that were brought up in the other thread.

Grace and Peace!

Ditto

Gracey

I second that "ditto."

Oklahoma Howdy to All,

Well, it looks like 100%. so far, want to keep the debate area and the vast majority wants to use some of the ideas already proposed. I would like to leave the poll open for a few more days, but I will start on a proposal for ADMIN based on recommended changes you have already made.

I will post it for discussion before doing anything else.

Love In Christ,
Tom

I just saw this thread!  Yes a  debate area.  Just a big yes.

Goodness some Christians need to get thicker skins some need to be nicer.  I am a preachers kid we got kicked from all sides.  

If a person doesn't like the debate thread, be a grown up and dont read it. Sure folks can get hot headed, big deal taking a stand and HOLDING to it is better then giving in and being a  coward.

As a orthodox preterist i am out numbered here big time. If i cant stand the heat i am free to click the button and go, no one is holding me here.

We are grown ups and not every place we go, not every church, or  denomination, or forum will have everything in it  to our liking.  Goodness I have been in great AofG meetings and been in really bad AofG meetings.  We may like this priest or pastor better then the other.


Putting the Tide box away Reba

I think it would be fair if certain rules did not apply to us PK's since we are so thick skinned.   We should be allowed to pick on one another unceassingly in an effort to wear each other down by attrition....lol

Drawing first blood, I would first like to say that Reba is JUST WRONG......ALL WRONG!!! But you go girl!   :D

Just messing with ya Reba ;)  .  I hope heaven does have a special corner for us PK's

Grace and Peace!

Oh yeah...did anyone like the idea of renaming the Debate forum to something more imposing?


I still like....

THE LORDS COURT (present your case before the Lord).

To me it just sounds like a place where you would need watch your P's and Q's in, as opposed to Debate area, where hunting season is open 24/7 and arguing is expected to be seen as it is on other boards.

Grace and Peace!

Question: Should Christians Unite have a debate area?

Yes - same as always.

Brother Love :)

<:)))><
 
 

Oklahoma Howdy to Sister Reba,

From one PK to another PK, I'm baffled and befuzzled  :D  by something in one of your posts, "Orthodox AofG". I've got a bunch of friends that attend several churches here, and I've never heard of or met an "Orthodox AofG". I'm not making fun, I just don't have a clue what that means. I guess that's one reason why I don't like man's labels and tags, as they usually mean so many things to different people. To me, Orthodox means Eastern Orthodox Christian, associated with tons of ceremonies, rituals, and objects. So, could you tell me what that means?

Of course, we're just now thinking about electricity and indoor plumbing in my neck of the woods. Billy Bob and Bubba Sue are agin' it, so it may be awhile.   ;D  In case you're wondering, "befuzzled" appears only in a Top Secret OKIE Dictionary, so I can't tell you about that.

Love In Christ,
Tom

I dont like labels and tags myself and befuzzled is a word i fully understand  ;D
 Read my post again Mr. Bepster  :P

LOL!  ...just a wild guess but AofG would stand for Assemblies of God yes?  :D

 poor befuzzled peas ...you must live AWAY back in hillbilly country..further than me even :P

Oklahoma Howdy to Sister Reba,

I must have been asleep when I read your post and replied. Please accept my apology. Billy Bob and Bubba Sue read my post and kicked me out of the OKIE Choir.   :D  In case you are wondering, coyotes take care of the high notes.

I have my coffee, and I'm awake now. Here's my perfect opportunity to also say that discussions about the tribulation period should have nothing to do with fellowship among brothers and sisters in Christ. SO:


Love In Christ,
Tom

 :)

BEP, can I take that to mean trib talk should have no bearing on fellowship, or no place in fellowship?   I'm pretty sure you meant the prior, but just wanted to clarify that  :)

Grace and Peace!

;D
Yeah, keep the Hot Kitchen. It reserves a place for the folks that need to "discuss", and keeps arguments (pretty much) from spreading all over the forum.

Of course, I see no helpful purpose in debates that just get nasty.   :P



 8)

Brother,

Maybe I needed a second cup of coffee. You are absolutely correct. The matter of joy is spending eternity with our Lord and Saviour, Jesus Christ. This is an absolute reality for those who have Jesus Christ as Lord and Saviour. This shared JOY should be the basis of fellowship. The "when and how" of the tribulation period should not be allowed to spoil our shared JOY.

Brother, let me get a third cup of coffee. Love and fellowship with other brothers and sisters in Christ is a necessity for me.  So:


Love In Christ,
Tom

 ;D   ;D  And maybe the participants wash each other's feet before the debate begins.   ;D

That might start things in a humble and loving way. YEP!, that would do it.   ;D

Love In Christ,
Tom

Sure why not, once a day. ;D

ROFL  And some say we pre-tribbers never face tribulation...LOL

 ;D ;D ;D

Hmmmmm.  I seem to be the odd man out!  No comments please... ;D

Seriously speaking though, I think it should go because I can't see how brothers in Christ arguing can be glorifying to God.  And that, I believe, is the heart of the matter.  We are to live as united as we are.  Disagreements are to be humbly agreed upon and we are to grow in Christ inspite of our differing viewpoints.  Having an area to argue about things isn't very honoring to God.  And let's face it, that's exactly what it becomes.  We do not follow rules of debate, and I have yet to see anyone change their wrong opinions to follow God's truth in any such debate.  We can argue that our faith is strengthened...but how many of us (self included) have lost our cool in a debate?  Is that honoring to God?

Yup.  We can "thicken our skin" but I have to ask, is God looking for tough Christians, or tender, and broken-hearted believers?   :)

Just a thought...

Allinall,

Brother, I've thought about and prayed about nearly all of what you talked about in your post. I will quickly admit that I'm still confused and don't have a firm opinion. I'm sure this is one of the values of discussion. This is a pleasant discussion among brothers and sisters in Christ. There might be many terms that could be used to describe what we are discussing (i.e. argument, debate, war, etc.). I would quickly agree there are many definitions of the term, "Debate". I do remember many formal and informal rules of "debate" in an educational setting. I doubt that many of our past debates could be compared to debates used in an educational setting. In fact, many of them should not have been called "debates" at all.


Brother, this is more than just a lot to consider. This actually cuts to the heart of this matter. What does God want?

We've got plenty of time. There is no rush at all, and I would really like to see what others think after they have digested your post.

Love In Christ,
Tom

I voted this ~> No - it doesn't glorify God.   



Blessings Everyone!  \o/

KristiAnne

Some folks think joking is does not glorify God.

(http://images.animfactory.com/animations/food/beverages/man_enjoying_coffee_mug_md_wht.gif)

Hmmm,

now see, this is why one must either adore the little man floating in coffee, or fear his gentle aluring nature, as he backstrokes his way into your nightmares to snare you with his caffinated truths....lol   Be afraid man! Be very afraid!

All kidding aside, I must admit I am forced to stop and reconsider my feelings on this now.  On the one hand, how apropriate is debating for us, and two, how does an admin control a forum visited by both believers and unbelievers where debating is bound to happen regardless?   I don't envy your position here BEP.

It seems to me that apologetics would also fall in the same catagory.  After all it too is based on argumentive defense of God.   I have learned some marvelous truths from reading apologetic threads, as well as other debates conducted in love.   Many did however start to get out of control too.

Prayer is required about this for sure!

Grace and Peace

PS. or maybe we could just drown the coffee man?  ;D LOL  j/k Kevin.  I love you bro!

the little fly guy is back  ;)

Now see, he sets a better example than coffee man does.   ;)He is not burdened with the cares of life and escapes the snare of medicated drink before the caffeine rush sets in.   ;D

OK I'm getting slap happy now!  13.5 hours night shift, and now debate contemplation!  Time for bed me thinks!

Grace and Peace!

Nah.  I'm convinced God has a sense of humor.  Explains alot of what happens in my life... :D ;D

LOL  That's it!  Blame the coffeman!  Drown the coffeeman!   hehee ;)

Love ya too bro!

I agree.  He's onward and upward, while coffeeman is just basking in his addiction...Gotta change my avatar...or just be brutally honest with my brethren and sist...ren... ;D

Thanks for thinking about this Tom.  I've been wondering about it for awhile now.  Why did I come here in the first place?  Because I happened across a post by a young lady uncertain about God.  I felt I need to respond to help her.  And since then, I've been trying to do just that, more or less...until the debates come up.  I have a tendency to prove my view right rather than let God's truth make them right.  I think we all have that, and tend to lean that way when our doctrines don't match up.

But I must also add, that while there are doctrines my friends here hold to that I don't, I've found a sweetness of fellowship in Christ that I've often missed in my local assembly.  Why?  We share a Savior, a Father, a mission, a love and a future.  Makes me pay more attention to those within my assembly as well.  May not always agree, but we can always love and worship together the one we know as our Lord.  

Thanks y'all!   :)

:D

I only like the debate area when I’m winning the debate.   ;D

My opinion:  Debates happen.  They take place outside of the debate area as well.  Is this thread a debate?  I don’t believe the debate area in itself is hurtful or harmful in the least – it’s an unloaded gun.  But put bullets in it (personalities) and it can be mentally hurtful and harmful.  But – won’t that happen anyway?  We will still “debate” disagreements will we not?  
I look at the ‘Debate Area’ as I do a boxing ring at the YMCA.  At sometime in the distant past, someone determined that “Young men will be young men – fights will happen, so let’s give them a safer venue than an alley.”  So they built a ring and gave them padded gloves.  No one is forced into the ring.
If someone is going to begin a thread they know will cause a ‘stir’ a good example would be “US Elections 2004”  :-X it might as well go into a folder where everyone expects differences of opinion.
In general I am a poor debater but I enjoy following the debates.  I am particularly poor at spiritual debate – even at my age I feel like I have too much to learn and not enough to share.  I’ll mix it up a little when politics is involved,  ;D but that’s a whole-nother-matter.
Having said all this - RESPECT is the key.
And as Allinall thoughtfully points out "We share a Savior, a Father, a mission, a love and a future."

That would be fine if you want to close the forum and make it available for christian fellowship ONLY. Then I agree, "brothers in Christ arguing" is certainly not glorifying God, nor edifying to anyone else, either. It doesn't set a very good example of what Christians should be.

If it comes to that, then those of us left here will happily fellowship together, but will we be helping the lost? Maybe.

Taking part in a "debate" with non-christians can be glorifying to God if we ALLOW GOD to lead us through the debate process. If we let His peaceful spirit give us the words we use; if we let his love temper our attitudes then what a non-believer should see is "Christ" in us. While that may not "convert" anyone from their position of non-belief, it is the seed we can plant. God will do the rest. But only if we can plant the seed. With some people, the only way to do that is enter into the debate.

"What does God want?" is the question to answer. My answer would probably be "that none should be lost".

I've been out on the net looking for some of those "lost" souls who caused the havock here; so far I've found 2. Why? Because God said "I came to save the lost-go find them".

So, I will say again that I think the debate area can be useful to God's purposes, but if the doors are closed, I still have a home here.

peace

Gracey

ps: I never give up til God says so.

I'd like people to check out "Have spiritual gifts ceased or are they still around?" in General Theology. This is technically a debate because differing opinions are encouraged. This is the type of debate we should be having among our fellow sisters and brothers in Christ. These are rules that WE can follow. Now, don't expect non-believers to follow this; they won't try to have a contructive debate.

If I can weigh in here (I weigh a LOT):

A debate forum, if it is truly dedicated to a structured and highly moderated debate format, could be quite beneficial to all of us.

To learn, and use, the essentials of classical debate techniques would do wonders to help all become better equipped to deal with seekers and scoffers alike.

While it is true that very few minds (of those actively involved) will be changed, the purpose of debate is really for those who listen or observe in terms of coming to grips with certain things, and for those involved to "sharpen their swords", as it were.

Generally, a debate should not involve more than two, a proponent and an opponent, and the subject to be debated should be very narrowly defined, rather than far-ranging and nebulous.

Beats having a water-cooler whang-bang.....and it's oh, so civilized.  ;D

Orchestrated in such a fashion, with the understanding that between the two involved in the debate that they are to adhere to the rules set and willing to learn...then iron can truly sharpen iron.  Lots of "ifs" though.  We have enough "whang-bangs" everywhere else.   ;D