modcat5

Glossolalia is off topic on this thread. Feel free to discuss in doctrinal or, from a skeptical perspective, on a thread in this forum where it is on topic.

No worries. See what I did there? On another front, I wanted to thank Modgellan for stepping in yesterday. We don't always see eye to eye, and I tried to make it clear that I would accept his review even if I didn't agree with it. One thing he only touched on that I think needs to be said out loud. And I'm putting on the modhat even though I take it very personally. DWBH said a LOT of hateful things about me after he left GSC, and I am not really at liberty to respond because he's no longer on this site to defend himself. I will tell you that he went on a vicious and hostile social media campaign to slander my personal and professional reputation. I do not accept the blame for his disappearance from GSC, and while I don't expect one, I believe I am entitled to an apology for this cheap, petty and ignorant allegation. OldSkool can come here and defend himself whenever he wants. But I expect him and everyone else to be honest about it. He was always perfectly free to espouse his point of view. That was never the problem. The problem was he had zero tolerance for anyone espousing the opposite point of view. GSC has dozens of threads where Christianity is presumed, the scripture is respected as an authority, and unbelievers have [at best] limited reign to interject. That wasn't good enough for OS. He had to say Christianity is no longer welcome at GSC, which is demonstrably untrue. Then he got mad at me for calling that lie a lie. Too bad. OS was not banned. He left because he wanted to, never recanting the lie that served as his motive. I do not accept the blame for his disappearance from GSC, and while I don't expect one, I believe I am entitled to an apology for this cheap, petty and ignorant allegation. Finally, poor skyrider. I believe in our years on GSC, we maybe crossed swords a few times. I want to say I challenged an anecdote of his, but I truly don't recall if it was skyrider, Socrates or socks. Whoever it was, it was years ago and never stopped any of them from posting. Maybe they avoided ME. Hard to tell seeing as I don't/didn't interact with any of them often enough to notice. Sorry, but it's true. They say their thing and nine times out of eight I don't get involved. I'm not saying never, but it's rare. In his very last post, May 25, 2023, he praised GSC for shining the light on TWI. He also quoted scripture. It's in the Time To Come Home thread in About the Way. Here's something skyrider wrote in Feb. 2023: THAT is what skyrider thought of GSC. Five months after his final post, Skyrider died. DIED. He didn't "quit posting because Raf made him feel unwelcome." He DIED. And you have the cold-hearted AUDACITY to blame MY conduct as a moderator for the decision of a man to stop posting here after his DEATH?!?! I do not accept the blame for his disappearance from GSC, and while I don't expect one, I believe I am entitled to an apology for this cheap, petty and ignorant absolutely contemptible allegation. The phrase gets used too often to be effective, but if ever there was a time it was appropriate: YOU SHOULD BE ASHAMED OF YOURSELF. Off my soap box. Apologies for digressing from the thread topic.

It is done.

This appears to be the post you are saying is gone. It is not. You mentioned others. I see no evidence of missing posts (the only evidence I would be able to detect are quotes that don't link back to posts).

A few years back I learned not to moderate threads when I'm posting on them. You of all people should remember why. That rule has been modified slightly because there are just two active moderators left, not counting Paw (so three, but he's been pretty hands off). So now I will moderate a thread I'm on, but only under very specific circumstances. One non-negotiable circumstance is I WILL ANNOUNCE LOUDLY AND CLEARLY WHENEVER I MODERATE A THREAD IN WHICH I AM A PARTICIPANT. This has NOT happened on this thread. I am unaware of any moderation action on this thread at all. There were no reported posts and no removed posts. Please let me know if I can help identify and locate any missing posts. There has to be some explanation. Censorship is not one.

Splitting threads is easier said than done. Enjoy.

Just to be clear: If you want to answer the question that is the title of this thread, that belongs in doctrinal. If you want to discuss how TWI and VPW approached this subject, that's stays here.

At this point I would agree, but I don't feel I've made a case for it.

Batcrap insane

That was kind but unnecessary. A good number of rules on this site were designed specifically to address the improper ways I handled disagreements with other people [ahem,Mike,ahem]. I've been tempted in all points like as you are, yet with sin after sin after sin. I am in no position to be judgmental against people who may end up having mod ID's of their own after a while.

I have to watch the video to know that the video is trying for a Biblical answer, though I could have guessed that on my own. BUT How do I know what the OP meant when he posted it? Yeah, you're probably right. But Matters of Faith opens it up more than one answer, right?

Namecalling is attacking the character of the person who posted. That has not taken place here. We were accused of engaging in an anti-Christian bias. That is not true. It is a lie and is being called such. The person who posted this untruth is not being called a liar. That would be a personal attack. What he posted is being called a lie. Given that it is untrue and that there are enough available facts for a reasonable person to deduce that it is untrue, the statement itself is being called a lie. I hope that clears things up.

It must be said, it is true that sometimes threads that are posted in the wrong forum and remain there for "some time." This is not a reflection of bias. It is a reflection of the fact that we have jobs and lives of our own and we don't spend our days waiting for someone to post something just so we can review it and pass judgment. This thread was moved when someone politely reported it and correctly noted it belongs in doctrinal, not About the Way. I thought "Matters of Faith" as a general category was more fitting than Doctrinal, which has more to do with being Biblically correct. Let me know what you think and we can reconsider its placement. If you hunt around, you'll see many posts about God and Christ and Christianity that are for the most part undisturbed by atheist or nonbelieving interjections. OldSkool omitted reference to such posts and threads because they illustrate quite clearly that he is lying. Incidentally, the fact that we continue to permit him to post here despite his insistence on lying about us further illustrates that he is lying. I may not like his lies... I mean posts, but he is welcome to stay as long as he likes so long as he sticks to the rules, which he for the most part has. Christians are welcome here and discussions about Christian thoughts and ideas are likewise welcome.

Once again, OldSkool is lying. Christian messages are most welcome here, as are expressions of faith and belief in God. This is not a disagreement. He's lying.

That is a lie, in case you're wondering.

The idea of separating religion from politics is, in historical terms, a fairly recent phenomenon. The church has been intertwined with the state ever since there was a state (or a church). If the Bible is to be believed, it is impossible to separate the nation of Israel from the worship of the God of Israel. That doesn't change because the First Amendment exists. Belief in God remains a political asset to be appreciated, expected, and yes, exploited. The left invoked faith to campaign against slavery, the right to campaign against abortion. I would hardly expect TWI to be any different. The Jehovah's Witnesses are rather unique in their resolve to divorce the religion from the politics of this world. The Catholic Church openly embraces political causes, if not parties. Some of the literature I've seen would suggest they care more about opposition to abortion than they do about opposition to the death penalty, but their stances on each of those issues are otherwise equally strong. I am confident that if you find a church that doesn't try to tell you one way or another how to vote, you have found the exception rather than the rule.

Apologies for the delayed response. This thread has been moved for reasons that should have been obvious months ago. My fault only (not sure if this thread was reported, but if it was, I must have been SOUND asleep. It did not belong in About The Way and I apologize for giving the impression that GSC is here to bash Christianity. GSC is here to give an opportunity to express thoughts on faith freely. This thread should have been moved eons ago. I take full responsibility.

ok maybe that was a bit much, but seriously, come on dudes. This isn't hard.

Putting on my Mod hat to deal with a politics violation, which has been deleted. And I feel the need to remind people of the difference between posting about people v. posting about ideas. "Raf, I don't agree with you because this expert in the field says you're mistaken" is posting about ideas. "Raf, I don't like that you're no longer a believer" is posting about people. "Raf, you're what's wrong with America" is politics. Also F.U. "Raf you may think you're right but my holy book says you'll be sorry" is irrelevant and off-topic. "Raf, I don't agree with your point because BOO!" is not a constructive continuation of the discussion. If you cannot distinguish between these statements, STAY OFF ALL THREADS. Thank you.

Look out cause here I come And I'm marching on to the beat I drum I'm not scared to be seen I make no apology...

Well THAT narrowed it down... [not a joke].

Apologies for the delayed reaction, but seriously, NO POLITICS. And it's one thing to skirt the line because the topic demands it. It's another entirely to gleefully flout the rules because you want to be an a$$hole. The recently deleted post was an example of the latter. Knock it off or go find another site to pollute. Final Warning. Posting this publicly so no one can say "but no one said anything!"

I apologize that I did not see this when it originally posted. I am not aware of The Way having hacked into anyone's social media and would refrain from making any such accusation without some evidence (a first-hand allegation would qualify. "I heard they did it to my ex best friend's cousin-in-law" would not).

Appreciated.

Ok, um... I um.... I lost the thread. Working on getting it back. Sorry. *** Ok, I think that worked.