...we won't let you fellowship with us.
Go ahead. I'll fellowship with other people.
...we won't let you come to our church.
Go ahead. I wasn't planning on attending your church. (I prefer churches in my own denomination; and if ELCA churches aren't available in a place where I'm visiting, I'll attend Episcopal or Catholic services, instead.)
...we won't let you commune with us.
I commune only in churches which believe that the elements of bread and wine become the actual Body and Blood of Christ. If your church doesn't teach that, I won't commune with you.
...you're not going to go to Heaven.
You don't get to make that decision: God does.
...you're going to burn in Hell.
You don't get to make that decision: God does.
Also, I lay claim to Romans 8:28-39:
And we know that for those who love God all things work together for good, for those who are called according to his purpose. 29 For those whom he foreknew he also predestined to be conformed to the image of his Son, in order that he might be the firstborn among many brothers. 30 And those whom he predestined he also called, and those whom he called he also justified, and those whom he justified he also glorified. 31 What then shall we say to these things? If God is for us, who can be against us? 32 He who did not spare his own Son but gave him up for us all, how will he not also with him graciously give us all things? 33 Who shall bring any charge against God's elect? It is God who justifies. 34 Who is to condemn? Christ Jesus is the one who diedmore than that, who was raisedwho is at the right hand of God, who indeed is interceding for us. 35 Who shall separate us from the love of Christ? Shall tribulation, or distress, or persecution, or famine, or nakedness, or danger, or sword? 36 As it is written, For your sake we are being killed all the day long; we are regarded as sheep to be slaughtered.
37 No, in all these things we are more than conquerors through him who loved us. 38 For I am sure that neither death nor life, nor angels nor rulers, nor things present nor things to come, nor powers, 39 nor height nor depth, nor anything else in all creation, will be able to separate us from the love of God in Christ Jesus our Lord.
...we'll say you're not a Christian.
Go ahead. Just because someone calls me a door doesn't make me a door.
...we'll say you're possessed by a demon.
Well, you may have one there: I'm diabetic and I'm more than sick of giving myself insulin shots and pricking my fingers all time. When someone figures out how to cure diabetes I'll be more than happy to have that monkey off my back.
...we'll say you lead a sinful lifestyle.
We all lead a "sinful lifestyle" -- each and every single day of our lives. We are all saint and sinner alike. We will all sin in some way from now until one second after we're dead and we've left this life. The fact that you're a heterosexual doesn't make you any less a sinner than I, nor does it make you any more sanctified or justified before God. You and I will sin today (probably within the next hour!), and tomorrow, and the next day, and every single day until we die. If we weren't sinners incapable of keeping the Law, we wouldn't have needed a Savior; and we all work out our salvation each and every single day.
...we'll say you're an atheist and a non-believer.
A person who believes in God is, by definition, not an atheist or a non-believer. Furthermore, I'm not beholden to what you think or what you say. Just because you call me a chair does not make me a chair.
...we won't associate with you.
Go ahead: make my day. I can live with that -- quite happily, in fact!
...we won't let you play any of our reindeer games.
Then I'll go play reindeer games with someone else.
...we'll make your life miserable on Christian Forums.
You might want to keep the CF Terms of Service, posted here, in mind:
2.1 No Flaming
Members should not insult another member with a personal attack. Such behavior would include personally defamatory comments or inflammatory accusations, even if they are believed to be true. Categorically stating that somebody is destined for hell is also considered to be flaming.
This does not mean that criticizing another person's beliefs is the same as flaming. For instance, saying an idea is non-bliblical is not the same as saying that a member is non-Christian or follows non-biblical beliefs.
As a general rule, when in doubt, assume good faith on the part of the other poster.
2.2 No Harassment of Other Members
A member should not go out of their way to make another member's CF experience miserable.
2.3. Congregational Areas Will Have Their Own Rules for Debating
The members of the Congregational fora will be empowered to elect their own moderators and establish their own rules for who may debate in them. In essence, they will remain safe-havens for members of the Congregation.
This does not mean that Congregational fora are allowed to make rules that conflict with the CF rules.
2.4 No Defamation of Other Members
You shall not make posts about other members that are not true. This includes slander of another member or misrepresentations about another person's faith. If a post is found or shown to be untrue, it should be retracted with apology.
And by the way: I can press the [REPORT] button, too.
Any questions, or any parts of this post which are unclear?
Go ahead. I'll fellowship with other people.
...we won't let you come to our church.
Go ahead. I wasn't planning on attending your church. (I prefer churches in my own denomination; and if ELCA churches aren't available in a place where I'm visiting, I'll attend Episcopal or Catholic services, instead.)
...we won't let you commune with us.
I commune only in churches which believe that the elements of bread and wine become the actual Body and Blood of Christ. If your church doesn't teach that, I won't commune with you.
...you're not going to go to Heaven.
You don't get to make that decision: God does.
...you're going to burn in Hell.
You don't get to make that decision: God does.
Also, I lay claim to Romans 8:28-39:
And we know that for those who love God all things work together for good, for those who are called according to his purpose. 29 For those whom he foreknew he also predestined to be conformed to the image of his Son, in order that he might be the firstborn among many brothers. 30 And those whom he predestined he also called, and those whom he called he also justified, and those whom he justified he also glorified. 31 What then shall we say to these things? If God is for us, who can be against us? 32 He who did not spare his own Son but gave him up for us all, how will he not also with him graciously give us all things? 33 Who shall bring any charge against God's elect? It is God who justifies. 34 Who is to condemn? Christ Jesus is the one who diedmore than that, who was raisedwho is at the right hand of God, who indeed is interceding for us. 35 Who shall separate us from the love of Christ? Shall tribulation, or distress, or persecution, or famine, or nakedness, or danger, or sword? 36 As it is written, For your sake we are being killed all the day long; we are regarded as sheep to be slaughtered.
37 No, in all these things we are more than conquerors through him who loved us. 38 For I am sure that neither death nor life, nor angels nor rulers, nor things present nor things to come, nor powers, 39 nor height nor depth, nor anything else in all creation, will be able to separate us from the love of God in Christ Jesus our Lord.
...we'll say you're not a Christian.
Go ahead. Just because someone calls me a door doesn't make me a door.
...we'll say you're possessed by a demon.
Well, you may have one there: I'm diabetic and I'm more than sick of giving myself insulin shots and pricking my fingers all time. When someone figures out how to cure diabetes I'll be more than happy to have that monkey off my back.
...we'll say you lead a sinful lifestyle.
We all lead a "sinful lifestyle" -- each and every single day of our lives. We are all saint and sinner alike. We will all sin in some way from now until one second after we're dead and we've left this life. The fact that you're a heterosexual doesn't make you any less a sinner than I, nor does it make you any more sanctified or justified before God. You and I will sin today (probably within the next hour!), and tomorrow, and the next day, and every single day until we die. If we weren't sinners incapable of keeping the Law, we wouldn't have needed a Savior; and we all work out our salvation each and every single day.
...we'll say you're an atheist and a non-believer.
A person who believes in God is, by definition, not an atheist or a non-believer. Furthermore, I'm not beholden to what you think or what you say. Just because you call me a chair does not make me a chair.
...we won't associate with you.
Go ahead: make my day. I can live with that -- quite happily, in fact!
...we won't let you play any of our reindeer games.
Then I'll go play reindeer games with someone else.
...we'll make your life miserable on Christian Forums.
You might want to keep the CF Terms of Service, posted here, in mind:
2.1 No Flaming
Members should not insult another member with a personal attack. Such behavior would include personally defamatory comments or inflammatory accusations, even if they are believed to be true. Categorically stating that somebody is destined for hell is also considered to be flaming.
This does not mean that criticizing another person's beliefs is the same as flaming. For instance, saying an idea is non-bliblical is not the same as saying that a member is non-Christian or follows non-biblical beliefs.
As a general rule, when in doubt, assume good faith on the part of the other poster.
2.2 No Harassment of Other Members
A member should not go out of their way to make another member's CF experience miserable.
2.3. Congregational Areas Will Have Their Own Rules for Debating
The members of the Congregational fora will be empowered to elect their own moderators and establish their own rules for who may debate in them. In essence, they will remain safe-havens for members of the Congregation.
This does not mean that Congregational fora are allowed to make rules that conflict with the CF rules.
2.4 No Defamation of Other Members
You shall not make posts about other members that are not true. This includes slander of another member or misrepresentations about another person's faith. If a post is found or shown to be untrue, it should be retracted with apology.
And by the way: I can press the [REPORT] button, too.
Any questions, or any parts of this post which are unclear?