So my last post caused quite a stir, and at first I was dumbfounded to how it was disturbing so many Christians. It seemed obvious to me that the things I said - though possibly a bit harsh - were true. Thanks to discussion with a friend, I think I get what a large part of the problem was. So I'm going to try to clarify that for you.
The post was never meant to be directed at specific people - or even at people in general. I was not ranting AT people. It came about BECAUSE of people, but the post itself was not about the people or about the specific things that they had said. It was about attitudes that I had observed from various folks that struck me as being wrong and all the more so because those folks claimed to be Christians. I was not clear about this distinction and that is my fault. I apologize for that. I never intended for it to be against PEOPLE - rather against improper attitudes that I was finding to be prevalent.
Hope that helps clear it up.
I found your post perfectly clear. Not to be rude or unnecessarily harsh, but the outcry against it reminds me of a saying I heard in a Louis L'Amour book once: "If'n ya throw a rock into a pack o' dogs, the one that yelps is the one that got hit." In other words, if you make a general statement and somebody takes offense, quite likely it is because they are the ones feeling guilty because it applies to them.
ReplyDeleteThe need for clarification was certainly needed. "Let your speech be alway with grace, seasoned with salt, that ye may know how ye ought to answer every man." As there is a time for harshness, there is also a time for temper that harshness with grace.
ReplyDeleteThat is a good quote, Katy. As I have never read him but said something similar a few times in the past, it seems he has hit on a good bit of practical wisdom. But, it is not always likely that others feel guilty by application. Sometimes people are simply offended by the presentation and not the actual message itself.