A Fellow Member

Ok, Joshua made a mistake. But do we have to have a thread devoted to running him down? Do I misunderstand the "no personal flames" rule?
I was going to add my 2 cents to this but after reading how this thread has turned into the Joshua hate-mail repository I think I'll pass.

 

I must agree.... Iam not throwing a stone.

Peace,
OD
Will be prayin for you Joshua

 

I am not certain Joshua believes supporting sodomy and pornography is a mistake. If he believes doing such is a mistake, it will be fairly simple for him to correct his error. Simply say, "I was wrong. I should not have done it, and I will now publicly state I abhor the sins of sodomy and pornography." However, I must say I am not going to hold my breath waiting for such a mea culpa.

 

I am not certain Joshua believes supporting sodomy and pornography is a mistake. If he believes doing such is a mistake, it will be fairly simple for him to correct his error. Simply say, "I was wrong. I should not have done it, and I will now publicly state I abhor the sins of sodomy and pornography." However, I must say I am not going to hold my breath waiting for such a mea culpa. </font>[/QUOTE]My point is that most of this thread seems devoted to running down one of our members-in fact, it was started for that very purpose.
With that said, I'm getting back to work.

 

The point is not to run him down, but to clearly and thouroughly expose his view for what they are- heresy- something the Bible expects born again Believers to do.

Ephesians 5:11 And have no fellowship with the unfruitful works of darkenss, but rather, reprove them.

II Tim. 2:15-26

Titus 3:9-12

II Peter 2

I John 2:15-16,29, 3:6-10, 4:1-6

II John 7-11

Jude 8-19

 

A couple points Mr. Curtis:

1. Here's why I post on BaptistBoard. I've never had a hidden agenda:

- This board exposes me to a side of baptist life with which I had previously had no experience. Living in the world of urban, liberal baptist churches with mainstream-seminary-educated pastors; I simply don't have much contact with this side of the baptist coin. It's interesting and educational to hear from the other side.

- Conversely, many people in the IFB world don't have much contact with the liberal side of baptist life. I think it can be equally educational for y'all to see that we exist and that we're human beings.

- I've made some friends here and I like chatting with them. I also enjoy finding ways to build rapport and respect despite theological differences.

- There are plenty of lurkers here, and I don't want them to think that "the IFB perspective" is synonymous with "the baptist perspective."

2. When have I ever attacked anyone here?

Joshua

 

I hope you don't mean "me" by "some folks." I have just as much right to the baptist identity as you or any other baptist minister here. More so than some.

Joshua

 

Let's get a few things straight here Thomas. I was fired from one church 3 years ago because of my views on homosexuality (which are only heterodox in certain Christian circles). I have turned down several churches since then to do the following three things:

- stay at home with my son who was born three years ago
- work with Progressive Clergy of Georgia, allowing me to work on social issues statewide instead of just in my local community
- fill in at Virginia-Highland Baptist Church. You can hear me preach, teach, and lead in worship there regularly.

My ministry opportunities continue to flourish, and thankfully they continue to allow me the flexibility to stay at home with my son.

Joshua

 

Helen, our disputes are far more minor than any that you or I would have with Mormons or Jehovah's Witnesses. I feel strongly that the gospel includes you and me both, but that you insist on filtering that gospel through your cultural biases. I may be wrong, as may you. Ultimately, we are all subject to the will and the mercy of Jesus the only Christ, the Son of the God of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob.

Joshua

 

You were doing pretty well there until you said that the prophetic literature had no weight because it is the product of schools rather than the singular works of particular prophets.

I don't believe that I betrayed biblical truth that day, although I again want to clarify that I was not there to endorse the pornography industry. I was there to make it clear that the Christian Coalition and folks of their ilk do not speak for all Christians and that as a member of that particular community I recognized that an adult book store was no more or less dangerous to our community values than a regular book store.

Joshua

 

Sorry, but that does not compute. Even a secularist would disagree with you on that.

 

Well... no you don't. When you deny the very beliefs that identify one as a Baptist, you no longer have a legitimate right to claim the title.

Unfortunately, there is no way to stop those who are destroying the testimony of our beliefs from continuing to abuse the name 'Baptist.'

 

If there were no market for it, then they wouldn't be faced with that choice. We as christians should not support such an act.
That is the point here, not who is naked.

 

Free speech ends when it endangers someone.

In my personal opinion, not recognized by the laws of this land, it also ends when it devalues someone and makes them less than human--such as what pornography does to both men and women.

Pornography does nothing to further society, or bolster it, or even encourage it to progress. It objectifies and dehumanizes sexuality, instead of emphasizing its meaning in a true nurturing, meaningful relationship.

It causes men and women to lust.

Today, the Feds arrested over 80 people for dealings in child pornography.

There is nothing--nothing--glorifying to God about pornography.

Josh, if you somehow believe that you can be a pastor and a professing Baptist, and at the same time promote this subject matter that detracts from and hurts people's relationships with God (and you are promoting it by supporting its sale in your community)....

Well, you need to be saved. You haven't just given a black eye to Christianity; you've slapped God in the face.

And if you continue to defend your actions, knowing full well that your not being at peace with the idea of championing this endeavor should have been your wake-up call to the fact that something was telling you it wasn't the right thing to do, well, I can only pray for you.

As for those that have decided to say that they'll pray for Josh, but they don't want to jump on the "bash on Josh" bandwagon--well, friends, Jesus Himself told us to rebuke our brethren when they do wrong in order to restore them (Luke 17:3, Galatians 6:1). When Peter rebuked Jesus for saying that He would have to be killed, Jesus didn't say "That's okay, Peter; you have your right to free speech." No, Jesus said, "Get thee behind me, Satan." I don't know about y'all, but I'd be willing to bet a plug nickel that Peter didn't laugh about that, and probably didn't feel real good about it.

Have some guts, and stand up for what's right. Grow a backbone, and don't be afraid to call wrong wrong, and right right.

'Cause if all you'll do is pray for Josh, then you're not telling him what he did was wrong. And if you don't tell him, then he MUST assume that you're telling him what he did was okay.

And if that's how you feel, well, I'll pray for you while I'm praying for Josh.