Insults for Christ

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Greeting Brothers and Sisters - I’ve recently separated myself from an online forum which has plentiful Christians, or so they say, that have no problem at all insulting others (atheists, agnostics, or other Christians) when they don’t agree with them.

These insults run the range from just snarky up to but excluding profanity (profanity is against the rules).

I now consider myself under recovery from participating in this site;)

The insults for Jesus crowd used common day insults all the way up to but EXCLUDING profanity which is banned.

About a week into being active in this forum I made an OP entitled “Would Jesus be ashamed of the insults typically allowed in this forum?”

This led to what I’d call a firestorm of criticism and attacks from Christians with statements like Jesus had no problem insulting others as He insulted the Pharasees and Sadducees. Many would make statements (and these are Christians mind you) that “they would insult anyone they like whenever they like if they saw a reason or even if they didn’t have a reason.”

I personally think I am well rid of that forum as it was beginning to infect me with what I call an un-Christian like attitude.

I’d like to have feed back from others on this and also any scriptural quotes (I have read the Bible several times but I am no way qualified to search for such things) that would argue for or against this behavior (although I’d be surprised that anyone could find scripture to support it."
 
After rebuking them, you did well to leave. Nothing lasting can be gained from the abuse and scorn that the seem to be giving each other.

From what I’ve seen here at the Catholic Answers Forums, I think you found a good place to have significant and charitable conversation.

Some helpfully passages as I think Scripture is quite clear on this matter.

Ephesians 4:29 ESV :
Let no corrupting talk come out of your mouths, but only such as is good for building up, as fits the occasion, that it may give grace to those who hear.

Colossians 3:8-10 ESV
But now you must put them all away: anger, wrath, malice, slander, and obscene talk from your mouth. Do not lie to one another, seeing that you have put off the old self with its practices and have put on the new self, which is being renewed in knowledge after the image of its creator.

Colossians 4:6 ESV
Let your speech always be gracious, seasoned with salt, so that you may know how you ought to answer each person.

Philippians 4:8 ESV
Finally, brothers, whatever is true, whatever is honorable, whatever is just, whatever is pure, whatever is lovely, whatever is commendable, if there is any excellence, if there is anything worthy of praise, think about these things.

Matthew 15:10-11 ESV
And he called the people to him and said to them, “Hear and understand: it is not what goes into the mouth that defiles a person, but what comes out of the mouth; this defiles a person.”
 
Thank you. Your response means a lot to me.

Specifically, that you for the Scripture.

God Bess.
 
“love your enemies”
“do good to those that persecute you”
“By this all men will know that you my disciples if you have love for one another”
“do unto others as you would have them do unto you”

Real love explained on this site
catholiceducation.org/articles/apologetics/ap0019.html

Read the letter of St James, he talks on the importance of the tongue.
 
Christ is the pre-existent second person of the Trinity. He suffered death on the cross for our redemption. He is the Logos, the Word made Flesh who dwelt among us.

He can handle whatever insults puny humans can dish out.

Whether THEY can handle the effects of their own insults is a different question.
 
Thank you all. The Peace and Love evident on this site is moving . . .
 
It is easy to pray for people you like. It’s harder to pray for those you don’t.

Pray for them, and offer it up!(It sounds like they could use them.)

Welcome !!
 
I too spent a lot of time at such a site. Very harmful to the soul. The rule should be as the scriptures state:
Always be prepared to make a defense to any one who calls you to account for the hope that is in you, yet do it with gentleness and reverence; and keep your conscience clear, so that, when you are abused, those who revile your good behavior in Christ may be put to shame. For it is better to suffer for doing right, if that should be God’s will, than for doing wrong. (1 Pet. 3:15-17)
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It is a shame that even the best among us can occasionally forget. But it is a tragedy that there are so many within the anonymity of the internet who simply ignore this “golden rule” of apologetics.

Welcome, and Peace,
Robert
 
Sadly, I have seen forums like that. You are wise to move on.

The best I can gather is that they think that Jesus turning over the tables in the Temple and calling the Pharisees a “brood of vipers” somehow gives them a free pass to be as crotchety and downright vindictive as they please.

Of course, this argument falls flat when we recognize that (a) Jesus is God, so only He is uniquely qualified to “call a spade a spade”; (b) Jesus did these things in specific circumstances for specific reasons; and (c) we cannot just cherry pick Scripture verses to support our behavior without looking at the whole of Scripture (and the previous posters have already supplied some great verses to illustrate why that it not acceptable behavior).

Really, I just pray for these people. I cannot imagine what must have happened to them in their lives to have made proclaiming the Gospel such a sour experience.
 
XRU said:
The insults for Jesus crowd used common day insults all the way up to but EXCLUDING profanity which is banned.

About a week into being active in this forum I made an OP entitled “Would Jesus be ashamed of the insults typically allowed in this forum?”
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I have, uh…kind of a poor temperament…technically…

I’m not really argumentative with people just because we don’t agree. I’m actually more argumentative when people get arrogant or entitled or try to belittle others or put them in their places. Sometimes the way I talk to people is…well, similar to what you describe above, so I admit to doing that too. Actually I’m probably worse at it because you don’t have to exclude profanity when your argument is face to face… What bothers me is that I know what I’m doing wrong, and have since tried to slow it down and not talk to people like that anymore… But then you run into a lot of people who are perfectly okay with what they’re doing, and actually they do a lot of harmful things, using the excuse that it’s “in God’s name.” They will never see it as harmful behavior because in their minds it’s what God would want them to do.
 
Joe_5859 said:
Sadly, I have seen forums like that. You are wise to move on.

The best I can gather is that they think that Jesus turning over the tables in the Temple and calling the Pharisees a “brood of vipers” somehow gives them a free pass to be as crotchety and downright vindictive as they please.

Of course, this argument falls flat when we recognize that (a) Jesus is God, so only He is uniquely qualified to “call a spade a spade”; (b) Jesus did these things in specific circumstances for specific reasons; and (c) we cannot just cherry pick Scripture verses to support our behavior without looking at the whole of Scripture (and the previous posters have already supplied some great verses to illustrate why that it not acceptable behavior).

Really, I just pray for these people. I cannot imagine what must have happened to them in their lives to have made proclaiming the Gospel such a sour experience.
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Oh yes . . . thank you. That is the other reasons they gave, the over turn tables and the “brood of vipers” bit.

Yes . … I did have enough mentally on the ball to point out the "Jesus is " God as you put it and qualified to call a space is a space and as I recall that argument was ignored which is a common strategy on this “debate” forum.

I will pray for them . . . unfortunately the experience is so strong and with me at the moment that I cannot tolerate even bringing the “electronic image” to mind and so cannot get to the prey part. But I will after time.

Thank you.
 
You might wish to find yourself a handy concordance. If you can think of a scripture phrase, you should be able to find it with a word from that phrase. I have a paper back one that is indeed ‘handy’ but you should be able to find one you can use on line.

You can use it too when, let’s say if you’re feeling down, look up ‘rejoice’ and see what scriptures talk about rejoicing.

God bless.
 
In_Training said:
I have, uh…kind of a poor temperament…technically…

I’m not really argumentative with people just because we don’t agree. I’m actually more argumentative when people get arrogant or entitled or try to belittle others or put them in their places. Sometimes the way I talk to people is…well, similar to what you describe above, so I admit to doing that too. Actually I’m probably worse at it because you don’t have to exclude profanity when your argument is face to face… What bothers me is that I know what I’m doing wrong, and have since tried to slow it down and not talk to people like that anymore… But then you run into a lot of people who are perfectly okay with what they’re doing, and actually they do a lot of harmful things, using the excuse that it’s “in God’s name.” They will never see it as harmful behavior because in their minds it’s what God would want them to do.
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Well I’m with you there. After being around that sort of talk for awhile I started being toxic and I begin to slip back into bad habits.

I used to swear a lot and back then, I really enjoyed it. I preyed and tried and happily have broken that habit but like any behavioral addiction I can’t say I’m cured and do relapse at times much to my chagrin and shame.

So I have to stay away from “slippery places” where others will grease the skids to the old ways.

Similarly, I have an extremel aggressive personality under certain circumstances . … sports for example or playing combat style video games; happily my Mother gave me enough social conditioning that I have my aggressiveness easily under control in social situations if you know what I mean.

When it comes to insulting talk I noticed that it was a slippery slide when I saw friends who came into this website with little if any tendency to talk in this way, start to talk like that after a time.

I must point out though that I have some friends from the site who seem to be of a “tougher” type than me, because they showed no concern about the aggressive talk even when it was directed toward them. They were as cool and call as ever.

Me on the other hand would start hearing “Fight!” like at the start of Street Fighter video game when I’d get insulted. When I hear that internal “Fight” and the “gloves come off” its hard to set a limit as to what’s said, in my experience.
 
PennyinCanada said:
You might wish to find yourself a handy concordance. If you can think of a scripture phrase, you should be able to find it with a word from that phrase. I have a paper back one that is indeed ‘handy’ but you should be able to find one you can use on line.

You can use it too when, let’s say if you’re feeling down, look up ‘rejoice’ and see what scriptures talk about rejoicing.

God bless.
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Thank you . . . concordances we have.
 
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