Blog Discussions An interesting series of articles and the subsequent comment threads at Mike Cope's blog have had my attention for the past few days. Those who know me or read here regularly know that I am not a fan of the position taken by the book Mike was reviewing, a position which Mike apparently shares. Not surprisingly, I found myself almost alone supporting the opposing viewpoint in the discussion that followed each article. A few observations I take away from the experience:

1) Most of the people who posted comments, although they disagreed with me, were kind and respectful. I appreciate that.

2) It is hard to know when to stop defending a minority position and to work for peace. It is even harder actually to stop making a defense of your position. As a visitor on someone else's blog, I don't want to overstay my welcome. Up to a point, the opposing viewpoint makes the discussion more interesting. Beyond that point it can become obnoxious. It is hard to know when you've crossed that line. I hope I didn't.

3) I don't know Mike personally, but I doubt he would support all the positions people took based on what he wrote. A lot of the conversation seemed to go farther than Mike's own commentary. A few gave at least some recognition to the reasonableness of the minority view, but others appeared reluctant to do so. In opposing the minority view, some were questioning the authorship and authority of scriptures. One poster was prepared to apply principles in areas that would not only give women the same roles as men, but would eliminate prohibitions against homosexuality. I suspect even more people thought things like that but did not post about it.

I hope Mike will clarify what he was advocating and what he was not advocating. This is the kind of discussion that can lead to rumors, exaggerations, and unnecessary division. If Mike does not correct some of the things said on his blog, some people might (perhaps unjustly) consider him responsible for supporting those positions. At least, he may be seen as encouraging those who go to those extremes.

As one who is zealous for taking down walls in the name of unity, I think we need to be careful not to inflame those who see things differently from us. We need to be careful not to pour gasoline on a smoldering fire. It takes a lot of work, and humility, and self control, to maintain unity amidst a diversity of strong opinions.  ¶ 5:10 PM