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Division Among the Ranks.
I used to spend a lot of time out on christianforums.com. Actually, I still drop by there from time to time, but I can only handle it in small doses. It is a massive forum where Christians from all denominations get together to discuss philosophy, spirituality, addiction, abuse, etc. It is a really diverse collection of people. I know that there are hundreds (if not thousands) of great people that post.
The sections of the site that I would regularly visit were war zones. They aren’t like that as much anymore, because so many people became so disgusted with the rampant in-fighting, that they just left. Nonetheless, there is still a great deal of conflict. Part of the reason is that most of the people seemed to fall into three camps. The people from these camps would inevitably cross paths, and all hell would break loose.
- Group 1
Everything is black and white, and the rules are absolute. All passages from the Bible are literal with no room for interpretation based on cultural context. If you disagree with this, you are a heretic. - Group 2
Everything is pretty cut and dry. I hold strongly to my opinion, but I am willing to discuss. I will treat you with respect as long as you show me the same consideration. - Group 3
Nothing is absolute. If you try to defend your position, or if you take a stand on anything, you are being overly defensive and close-minded.
As you might expect, this lead to enormous fights and hurt feelings. The gaps between ideologies were so wide, that people often weren’t even in the same book - let alone on the same page. There were issues with people coming from the liberal forums into the conservative forums, and vica versa. Someone would come into the “enemy’s” forum and make some sort of “drive-by” comment to stir the pot, and then sit back and watch the fireworks. It was an interesting little social experiment, but also very depressing. I talk of all this in the past tense, because as I said, things have eased up quite a bit, and the site is under new management, but there are still plenty of interesting discussions out there if you do some digging.
I always try to remember that Christians are a broad demographic. Unfortunately, the term “Christian” has so many negative connotations these days, but I think many of them are deserved. We all make mistakes, and we are destined to be misunderstood to some extent, but just calling myself a “Christian” may not be enough anymore. What kind of a Christian am I? What do I stand for? It’s important that we stand out from the masses and are identified by our actual beliefs - whatever they may be. Often, it is the loudest group that is heard, and as a result, that group ends up speaking for everyone.
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- Group 1