One of the sins that Paul mentions that we don't think a whole lot about is party spirit (like in Galatians 5:19-21). This is also sometimes translated as "factions". The point is that churches shouldn't have separate factions that are clawing at each other.
I have been thinking of this in light of the Norman Geisler controversies. I have been involved in the discussions here and on Facebook, and I've noticed a lot of us are angry at him (I don't think this is unjustified). But sometimes I wonder if we take it too far, with jokes, snide comments, etc. I do believe that a Christian can and should stand up for justice when a Christian brother is being wronged. But there a point at which we're verging into party spirit when making fun of him and his allies?
To be clear, I'm not saying we shouldn't stand up when he's slandering other Christians (and I think it's fair to say that he has been using outright slander in some instances)... but I'm honestly asking about how he go about it and whether our hearts are always in the right place.
I have been thinking of this in light of the Norman Geisler controversies. I have been involved in the discussions here and on Facebook, and I've noticed a lot of us are angry at him (I don't think this is unjustified). But sometimes I wonder if we take it too far, with jokes, snide comments, etc. I do believe that a Christian can and should stand up for justice when a Christian brother is being wronged. But there a point at which we're verging into party spirit when making fun of him and his allies?
To be clear, I'm not saying we shouldn't stand up when he's slandering other Christians (and I think it's fair to say that he has been using outright slander in some instances)... but I'm honestly asking about how he go about it and whether our hearts are always in the right place.
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