I have rarely seen this kind of thing in face-to-face discussion in Mennonite churches, so I'm surprised when even Mennonites respond this way to each other online. But I am seeing people say things that clearly mean "you have no right to speak, you are an idiot" or "you have no right to speak, I have the Holy Spirit and you don't" or "you have no right to speak, I know what I am talking about and you don't".Matthew 5 wrote:21 “You have heard that it was said to our ancestors, Do not murder, and whoever murders will be subject to judgment. 22 But I tell you, everyone who is angry with his brother or sister will be subject to judgment. Whoever insults his brother or sister, will be subject to the court. Whoever says, ‘You fool!’ will be subject to hellfire.
Can we do better? I think the analysis below is accurate. I definitely think we should be able to offer other opinions, question something that has been said, discuss areas where we might grow, ask for evidence if people say something that may not be true, etc., but that's different from the whole Raca! You fool! You idiot! thing.
https://www.gotquestions.org/raca.html
The first-century Jews recognized that “anyone who murders will be subject to judgment” (Matthew 5:21), but Jesus warns that even calling another person insulting names such as “raca” is sinful. Murder begins in the heart, and epithets such as “raca” are signs that there is hatred lurking within. The hatred that causes one person to hurl insults is the same hatred that causes another to commit murder. The attitude of the heart is the same, and it’s this attitude that makes a person morally guilty before God.
Jesus not only warns us against expressing unrighteous anger, which can lead to murder, but clearly commands that disparaging denunciations and name-calling be avoided. Such abusive words reveal the true intents of one’s heart and mind for which we will be held in judgment: “I the LORD search the heart and examine the mind, to reward each person according to their conduct, according to what their deeds deserve” (Jeremiah 17:10; cf. 1 Samuel 16:7; 1 Chronicles 28:9).