MennoNet.com

I have mentioned before how I dislike this feature on this forum as, to me, it is so non-Anabaptist in Anabaptist belief. I am not one that can articulate well what I mean by this but it has much to do with providing a means for us to stay in a mindset that it is OK to have 'foes' and selective 'friends' of other Christians. This so goes against NT scripture and Anabaptist way of following Jesus, that I thought I would bring it up for discussion.

Some of you do not care for Greg Boyd and some of his beliefs as an Anabaptist. I get that and I think Greg does too. Yet when I listen to Greg on certain topics, to me, he is saying how I believe certain Anabaptist views separate themselves from some other Christian views and should be closely looked at. One of these views is about this topic of loving even our enemies. I sometimes think the biggest challenge for some of us is not enemies in the non-Christian world but rather enemies within the Christian world. In forums like this Christians are often in conflict with one another and myself included. We basically know here that some have chosen to take an enemy/foe view of others for their own personal reasons.

Here is a lesson Greg gives relating to dealing with enemies that I think continues to pursue what some are trying to focus on in other recent threads. You may not be a big Boyd fan but give this a listen and see if what he says is truly an Anabaptist belief on judging others and having no enemies.

Hoping to get some feedback but perhaps I'm already on too many foe lists. For a more condensed view start at the scripture reading at the 10 minute mark.

Maybe we should rename it the "Shun" List.

Robert wrote:Maybe we should rename it the "Shun" List.

Good one. I tried to 'foe' you but I guess you are one that just can't be shunned. I hadn't tried this before but when I just tried it I noticed that if someone else uses your foe's post or part of it in a reply, it still shows up.

As Greg Boyd said there is a point where I should no longer take abuse as it does not serve myself or the abuser well. But if feel this 'shunning' to be necessary, then I think I really need to consider how I really feel about this person in light of how God looks upon them. Do I still pray for them and ask God's blessing on them ? If not, what does this tell me about my attitude towards them ?

I suppose I can see using this in a spiritual growth sense, with the goal that someday, as soon as possible with God's help, I can remove them from a 'foe' list and not hold unto any judging attitudes. Being set free to see them as God does who sends the rain on the just and the unjust. Overcoming my human weakness to judge.

So, perhaps it is a feature that can be used to tell me something about myself and my relationships with others. I wish though that there was a way to know who has me on their list so we could get to the reason for this and perhaps make whatever changes necessary for reconciliation.

Personally, anyone, PM me if I am considered a 'foe' and perhaps we can work things out.

I think that that feature could be useful if we ever got trolls/spam here or if (Heaven forbid,) someone started sending nasty messages, but otherwise I've just ignored the setting

francis wrote:I think that that feature could be useful if we ever got trolls/spam here or if (Heaven forbid,) someone started sending nasty messages, but otherwise I've just ignored the setting

Agreed. I think the title "friend" and "foe" are a bit silly... Perhaps "block" would be best. That's just semantics, though.
I don't view it as anything personable. As Francis said, just more a useful feature to include on online sites.

KingdomBuilder wrote:

francis wrote:I think that that feature could be useful if we ever got trolls/spam here or if (Heaven forbid,) someone started sending nasty messages, but otherwise I've just ignored the setting

Agreed. I think the title "friend" and "foe" are a bit silly... Perhaps "block" would be best. That's just semantics, though.
I don't view it as anything personable. As Francis said, just more a useful feature to include on online sites.

I think that this is what the site Admin is for, and I'm sure Robert responds to problem reports about trolls or nasty messages. I personally have never blocked anyone on any site. There are people I stay out of the way of, even here, but I still read what they have to say on topics of interest, and try to be conciliatory. (Maybe my missionary experiences of sometimes working toward a common goal even with those who actually opposed our primary goal - bringing the Gospel to tribal people - is still working in me. I don't always do well on the highway, and maybe not always on here, either, but overall I try to be an advocate of peace.)

There's nothing at all "Anabaptist" about the idea of listening with no end to people whose opinions you strongly disagree with.

For example, I have seen an Anabaptist minister in very good standing simply tell someone who tries to bring up a topic that he doesn't want to discuss that "No, we are not discussing that tonight", and after another attempt just a "No." Sometimes this has to be done.

It's kind of the opposite of Anabaptist to allow someone to repeatedly speak the same heresy over and over. And if someone does so because they have clouded/muddy thinking due to a mental illness or defect, it's not even loving to them to let their illness act out. Often a firm "No" is an act of love.