Closed Communion On Threads

[HondurasKeiser]

I wonder how Conservative Anabaptists would like it if Liberal Anabaptists started the same thing and locked them out of giving their views on a thread. I believe some have split off into a fairly new, more Conservative Anabaptist forum where they can isolate themselves and I don't know how this is going. Someone may want to give directions to that forum if you are interested.

I'm not sure if I chimed in on a thread that tried to restrict certain Anabaptists whether my posts would be removed on that thread but I guess I could give it a try. I think some CAs are trying to make this forum something that was not originally intended.

They are perfectly welcome to do the same. No one is telling them they can’t.

I doubt they would as liberal is defined as 'willing to respect or accept behavior or opinions different from one's own'.

That’s a pretty generous definition of liberal.

[Ken]

They are perfectly welcome to do the same. No one is telling them they can’t.

I doubt they would as liberal is defined as 'willing to respect or accept behavior or opinions different from one's own'.

That’s a pretty generous definition of liberal.

Pretty accurate though in the context of this discussion.

For example, I can't think of any MC-USA church that would bar any members from wearing a straight coat, cape dress, covering, or driving a black car. You can essentially be as conservative as you want and attend a liberal church. Just don't expect to enforce your ways on others.

[HondurasKeiser]

Try holding biblical beliefs about marriage in a welcoming and affirming church….I have, it’s not all “free to be you and me.”

[Ken]

Try holding biblical beliefs about marriage in a welcoming and affirming church….I have, it’s not all “free to be you and me.”

Plenty of people disagree with gay marriage and still attend liberal churches. My mother, for example. I'm sure that's not the only thing she disagrees with. But it is still her church too. And if there happen to be gay members she will find it in her heart to welcome them even if she might disapprove of their choices. Just like she would disapprove of divorce and drinking alcohol but would still be welcoming to members who chose to do those things too.

[HondurasKeiser]

Try holding biblical beliefs about marriage in a welcoming and affirming church….I have, it’s not all “free to be you and me.”

Plenty of people disagree with gay marriage and still attend liberal churches. My mother, for example. I'm sure that's not the only thing she disagrees with. But it is still her church too. And if there happen to be gay members she will find it in her heart to welcome them even if she might disapprove of their choices. Just like she would disapprove of divorce and drinking alcohol but would still be welcoming to members who chose to do those things too.

Yes, I disagreed with gay marriage (though at the time that wasn’t the issue, rather it was membership for persons in a same sex relationship) and nevertheless attended a liberal church. Expressing my disagreement with the welcoming and affirming position was not welcome.

[Ken]

Yes, I disagreed with gay marriage (though at the time that wasn’t the issue, rather it was membership for persons in a same sex relationship) and nevertheless attended a liberal church. Expressing my disagreement with the welcoming and affirming position was not welcome.

Like I wrote above:

For example, I can't think of any MC-USA church that would bar any members from wearing a straight coat, cape dress, covering, or driving a black car. You can essentially be as conservative as you want and attend a liberal church. Just don't expect to enforce your ways on others.

[HondurasKeiser]

Yes, I disagreed with gay marriage (though at the time that wasn’t the issue, rather it was membership for persons in a same sex relationship) and nevertheless attended a liberal church. Expressing my disagreement with the welcoming and affirming position was not welcome.

Like I wrote above:

For example, I can't think of any MC-USA church that would bar any members from wearing a straight coat, cape dress, covering, or driving a black car. You can essentially be as conservative as you want and attend a liberal church. Just don't expect to enforce your ways on others.

You seemed to miss the part where the analog to the plain coat (my view on gay sex as sin) was not welcomed. I had no pretensions to actually trying to force the other members there to change the church membership rules.

[Ken]

Yes, I disagreed with gay marriage (though at the time that wasn’t the issue, rather it was membership for persons in a same sex relationship) and nevertheless attended a liberal church. Expressing my disagreement with the welcoming and affirming position was not welcome.

Like I wrote above:

For example, I can't think of any MC-USA church that would bar any members from wearing a straight coat, cape dress, covering, or driving a black car. You can essentially be as conservative as you want and attend a liberal church. Just don't expect to enforce your ways on others.

You seemed to miss the part where the analog to the plain coat (my view on gay sex as sin) was not welcomed. I had no pretensions to actually trying to force the other members there to change the church membership rules.

That isn't really an analog.

Plain churches actually enforce standards like dress codes and will expel members who openly flaunt them.

You were just in a church where people disagreed with you on a particular point of theology and where your views were in the minority. But I suspect no one sought to expel you for such heresy and were probably sad to see you go. I'm sure I could find sins in the membership of any church I have ever attended. And I expect my views would be equally unwelcome if I pointed at specific people and expressed them as you did: Gossiper, greedy, envious, glutton, arrogance, boasting, coveting, defrauding, hypocrisy, pride, strife, etc. etc. Especially if I objected to anyone's membership on any of those grounds.

[HondurasKeiser]

Like I wrote above:

You seemed to miss the part where the analog to the plain coat (my view on gay sex as sin) was not welcomed. I had no pretensions to actually trying to force the other members there to change the church membership rules.

That isn't really an analog.

Plain churches actually enforce standards like dress codes and will expel members who openly flaunt them.

You were just in a church where people disagreed with you on a particular point of theology and where your views were in the minority. But I suspect no one expelled you for such heresy. I'm sure I could find sins in the membership of any church I have ever attended. And I expect my views would be equally unwelcome if I pointed at specific people and expressed them as you did: Gossiper, greedy, envious, glutton, arrogance, boasting, coveting, defrauding, hypocrisy, pride, strife, etc. etc.

How do you know how I expressed them? What’s more, we aren’t speaking about plain churches and their membership rules. Rather, Sudsy gave an overly-generous definition of liberalism and you want to defend that definition. My experience is that liberal churches are just as intolerant of dissent and difference as you claim the plain churches are, but in different areas.

[HondurasKeiser]

I should add that you’re right that they will not bat an eye if I wear plain coat or my wife wears a covering, indeed they may thrill to the idea that it connects them in some strange way to the past or their upbringing or the way that congregation used to be. They will however, brook no public dissent to things like full inclusion for gay and transgender members or women in leadership.