1. Bad speech really matters, just like other bad behavior.
2. Claiming to be good or claiming to do good doesn't mean anything if you don't back it up with good actions. But those good actions include good speech.
I don't think Jesus ever says anything remotely like "you can tear people apart with your speech, spread false rumors, encourage people to hate on other individuals, as long as you don't follow up with physical action it doesn't really matter". He does say "you can parade around your righteousness all you want, if you don't follow up with real action, it doesn't mean anything". Which is a real danger of the like button and in-groups on social media, fwiw. Let me know if I'm missing places where Jesus says something like that.
If someone keeps saying how Christian they are while spreading false rumors with strong words, just the way someone speaks when they really, really hate someone, well, there's some inconsistency there.
Taking this back to the topic of this thread, as Fukiyama uses the term "liberal democracy", America has been that since its founding, its in our Constitution. For America, the alternative to that seems to be dissolving into factions who loathe each other. Perhaps with a lot of help from Christians who join right in on that kind of political speech.
How is this different from what GaryK was saying?
I don't want to speak for GaryK. Gary, do you agree with the above?
ken_sylvania wrote: ↑Sat Nov 05, 2022 12:37 pmWhere did he ever suggest that it is OK to "tear people apart with your speech, etc"?
I don't think he did.
Do we more or less agree with the above principles as what Scripture teaches?
0 x
Is it biblical? Is it Christlike? Is it loving? Is it true? How can I find out?
1. Bad speech really matters, just like other bad behavior.
2. Claiming to be good or claiming to do good doesn't mean anything if you don't back it up with good actions. But those good actions include good speech.
I don't think Jesus ever says anything remotely like "you can tear people apart with your speech, spread false rumors, encourage people to hate on other individuals, as long as you don't follow up with physical action it doesn't really matter". He does say "you can parade around your righteousness all you want, if you don't follow up with real action, it doesn't mean anything". Which is a real danger of the like button and in-groups on social media, fwiw. Let me know if I'm missing places where Jesus says something like that.
If someone keeps saying how Christian they are while spreading false rumors with strong words, just the way someone speaks when they really, really hate someone, well, there's some inconsistency there.
Taking this back to the topic of this thread, as Fukiyama uses the term "liberal democracy", America has been that since its founding, its in our Constitution. For America, the alternative to that seems to be dissolving into factions who loathe each other. Perhaps with a lot of help from Christians who join right in on that kind of political speech.
How is this different from what GaryK was saying?
I don't want to speak for GaryK. Gary, do you agree with the above?
ken_sylvania wrote: ↑Sat Nov 05, 2022 12:37 pmWhere did he ever suggest that it is OK to "tear people apart with your speech, etc"?
I don't think he did.
Do we more or less agree with the above principles as what Scripture teaches?
As a Christian I don’t engage in “hate speech”, although I use Bible definitions, not worldly definitions. Thus, “men can’t get pregnant” is neither hate speech nor violent speech.
However, I think others should be able to engage in speech, including hateful speech. I don’t think the Bible teaches that Christians should call for deploying police, judges, prisons, and guns to force people not to say certain things. And I’m saddened to see some so-called “Mennonites” think this is a valid reason to engage in state-sponsored violence.
