By Thy Words

[joshuabgood]

The subject of this thread is the Facebook page "By Thy Words" which pokes fun and denigrates the convictions of more conservative people. No matter what you think of Josh, I think this comment describes the Facebook page very well.

Keep in mind that the folks that come off as "poking fun" may be in the healing process and by commenting/replying on such FB pages is how they're going about it.

May not be right, but it ain't wrong, either.

You might have an interesting concept of right and wrong, or does it vary according to subject?

That line caught my eye also.

[Grace]

There is so much solid and admirable about Mennonites. This literature is not an asset to the church, imho. Is this truly representative to what Mennonites believe and practice? I want to say no, but when it gets defended there is a question.

No the literature on "By Thy Words" is not truly representative to what ALL Mennonites believe and practice. What "By Thy Words" is doing, is taking a small faction of their literature, which is less than stellar, and creating a stereotype that projects ALL conservative Mennonites as what is seen in the literature. This projection is not a completely truthful projection, but promoting a lie.

On the thread about the nurses, someone pointed out the fact that a very conservative and respected Mennonite Doctor who had been been practicing medicine for years. Dr. Lamar Seibel who is now retired and was a deacon at Vineland.

[steve-in-kville]

The subject of this thread is the Facebook page "By Thy Words" which pokes fun and denigrates the convictions of more conservative people. No matter what you think of Josh, I think this comment describes the Facebook page very well.

Keep in mind that the folks that come off as "poking fun" may be in the healing process and by commenting/replying on such FB pages is how they're going about it.

May not be right, but it ain't wrong, either.

You might have an interesting concept of right and wrong, or does it vary according to subject?

I'll try to explain, although I think a further discussion could be helpful.

Everyone has a story to tell. Everyone here on the forum has been hurt somehow in their life and all of us react to that (and heal) at different speeds and in different ways. Some clam up and simply need time to heal and move past it. Some get quite vocal and want their voice heard, their side of the story to be told. Others become advocates for the cause.

Last summer, when our family faced our particular situation, my wife and I were at odds with each other at different times. We were at different phases of the emotional process (which still isn't over... may never be). I was always the forward thinker, while she tended to look back. She was comfortable confiding in her sister all that was happening. I tended to journal and write it out (I suffer from hypergraphia so as it is!). We were dealing with the issue in different ways... none of them wrong, but was it the best way?

Didn't matter. It was how we coped and moved past it.

[ABC 123]

There is so much solid and admirable about Mennonites. This literature is not an asset to the church, imho. Is this truly representative to what Mennonites believe and practice? I want to say no, but when it gets defended there is a question.

No the literature on "By Thy Words" is not truly representative to what ALL Mennonites believe and practice. What "By Thy Words" is doing, is taking a small faction of their literature, which is less than stellar, and creating a stereotype that projects ALL conservative Mennonites as what is seen in the literature. This projection is not a completely truthful projection, but promoting a lie.

On the thread about the nurses, someone pointed out the fact that a very conservative and respected Mennonite Doctor who had been been practicing medicine for years. Dr. Lamar Seibel who is now retired and was a deacon at Vineland.

I think the obvious answer is, of course, it is not representative of all Mennonites. But yet someone writes this stuff. And some practice it, often to their own detriment.

It may well be overkill to call attention to this to such a broad audience. That part I can't dispute. Yet, again, who am I to tell someone else how to process life?

It would've been helpful to me personlly when I wrestled with how awkward I found those pamphlets to know that it was an anomaly instead of standard beliefs. I felt like in order to follow God, I had to make myself be ok with that stuff....knowing full well I found it, as I said, cringey and embarrassing. Perhaps I was under Spiritual abuse of my own making.

[silentreader]

Keep in mind that the folks that come off as "poking fun" may be in the healing process and by commenting/replying on such FB pages is how they're going about it.

May not be right, but it ain't wrong, either.

You might have an interesting concept of right and wrong, or does it vary according to subject?

I'll try to explain, although I think a further discussion could be helpful.

Everyone has a story to tell. Everyone here on the forum has been hurt somehow in their life and all of us react to that (and heal) at different speeds and in different ways. Some clam up and simply need time to heal and move past it. Some get quite vocal and want their voice heard, their side of the story to be told. Others become advocates for the cause.

Last summer, when our family faced our particular situation, my wife and I were at odds with each other at different times. We were at different phases of the emotional process (which still isn't over... may never be). I was always the forward thinker, while she tended to look back. She was comfortable confiding in her sister all that was happening. I tended to journal and write it out (I suffer from hypergraphia so as it is!). We were dealing with the issue in different ways... none of them wrong, but was it the best way?

Didn't matter. It was how we copped and moved past it.

I wasn't trying to mess with you. I think there are times when we have to choose what seems best. But God knows what is right or wrong and it is this discernment that should be our goal. Not easily attainable, maybe not attainable at all in some areas.
But there are a couple of Scripture passages that may be relevant sometimes. In Judges, I think, it says a couple of times something like, "And everyone did what was right in their own eyes." (KJVish) Should we be completely satisfied with that?
And in the NT Paul says something to the effect that "In times past God winked at this ignorance, but now commands men everywhere to repent." (KJVish again) This may be out of context, I forget, but I think the underlying principal is relevant.

[Soloist]

So the one discouraging a girl to be a nurse, what were the reasons given? I've heard this talk and generally its linked to historical experience of ladies who become nurses end up liberal or abandoning their faith.
On the flip side, a beachy group offers free training to only young ladies for nursing.

What I'm getting at is maybe some of these idea's presented seem weird or even horrible to the onlooker but actually make sense in terms of spiritual focused people. Generally, college has not done well for the Conservative Mennonites and there are far more failure stories then success. In my experience of more time at college then the majority of posters (not by degree mind you), college is not to our spiritual benefit.

We read a nationwide publication once that talked about the obedience to the church leaders and used the examples of the young men who carried away Ananias and Sapphira. The way it was wrote was downright hysterical but I think the author was completely oblivious to the implications that young men should obey the church leaders in anything without question.

Try to find a Conservative Mennonite work place in Medical that allows male nurses... Thats even harder then becoming a nurse as a female.

[ABC 123]

So the one discouraging a girl to be a nurse, what were the reasons given? I've heard this talk and generally its linked to historical experience of ladies who become nurses end up liberal or abandoning their faith.

How fragile is the faith we are giving our children?

With that, I was asked once by a new age guy if some of what he believed was true, how would I feel about the Bible then. I said, if any of his weird ideas were true, it would mean the Bible would support it, because if it is TRUE, then it is true and couldn't be contrary to Scripture. Nothing will ever come up to disprove God.

[Soloist]

How fragile is the faith we are giving our children?

Why should we lay a snare for our children when we see results that are negative?

Is our faith strong enough to watch movies? is our faith strong enough to dance? Perform on stage and be actors? Is our faith strong enough to engage in warfare?

[Josh]

Keep in mind that the folks that come off as "poking fun" may be in the healing process and by commenting/replying on such FB pages is how they're going about it.

May not be right, but it ain't wrong, either.

Would you extend that “healing process” to people who “poke fun” at you for believing in a “magical sky daddy”?

We must not be reading the same Facebook pages... or I'm reading all the wrong comment sections.

There's a whole big world of non-Christian an ex-Christian people and pages and groups out there.

[ABC 123]

How fragile is the faith we are giving our children?

Why should we lay a snare for our children when we see results that are negative?

Is our faith strong enough to watch movies? is our faith strong enough to dance? Perform on stage and be actors? Is our faith strong enough to engage in warfare?

Of the things mentioned, you could conscientiously not partake of and thus have an argument to not encourage your child to pursue.

But you go to the doctor.