When do we stop rendering unto Caesar??

[Patriot]

Neither slavery nor torture are ok, and there will not be a discussion here justifying them - you've been warned.

And yet it IS okay to say that the persecuted church is sinning by not evangelizing in the streets and having church "underground"? I would think that a discussion on slavery or torture (not that it necessarily belongs here) would be far less provocative, but it seems that the church is a favorite target even for those within.

 

[Wolfeman]

However, you cannot just throw it out there that slavery and torture are "ok" practices (even if the Bible says so).

I really don't think he just "threw" it out there. He seemed to give very good compelling explanation concerning God viewing things in Black or White and man viewing them in shades of grey. The conditions he placed upon the use of torture and slavery might not meet your standards for their use but are compelling and accepted in some societies anyway.

You're feelings, emotions and opinions on the matter are understandable. For you they are very important and quite possibly the only possible viewpoint. But just because you feel that way doesn't mean everyone else has to or should. Please don't use your authority to shut down a discussion you don't agree with just because you don't agree with it.

Quite often God has used slavery as punishment. If the Bible says so, How do we argue against God?

 

[Wolfeman]

The responses thus far are only marginally related to what the OP is saying, granted only a few people can read it.

Having been able to read part of the OP's original post before it was moderated I'm somewhat aware of what the OP is saying. Which is why I've tried to steer this topic somewhere else that could also be constructive. If you'd like I could start a new thread with the same title and you could move the apropriate posts over to that thread so the OP's thread doesn't become hijacked.

Neither slavery nor torture are ok, and there will not be a discussion here justifying them - you've been warned.

Unless you're just going to shut down the thread entirely...

 

[Tek7]

This is where one might step in, post a "Well, that escalated quickly" meme image, and hope that tempers cool down, but given the gravity of the discussion, I was thinking a different approach might be in order.

Slavery, torture, and civil disobedience (whether by armed force or refusal to pay taxes) are highly controversial issues and I don't believe trying to tackle all three subjects (though we started with only one) in a single CGA General thread is prudent. One could argue that online forums are ill-suited to such discussion even if each topic were to be addressed in separate threads. Written communication lacks the inflection and other cues of verbal or face-to-face communication and even the best of intentions can often lead to harsh exchanges with little warning.

I had debated leaving this thread open, but believe it's best to close it as it has escalated so quickly. I am not suggesting we should not discuss any controversial topics, but that, if we do discuss such matters, we discuss them one at a time and make every effort to keep a cool head during the conversation.

 

[Tek7]

A brief addendum: I'm not saying that we can not discuss these subjects in individual threads, but I would recommend taking to the What Does God Say About... forum so we might approach these topics and other controversial subjects by first asking what Scripture says.