Posted by giveawayboy on December 02, 2003 at 09:42:25:
In Reply to: Sorry you are not sure posted by PS on December 01, 2003 at 12:56:31:
Steve: I certainly hope you are not reserving your judgment on God being absent in our church or on Ryan, Tim, and I not being children of God. These are the things Raul asserted, and while your judgment is not necessary, it is disturbing that you see some sort of equal
validity here in these two perceptions of truth.
Bill: I was responding more to Dave's post and not as much to those comments. However, those comments were not an issue for me since I feel that those assertions are bogus. I think any fair-minded person, who isn't filled w bitterness, would know that. Like Heather for instance. She got it. So did Jason. I'm not worried about such comments. As far as me seeing equal validity. No way man. I already said that if anyone attacked your integrity they had NO GROUNDS but maybe you didn't read that post. Terry did. She told me she read it and that it was good.
Steve: You know, Bill, sometimes a person just has to say what they believe is true. This is not being a judge; this is being honest.
Bill: Agreed. Nothing wrong w that. I just wasn't giving a response to his accusations. I was responding to Dave and mentioning that I would pray. I still do believe that Raul has been our friend and all I was doing was saying I would pray for everyone involved.
Steve: If you believe God is present and we are indeed His children, then as an Christian man and a person of integrity you should say so.
Bill: I hear you. Yeah, but I just didn't know that you and Cari were waiting for MY opinion on those comments. I was just responding to what Dave wrote, which I liked.
Steve: There is no way you can affirm my real faith and God's presence without contradicting Raul's conclusion.
Bill: I never agreed w Raul's conclusion. I just didn't know you were taking a personal inventory of my opinion. I didn't feel you needed defending, since most people who are on that board know you and do not believe Raul anyway. I just thought it was a given that it was bogus. I didn't know that anyone was really doubting your integrity other than Raul.
Steve: Do you actually think there is a possibility you may have been learning about God and religion from a non-believer?
Bill: If you are referring to yourself, Nope, I've always thought you were a believer. I can't believe you'd ask me that.
Steve: Have you really not recognized God's presence in our midst?
Bill: What? When did I say this? I kept coming to your church even after I became Catholic.
I admit it was mainly because my friends were here, but let's face it, I believed that we all worshipped someone. So, I guess I believed someone was present. I still do.
Steve: For my part, I would never validate anyone's argument who said such things about you.
Bill: Thanks Steve. I believe you. I believe that you would cover my sins and paint me in the best light. I also hope that you read my post about your integrity. I hate it when people misrepresent you. Many times when people said bad things about you I would step up to bat in your absense. Don't you know that? I'm sorry my silence on Raul alarmed you. I never sought to lend credibility to his arguments since I never thought they were anywhwere near true. I just wasn't interested in giving them any more attention than had already been given. Here, let me lay it out so that you understand. I feel that it is important for you to have me make some kind of public statement. So I will. If Raul says that any of my brothers or sisters in Christ is not a child of God, including you, or anyone at PU, I would say he is wrong. If Raul would say that the Spirit of God is not present in PU, I would say he is definitely wrong, since God is everywhere present to any who seek him. How would God deny any hungry or thirsty people? Does not compute. Likewise, if Raul claims to be a prophet, I would say that I don't believe that he is. I hope that this helps clear up any confusion. I never realized how misunderstood I was going to be.