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I & II Bully
The Apostle Peter wrote two epistles, one dealing with trouble from outside the Church and his other epistle dealing with trouble from within.
The Church, obviously, continues to experience trials and tribulations, both without and from within. One of these troubles is that of the ‘bully’.
Bullying is not limited to the children’s playground, nor non-religious activity. It is an exhibit of hubris that manifest itself quite well into adulthood, and not just outside the Church, but from within as well.
Here are two posts well worth reading. The first by Jared Moore: How Should Christians Respond to Bullying? The second is by Alex Guggenheim entitled, Pyromaniacs: When Bullies Lose A Leader.
For those within the Reformed camp, you will want to take especial note of that second article.
The blog admin where the Guggenheimer article is found says of himself:
” …formerly inclined myself toward Reformed theology and Calvinism but now, through comprehensive exegetical/theological studies, reject the rationalism of Augustinian/Reformed/Calvinistic (ARC) theologies as well as certain by-products of these two centers.”
That is quite a mouthful, and I’m not sure what the “certain by-products are” nor am I all that certain what being “inclined” to Reformed theology entails, but I have often said I have met many Christians who came from non-Calvinism to Calvinism, but never one taking the trail back – maybe this is the exception.
One little thought about Christian bullies. It is not unique to the internet, but I see the most extensive manifistation of it there. It is either the relative anonymity online, or the generally lowered expectations of standard Christian conduct in the sort of half-real world of online activity.
I saw the “I and II Bully” header in my inbox and thought, “Great! Joel’s finally gotten around to taking on the Bayly brothers!
Oh, well. Saw the Alex Guggenheim piece after it first came out and thought it was spot. Looking forward to the Jared Moore piece; thanks for the tip.