[Luke]

Brothers and sisters in Christ,
On behalf of the administrative staff, I am announcing that we are going to close the debate forums (Theology, Apologetics, RPD) for a period of two months, to be re-opened on December 15. The reasoning behind this decision is as follows.

I have been observing recently that the Theology forum is becoming less and less edifying to everyone involved. Whereas a year ago, the forum served as a hub for the discussion of the Word of God and an outlet for us to love and honor the LORD our God with our minds, it has degenerated recently into a center for worthless arguments. The subjects discussed, in some cases, may have value, but nothing is coming of discussing them because of an unchristlike attitude among many of the veterans of this forum.

It is not useful to point fingers and try to assign blame as to who has been the cause of this problem; instead, we should all take responsibility as Christians to love one another and to be brothers in Christ first, and proponents of a theological viewpoint second. This has not been being done recently, so I want to encourage all of us to take some time to sit back and consider how we ought to love one another in the midst of disagreement and discussion, and remember that if the purpose of this is not to love God more fully, then really we aren't accomplishing anything except to edify ourselves (in the manner that 1 Corinthinans 14 condemns).

Also, when the forum reopens, I want to encourage a greater level of scholarship among the forum members. There are way too many backhand remarks and generalizations and references to proofs posted long ago that do nothing to edify and much to frustrate. I want to encourage all of you to be thorough in your studies and in your posts, rather than doing ship-shod study and making it up with rhetoric. This forum will reopen on December 15, which is when many of the collegiates and seminarians will have concluded their finals, and will have more time on their hands (for awhile) to be able to devote themselves to posting here, if they so choose. Hopefully, this will encourage a habit of being thorough and scholarly in your discussions here.

In the meantime, I want to encourage the following from all users of the Theology forum--do not leave and sit out from the boards for two months. Post in General Discussion! Post in people's blogs! Get to know the people with whom you discuss these things, learn where they come from, and about their lives. Even though the medium of discussion is the Internet, one of the least personal methods of human interaction ever created, you can still seek to forge a real relationship with others instead of just being their antagonist in debate. Brothers and sisters, I entreat you all--much would be served if these months were spent fellowshipping with one another and having a good time, and having a great level of amiability toward one another when the forums reopen. On what better stage could we all seek to love God more with our minds together?

Remember what Christ taught us, that the greatest commandment is to love the LORD our God with all our hearts, souls, and minds, but that the second is like it, that we love our neighbor as ourselves. We are taught that he who says he loves God, but does not love his neighbor, is a liar. I encourage all of you to take this time to seek to truly love your neighbors here, so that we all might seek to love God more together.

The relevant forums will be locked and closed to further posting this evening at about 7:00 PM, Central Time. Use the 7½ hours or so between now and then to wrap up any debates that require conclusion and seeking to ensure that there is no ill will between you and other members here. Use the time also to give praise and honor to God and to love one another (having a few non-theological threads in the forum for today would be just fine), and continue to fellowship with one another elsewhere on the boards for the next two months. I look forward to seeing you guys back in the Theology forum on December 15, and hopefully we can all strive to honor and love God in that aspect together.

The Peace of the Lord be always with you.
And also with you.
Let us offer one another a sign of peace.

Luke

[Ted Logan]

I have added this so that the closure notice will appear on the main forum webpage.