Love thy enemy

Okay, this thread could go down like a moldy cabbage, and i may never recover from the flack.

We all clash with certain people in these forums who rub us up the wrong way. (Sometimes on a daily, if not hourly basis). Indeed some clashes are the stuff of legend and it's difficult to think of some posters uncoupled from their mutual antagonist (s). - Although we mostly steer clear of 'personal' attacks' we do sometimes shoot close to the mark.

So here's the challenge in this thread. (And sorry if it sounds a bit Oprah Winfrey). Can you post something positive (and genuine) about another forum user that you normally clash/disagree with?

Divegeester gave me (indirectly) the idea for this thread when he posted something unexpectedly positive about Robbie:

"An excellent chess player with a varied and largely agreeable taste in music who is a dab-hand with various imaging software. A tenaciously loyal man with a large community of friends and associates and who is much more intelligent than his silly persona here portrays."

Apologies if this is not viewed as an appropriate thread for this forum, and i hope Dive doesn't mind that i used his comments as an example. I think sometimes we get stuck in negative patterns (downward spirals) and that it can be profoundly cathartic to say something positive.

Will post my own positive comments after some further consideration.

Suzianne is never boring. Her General Forum posts can be quite charming. I admire her ability to open up about herself. On one thread I started, she pasted some weaknesses about herself (all people have weaknesses) which took courage to do, especially considering how nasty some people can be with such info.

…32"Fill up, then, the measure of the guilt of your fathers. 33"You serpents, you brood of vipers, how will you escape the sentence of hell? 34"Therefore, behold, I am sending you prophets and wise men and scribes; some of them you will kill and crucify, and some of them you will scourge in your synagogues, and persecute from city to city,…

Stop it Jesus!! This forum is only for positive feedback. 😛

Also, ixna on the hellna. Dive will get all in a tizzy.

Every poster here is a person deeply loved by God. Since I have or at least try to manifest the mind of Christ, I love every poster here. Christian or none Christian alike.
Some of you know what it cost to redeem you, some do not. But even so, that redemption is for every one.
What you choose to do with it is your choice, but as far as this forum, I will do my best to love each of you as Jesus empowers me. I say that because without Him, I would probably hate most of you.
😀

I will name Sonship since I have clashed with him about the Trinity and everlasting torture and a few other things..
Sonship is a dedicated follower of Jesus in my opinion. He takes a stand on his conviction, right or wrong, which is an admiral quality.
I think that he mostly is a good representative of Jesus Christ. He is usually polite and caring.

Have 4 or 5 to choose from, but will start with Josephw. 🙂

When i first came to the site we clashed a few times in the forums and i disagreed with almost everything he posted. Fortunately we played a game or two of chess and i was able to see the true person behind the forum poster. It became obvious that i had misjudged him and that he was a really nice person, well humoured and genuine. Like most of us, he was somewhat defensive in the forums, but on a 1-1 i found him honest and thoughtful.

Originally posted by Ghost of a Duke
Okay, this thread could go down like a moldy cabbage, and i may never recover from the flack.

We all clash with certain people in these forums who rub us up the wrong way. (Sometimes on a daily, if not hourly basis). Indeed some clashes are the stuff of legend and it's difficult to think of some posters uncoupled from their mutual antagonist (s). ...[text shortened]... say something positive.

Will post my own positive comments after some further consideration.

I don’t think loving your enemy means saying (or even thinking) nice things about them, or searching for redeeming qualities. But I was struck by the title of the thread, and have recently been exploring such questions from a Christic (and New Testament) point of view.

The best short statement I think that I have heard, couched in terms of forgiveness, was this: Relinquishing my right to revenge. And both the Greek words translated as “forgiveness” (aphiemi and apoluo) mean to set free, to release, to let go (in fact, in other Greek writings, both words have been used to refer to divorce).

Now, I might not find anything that I can like about an enemy, or think of anything to say good about them. Or, maybe I can—but it seems to me to be so trivial compared to the rest of what I don’t like. But, at the same time, not liking someone does not make them my enemy. A threat to the well-being of myself and my loved ones—or even to someone that I believe to be an innocent target—that’s what makes someone my enemy. I might pray for them—but not for their mission of harm. I might pray for them—but I will protect myself and others (I am not a pacifist).

Now, pre-emptive stuff is where it gets dangerous: suppose that I decide that a threat is imminent, and I decide to pre-empt it by destroying my perceived enemy. That involves some difficult decisions, and the distinct possibility of error. Nevertheless, I don’t dismiss it out of hand.

So, I can make errors—even in efforts at self- (and other- ) protection. Setting that aside, then: I relinquish my right to revenge. And, further, if I see my putative enemy drowning, I will not only not push her/his head under the water—I will hopefully truly to save them. That would be agape, a bit beyond even aphiemi perhaps.

Now, technically, I have no enemies on here. I might have adversaries vis-à-vis this or that issue. There are people that—at least in terms of their RHP persona—I don’t like very much. Even some of them I have probably complimented a time or two on something that they’ve said, or something about themselves that has been revealed. But that is spontaneous.

I often end a post, or series of posts, in response to another with the words: “Be well.” If I don’t say it, it doesn’t mean that the thought is not there (and, usually, I say it at what appears to be the terminus of a particular conversation). There is no one on here from whom I withhold that “Be well”.

Be well.

Twhitehead is extremely intelligent , and always very helpful in the Science forum. He easily has the intelligence to make you feel like an idiot, but chooses not to. Also, I don't ever recall seeing him resort to childish name calling or bickering.

I just thought—

The really humbling thing is to realize that people you might have treated as an enemy (or thought they were treating you as an enemy)—never were. I just thought of some people that no longer participate here, that are nonetheless now trusted friends.

It's easy to say something nice about people you like, recognising genuine qualities in people you don't like requires a little more perspective.

Originally posted by vistesd
I don’t think loving your enemy means saying (or even thinking) nice things about them, or searching for redeeming qualities. But I was struck by the title of the thread, and have recently been exploring such questions from a Christic (and New Testament) point of view.

The best short statement I think that I have heard, couched in terms of forgiveness, ...[text shortened]... icular conversation). There is no one on here from whom I withhold that “Be well”.

Be well.

Am pleased the thread caught your eye. 🙂

Admittedly the title doesn't really fit the content (as i doubt anyone truly has enemies here) but was more a crafty way of slipping the thread into the spirituality forum. (And of course validated any deviation into the above).

Originally posted by vistesd
I just thought—

The really humbling thing is to realize that people you might have treated as an enemy (or thought they were treating you as an enemy)—never were. I just thought of some people that no longer participate here, that are nonetheless now trusted friends.

Speaking of people no longer posting, I had to look up some names from 2005 that I have not seen...wondering if you remember any...
lucifershammer
DoctorScribbles
Halitose
shavixmir
kirksey957
telerion
scottishinnz

Originally posted by checkbaiter
Speaking of people no longer posting, I had to look up some names from 2005 that I have not seen...wondering if you remember any...
lucifershammer
DoctorScribbles
Halitose
shavixmir
kirksey957
telerion
scottishinnz

FreakyKBH (don't see him so much these days) rarely argues a position I agree with but I strongly respect the manner in which he argues them - he is a worthy adversary.

Originally posted by checkbaiter
Speaking of people no longer posting, I had to look up some names from 2005 that I have not seen...wondering if you remember any...
lucifershammer
DoctorScribbles
Halitose
shavixmir
kirksey957
telerion
scottishinnz

Oh, yes. I have a game with lucifershammer. Shav still posts some in the debates forum. The others all bring back memories, too. Thanks for that.

Oh, and Nemesio.

Originally posted by vistesd
Oh, yes. I have a game with lucifershammer. Shav still posts some in the debates forum. The others all bring back memories, too. Thanks for that.

Oh, and Nemesio.

And frogstomp... Remembered him debating Rajk... Very similar theology