(Login Reedwood) Forum Owner Posted May 20, 2004 5:08 PM
These suggestions (if I had the power, I'd make them "commandments") for civil discourse in the church were partly inspired by Yakov Krotov's rules for missionaries. For Krotov's words, see the March 9, 2004, entry (Quotations III) under the topic, "Books, Links, Quotes & other resources.")
If you have suggestions for improving these, please let me know! I tried to keep them as brief and simple as possible - pointed enough not simply to be platitudes, but not so concrete as to provide temptations to legalism.
Be committed to the well-being of everyone. Do not engage in conflict without such a prior commitment.
Before criticizing, understand the position and the context you are criticizing.*
Be committed to truth. Do not use gossip, unfair comparisons, or polarizing rhetoric; do not use the power of religious rhetoric for personal political advantage.
* Elitism and anti-intellectualism have a long, sad history of conflict. To those at the self-conceived "superior" end of this polarity, I say do not despise the power of raw faith. Fortunate are those who are capable of unaffected prayer and praise and whose love of God is not conditional on God meeting their intellectual requirements. On the other hand, when someone claiming such raw faith begins to tarnish the reputation of others, or to propose coercive limitations on others because "God said it, I believe it, and that settles it," I believe that as soon as they cross that line of coercion, they are subjected to a higher standard of study, dialogue and reflection. Naive faith can be very God-honoring, but it is not an excuse for intellectual laziness at the expense of others.
This page is moderated by Johan Maurer as part of the "Evangelism and the Friends Testimonies" project, supported during the academic year 2003-04 by the Ferguson Quaker Fellowship program of Woodbrooke Quaker Study Centre. Johan has a minute of service from Reedwood Friends Church.
