Banned

I had to ban our first person today. It was weird, but not unexpected.

We have no intention of trying to convince anybody of anything. We are simply stating where we are, and if it resonates with you, then great – maybe we can encourage each other through honest conversation that doesn’t have any ulterior motives or secret mission to persuade, shame, or otherwise manipulate each other. We respect each person’s right to make up their own mind – as a matter of fact, we encourage it. Even if you disagree with us… that’s OK.

What’s not okay is sneaking in pretending to want a conversation when really you are just trying to pigeon-hole us into this or that category so you can then agree with or condemn us. What’s worse is asking all kinds of leading questions trying to trap us into revealing the nugget that enables you to condemn us. Jesus never did that.

Let me repeat: Jesus never did that. When confronted by those trying to trap him in his words, he usually provided terse replies that revealed their lack of understanding of where he was coming from. Jesus saw through them; and having grown up in Bible-believing fundamentalist and evangelical circles, I know exactly where those types are coming from. I know the arguments, the tactics, the dead give-away signs that reveal their ulterior motives. Heck, I was one of them in the past.

In Matthew chapter 7 Jesus makes it clear that we should trust others into God’s care and not resort to manipulation/shame/condemnation to get people to change, nor should we resort to giving out all kinds of unwanted, unrequested, irrelevant “pearls of wisdom” or other kinds of positive manipulation. He used the metaphor of trying to give pearls to a pig (which can’t appreciate or value it) or giving holy things to a dog (which likewise cannot grasp what is so special about the item).

You don’t have to agree with us, and  you’re fully welcome to ask honest questions; we’ll probably have a response, but not necessarily an “answer”. But if you’re coming here to “evangelize” us to your modernistic evangelical paradigm, just move on elsewhere because we see through it, reject it, and aren’t interested in your pointless polemics.

As I offered our banned user, you are welcome to email us at info@theleapofdoubt.com, but don’t annoy us with your posts or else you’ll lose the privilege of posting here. We’re welcoming and non-judging except for those who come to condemn…in their case, they have judged themselves to be unwelcome by their actions which are not in keeping with the spirit of this page.

We’re not looking to gather a mass of adherents to start yet another organization the world doesn’t need, but we are open to a community of people tired of the chains of so-called certainty who are seeking the freedom to love God, follow Jesus, and not have to say they “believe” stuff that in their heart they doubt.