www.byzcath.org Forums General Discussions Town Hall "Members" who come in and out like the wind

Dear Forum Members:

I could have posted this in any number of recently-created threads, but allow me to make this my humble contribution to what has happened here lately.

Those of us who have been around for a while have seen this pattern several times.

A new member comes in, ruffles everyone's feathers, makes wild accusations, questions our collective Christian nature and, almost as quickly as he/she came - he or she is gone!

POOF! Vanished into the night like a cold gust of wind.

Please, please, please - just let them go.

Whatever issues these people may have, we are not going to solve them here.

We can point them in the right direction -- provide them with hyper-links, people's names, phone numbers etc., but this Forum, by its very nature, cannot be the ultimate destination for healing whatever ails them.

Pray for them if you feel that is appropriate - but for their own sake and yours - do not allow them to continue to pollute the Forum by continuing to engage them.

With respect and admiration I humbly remain,

Very truly yours,

hal

Glory to Jesus Christ!

Hal,

I completely agree.

Dan L

Guys, I know exactly what you mean. Like the old poem spoken for years to messy kids, "let it be said and to your shame, this place was in order until you came." We do seem to get a lot of angst-ridden posters lately, don't we?

Dear Hal, I think you are quite right. We should welcome everyone and be open to the POSSIBILITY that this person has something to say to us from the Lord, but we need to be always WISE as serpents and INNOCENT as doves! There are people that come here who are simply too NEEDY for us and for whom we need to find 'contacts' and offer 'referrals' to other professionals more competent in certain areas.

My own suggestion however is that we ALWAYS pray for such people. at least a quick 'Rejoice O Virgin Mother of God, Mary full of grace...' for them and always to wish them well and 'God's speed.'

In His Holy Name,
+Fr. Gregory

AMEN!

Charles wrote
We do seem to get a lot of angst-ridden posters lately, don't we? Well that is a blessing from God. He would not send people here if they were not looking for something that this forum was able to provide. And as Archimandrite Gregory stated they are sent for us to learn and to pray.

I'm not sure that all come here to learn from us - we have all been aware of those who have come seemingly with an intent to teach us something that they hold dear .

We have to learn to discriminate between them - those who do wish to listen and learn and those whose only desire is to push their own beliefs.

It's not always easy to do this - we need to be able to 'sit back' and listen to them and ,while welcoming in our response to them - we have to evaluate what they have actually said - and at times we also have to read between the lines in order to understand what they actually mean.

Hopefully we would soon learn for what reason they have come here .

We have the ultimate sanction in our own keeping after all - we do not need to click on the reply button

I hope I have not offended anyone here with that

Anhelyna - who has not really enjoyed the atmosphere here recently

I am very happy to associate with/among the learned and wise here, and I believe that we are tested daily in our faith and belief including true charity and understanding, especially at this time of the year.

Just as there are angels among us, there are also...

Peace to all brethern,
james

Wise words James - very wise words

Anhelyna

Dear Anhelyna,

"The Jakub" is most wise!

Alex

Anhelyna, you haven't offended at all. It seems to me that we do get, from time to time, those who are disenchanted with that old, evil, patriarchal Western Church. They come here to escape and bring a lot of emotional baggage with them. Well, guess what? It's the same old, evil, patriarchal Catholic Church in the East - even with the same Roman Patriarch. Granted, we probably have an extra layer or two of bureaucracy between us and the "Patriarch." What is it, pride, that will not accept authority? I don't fully understand it. I can see looking East if it's a better fit with your spirituality, but not as a place to escape from something. Of course I am not talking about the genuine seekers of knowledge and truth. Those are always welcome.

Anhelyna:

Allow me to echo the sentiment that you have in no way offended. In fact, restrained use of the "reply" button is exactly the point when we encounter one of these "Members."

Without the satisfaction of getting a negative reaction out of us, these folks will move on.

The Moderators remind us every so often of the "Report Post" icon. Maybe if we feel like clicking on something this would be a wise alternative.

Yours,

hal

I have a theory about these kamikaze posters: it's all the same person , adopting different disguises!

Dear Father Gregory:

Please forgive my less-than-ringing endorsement of praying for the "Members" who whom we speak.

It was spoken not out of a disrespect of, or disbelief in, the power of prayer.

Rather, it was due to the fact that I am not an ecclesiastical authority of any kind and feel that it would not be my place to even suggest that other forum Members do this.

Please be assured, Good Father, that all who are disturbed in any way are in my meek and humble prayers.

Yours respectfully,

hal

Dear Mr. Administrator (wherever you are):

I hereby respectfully nominate Iconophile to serve as the Chairman of the Byzantine Forum CIA.

Yours very truly,

hal

Hmmmmm! Do you think it's Alex, Neal, someone else we know and love? Hmmmm, an interesting theory. Come on, out with it! What do you know, and when did you know it?