www.byzcath.org Forums General Discussions Town Hall Unsubscribing, Again

To All,

There have been times when I too have felt like "unsubscibing" to this forum. I lurk a lot, jump in and add my two cents and sometimes come away thinking "Now why did I write that?".

When others don't agree with what you have to say it can hurt personally, get you upset, and make you want to dust your feet of this forum.

I myself haven't posted in a few days at a time when I was writing a lot of posts. I even became a "Member" over the past couple of weeks. I, like some others here, became upset about some of the recent goings on and decided to step back to let cooler heads prevail.

Most often, however this forum gives me the oppurtunity to reflect on how others feel about matters that I already have a formed opinion on. Good or bad I think the process is worth it. The richness of this forum is in its diversity. On what other forum can one find the diversity one finds here? I don't even post on any other forums just because of the fact that eveyone here doesn't tow the same line.

I have said to myself on more than one occasion, "I'm not going back there any more", but I find myself DRAWN to this forum. I think we have people here who are deeply committed to building the Body of Christ.

The fact that it doesn't get more out of control is because WE, here on THIS forum are GOOD God loving Christians who try for the most part to be charitable, even in disagreement.

Enough Said, Bill

Dear Bill,

Thank you for sharing your indepth reflections!

There really ARE all kinds of people on this forum, which is to its credit.

Things can get very emotional precisely BECAUSE these matters mean so much to us.

I've been angry at a number of people, including the Administrator on at least one occasion that I still remember . . .

Bob Orthoman has come after me, (that recent episode reminded me of the time St Teresa of Avila was thrown off her horse into the mud. She got up, looked up to heaven and said, "Lord, if this is how you treat your friends, no wonder you've so few of them . . . ).

I've been called "delusional" etc. What fun!

The way I've reacted to those precious moments is to get up on my hind legs and exclaim that I'm leaving.

I do that in real life too . . . in case you were wondering.

There is no excuse for nastiness, as I found out with the Administrator last year!

But, ultimately, the fact that we will be nasty to one another on occasion means that we take religion (and also American politics, it would seem) very seriously.

And that is a good thing - so far as religion is concerned.

I know that atheists and agnostics get very upset when they learn how nasty religious people can get.

Not that they are pointing a finger to tell us we don't practice what we preach, mind you.

They get upset when they realize that this "religion thing" just isn't going to go away - ever.

That still doesn't mean that snarky posts, name-calling and cyber-yelling are copacetic for the religious crowd.

They are not.

And the fact that moderators like Fr. Deacon John Montalvo can be slow at the switch simply means he has a life, and a busy one at that.

So does, as I understand, the Administrator and even Fr. Deacon Edward. Then there is Fr. Gregory who likewise leads one . . .

Not to mention Fr. Elias the Carmelite . . .

(Have I covered off everyone?)

Plus we can't expect the mentors here to come to our defence simply because we are being set upon.

We have to defend ourselves too, you know!

In any event, I was overwhelmed by my friend Bob Orthoman last week, as you doubtless know (and where were you when I needed you? . .. ).

I think I understand him and forgive him. I understand that he won't forgive me, even though I think he still likes me . . . sniff . . .

And what Fr. Deacon John just said in reference to me (before he quickly closed the thread, I might add ), wasn't what I was talking about.

But that's O.K. too!

There are bigger fish to fry on the forum!

Can we all just get back on track now?

Any new saints being canonized? Any reported Latinizations? How about a good argument over the Typika or a recension?

If anyone DARES mention the Filioque . . .

Off to do the leaves, we've so many of them in Canada, we put one on our flag . . .

Alex

Dear Friends,

Just another note to congratulate the Administrator on his recent stroke of genius.

His approach is not to necessarily get into a fray when it develops.

After a while, people either smarten up or else leave things alone etc.

He never ceases to amaze!

Alex

I do like the folks on this Forum, and really enjoy conversing with most of them. We do have a few - very few - who seem to live to be contentious and would, as we say in East Tennessee, argue with a fencepost. I think we could all converse better without so much nitpicking and hairsplitting. Every comment here is not the end of the world and doesn't deserve end-of-the-world reactions. The recent political situation has made things worse. Hopefully, that much is over, at least for a few short years.

Alex,

Actually, I do not consider myself "slow at the switch." Although I do not not read every post in the forums I moderate, I do respond to "Moderator Alerts" on a daily basis. It was due to a "moderator alert" that I came upon IA's "Unsubscribing, please" topic.

Did I misunderstand your comment calling for the admin to address the situation re Irish Anchoress and her treatment on this forum? I understood your post was a call to action by the admin,and I was merely pointing out that your posting it in that topic was not the best way to make that request.

WOW!

I have absolutely no idea of what you are talking about. Glad I am not seriously involved in the forum Just cuz I have one of the highest posting rates shows you can have fun and have no idea of whats happening :p I would say I hate politics but that would be a lie. But I can truly say I love the forum :rolleyes:

I just love ya all as the song goes..."red and yellow, black and white, they are precious in his site, Jesus loves the little children of the world" Aren't you glad we are all his children!

Pani Rose

Does that mean I am unmentionable?



Elias

Rose, I have to agree with you on my charitable days - which really is most of them. But every now and then, I don't have a good day. Then I remember the old kids parody on that song from my childhood. "Orange and Purple Blue and Green, the ugliest kids you've ever seen." Don't feel badly about not knowing what is going on. Sometimes the inside jokes and conversations can make you feel like you came into a 3-act play during the 2nd act.

Dear Father Deacon John,

It is too bad I'm not near you, because if I was, I'd give you a great big hug!

Your children must ADORE you!!

I meant to say "slow to GET the switch" - not that I haven't deserved to get it myself . . .

Alex

Bless, Father Elias,

Actually, we talk about you all the time . . .

God bless, Scion of the Prophets of Carmel!

Alex

Pogo said it several years ago, "We have met the enemy and they are us." I'm with Pani Rose, just because someone disagrees with me, so what? God knows what's true. We all are liars at times even when we don't intend to be. I've seen very few who didn't seem to be sincere. This is the most even handed forum I've ever seen.

When we are tempted to get huffy and offended I think we'd all do well to look toward the real problem. We'll find it in our mirrors, usually.

Dan L