so you are now making some kind of link between faith and intelligence? what is your link exactly? that the more intelligent someone is the more likely they are to believe exactly what you do? or the more someone believes exactly what you believe the more intelligent they become?

do not presume to understand a part of myself that carries my deepest suffering, that is, the area of my faith. yes, i have some confusions, but i am working through them as best i can, with a desperate and heartfelt desire to know and believe in the Truth. as you evidently recall, i confided a small part of that desperate journey i have been on for the past few years to you in a private chat. what you did here is bring up a very personal and private struggle i have been having that i shared with you in a moment of genuine trust. you published my private struggle to the world, painting it in harsh and vulgar colors. you did this in an attempt to discredit me on a public bulletin board because you could not refute my arguments directly. this shows that you have a weak and petty character.


by your own words david mauldin and i are the only ones on the board that you know of who do not measure up to your standard of 'christian'. so on a public bb that is read by a vast majority of folks you would call christian, you will not explain youself, because you are so worried that little ole david and i won't understand??


interesting. the state has never attempted to enter my house. nor have they ever attempted to enter the house of anyone in my family. nor have they attempted to enter the house of any of my friends, nor the houses of their families. i do know someone whose house they entered. it was after a little girl died of neglect. the state came to take away the other daughter.

so why exactly did the state try to enter your house, in their terms? did one of their teachers see something that made them think there might be a problem?


i always thought this cliche was humorous in the way it clearly shows the basic futility of trying to reason with someone who is paranoid. your use of it is equivalent to hitting yourself on the head with a frying pan.


yeah, i saw a special on 20/20 the other day about all those thousands of christians in nebraska who had their kids taken away because of all the bibles in their house. ummmmmm, right.

i emphasized the 'if's in your statement to point out that this is the beginning of a very long and drawn out 'what if' statement. note: none of the following events actually occured. any resembleance to actual persons living or deceased or any real-life events is merely coincidential.


thanks so much for clearing up that point about the paranoia.
*smiling reassuringly*
*edging slowly towards the door*


someone who is paranoid is unqualified to say who is unqualified to say who is paranoid.



you're saying that talking in a christian forum about what christians should do and say in an abusive situation is equivalent to doing math in math class? even blind ole me would agree with this.


you are enemies with a "brother"?


easily verifiable statistics. rachel threw a bunch at you so i am not going to take the time right now.


this is a really disturbing mythical statistic that you made up here. john, have you ever hit your wife, or any other woman, or any child, because you thought they were out of line?


no its not. its not even close. that was a horrible and scary thing to say.


yeah, thats really sad and very wrong too. so?


well, i have all the years of experience that the first-hand witnesses i've talked to have had for tempering their conclusions to rely on. do i need to find witnesses older than you are for you to be able to wonder if they are telling the truth? or did you believe rachel and judy's account of dark abuse, but not the parts about what betty said?


leave susan and rachel alone. i mean it.
*frantically waving red flag in front of bull*


john had an insight! he can be taught!
theres hope for you yet, my friend.


it cracks me up that you keep going on about innuendo, yet whenever i ask you to clarify just one of the many innuendos you have left lying about (note: one sin leads to another) you back up so fast you almost lose your train of thought.  

have a nice weekend all,

brian

Dear Susan,
  What a powerful and clear presentation of abusive Assembly relationship's.  Thank you so much for sharing it as I'm sure it was helpful to many.
  The axe is laid to the root of the Assembly tree and just a pruning job won't do the trick!
                                 God Bless,  Mark C.

Malone.
One Alone.
Now please leave US alone!!!

I have been gone for two days on business and find myself deeply concerned about the harsh and very long drawn out discussion on this matter of abuse...

Mr. Malone...whatever your situation is or was...you are definitely acting with a rare form of  harsh arrogance and misplaced intellect. I find your repeated angry postings...strongly offensive to even myself who has no personal or emotional attachment to this thread.  It seems you cannot refrain yourself from picking at the wounds...repeatedly arguing for the sake of argument...a rather bitter and frustrated personality trait for sure.

My profound apologies to Brian who I have known since his birth in Tuscola IL... and I still remember the days when my father lead his father and mother to a saving knowledge of Christ...in our home....in front of me. I lived with a young  Brian and his family when he was in Charleston IL...while I attended undergraduate school in pre-medicine. Rest assured Mr. Malone...Brian is safe in his salvation and understanding of Christ. Whatever personal struggles he has identified...certainly does not affect the ridiculous discussion of abuse of your civil rights. Sin has been committed, abuse is wrong. You need to back off and get a grip. Whatever brian's personal demons...you have no right to demand his removal from this BB. I personally couldn't disagree with your suggestion more vehemently than I do.

I apolgize to all who have been exposed to this pointless and painful banter....attacking anyone not supporting your (Mr. Malone's) view of these matters.  Mr. Malone you disappoint me at your age of 51, I would expect some patience and tact would be within your grasp. I challenge you to pause and maybe you should reflect on why you would even visit this site let alone participate...

My father always taught me self control  combined with simple courtesy and respect was the greatest sign of maturity and honor.....in a gentleman.

Brad,

Your rebuttal was impeccable.

Brent,

Your stance is above reproach.

Neither should have been necessary, but I'm sure Brian will be pleased to know others stood up for him in his absence. Though I thought he has done a pretty good job for himself so far!

I suggest this issue be put to rest completely.

Can we get this thread back to the theme it is addressing?

Every time Mr Malone posts a comment, on any thread, it diverges into an argument over his intellect, anger and hatred towards the brethren.

Perhaps if we would quit responding to his posts and continue with the themes we are talking about, he would begin to post useful comments (or just go away).

There are deeper and more useful things to discuss than Malone's superior intelligence.

Susan, I am grateful for your post and being willing to come out with your story.  Hopefully it can help others to not be fearful in speaking the truth.

I know it was a difficult thing for you, and I'm grieved how someone could post such flaming insults at you because of it.

My advice -- for Brian, Brent, retread and anyone else being drawn into his folly is just let him be ...... there are more important, serious and efifying discussions to get into on this board.

Again Susan,

Thank you for being willing to share your story.  There is a teaching and interraction promoted by the teaching in the assembly that places victims in bondage and helps to perpetuate abuse.  

I do not care what anyone else thinks or believes about the dynamics of abuse or the age old question of why the victim does not have the abuser arrested.  I have learned about those things first hand and it was a hard lesson.  I can not expect those who have not gone through it to always understand it, I would not wish the experiences that teach those lessons on anyone.  I do not need the understanding of everyone in order to be firm in what I know.  

I think an interesting discussion along this line might be a discussion of what kinds of teachings have helped facilitate and proprogate the abusive treatment and the teachings that refute that.

To get the ball roling.  There was the teaching of what it means to submit as a wife to your husband.  We were taught that meant we had to obey my father always and submit to even his abuse.  We were to just trust that if God wanted it differently God would change the situation.  We were also to trust that God would protect us.  That may be true in word but the practice was to just do nothing except try harder not to make our abuser angry.(I will preventatively ask that we all please ignore John Malone's response to this as it is guaranteed to be aggrivating.  He has privately responded to me regarding the letter I wrote to him and posted here but only under the aggreement that I would not post anything he said to me.  It was all to be under strict confidence.)

Umm? Maybe not so quiet, but persistent and engaging? Hay, that's my wife you're talking about!

Wonder no more!