Thursday, 21st August 2008
A couple of days back, I was lamenting about how censorship was still being practiced, and how people were not given a chance to make their own decisions because others had made them on their behalf.
As I pondered upon this, I realised that I had been a hypocrite because that was exactly what I was doing too! There was a stage when lots of anonymous comments appeared on my blog, and on the advice of some readers, I decided to disallow them because I considered them to be distracting and unconstructive.
But whatever the reasons, valid as they may be, I was in essence making a decision on behalf of you ROOTSS readers, the same way my church's Pastor's Office was making a decision on behalf of its members and others.
And so having thought and prayed about it, and having received confirmation of this via Geri, I have decided to lift the restrictions.
There will always be different points of view, and what I have come to realise is that stifling one side does not mean it will go away. Rather, it is through a process of the exchanging of views that iron sharpens iron.
So anonymous reader/(s), if you are reading this, you are most welcome again to post whatever you wish. Other readers should be the ones deciding whether you make sense or not, or whether your comments are edifying or otherwise.
Yes, I do admit that at times these comments are malicious, spiteful and hurtful, but I have to learn not to get angry or defensive, but to instead react the way our Lord Jesus did when the Pharisees and others made malicious, spiteful and hurtful comments against Him, and that is to say, "Father forgive them for they know not what they do."
God will be my defence, Amen?
Joo even said in glee that he enjoyed reading those comments, and I believe many of you do too. And lifting this restriction sure does no harm to the number of visits to ROOTSS, I must add...
4 comments:
Hi Malcolm,
Glad that you have decided to lift the ban on anonymous posting.
Personally I feel that your blog was more interesting with those anonymous posts.
Readers who visit your blog are discerning people.They can decide for themselves what to accept or reject.
Actually, I see nothing wrong in disallowing anonymous posts cos most of the time, the non-constructive, vindictive, malicious, trollish posts are made anonymously cos these people have no guts to put their names on it. It is also not productive for you to have to sieve through anonymous spams like these.
I don't see it as hypocrisy on your part if you disallow anonymous posts because you *are* open to other opinions. Furthermore, you have provided further avenue of pte emailing if the person is shy about publicity. This is just like for letters written to the govt or to the newspapers, you have to leave your real name. I feel that people who are responsible and sincere will have no problem leaving their names. The ones hiding behind anonymity are not worth paying attention to, IMO.
Angela Sim
:) Praise Jesus.
Just wanted to share a teeny 'revelation' i drew ytd which i'm not sure if it's revelant to your post.
My mom just started work as a cashier at NTUC and was sharing with me how some ppl, esp the more affordable ones, would quibble over the 10cts they gotta pay for plastic bag should they not bring their own environmental friendly bag. I told mom that sometimes it's because ppl are conditioned to accept that plastic bags are cheap & free so to even have to pay 10cts for it seems unacceptable. Unless their minds are renewed to see otherwise, their behaviours would reflect their believes.
And while watching Mic cut the watermelon for us after dinner, I realised he cut fruits from the top down instead of sideways. I've been taught to cut fruits or vegetables from the sides & often chide my helper for doing otherwise. When I saw him doing that, I realised that there's actually no rules to say which is right or wrong. I was reminded what I told my mom my mind was renewed at that instant!
So what I wanna say is that in our journey through life, we often have conditioned actions and preconceived thoughts that sometimes prevent us from advancing . As in the case for me, i've been learning the same lesson these few months that the very thing i found fault in others, I find myself in the same position as the accused. :p But thank God He's merciful and ever so gracious that He doesn't push us to grow but gently guide us along life's journey through renewing our minds. He always has a way with dealing with each & everyone of us based on our individual character that He knows o so well. :)
Yes bro.When we preach radical grace we will face misunderstandings and persecution.
But let our speech be seasoned with grace and salt (winsome and wholesome words) as far as possible.
The mistakes I made in the past was that I was too anxious to convert people with the gospel revolution, that I gave them everything in one sitting which many cannot take.
I learn to slow down and give bite size portions so that it is easier for those who hear the Gospel of grace especially for the first time room to digest the word of truth rightly divided.2 Tim 2:15
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