In Reply to: Re: Joel doesn't read this board posted by OT2 on January 30, 2006 at 17:07:01:
Why do you want to see Joel change? What sort of advantage do you see in Joel coming around to a position that is closer to your views about reality?
I don't personally subscribe to much of anything Joel has to say. 99% of the time, I don't even read his posts because they seem like angry rants to me. Nevertheless, I don't think he's going to burn in hell for what he believes and teaches. That's for God to judge, not me. I'm free to live according to my own conscience, and so is Joel. And I've never seen evidence that he's likely to hurt someone else or himself.
Why not accept Joel just as he is and enjoy the diversity of the exer boards? That's the great thing about being out of the cult--we don't have to pretend to be something we're not just to keep leadership and other self-appointed caretakers from giving us grief.
If Joel wants to pretend he's a great Bible teacher and discerner of prophesy, why challenge him on his beliefs? Maybe I'm pretending to be reasonable and fair-minded, when I'm really intolerant and extremely judgemental of people who think differently than I do. Thank God I can pretend to be something I'm not because I believe that principles are more important than personalities.