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<b><font color="0000ff">Truth is not only violated by falsehood; it may be equally outraged by silence. <i>- Henri Frederic Amiel</i> <BR> <BR></font></b>
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<b><font color="0000ff">Sometimes, silence helps truth.</font></b> - Anonymous
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Don, smart folks don't drive in Paris!! Let the locals, they know how. When approaching the Arche de Triumphe with its multiple interchanges, it's a beauty to behold the locals rushing around and through--something the uninitiated do at their own peril!!
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When truth is being mocked and there is silence it says something about the person not speaking up and defending the truth, does it not? In that case at least it does not help the truth.
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<b><font color="0000ff">When truth is being mocked and there is silence it says something about the person not speaking up and defending the truth, does it not?</font></b> <BR> <BR>Yes, but what does it say? When Jesus was silent and reclusive after the execution of John the Baptist, what did it say? <BR> <BR>When He told His followers not to proclaim who He was, what did it say? <BR> <BR>When, at His trial, he did not speak to the charges, what did it say? <BR> <BR>If I went to an atheists' convention and heard them mocking God, would I stand up and speak? If I did not, would I be denying God? <BR> <BR>I think it is wise to acknowledge that the Holy Spirit moves on each believer's heart and mouth in ways unique to that believer. <BR> <BR>Sometimes, it is wiser to work quietly for faith than to come out and declare one's self in opposition to the crowd. Other times, it is wise to be confrontational. It depends on the Holy Spirit's leading, IMO. <BR> <BR>On Internet forums, sometimes speaking up is the best thing that a person could do when in other situations speaking up simply makes everyone feel right in their prior positions. <BR><font color="ffffff"><font size="-2">.</font></font>
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I thought some more today about your last post, Don, and one has to realize Jesus was in a different position than any of us when he stayed silent while being mocked. His purpose was to come and be slain for our iniquities. <BR> <BR>However, is the modern day Christian to remain silent midst the mocking atheist/agnostic. Or as the SDAs do, shun them, or are we to reason and speak up for truth, define it, and not let the mockers define "truth"???
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<b><font color="0000ff">His purpose was to come and be slain for our iniquities.</font></b> <BR> <BR>You may recall people who don't behave like Jesus. When their ways are addressed, they answer, "But, I'm not Jesus." <BR> <BR>Pearls of "truth" should not be given to those who don't want them. <BR> <BR><b><font color="0000ff">reason and speak up for truth, define it, and not let the mockers define "truth".</font></b> <BR> <BR>We believe that God defines truth through Jesus. We also believe that the Holy Spirit compells the believer into various actions. How He "inspires" you will be different than how He "inspires" me or the next person. <BR> <BR>It has been said that Christianity makes a man a gentleman. The fruit of the Spirit will be evident in how we address the "mockers". <BR> <BR>Adventists often work with the notion that they should present the truth and errors will be addressed in doing so. This may appear to be shunning but it is more like Nehemiah telling his detractors that he cannot come down from his important task. <BR> <BR>Every friend who scoffs presents me with an opportunity to refine my understanding. If an enemy scoffs, my first task is to seek to befriend them. <BR> <BR>Only by love is love awakened. <BR> <BR><font color="ffffff"><font size="-2">.</font></font> <BR> <BR><font color="ffffff"><font size="-2">.</font></font>
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Bob, <BR> <BR>May I suggest <a href="http://bible.org/seriespage/wise-serpents" target=_top>Wise as Serpents by Richard L. Strauss</a>, personally, I have found it helpful. <BR> <BR>Peace <BR> <BR>Devon
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<blockquote><hr size=0><!-quote-!><font size=1><b>quote:</b></font><p>The truth that seems discouraging does in reality only transform the courage of those strong enough to accept it; and, in any event, <font size="+1"><font color="ff0000">a truth that disheartens, because it is true, is still of far more value than the most stimulating of falsehoods</font></font>.<!-/quote-!><hr size=0></blockquote> <BR><i>Maurice Maeterlinck</i> <BR> <BR><a href="http://en.wikiquote.org/wiki/Maurice_Maeterlinck" target=_top>http://en.wikiquote.org/wiki/Maurice_Maeterlinck</a> <BR> <BR>.
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Short Bio at the Nobel Prize site: <BR> <BR><a href="http://nobelprize.org/nobel_prizes/literature/laureates/1911/maeterlinck-bio.html" target=_top>http://nobelprize.org/nobel_prizes/literature/laur eates/1911/maeterlinck-bio.html</a>
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