what you say

Beelzebubba
"What you say about me is a reflection on yourself"
I was once called the devil by an abusive Jesus worshipper. I returned with " I am not the devil". It degenerated into a nasty shouting match, which is what the (drunken?) J.W. wanted all along. Oh, if I only had the wisdom to coolly respond with "What you say about me is a reflection on yourself".
I heard that Friday morning during a radio interview with Deepak Chopra. While promoting a book, he appeared on "Denny Radio" a local talk radio show. Denny was very rude to him, interrupted him constantly, called him a whack job (hence the quote) and made a point of telling everyone that Jesus was his lord and savior. Dr. Chopra kept his cool, and was impressive.



correspondence
I sent this letter:
Denny
I would like to thank you for having Deepak Chopra on your show. His grace in the face of your rudeness and name calling was very impressive.
The way you interrupted and insulted him speaks volumes about Jesus Worship. I heard how you had to sneak in before the break that Jesus was your Lord and Savior. Did anyone ask?
Why are Jesus Worshippers so rude?
You quoted Jesus as saying " I am the way the truth and the light. No one can come to the father but through me" There is a bit of controversy as to whether or not Jesus really said that. I would hope he did not, because that makes him look like a raving egomaniac who cannot be trusted.
Of course, with believers like you telling me about Jesus, I am not going to be following him anytime soon.
I listed to your show quite a bit. You are not as obnoxious as Neal Boortz or as annoying as Laura Ingraham.
I heard a rant by you Thursday where you said something about not leaving Iraq, and wound up screaming congratulations at Al Queda for 9-11.
I made a comment about your show on my blog a few months ago. Go here to see it.
Cam Mckinnon



Ifnotforthehonor
Saturday, I was banned from Pyromaniacs. If you would like to see the thread that got me booted, go here Of course the comment I made which got me booted was deleted. It is included in this letter to the big dog blogger:
It is your blog. You have the right to ban me if you like.
However, you might want to know the exact words I said...

"That's right Michael: the things you demand and expect of others which you yourself do not do "-
Gee, Scent, this sounds like some of the things you have said about me.
"Be warned: you're on the edge of getting bleeped here. "
Good Grief.
Soon it will be time to talk about Santa Claus. Ho Ho Ho."

Now, that is hardly lawsuit material. Good Grief is not considered profanity.
I have looked through the google page.
As for the comment about CandyinSierras, I sent her an email explaining my position, and received a very nice reply.
I might add that I was the only person that day to say that hard core preaching at funerals is not appreciated by everyone. This is a sore subject with me, and one which creates a lot of ill will for Jesus.
I also see you mentioning my discussion about copyrights and credits... a serious question, which was well recieved by you.
There is also a fracas about McDonalds, where I was clearly wrong and quickly apologized.
I supported your criticism of gambling.
And so it goes. I admit that sometime I am setting fires, but this is "Pyromaniacs". Other times I have had serious concerns, and seem to be the only non believer in the house saying obvious (to me) things.
"a full-time gadfly who will badmouth every other post we make, by complaining about our "tone" or "attitude"—preferably framing the criticism with a nasty tone and bad attitude—without really interacting with the actual point under discussion."
I saw 16 references on the google page. There have been hundreds of posts in that time frame.
I didn't know I was that important.
I should add that you should pay my successor in this job better than I.
Of course, you are well within your rights to do this. I would request, however, that you NOT pray for me. Over the years, in disputes with Jesus worshippers, I have heard that many times. It always has a nasty sound. And when you consider the nasty childish tone of many of these disputes with Frank Turk... while admitting that I deserve some of the blame...for you to say "praying for you to have your eyes opened to the glories of Christ and His power to redeem sinners." has a very hollow sound.
Maybe you should pray for Frank Turk.


sabbathmegaverbiage
Today, pyro posted this essay on the subject of banning commenters. Strangely enough, it deals with technical doctrinal disputes, and ignores the issue of personality conflicts. My problem with pyromaniacs is a personality conflict.
"he's an anti-Christian who has been trying for a very long time to get himself banned"
"What you say about me is a reflection on yourself"
Now, I am going to miss matching wits with Frank Turk. It is fun to have a little feel good squabble with someone you don't have to listen to, or see the hate in his eyes. (Unlike an abusive co worker or family member) Other than that, I don't feel too badly . Pyro is saying more about themselves, and about Jesus, than they are about me.
There is the irony of someone who writes hateful things, and signs them “Grace and Peace to You”. Grace is like teenage boys; those who talk the most do the least.
"I won't let your absence stop me praying for you to have your eyes opened to the glories of Christ and His power to redeem sinners"
Now, dragging Jesus into a personality dispute is in bad taste. This was a major problem with the Professional Jesus Worshipper I used to work with, and caused me to have a feeling of disgust for him and for Jesus. While the Pyro business is less painful, it leaves me with a bad taste in my mouth.
Just don’t say you are going to pray for me.


Perspective
This morning I talked on the phone with a high school friend of mine. After discussing the mess of Iraq and the hilarity of mark foley, we got around to mutual friends.
There is a person who I knew, and was a close friend of Steve's. He made a fortune in real estate and retired. A few months ago, Steve mentioned that our friend had built his own airplane.
Today, I learned about the fatal consequences of that hobby.
I was tweaking the start of this essay, and saw where I wrote " hence the quote". I flashed back to a scene in English 101, where the pilot had impressed our instructor by using the word "hence" in a paper. That teacher was the kind where you remember, verbatim, things she said 35 years ago. (“The best way to win an argument is to use statistics, and the best way to get statistics is to make them up"). I looked forward to the day when I could get together with the pilot and discuss her.