Alright, I have been trying to put together a response unrelated to answering the OP (strictly speaking). I got really busy at work today and I hope it is not too late.
@Bill Duncan responded to my PM and filled me in on what was underlying his frustration. With some extra info from
@Bill Duncan and in re-reading some of the post here, I would like to state the following:
1.
@NaphtaliPress
/Moderating/
Also, the moderators are severely hobbled with the loss of Patrick and you have no idea how disheartening it is to see a return to "business as usual" in less than a day.
/end moderating/
Chris, my heart goes out to you and the other Moderators. You all put in so much work that most users (including myself) will never know of. I was not really close to Patrick at all, but even in my short stint on PB, I was blessed to experience Patrick's wisdom, patience, and discernment. Your crew has lost someone close to your hearts and though we know he is now in the sweetest and most beautiful place he ever has been, it can still be painful for those left behind. Patrick now has no pain, no sorrow, no hunger, no stress, and is worshipping our Lord in ways you and I can't imagine. However this can still seem bittersweet for those who will no longer know earthy fellowship with our brother. Hold your head high my friend and place your eyes on the legacy Patrick has left behind. May we all reflect on our post in this thread and others asking, "Would my Lord be honored by this?". In the case of Patrick, he has given no small amount of post that can be answered with a resounding "YES". For use Sabbatarians, let us rejoice for now Patrick knows the eternal rest we try and scratch at each and every Lord's Day (Hebrews 4). He knows the rest that was promised.
2.
@PointyHaired Calvinist
Wow! I said nothing - and meant to say nothing - about SJW, tracking down descendants of these sins, disciplining dead people, or even picking out men who perhaps should have been disciplined but weren't! My question was specifically curiosity about whether slave owners' sins of this nature were ever addressed by the Southern church at the time, either with Church discipline or with writings of the Southern church.
You're hearing this from a descendant of Confederate soldiers, who loves the South for the most part and appreciates having been raised in the South. However I've never heard if this "open secret" was ever dealt with.
Pergamum, if I could give you a hundred "likes" I'd gladly do so.
Johnathan,
I don't read any ill intent in any of your post here. Admittedly, I feel it to be an innocent (and interesting) inquiry. However, even though you did not intend offense,
@Bill Duncan has clearly been offended (rightly or wrongly I will not weigh in here, but I do agree with
@NaphtaliPress 's moderation). I think you have rightly expressed that you meant no ill-intent or "wokism" in your OP, and I believe you. Just things to chew on is all. Below you will be able to read what
@Bill Duncan expressed to me in PM, which he gave me permission to try and convey to the group here. I wish
@Bill Duncan would have shared this interesting story with us on this thread as it would have given more context to his frustrations.
3.
@Bill Duncan said the below in the PM to me:
Thank you for messaging me. I appreciate your wisdom and advice, but my disposition is not such that I can remain silent when my family is defamed. I will always fight to preserve name of those who cannot fight for themselves. My heritage is slave holding, southern Godly men. My great great grandfather, William H. Duncan, a Methodist circuit rider, and Col. in the South Carolina militia, wounded with the Army of Northern Va. 1863, and was a victim of Sherman's march to the sea. His slaves voluntarily stayed behind in the face of the federal advance and after fierce torture would not divulge the whereabouts of their master's hiding place, nor where they themselves had hidden the families valuables. This was the typical response of all those in the area of the Barnwell County, SC. With the plantation destroyed, upon his return, the slaves dug up the chest where the valuables were stored. I still have that cypress chest as a memorial to those christian men who risked their own lives and endured the lash for the love of their master. I didn't get that from history books but from my namesake's journal. He loved them so much he sought to preserve the honor of their selfless act. This is love that you should give your life for another. That is why I will fight that war continually, but PB is not the place to do it and I can't not do it. Therefore I must move on. Satan used the church to start a war that he though would destroy a Christian stronghold and stop the advance of the gospel to the descents of Ham. Though in a sense it did stop the planting of seed by the white man, the black man took the Gospel to their own. God's ways are past finding out.
Let's not argue whether or not the above is valid justification for
@Bill Duncan 's responses on this thread. However, we should all see that something really rubbed him wrong hear. Yes, he should have been more clear on the thread as to who he was responding too, and why he was so upset, but he failed to do this.
I am not defending anyone, but rather trying to provide helpful insight and info. As it stands now, I would rather the argumentative post be deleted, which may help this thread continue on without the drama. That however, is not my call.
It is
@Bill Duncan 's decision to leave for good or return. Many of us have already encouraged him to stay. I hope he does.