tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1081631727760066049.post7051177829871175729..comments2023-07-13T00:09:18.439-05:00Comments on Preaching the Gospel: Church of God Governanceauthor@ptgbook.orghttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13775228362728122027noreply@blogger.comBlogger7125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1081631727760066049.post-23900821542165112862012-04-20T13:36:09.560-05:002012-04-20T13:36:09.560-05:00Thank you, anonymous for your kind words.
Tom Ma...Thank you, anonymous for your kind words. <br /><br />Tom Mahon actually did me a favor by commenting as he did. Until that time, I usually sent an individual email reply about why I am anonymous to those who email me asking who I am. This was the first time someone said this in a blog. Since this comment and my reply, I have gotten much fewer questions and complaints about me being anonymous, and when I do I usually refer them to this post and my comments here.<br /><br />Welcome to my websites.<br /><br />Checkout my online book, Preaching the Gospel, and go through the table of contents to get an idea about what it covers. Here is a link to the table of contents page:<br /><br /><a href="http://www.ptgbook.org/introduction.htm" rel="nofollow"> www.ptgbook.org/introduction.htm </a>author@ptgbook.orghttps://www.blogger.com/profile/13775228362728122027noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1081631727760066049.post-23511658777573081882012-04-20T12:24:56.383-05:002012-04-20T12:24:56.383-05:00BRAVO! I just heard of your blog, and am visiting ...BRAVO! I just heard of your blog, and am visiting for the first time. I must say that this comment on writting anonymously is the BEST rebuttal I've ever read! I am excited to read what else you have in here. God bless!Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1081631727760066049.post-44354482677651463832010-01-01T22:23:09.862-06:002010-01-01T22:23:09.862-06:00I sympathize with you. My church split about a ye...I sympathize with you. My church split about a year ago. There was a contentious issue that was discussed at a congregational business meeting. The people who were disagreeable with the policies of Elders voted against the church budget. It passed and they left our congregation.Matthttps://www.blogger.com/profile/06350789459459006763noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1081631727760066049.post-21922802877980151132009-12-27T15:58:49.816-06:002009-12-27T15:58:49.816-06:00(part 3 of 3)
I also know that there is a spirit ...(part 3 of 3)<br /><br />I also know that there is a spirit of judgmentalism among some in the Church of God, and some will judge me for not publishing my name, but I will trust the judgment of God in this matter.<br /><br />By the way, you might consider John 5:43-44 and John 7:3-5, and what it says about putting an emphasis on personal names and personalities more that the Word of God.<br /><br />Some people just try to find fault in others and look for excuses to criticize. I hope you do not fall into that catagory. I know that no matter what I do I cannot please people like that. Jesus spoke of those in His generation in Matthew 11:16-19 when He said that people found fault with John the Baptist for not eating and drinking, then found fault with Jesus for eating and drinking! Likewise today, if a man publishes with his name, critics will say, "He is drawing a following for himself for the money," but if he publishes anonymously, they say, "He is a coward. He won't give his name." I know I cannot please people like that, and I will not try.<br /><br />God gives wisdom for making a particular decision to the one who has to make the decision, more than to onlookers who observe the decision. That is why God warns us to be careful about judging the decisions of others. Unless you can find clear scriptural teaching that it is a sin for a writer to publish anonymously, why second-guess my decision in a harsh manner?author@ptgbook.orghttps://www.blogger.com/profile/13775228362728122027noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1081631727760066049.post-32162076599047806132009-12-27T15:56:59.108-06:002009-12-27T15:56:59.108-06:00(part 2 of 3)
But whatever reasons I might have f...(part 2 of 3)<br /><br />But whatever reasons I might have for being anonymous or using the pen name "author@ptgbook.org" as my identifier, they are not valid if it is a sin for me to withhold my name. So I had to ask, does the Bible teach that it is wrong for someone to withhold his name? I had to look to see what the examples in the Bible teach.<br /><br />You mention the example of Jesus Christ giving his name, but Christ did not give His name in every situation and context. Christ sometimes withheld His name, even from those who asked. Jacob asked His name after he wrestled with Him, but He did not tell Jacob His name. Likewise, when the father of Samson asked the Angel of the LORD (most likely Christ) His name, He refused (Judges 13:17-22). Christ told Moses that even Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob did not know Him by His name LORD (Hebrew YHWH, the Eternal) but only knew Him as "God Almighty" (Exodus 6:2-3). In the Kingdom, we will be given new names that only we will know, so we will not necessarily share our new name with everyone (Revelation 2:17).<br /><br />I also looked at the books of the Bibles and in many cases the books do not contain the names of the authors. Hebrews falls into this catagory, but there are many books in the Old Testament that likewise are not signed by the authors. Many feel strongly that Paul wrote Hebrews, and they may be right, but Paul did not include his name in the letter as he did in his other letters. He must have had good reasons for not including his name, and God had a reason or reasons for not inspiring Paul, or whoever the author was, to sign his name. Likewise, I have reasons for not publishing my personal name. For all we can prove from the Bible, the book of Hebrews could have had more than one author working in collaboration - I don't know. But not knowing the author's name takes nothing from the book and its value, just as it takes nothing from the books of Judges, 1 Kings, 2 Kings, 1 Chronicles, or 2 Chronicles.<br /><br />What all these examples show is that the Bible does not teach that it is a sin to withhold one's name. Sometimes a name is given and sometimes it is not. It depends on the circumstances.<br /><br />As far as my personal background is concerned, if you are curious, I am male, a computer programmer, in my fifties. I was raised Catholic, became a Plain Truth reader when I was 18 years old, and was baptized and began attending Worldwide Church of God in my early thirties while Mr. Armstrong was still alive. I have never been ordained in any capacity, nor have I ever given sermons or sermonettes, nor have I ever written anything for any publication of a Church of God fellowship.<br /><br />I sometimes get correspondence by email, and occasionally someone will ask my name, but most people are not curious, and instead focus their questions or comments on what I have written in my books and articles, not on me personally. It is those who are most focused on what the Bible says, not on personalities, that I am trying to reach anyway.<br /><br />(continued next comment)author@ptgbook.orghttps://www.blogger.com/profile/13775228362728122027noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1081631727760066049.post-11760473703126752802009-12-27T15:53:21.446-06:002009-12-27T15:53:21.446-06:00Tom Mahon:
You certainly have the right to choose...Tom Mahon:<br /><br />You certainly have the right to choose not to read or consider what is written anonymously, for whatever reasons you have, just as I have the right to publish anonymously as I choose.<br /><br />Obviously, you and I think differently about what we read. When I read something, I do not care so much who the author is as much as I care about what I am reading. Sometimes I might be curious about the author, but I can learn as much from an anonymous author as from someone who gives his name. For example, in Gavin Rumney's Ambassador Watch blog, I have enjoyed and learned from a number of anonymous commenters, when what they say makes sense, if it is informative, if it suggests new ideas I had not considered before, if it is courteous and respectful to others and to the truth of the Bible, etc. The quality of what is written is more important to me than the name of the author.<br /><br />My name would mean nothing to you. I am unknown to the larger Church of God world, except by my pen name, "author@ptgbook.org." I am not an apostle, prophet, evangelist, minister, or deacon. I supervise no one in the Church. I am just a lay member of the Church with absolutely no special standing in the Church of God or any of its fellowships.<br /><br />Before I published this blog, I published the full-length book <a href="http://www.ptgbook.org" rel="nofollow"> Preaching the Gospel, </a> and when I published I had to make a decision about whether to publish under my real name or anonymously or with a pen name. I knew that in print publishing, use of a pen name (or "pseudonym") is not unusual, and on the Internet it is quite common. In fact, in all my blogging and partipation in forums, it is extremely rare for anyone to express curiousity about my name, nor am I curious about the names of others. What I and other bloggers write stands or falls on its own merits, not on the force of the author's personal name.<br /><br />I had a number of reasons for publishing anonymously. I know that in the Church of God landscape, there is often too much of an emphasis on personalities and not enough on the Bible. I wanted what I wrote in my book to stand or fall entirely on its own merits, based on the scriptures and on the facts, not on the name of a person. That is why I back up what I teach with scriptures and with history, and I give reasons for what I write, so each reader can evaluate my points based on scripture, history, and logic.<br /><br />I also know that there is a natural suspicion, and a common accusation, against those who publish, that they are trying to draw a following after themselves for personal gain. I did not want that to become a stumbling block for readers, so I published anonymously and I put my writings in the public domain rather than claiming copyright protection. Anyone can copy my writings, edit and re-publish them, or use them anyway they see fit. This should show that I am not doing this to build a personal following or to make money.<br /><br />(part 1 of 3 - continued next comment)author@ptgbook.orghttps://www.blogger.com/profile/13775228362728122027noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1081631727760066049.post-13095250147066552092009-12-22T10:18:22.425-06:002009-12-22T10:18:22.425-06:00The moment I visited your blog and discovered that...The moment I visited your blog and discovered that you have chosen to concealed your identity, I immediately ignored all that you have written, however sensible it might be.<br /><br />What have you done that you can't add your name to the comments you make? Are you afraid that God may read your name and discover who you are? Are you a criminal hiding from the police? <br /><br />Supposed Jesus had adopted your strategy of preaching to the world under an alias?Tom Mahonhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/02087223683733643082noreply@blogger.com