Nowhere else but in the world of religion does nearly 100% of the participants NOT believe what they say they believe. (It is both hypocrisy and contradiction.) This phenomenon must be attributed to the ingenious of the premier enemy of God in drafting his doctrines of demons: Satan.
I criticized my brother Tony Nungesser for what I saw as his downplaying of Satan's lies by crediting those who SAY they believe Jesus died with ACTUALLY believing Jesus died. The only reason I critiqued him was because he first critiqued me when I insisted that those who believe the doctrine of the Trinity cannot, at the same time, believe the doctrine of the death of Christ.
He critiqued me and I responded. These were both public comments.
The worst thing I said about my brother—besides that he downplayed Satan's lies—was that he gave Christians too much of the benefit of the doubt. He was too generous with Christians. I basically
said that Tony was too nice to Christians.
For this, Tony has accused me of calumniating him. Have I? How can calling someone "too nice" be calumny? Calumny requires a malicious intent to destroy the character of someone, mainly by telling lies. This may be the first time in Body-of-Christ history when one brother accuses another of calumny for
calling him "too nice."
Tony claims I misstated his position. What if I did? Is this calumny? Let the man simply restate his position—which he did. I make mistakes. I don't think I made one here, but what if I did? Let the man tell me how I was wrong. Brothers ought to be able to do this without taking matters personally.
I have publicly stated that I love Tony and that he is my friend. Since my criticism of his criticism of me, Tony is now calling me a false friend—basically, a fraud. It sounds like he is done with me as a brother.
This is a tragedy and it is
NOT how brothers with PUBLIC MINISTRIES are to act. For stellar examples of spiritual behavior, look no further than the way Peter Meye and I have interacted, or the way Mark Haukaas and I have interacted. There have been many sharp exchanges between us, yet we all realize that this comes with the gig of public commentary. After the issues are hashed out, we all cyber-hug, go out for a cyber beer, and count it all blessing. Nothing affects our friendship.
For some reason, Tony Nungesser can't do this. Never have I been de-friended by someone so quickly for so little. It breaks my heart. Let it be known to Tony and to all: I still count this man as my brother and my friend, and have said so publicly. I say it again here. I did not take his initial Facebook criticism of my video personally. Rather, I responded to it. Tony responded back,
which is his right and which I expected. I respect him for it. But what I do not respect is spiritual skin so thin that it would de-friend a brother.
Come back, Tony. I meant you no personal harm. I would never calumniate you and neither have I. This is not only my opinion, but that of many others.
Grace and peace in Christ.
P.S. I can't help but notice that, which I critique someone's teaching, I am in turn criticized (mainly by opposing bystanders) for some perceived character flaw. I have been called every defamatory name in the book, while I have
defamed no one but only dismantled (severely in some cases, yes) another's teaching. They are "wrong" while I am "an ass" or "a jerk." See the difference? I hope so. Maybe some of us ought to think before we type.