iwantGodswisdomnotmine,
I appreciate your taking the time to post and share your experiences. You write,
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To be honest I would ask that each of you stop and ask God what your motivation is for attacking Roger and David and their ministry.
First, as I've said repeatedly, my motivation is not to "attack" anyone but rather to provide information. Second, you might be surprised to know that this is something I have prayed about....quite a bit, actually! If I can spare someone what I (and many friends) went through, I want to do that. I am not going to cite Scriptures-- not because I don't think the Bible is important-- but rather, because conversations like this can easily degenerate into "Bible wars," with each party shooting off verses to justify his position.
About 15 years ago, I could easily have written the post you submitted...so don't think that I am unaware of your perspective. One thing I would challenge is your understanding of the word
slander. When I was at MCLC, slander basically meant "communication that reflects negatively on the church or the pastors." Here's the dictionary definition of
slander: "a malicious, false, and defamatory statement or report." (Slander actually refers to oral communication, whereas libel refers to written, but we'll skip the technicalities for now.) Okay, so, in order for a report to be slander it must be malicious (refers to the motivation), false (untrue) AND defamatory (hurts someone's reputation). By the definition of the word slander, these posts are not slander.
Let me give an imaginary example. I'm thinking about going to Super Yummy Eats for lunch so I look up the restaurant on Yelp. I find a smattering of reviews:
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Best. Food. EVER! Four stars!
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Warning! Don't go there! My girlfriend and I went there for lunch last month. The food tasted okay, but within hours, we were violently ill. We both ended up in the ER with food poisoning.
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Blech. The food is disgusting, and I had an upset stomach after eating there.
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I love this place! The owner is really nice, and he always gives me free appetizers.
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I almost died because of this restaurant. I got a severe form of e coli, ended up in the ICU and now have permanent kidney damage.
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Don't listen to the negative reports! These people are LIARS! This restaurant is great, and the owners would never do anything to hurt the people who eat there.
Obviously, I made these up, but play along for a minute, if you will. Are the negative reports slander? Is it possible that all of these people are telling the truth based on their own experiences at Super Yummy Eats? After reading these reviews, do you want to go to this restaurant?
Just because one "reviewer" didn't get food poisoning, it doesn't mean that those who say they did are lying. Sure, their food might taste good, but if even a portion of the patrons become sick (some with lasting damage) after eating there, why patronize that restaurant when there are plenty of healthier restaurants in town?