Condescending

I was recently accused of being condescending to someone on a yahoo group I am actively involved in. This one person has accused me of such more than once. Now, I re-read all of my posts that were addressing him and saw nothing that really seemed condescending to me. Most anyone who has ever met me never gets that impression from me. I work hard at maintaining a humble attitude and honestly do not think I am better than anyone. I also think I am fairly good at writing in a way that those who read what I write will understand not only what I write, but also a sense for the feelings behind my words.

I will admit that I get irritated when I am discussing religeous differences with someone and they do not present a logical response with scripture to support their statements. I do not think I know all there is to know about the Bible, but I study it much more often than the average person and expect those who disagree with me to present well thought out responses with scripture. This person who accused me of being condescending toward him, has not been clear as to what he believes and what he disagrees with me on. When I request clarification, he gets his feathers ruffled. I never called him a name, but did tell him that a response he made was silly. I told him that I thought it was silly because it was completely vague, the comment really seemed not to apply to what I had presented at all, and had no scripture to support anything.

His last post ended with calling me names though. He said something about me being a self-centered, self-important, know-it-all. I really went out of my way to explain that I was having trouble understanding what his point is and just needed clarification. I apologized twice for offending him and explained that I did not intend to have a condescending attitude with anyone...but that apparently matter not at all to him. It seems that no matter how hard I try, there are some people who are determined to be offended. I think it might be that they know what I present to them is completely logical and is supported by scripture and they are frustrated because they can't refute my position and resort to accusations and personal attacks. So, I think I must shake the dust off my feet and ignore this man.

I want very much to understand the thinking behind why someone believes what they do...especially if it is different from what I believe. I want to understand for two reasons. One reason is because if their reasons are sound and do not conflict with God's Word, then I can adopt that view. Another reason is that if their belief is not supported by God's Word and is not at all sound, it is my duty as a Christian to refute a false doctrine and correct that person out of love. This is our sacred duty. May God bless all who read my posts and may we help each other to know the truth of God's Word more accurately.