“For though we walk in the flesh, we do not war according to the flesh. For the weapons of our warfare are not carnal but mighty in God for pulling down strongholds, casting down arguments and every high thing that exalts itself against the knowledge of God, bringing every thought into captivity to the obedience of Christ<\/em>” (II Corinthians 10:3-5).<\/p><\/blockquote>\nIt is amazing that in a country that values freedom of speech, an article documenting a religion’s beliefs and the reasons it doesn’t match the standard it claims, at least in part, to follow brings out such strong words from someone who claims he doesn’t care. Yet it is the one documenting the facts who is called hateful and a terrorist by a heckler who sounds as if he is foaming at the mouth. It is just another example of what Jesus warned, “For with what judgment you judge, you will be judged; and with the measure you use, it will be measured back to you<\/em>” (Matthew 7:2). You condemn yourself by your own words.<\/p>\n“Blessed are the meek, For they shall inherit the earth.
\nBlessed are those who hunger and thirst for righteousness, For they shall be filled.
\nBlessed are the merciful, For they shall obtain mercy.
\nBlessed are the pure in heart, For they shall see God.
\nBlessed are the peacemakers, For they shall be called sons of God.
\nBlessed are those who are persecuted for righteousness’ sake, For theirs is the kingdom of heaven.<\/em>\n“Blessed are you when they revile and persecute you, and say all kinds of evil against you falsely for My sake. Rejoice and be exceedingly glad, for great is your reward in heaven, for so they persecuted the prophets who were before you<\/em>” (Matthew 5:5-12).<\/p><\/blockquote>\nI hope that one day you’ll find some happiness in your life.<\/p>\n\t
Question:<\/h2>\n
Just one last thing. Interesting that you assumed that I was a male and that I was angry in the writing. Funny how that is. And I am female. Does that also surprise you on some level? Am I now supposed to walk behind you and put an apron on and cook you dinner? How very sad that is. I was just expressing how you said, free speech. You should take it that way. There was no malice in what I sent. No more hurt than in what you posted and how it just is so similar to the hate that is around you and me — that is all. Why take it any other way than free speech? Curious.<\/p>\n\t
Answer:<\/h2>\n
There nothing odd. In English when gender is not known, the rule is to use the masculine. The anger was seen in your use of profanity as well as your writing style. It is really simple, if you don’t wish to be perceived to be angry, don’t write in a style loaded with hate-filled words. And, no, I made no assumptions about whether the person I was addressing was male or female since the answer remains the same.<\/p>\n
Oh, and attempting to turn the tables doesn’t work since the contrast between your original and follow-on note can be compared. So now you come across as insincere. You can pretend all you want, but no one is fooled.<\/p>\n\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
Question: First I am not religious at all, but just someone who has a fascination with religions of all kinds.\u00a0 And, no, I am not an atheist, and I am not seeking a religion, especially with people like you helping the world wars, terror, and terrorists go around.\u00a0 Yes, terror. I am really unsure why…<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"advanced_seo_description":"","jetpack_seo_html_title":"","jetpack_seo_noindex":false,"footnotes":"","jetpack_post_was_ever_published":false},"categories":[20],"tags":[35],"class_list":["post-27230","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-answer","tag-homosexuality"],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"jetpack_likes_enabled":true,"jetpack-related-posts":[{"id":32828,"url":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/i-just-dont-know-whether-to-leave-my-boyfriend-or-stay\/","url_meta":{"origin":27230,"position":0},"title":"I just don’t know whether to leave my boyfriend or stay","author":"Jeffrey Hamilton","date":"May 10, 2012","format":false,"excerpt":"Question: I am so pleased to see that there is a question section here! I am so lost and stuck in a rut and need nothing but the word of God with proper direction. My boyfriend and I have been together for a few years. We are in our early\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Answer"","block_context":{"text":"Answer","link":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/category\/answer\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"","width":0,"height":0},"classes":[]},{"id":45413,"url":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/hate-speech\/","url_meta":{"origin":27230,"position":1},"title":"Hate Speech","author":"Jeffrey Hamilton","date":"July 5, 2015","format":false,"excerpt":"by Jeffrey W. Hamilton Text: Matthew 5:10-16 \u00a0 I.\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0One popular trend arising around the world is to criminalize talk that is branded as \u201chate speech.\u201d \u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0A.\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0Now we all know that \u201chate\u201d isn\u2019t good, so these laws passed quickly and easily \u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0B.\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0But what exactly is \u201chate speech?\u201d I found definitions, such\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Audio"","block_context":{"text":"Audio","link":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/category\/audio\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"","width":0,"height":0},"classes":[]},{"id":40211,"url":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/i-found-your-answering-a-muslim-critic-offensive\/","url_meta":{"origin":27230,"position":2},"title":"I found your “Answering a Muslim Critic” offensive","author":"Jeffrey Hamilton","date":"September 15, 2013","format":false,"excerpt":"Question: I've noticed in your article 'Answering a Muslim Critic' you have made several attempts to disrespect our Prophet Muhammad SAW. Now I am not a good Muslim, nor am I a sinless human being, but to me that is wrong. You have made the Prophet sound violent and merciless\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Answer"","block_context":{"text":"Answer","link":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/category\/answer\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"","width":0,"height":0},"classes":[]},{"id":35403,"url":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/what-if-while-i-encourage-christians-i-end-up-encouraging-members-of-a-false-religion\/","url_meta":{"origin":27230,"position":3},"title":"What if, while I encourage Christians, I end up encouraging members of a false religion?","author":"Jeffrey Hamilton","date":"October 21, 2012","format":false,"excerpt":"Question: I have recently finished another article about letting our acts and voices continue to confess Christ throughout our lives.\u00a0 I was wondering though, what if I end up encouraging someone from a false religion to do more for their denomination?\u00a0 My aim is to encourage Christians, but it's always\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Answer"","block_context":{"text":"Answer","link":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/category\/answer\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"","width":0,"height":0},"classes":[]},{"id":12607,"url":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/i-became-a-christian-and-am-improving-but-my-family-is-lashing-out-against-me-what-do-i-do\/","url_meta":{"origin":27230,"position":4},"title":"I became a Christian and am improving, but my family is lashing out against me. What do I do?","author":"Jeffrey Hamilton","date":"September 27, 2007","format":false,"excerpt":"Question: I recently obeyed the gospel earlier this year. Prior to my conversion, I was a member of a Baptist denomination. My boyfriend studied with me about the truth. The more we studied and attended church services together, I quickly began to realize that denominations were wrong. Since my conversion,\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Answer"","block_context":{"text":"Answer","link":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/category\/answer\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"","width":0,"height":0},"classes":[]},{"id":35116,"url":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/im-afraid-to-convert\/","url_meta":{"origin":27230,"position":5},"title":"I’m afraid to convert","author":"Jeffrey Hamilton","date":"May 5, 2021","format":false,"excerpt":"Question: Good evening, I hope you are doing well and staying healthy with your family.\u00a0I found your website on the Internet while I was looking for advice from Q&A's, and I read numerous articles of yours. I am in a long-distance relationship with my boyfriend for over two years. We\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Answer"","block_context":{"text":"Answer","link":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/category\/answer\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"","width":0,"height":0},"classes":[]}],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/27230","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=27230"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/27230\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=27230"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=27230"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=27230"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}