Was Bishop Larry Shaw Defamed?

Everything's going down BUT the WORD OF GOD! (or at least so it has been said)

Setting forth the charge of making known false statements with reckless disregard, Bishop Larry Shaw of First Southern Georgia Jurisdiction COGIC and also Secretary of the Board Of Bishops has been forced to sue both the Chairman of the Board of Bishops, Bishop John H Sheard of Michigan SouthWest First Jurisdiction COGIC, and blogger, Elder and "chauffeur for hire" (according to the suit) William G. McCray of the Obnoxious blog on charges of defamation.

Defamation ~ : the act of saying false things in order to make people have a bad opinion of someone or something : the act of defaming someone or something

As the allegations of the SUIT has it, Sheard agreed to pay McCray $10,000 to post a malicious letter on his blog, which was, according to Shaw, totally untrue and known to both Sheard and McCray to be unfounded and baseless at the time that it was circulated some 12 years after it was written. According to the allegations this was done in effort to damage Shaw's re-election efforts and punish him for his support of Bishop Thomas Hosley who had been, according to him, moved without due process from his position, prior to his reinstatement. According to the suit, Sheard later agreed to pay McCray $6,000, but after the letter and negative publicity failed to block Shaw from position failed to pay McCray anything at all. 

No one likes things like this (when believers must take high level disputes to the courts) BUT we do have the DUTY to be truthful and honest. We should not be so ambitious that we seek to destroy one another with untruth and spurious and inaccurate information especially in exchange for money. We prove by virtue of that that we are no better than those upon whom the "light" is supposedly shone.

A more indepth story and details can be found HERE and HERE. I don't know who is guilty, but all 3 of these folk can't be telling the truth...somebody needs to go back to the foundation or repentance and turning....SOMEBODY...

CBS Atlanta News

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Christian Civility...With Gentleness & Respect?

1 Peter 3:15 ~"But sanctify the Lord God in your hearts: and [be] ready always to [give] an answer to every man that asketh you a reason of the hope that is in you with meekness and fear:"

The internet can be both a welcoming aid to discovery and also a discouraging and depressing tool of engagement. Recently, there has been much conversation regarding how Christians engage one another in the blogosphere...

Now, I must first admit, that emotions can sometimes hijack a good message and enter into the conversation all too easily causing a separation between individuals that were thought to be previously inseparable. I remember a debate between two ministers over then Presidential candidate Barack Obama that not only escalated into insults, but ended in at least one party throwing slurs, pronouncing judgement on the other, name calling and just flat out condemning anyone who had any affinity for Obama.  This was a reminder that we must be careful as to not engage in or approach commentary with an "all in" or "I'll prove it to you" type of mentality that often prevails in the blogosphere and among internet email systems.

Salvation At Stake

What we want to examine however is that there are skirmishes that often happen where individuals "claim" that their relationship in Christ was damaged as a result of internet chatter and dialogue between Christians. It stands to reason that if individuals can feel that they have been bullied and go on to commit suicide because of what is said on the internet, it is possible that some could have their faith, both in God and other Christians, severely challenged if they are not careful.

What I am afraid of however is that there are two messages and actions that recent discussion over this issue seems to lump together as one.

1- Disrespectful dialogue and debate over Christian truth or doctrine

and

2- Dialogue that exposes heresy, apostasy and failure among the church, church leaders and "gospel" personalities.

To my understanding, both of these topics are uniquely different and must be differentiated.

First, we can readily admit that Christians can sometimes show and face disrespect over doctrine, church, or theological belief. I have experienced that much early on in my blog/commentary career and have probably been both the cause and recipient of such treatment and interaction. For my part I certainly apologize to any of those who have been the recipient of such interaction. I soon learned however, that different persons are at different stages in life dealing with certain truths that challenge certain understandings or perceptions and it takes God ultimately to speak to the heart. One should keep in mind that not every issue is a matter of salvation or Christian fellowship. Some issues should not divide, although some inevitably do.

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