Tim Reed recently wrote on this site regarding Chris’ “put down” statement, his clarification, and Ingrid’s lack of acknowledgment. Chris even took it up a notch or two by taking clarification up to full-blown repentance. As Merry (a commenter) said, this was a humble thing to do, and I quite agree.

(I am also happy to note that — since I started to write this post — the issue has been resolved between Chris and Ingrid. However, I find something that came out of it to be very troubling. Since it’s not directly related, I don’t see this as ripping open a healed wound.)

Of course, not all commenters here are as gracious as Merry. On Tim’s post, one commenter said:

If Ingrid, after 18 years, has not retracted her work, or even changed her beliefs about what she is writing about than this site has been a complete failure.

OK, now I’m going to have to work from a framework here that maybe one thing that Ingrid has ever written or thought was wrong. If such an idea is unfathomable to you, then much of the rest of this post won’t make sense.

Read that first part again:

If Ingrid, after 18 years, has not retracted her work, or even changed her beliefs about what she is writing . . .

The only conclusion that one can come to is that God is absolutely powerless to affect any change in someone after they hold a particular belief for 18 years or more. The ramifications of such a belief are staggering:

1. No adults can be saved.
2. This would include Paul, who before his (I guess, alleged) conversion was murderously anti-Christian.
3. So, throw out 2/3 of the New Testament.
4. At least some of Jesus’ disciples were probably over 18. So (to quote the knight from Indiana Jones 3), “he chose poorly”.
5. Oh, and one more, God’s a total wimp.

I’m sure there are plenty others. Yeah, here’s one more:

If one’s mind can’t be changed after 18 years, then Slice / AM [sic] / CR?N are all “a complete failure.”

Either that, or none of the authors at those sites desire for any of the error that they point out to actually be changed, but are just stroking the egos of those that already agree with them.

Hey, I didn’t say it — that commenter did.

(P.S. It has been noted that, given the resolution of the issue, this site — and perhaps Ingrid’s too — has accomplished something, and therefore is not “a complete failure”. In one sense, this lets a bit of wind out of this post. In another sense, it doesn’t, but merely makes the commenter’s statement even more foolish-looking.)