There have been some issues raised over the last week or so for which I haven’t had time to post responses. I’ll briefly try to hit some of the key items now. Sorry for the delay --been away on business. I run a clinical research company with 35+ employees and a slew of contractors; so there’s plenty to hold my attention during the workday and afterwards, that ubiquitous “honey do” list has been growing by leaps since Spring has sprung.

Given Swalchy’s comments and the content of some of the more recent posts, it seems clear that this thread has pretty much run its course since the topic first kicked off a little over three weeks and 1800 views ago. There have been several who have questioned the motivation for posting this topic, so here’s a brief recap for your benefit.

The erroneous painting of Paul the Apostle as the specific target of Rev 2.2 during the 5/11 radio show was disturbing because it exhibited such a marked departure from the sound, evidence-based exegesis that I had come to expect in recent years from the YY effort. And the string of other spurious conclusions put forward about word derivations (eg. church and Bible), and the increasingly strident harangues about the evils of Christianity and people of faith, just weren’t passing the smell test. But the catalyst that triggered launch of this thread came with a Forum post I stumbled upon earlier that day. It really brought home how egregious the distortions can become from the fast and loose interpretation of Scripture by amateur translators and fair-weather hobbyists fixed on spinning their own personal theologies and private agendas.

James wrote on Saturday, May 08, 2010 3:59:52 PM




What idiocy. I have to say with all sincerity, and without a doubt, this is one of the most INANE statements I have ever heard anyone make. And I am genuinely embarrassed that something like this was expressed so flippantly in this serious-minded Forum. Nevertheless, it is a blazing example of the indiscretion and consequence that comes from the wholesale perversion and twisting of the meaning of words to promote private doctrinal claims and self-contrived dogma. So that’s a little background to the motivation for initiating this thread. Just a few more comments and I’ll finish.

Post #39




I don’t give myself any credit: I just posed a simple question to see if anyone else was picking up on the snowballing craziness that was quickly becoming YY Radio. Actually, it was several other long-time Forum members who carried the mainstream discussion during the first week. By the time I added my initial comments, as you say, Yada was well on his way to throwing in the towel. And if you really believe he wasn’t tracking the discussion from the get go, you need a doppio of Espresso babe...




I’m guessing you got this from another email that you were authorized to share this time?? By the way James, just did a little survey and discovered that you sure submit a lot of posts during normal business hours. I remember you saying in the YY radio chat room that you “run tech at an intermediate school in the Dallas area.” You really might want to think about giving your employer and the taxpayers their money’s worth instead of squandering the public’s hard-earned treasure with your pedantic blogging on their dime. If you definitely have to continue, do it on your own time. I recommend you keep in mind that time-honored Scripture: Thieves must quit stealing and, instead, they must work hard. They should do something good with their hands so that they'll have something to share with those in need. Eph 4:28

Any reader-centric publisher would tell Yada to slash and burn -- cut the volume down by at least 80 percent—spend the time distilling the content to a concise, cohesive, and well thought through presentation. At 2500+ pages YY is commercially unviable and really a bit of a caricature; yet if history can be our guide, the volume will likely double again in size before this “hiatus” has run its course.

I am sure this is something Yada can appreciate: When you train as a pilot, any instructor worth their salt drives home the point that the safety and comfort of your passengers comes first. It’s all about THEM. Radical maneuvers are great fun, but you don’t pull 2-3G turns with the faces of people in the back pancaked against the glass -- definitely not part of the solution. Same with writing: The human heart wants to express itself and reveal to everyone all the precious insights it has discovered, but the serious author gives the reader pre-eminence and takes that extra time to pare down the content to its most efficient presentation. It takes discipline and an intention to consider others more highly than themselves. Yada, please, please think parsimony -- PARSIMONY, as in Ockham's razor -- definitely part of the solution for everyone concerned now, and others you may influence in the future.

In this same spirit of less is more, I conclude by saying that this “hiatus” can be a very good thing. But I sincerely hope you will use the time wisely to reach out beyond yourself to get some outside help. I realize you hold a very dim view of pastors, elders, etc. who have often been known to step into the gap and provide real help in time of need. But there are other medical options that a man of you wealth and status can afford; you definitely need to find someone locally that you can speak with confidentially on an on-going basis.

At the end of one of the shows during the final two weeks, you revealed some personal information that immediately struck me as critical factor to your current state of mind and the spiritual shift many of us here have recognized over the recent months. You described a situation you had experienced in years past involving a persistent series of death threats from your father and how it placed unbelievable stress on your wife and children to the point where they almost had to move away from you to escape the danger of this treachery. I know something about this kind of trauma, and the damage it inflicts runs deep and doesn’t go away easily, even though the original threat has long vanished. In fact, unless it is carefully and methodically addressed, it usually never goes away and the resultant bitterness and deep-seated anger ends up distorting many other key areas of our lives including perceptions of truth and reality.

You need a Good Samaritan, someone who is non-judgmental and willing to listen to a long story and able to pour in the oil and the wine and provide for your recovery to full health again. If you don’t immediately know someone, they can easily be hired. This is particularly needed when a parent has inflicted the assault—you really can’t help yourself – and to say you are letting YHWH handle it, is a self-deceptive cop out. As portrayed in the recent Meryl Streep movie It’s Complicated, Santa Barbara appears to have its share of solid professionals to fit the bill. I believe I can say with full confidence, you can count on many of us here to be praying for a successful resolution. But you can't rush it.

rv

Could we discuss Paul rather than Yada?

I would love it if someone could help me understand Colossians 2, for example, in a way that is consistent with scripture.



Otherwise, I'm left with warnings about Benjamites and false prophets.

Thanks,
RWY.

Rob wrote:



I met with Yada earlier this year at his beautiful mansion in SB, and we have been engaged in direct conversations re/ the YY volume for over two years though I have not been active here in the Forum. But unless you have direct experience with the type of personal trauma he described, and the submerged impact it can have on basic perceptions and motivations, you most likely can't really begin to understand the point I made above.

And there are others here suffering from similar assaults to their psyches and probably unaware that they just can not ignore it and continue with business as usual. Taking time to deal with these kinds of internal issues is important, particularly if you are in a position of speaking into other peoples lives about fundamental concepts and interpretations of theology and the correct meaning of Scripture. And you can't go it alone.

But this is simply the best possible advice I could give as part of my concluding remarks and involvement with this post. I believe it goes directly to the heart of the matter and it would be just wrong to conveniently ignore the half ton guerilla in the room.

RV - that is all well and good - but posting that in the forum without our prior knowledge of your relationship or the situation hinted at - and then airing issues you perceive Yada to have (I do not know etc etc) is inappropriate and should be done in private to Yada - otherwise we end up believing exactly what I have written because we do not know.

Disagreeing with Yada, Jame's or anyone's views is fine but attacking who they are in front of people who know nothing about that situation is wrong. Keep it to the subject and don't make it personal...





Is my mum here?

I am LOLing at swalchy's pics posted above.

Otherwise, this thread lost me at the personal references to Yada.
I don't hold Yada up as a prophet, but I respect the work he does.
Getting so personal as was done here is just plain nasty. It's one thing to discuss scripture and analyze it, but going off the rails about Yada ??
What is gained from that? For you or for anyone here? What is the purpose? To raise yourself up? I think you've done the exact opposite. Sorry, just my take.

Otherwise, I'm just the audience here and have absolutely nothing to add to the discussion.

:D

Yeah - everyone just needs to cool their jets, calm down, and I would suggest taking a bit of a break from this topic. I had considered locking it and leaving it at that, but seeing as though I really don't think the topic is completely done for just yet, everyone's personal comments stop right here, right now.

Just one more, and I will lock the topic. Use the Personal Messenger on the forum if you want to continue the personal conversations - just don't soil the forums themselves.