» Please understand, I am not doing so out of a malicious spirit. I do not wish to offend you or embitter you. Nor do I wish to make you my enemy. »
I understand that. You are right that my text was also harsh. It’s not that you have touched a nerve (although this topic is something that I have thought through). It’s that English is not my native tongue and sometimes I don’t find any better way to convey an idea forcefully without being a bit harsh. But you are not my enemy (we are at the same side of the red line) and I am not angry and bitter with you. Please read the following with this assumption.
«Let me ask you this, do you think His truth would have resonated as deeply as it has across time if He had not assumed any risk, if He had not challenged the authorities of His day, if He had not been willing to sacrifice himself for our sake?. No offence, but this risk/reward approach you present reeks of leftist materialist thinking. You have basically admitted that you value material possessions and physical comfort more than spiritual values. If this reflects your philosophy of life, peace be with you […]»
This is binary thinking and a fallacy. Even Jesus had to eat and sleep. This means that He stopped time to time from his praying and preaching to eat and to rest. This was time that was lost for spiritual endeavors. Does this mean that He valued food more than spiritual values because He didn’t starve to death while praying and reading the Scriptures? No, because it was better to Jesus to eat to fulfill His mission. By the way, why don’t you stop feeding your family and retire to a Hungarian monastery? You reek of materialist thinking. God will provide for your family, won’t He? Saint Paul (1 Timothy 5:8) was also reeking of materialistic thinking, right?
In addition, when Jesus is persecuted by the Pharisees, He escaped, because His hour has not arrived (I have found John 10:39 but there are other quotes). Jesus escapes multiple times from the Pharisees.
Jesus, as any of their followers, when He took an action, he evaluated what were the pros and cons of any situation IN THE SPIRITUAL REALM. He escaped the Pharisees because facing the Pharisees and being killed before His time had arrived would mean that He was not able to fulfill His Mission. It was better being called «a coward» (it is likely that some of the Jews called them that) than to die in a «Look how holly I am» show without fulfilling His mission.
My mission in the Earth is to live a Christian life, to feed my children and my wife, to educate my children in Christ and away from the toxic culture, to awaken my fathers and family so they arrive to Christ (I have made significant progresses in the last 5 years). I am not the Son of Man so my mission is not to die on the cross. If I reveal my identity and lose my job, let’s examine the pros and cons IN THE SPIRITUAL REALM. Pros: none. Cons: my mission will suffer.
I am not the first Christian that thinks of self-preservation. Why the first Christians met in catacombs instead of going straight to the lions? Why the Chinese Christian hide right now and the Christian were hidden in Communist Russia? Why Christian people (including Saint Paul) take precautions when they go on a journey? If their faith was strong, they should trust God. Your radicalism is unwarranted.
«But here’s the thing, you chose to put yourself and your family in a position where you are essentially allowing yourself to be controlled, confined, and contained.»
This position is called «living in the West». You cannot speak freely in the West. Not in your work, not in your private life. If I said what I think about some sensitive topics, not even my immediate family will want to have anything with me. I started speaking some common sense in the family Whatsapp group (not what I really think as a Christian but something very soft and only 5% of what I really think). My cousins started leaving the group because they were offended and I ended up alone. What goal did I achieve with that? Were my cousins converted?
You tell that I chose to put myself in this position but I am not sure about that. I was born in the West. 20 years ago, I escaped to Latin America (which was more religious and not infected with the politically correct virus back then) only to see how the politically correct virus followed me. Maybe Hungary is safe now, at least while Orban resists. But this will not last and you will have to protect your family. Then you will remember me. Making an «I am holier than thou» show on the Internet against somebody you don’t know is easy and cheap. When your family is at risk, we will see if your actions meet your words.
«You have let the world dominate you. So why bother sharing anything at all on the net?»
Well, you can say that to all the Christian people that live in countries that forbid the Gospel. For example, Christian people living in Muslim countries. They have let the world dominate them. Why bother sharing anything at all (on the Internet or in real life)?
«and whether you realize it or not, you are taking risks by keeping your name concealed»
My risk is not keeping my name concealed. It is about speaking the truth. Even if I conceal my name, I could be tracked by several methods (I am an IT guy so I am very aware about that). Then why do I conceal my name? Why do you have a door in your house if the door can be broken? Because the door provides a basic level of protection, which works for most situations. This is why you close the door before going to sleep instead of leaving it open, because the door works most of the time. Of course, if somebody wanted to identify me, he could. But this would take significant effort and it is unlikely to be done for a small fish like me. But if I put my real name on the Internet, I will have problems in my personal and professional life tomorrow with 100% of probability.
«And by the way – I certainly don’t consider you insignificant. You are more significant than you realize.»
I really don’t care, Francis. My delusions of grandeur (when I wanted to be somebody important and significant) are way far in the past. God was merciful with me and made me suffer a lot so I could give up my stupid pride. One of the best things He did for me. After mountains of suffering, I only want to be significant for my family and to try to serve God as His humble servant. I am nobody (do you remember my nick?). Being nobody is freeing, because you don’t have to be all day long convincing yourself that you are better than the rest, holier than the rest, more significant than the rest. Not only is this the sin of pride but, in addition, this is a mental energy that I don’t have any more after the diseases and the age. I am only a sinner and I only hope for God’s mercy.
«Look, everything you or I choose to do or not do has consequences. I am taking risks by revealing my name, and whether you realize it or not, you are taking risks by keeping your name concealed. I know I am not safe – you seem to be under the illusion that you are.
That is the difference between us.»
Yes, you are more aware than me and holier than me and braver than me and more spiritual than me and you don’t reek of materialist thinking. You know how I and my family should live our life better than we do. You are wiser than me.
Since you are wise, you know what is the correct spiritual position about being anonymous. In this, you are better than the Bible and better than all the Church Fathers and all the saints of the past, that have said nothing about this topic. In fact, anonymity has existed forever and it seems possible that the synoptic Gospels hide the names of some people to protect them from the authorities. (Go to https://vridar.org/2007/02/15/bauckhams-jesus-and-the-eyewitnesses-chapter-8/ and scroll down to «Protective Anonymity»). If this is true, you will be more spiritual than the authors of the Gospels. Good for you!
Leaving irony apart, I don’t know you. You can be better than me or worse than me. I don’t have any information. Neither do you about me. So, lacking any other information, I will trust your words and establish that you are better than me.
So what? I don’t want to be better than you. I don’t want to be better than anybody. But, even if I wanted to be better than other people, I wouldn’t care about a guy like you, who I don’t know . You are only a name on the screen. You mean nothing to me (and I hope I mean nothing to you). I don’t want to impress you and I don’t care about your opinion (and I hope you do the same). It’s fun to explore topics, to order my thoughts and practice my English, but that’s all. Now that we have established that you are much better than me, we can keep on discussing the topic of anonymity without making it personal for you or for me.
This is the thing I find wearisome when I talk to American men on the Internet. Most of the time, they have this attitude of «Look at me! I am the mega man and you are a bunch of losers! Listen what you should do to stop being losers. Be more like me!». Besides the sin of pride, this should be a cultural thing because it does not exist in European men and Latin American men (which I know well). It’s like American men are taught that they should be the best, otherwise they have to be ashamed. And they have internalized this attitude so completely that they do it even with strangers on the Internet. But we are 7 billion people and only one can be the best. There is no shame in not being the best. God made the best, the middle and the worst. And even if you are the best, it is silly trying to AMOG unknown people on the Internet.
AND, AFTER ANSWERING YOUR COMMENTS (PLAYING DEFENSE, SO TO SPEAK), LET ME PLAY OFFENSE. I ONLY WANT TO ASK YOU A QUESTION: «WHAT SPIRITUAL ADVANTAGE WILL I ACHIEVE BY PUTTING MY NAME ON THE INTERNET INSTEAD OF BEING ANONYMOUS?» You speak a lot, you beat around the bush. You commit multiple fallacies and judge my behavior through and through. But you never give a good reason, maybe because I have not asked clearly. So I ask you clearly so you can answer. You seem very sure that putting your name on the Internet is very important in the spiritual realm. Why?