greenbaggins
Puritan Board Doctor
I would like to propound a new translation of Matthew 18:15-17, and exegete it. This translation is called "Everyone's Preconceived Notions Translation" (EPNT).
15: If your brother sins against you, go and take up the matter with your close family, strictly among yourselves. If you keep him in the dark, you have already basically won the war.
The idea here is that you need a united narrative against the brother or sister. After all, you don't want to be burdened with actually finding out the other side of the story. It would be very detrimental to your plans of vengeance to find out that the brother didn't even mean to hurt you. The other plus that this step provides is that you can get your family to be as angry as you are. This makes the problem almost unsolvable, and you haven't even progressed to the next step! Encourage your family to listen to your side of the story, and never tell them that there might be another side to the story. The idea here is a completely united front. You are a mind reader, and you have "discernment." This means that there is no possibility that there might have been miscommunication or misinterpretation. You understand the offending brother or sister much better than they understand themselves. After all, they should have had the same mind-reading abilities that you have, so that they would understand how badly you have been hurt. There is no need for communication, when we have mind-reading.
16: But if you don't have enough people angry about the situation, tell the matter to your close friends, so that every case may be settled in your favor on the evidence of as many angry people as possible.
It's not gossip, you see. You have a genuine interest in your truth being the narrative accepted by as many people as possible. You know what the truth is, and the truth will set you free, as well as imprison your victim at the same time. And after you have your family on your side believing the worst about that person, it will be much easier to convince your friends. It is vitally important at this point to keep the offender in the dark. After all, what you really want is to turn the whole world against him. If you don't have enough people angry at him, then it might backfire on you, since people might start asking you questions about whether your information is correct. Emotion is the key here. Make sure that your offended emotions are strong enough to over-ride all objections that anyone could possibly raise. That way, they will all be in pacification mode, and they won't spot the gaping holes in your case. After this part of Jesus' command is fulfilled, social media outlets for the airing of your grievance is optional, depending on whether you want your victim blackballed by the entire Christian community, or only your church.
17: For the final step of your vengeance, report the matter to a trusted elder in the church. If it is an important enough matter, he will tell the rest of the session (and not the offender), so that your victim will be entirely alone. After that, it will be quite easy to treat the offender as you would a pagan or a tax-collector.
Again, the key here is to get as many of the elders on board as possible before the victim even knows that there is a problem. That way, the victim will have no chance even to begin to have a fair hearing. Everyone will be turned against him or her, and you will have completely won your case without the enemy even firing a shot. This is reconciliation, the Christian way!
15: If your brother sins against you, go and take up the matter with your close family, strictly among yourselves. If you keep him in the dark, you have already basically won the war.
The idea here is that you need a united narrative against the brother or sister. After all, you don't want to be burdened with actually finding out the other side of the story. It would be very detrimental to your plans of vengeance to find out that the brother didn't even mean to hurt you. The other plus that this step provides is that you can get your family to be as angry as you are. This makes the problem almost unsolvable, and you haven't even progressed to the next step! Encourage your family to listen to your side of the story, and never tell them that there might be another side to the story. The idea here is a completely united front. You are a mind reader, and you have "discernment." This means that there is no possibility that there might have been miscommunication or misinterpretation. You understand the offending brother or sister much better than they understand themselves. After all, they should have had the same mind-reading abilities that you have, so that they would understand how badly you have been hurt. There is no need for communication, when we have mind-reading.
16: But if you don't have enough people angry about the situation, tell the matter to your close friends, so that every case may be settled in your favor on the evidence of as many angry people as possible.
It's not gossip, you see. You have a genuine interest in your truth being the narrative accepted by as many people as possible. You know what the truth is, and the truth will set you free, as well as imprison your victim at the same time. And after you have your family on your side believing the worst about that person, it will be much easier to convince your friends. It is vitally important at this point to keep the offender in the dark. After all, what you really want is to turn the whole world against him. If you don't have enough people angry at him, then it might backfire on you, since people might start asking you questions about whether your information is correct. Emotion is the key here. Make sure that your offended emotions are strong enough to over-ride all objections that anyone could possibly raise. That way, they will all be in pacification mode, and they won't spot the gaping holes in your case. After this part of Jesus' command is fulfilled, social media outlets for the airing of your grievance is optional, depending on whether you want your victim blackballed by the entire Christian community, or only your church.
17: For the final step of your vengeance, report the matter to a trusted elder in the church. If it is an important enough matter, he will tell the rest of the session (and not the offender), so that your victim will be entirely alone. After that, it will be quite easy to treat the offender as you would a pagan or a tax-collector.
Again, the key here is to get as many of the elders on board as possible before the victim even knows that there is a problem. That way, the victim will have no chance even to begin to have a fair hearing. Everyone will be turned against him or her, and you will have completely won your case without the enemy even firing a shot. This is reconciliation, the Christian way!
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