Where'd the Message Board Go?

First off, I want to start by apologizing for letting the message board deteriorate to the state that it was in when I had to take it down.  As webmaster of this site, I should have done something when I did not have the time to properly read all the messages and “moderate.”  It was my hope that responsible people would self regulate their behavior, and no intervention would be needed.  Of course, as fallen people nobody is perfect and sometimes we allow our emotions and passions to override our better judgment.

Over the years since this message board has existed, people have spent countless hours posting messages that were educational, thought provoking, and glorifying to Christ.  I know personally, I have learned much from reading these messages.

On the other hand, often times, to be quite honest, this message board got rather revolting.  People attacking others personally and irrational ramblings were not all that uncommon.  Now while its preferred, I suppose, that people engage in this type of behavior on the virtual internet, verses in real life, as Christians we are called to a higher standard, and even on the internet this kind of behavior is unacceptable.

In the early days of the Church, the pagans would identify Christians by the way they would love one another.  Today, unfortunately, Christians are often identified as the ones who are fighting amongst themselves or with everybody else. Our message board was often a perfect example of how the world sees us.  And this has got to change!!  There is simply too much as stake!

As Catholics and Orthodox we have what the world needs!  We have the Creator of everything in our churches ready and waiting to pour out His love to a needful world.  People are dying and going to hell as we type our silly messages, or while go into a tizzy fit over the latest message posted on this board.  Of course, rational discussion is important and certainly has its place, unfortunately often times this wasn’t what was visible here.

So what does all this mean?  It means that after much thought, a bit of prayer, and some consultations with trusted friends, I decided to take the message board down.

I want to thank you for all the thoughtful posts that have been posted over the lifetime of this board.  I encourage you all to go and participate at the Discussion Forums on the http://www.byzcath.org/ site.

May we all say and mean this:

Glory to Jesus Christ!
Glory Forever!!

Thank you for your understanding and cooperation,
Greg Bronson
Webmaster