More on Real Christadelphians
One other thing I feel about Christadelphians, and it's bad news. Yes, it's something that Real Christadelphians are not very good at.
It's hard to face the music sometimes and accept your weaknesses. I have a friend who recently ran into a bunch of problems at his church. He says to me, "Dyron, I'm thinking I should just start coming to your church." I told him, "If you're coming to our church to escape problems, you're barking up the wrong tree. We've got plenty of our own."
But it got me to thinking - Christadelphians, by and large, really understand what it's like to be human. Some of us have even learned by experience! Really, it's something we do well. But that's not what I wanted to talk about. No more patting yourself on the back about how human you are.
What I'm talking about is something we do really bad. I mean, we're not good at this at all. And some say that we should be ashamed of it. What is it?
Shunning.
That's right, Real Christadelphians are not good Shunners. If you find someone that calls themselves Christadelphian, but they don't make you feel welcome, they seem to be good at Shunning, you might wonder if they're Real. Christadelphians are pretty consistent in their inability to Shun.
Yes, sometimes Shunning is the easier thing to do: I mean, if someone hurts your feelings, you could just give him the old Cold Shoulder Shun for the rest of your life, and you wouldn't have to risk having those feelings of betrayal, distrust, and disappointment ever again! I mean, imagine seeing this person in the grocery store in your hometown, both of you just attending to life's necessities, and you get to pretend that the person isn't even there! Doesn't that sound easier than putting yourself through the whole Un-shun process? I mean, isn't forgiveness a PAIN?
If you've ever seen The Office, you've seen Dwight Schrute do a good "Shun, Unshun" routine. I've never seen it, but I'm told it's good. Dwight Schrute is apparently an efficient Shunner. This is a clear sign that he's not a Real Christadelphian.
Because Christadelphians are called, although sometimes reluctantly, to forgive. And we sometimes forgive reluctantly, and permanently Unshun folks - get this - even if they don't deserve it. Why, you may ask? It goes back to that thing we do well - we know ourselves, and we know what it's like to be human...
Some of us even by experience.
