as usual, plucked it out from the numerous junk mail ive recieved. this story is pretty heart warming.

Subject: DARTS

A young lady named Sally, relates an experience she had in a Seminary Class,
given by her teacher, Dr.
Smith. She says Dr. Smith was known for his elaborate object lessons. One
particular day, Sally walked into the seminary and knew they were in for a
fun day. On the wall was a big target and on a nearby table were many darts.
Dr. Smith told the students to draw a picture of someone that they disliked
or someone who had made them angry, and he would allow them to throw darts
at the person's picture. Sally's girlfriend drew a picture of a girl who had
stolen her boyfriend. Another friend drew a picture of his little brother.
Sally drew a picture of a former friend, putting a
great deal of detail into her drawing, even drawing
pimples on the face. Sally was pleased at the overall effect she had
achieved. The class lined up and began
throwing darts, with much laughter and hilarity. Some of the students threw
their darts with such force that their targets were ripping apart. Sally
looked forward to her turn,and was filled with disappointment when Dr.
Smith, because of time limits,asked the students to
return to their seats. As Sally sat thinking about how
angry she was because she didn't have a chance to throw any darts at her
target. Dr. Smith began removing the target from the wall. Underneath the
target was a picture of Jesus.....

A complete hush fell over theroom as each student
viewed the mangled picture of Jesus; holes and jagged
marks covered His face and His eyes were pierced. Dr. Smith said only these
words..... "In as much as ye have done it unto the least of these my
brethren, ye
have done it unto Me." Matthew 25:40

No other words were necessary; the tear-filled eyes of each student focused
only on the picture of Christ. This is an easy test; you score 100 or zero.
It's your choice. If you aren't ashamed to do this, please follow the
directions. Jesus said, "If you are ashamed
of me, I will be ashamed of you before my Father."

bloody hell; thats REALLY EVIL! how could that guy do that to them... incredable. Im astonded, and aparently not-so-lost for words.

There is ONE big difference however, if *I* was the one who had the chance to throw the darts, I wouldnt. no, this isnt with hindsight. and of course, this completely misses the point of the story. But I dont care. I know what this guy was trying to do, and I am sickened by it.

[ 06-23-2002, 11:20 AM: Message edited by: Calaethis Dragonsbane ]

Heart-warming?!?! That was evil! Sheesh.

The teacher proves a very good point. If you are a follower of Jesus, you should love all people, even the bad ones.

It may seem cruel, but to be able to follow Christ, it's all or nothing. You give your all to God or you get nowhere. You cannot go halfway.

I do hope the students learned something. The first thing that they should have realized (and this was in a Seminary Class, mind you) was that they should not have drawn someone they disliked in the first place. You must love all, if you cannot, how can you truly love Jesus?

That's my take on it!
Mark

thats not the point. you can forgive your 'fellow man', you can follow Chris; but that DOES NOT excuse the teacher for making such a horrible object lesson. He had NO right. besides, Jesus doesnt require that you love all people, only that you try.

Oh I disagree! I think it was a perfect lesson. And though, I admit I no longer follow Jesus as once did, you are expected to love your enemies to enter the kingdom of heaven.

Geez, where are all the believers here? Can anyone back me up? Does it take a Atheist like me to prove this point?

Mark

aa perfect lesson, If *I* had been one of the children, *I* would have been tempted to a) lecture him on the bible, b) turn around, and fling the dart at *him* or c) storm out of the room.

All of these may seem childish, but I would not like to be manipulated. would you? how would *you* recact? do you think its *right* and *moral* to trick, lie and be deciteful to children? I dont.

I don't believe the story was about children. The only clue was that the girl was a young lady. That could mean anywhere from teens to twenty year olds.

You have missed the point of the lesson.

What so ever you do, to the least of my brothers, that you do unto me.

Mark

[ 06-23-2002, 11:59 AM: Message edited by: skywalker ]

perhaps, perhaps not.

It may have been an extreme lesson but just talking ot the kids wouldn't have made a difference IMO. At least for some time they will think twice before hating someone like that

Yeah, for a time. I suspect that after a couple of weeks they'll be back to normal. And why shouldn't people be allowed to hate? What if someone has done something cruel to you? It's healthy to hate, you need something to vent on or you'll pop like a balloon.

He didn't trick or manipulate them. The ones that claimed they were true followers of Jesus Christ wouldn't have thrown the dart in the first place. If they thought they were followers but still threw the dart, they would have to think about how serious their faith was.
He gave a good lesson to show something that everyone should think about, not just christians!

NEB: this coming from the person that says 'vilonce breeds voilence'. I hate to make you sound like a hypocrite, but you do sound just like that. Its ok to hate someone for an instant, even a day, or a wk, but anymore, and the hate grows inside you, and may consume you. I agree with venting anger, but anger and hate are two very different things.

[ 06-23-2002, 12:16 PM: Message edited by: Calaethis Dragonsbane ]

Just because you hate something doesn't mean that you hate to smash it, that's called self-control. Don't you think that I hate the people that bullied me for nine years? Of course I do! If I didn't I wouldn't be human, but I don't actually DO anything to them because according to my belief I'd end up having something worse done to myself.

perhaps neb, but the real question is, can you let go of that hate?

Well, I might not be able to. Though I might already have, it's rare that I think about it. It faded almost immediately after I was no longer around those people. And like I said, just because you hate someone doesn't mean that you have to act on that hate.

I agree with this, especially with your differentiation between hate and anger. I think anger can be a healthy emotion, as long as you know how to let go of it before it comes hate. But true *hate* is such a destructive emotion! When you're angry, you can scream, kick against a wall or punch into a pillow, and with time, it burns out, like fire. Hate is like a cancer, it festers without being vented. I think in the end it's more destructive, because if you don't let go of it, you'll snap and do worse damage than when you lash out in anger.

Quite so. Yes, you need to vent anger. But not in a way to HATE a person. I think the best bet would have been to talk to someone who cares. Friends, relatives, a teacher, that sort of thing

lol; or even a wall, if you dont want to talk to anyone... just something to allow you to 'let go' of it,

I dont see what all the fuss was about. It is just a picture!! WOuld they have been upset if it was a picture of their parents or of a friend? People are realy strange sometimes.

He didn't trick or manipulate them. The ones that claimed they were true followers of Jesus Christ wouldn't have thrown the dart in the first place. If they thought they were followers but still threw the dart, they would have to think about how serious their faith was.
He gave a good lesson to show something that everyone should think about, not just christians!</font>[/QUOTE]everyone loses their cool once in a while, even christains. I know this ofr a fact being one myself, but I still dont like being manipulated... by anyone. thats one thing that you can guarentee to make me angry. I dont know about the rest of you tho, maybe some people enjoy being played for fools. Im not one of them. not that im implying that anyone else is here either, I hasten to add...

Why where you being manipulated?
The moral of the story(note: the moral of the story, not my own opinion) is that everyone who, like you, would feel manipulated are not true christians.

I don't understand why you feel they were tricked or being played for fools.

The teacher was illustrating a point, that when you strike out against others or hate them, you are in turn doing so to to Jesus as well.

Jesus feels all men and women are His children, even the ones who do evil or disbelieve in him. That's what was being demonstrated. It was not a trick...can't you see?

Mark

just think about it for a few moments. if someone tricked you into throwing drats at something, wouldnt you be angry. of course *I* wouldnt have throw any darts anyway. I dont mean to sound self-rightous, Im not. I hate that particualr trait in humans. all I'm sayisn is I dont like being manipluated, itt was an example of how go make me mad. thats all I was saying.

oh never mind. It would take to long to explain why I think they were played for fools, and I'm really not in the mood to bother. Just accept that I dont like the guys methods, and we'll leave it at that, shall we?

I'm sorry Calaethis! I guess we both see this issue differently. I'll stop bothering you about. I understand how you feel about it and respect your opinion.

Mark

same here. lol; we should have another debate... lol; lets say on a rainy day? ;) [img]tongue.gif[/img]

to be honest, im kinda surprised with some *reactions* you guys made.. but i dont want it to start up again [img]smile.gif[/img] . lets just make this thread fall.