Advice needed: Should I share an email I received from a pastor?

[CreekDog]

He is in my denomination. He wrote an incredibly hostile email to me about Obama. I've never had experience with a pastor (at least in my denomination) going off like that --and yet it is emblematic of what we are seeing among many right-wingers.

I don't know him personally but through a message board (about theology no less!) I stumbled on something he wrote about people in charge and responded (quite mildly in fact). It was his private response to me that has me shaking my head. And yet it would be pretty educational for folks to see it and it would also help me respond (which I think I should actually).

I would anonymize this of course, in fact, I showed it to another pastor (a conservative one himself) and he said the letter was "just wrong".

Curious what you all think.

[TZ]

1. Keep him anonymous

And it would be okay IMO..BTW why don't you ask R/T...:evilgrin:

[CreekDog]

5. who is RT?

:dunce:

[madinmaryland]

6. Religion and Theology Forum

[Critters2]

8. NO!! DON'T!!! For the love of God! Don't go there!!! nt

[CreekDog]

12. i never even considered it

and that wasn't because i didn't think of it. :rofl:

[Critters2]

2. Curiosity piqued. What denomination? nt

[CreekDog]

4. LCMS

you probably won't be surprised. but even i was.

[Critters2]

7. Honestly, I don't think of LCMS clergy as being doctrinaire political

conservatives. I didn't know you were LCMS, but I know another DUer, and he seems really progressive. I had an LCMS colleague in Iowa who was very progressive on social issues, even though he was theologically conservative. But LCMS conservatism isn't typical fundie-ism. LCMSers can read! :)

[CreekDog]

10. well you hit on all the things i've noticed

yes, LCMS is so rigorous academically that their pastors are supposed to not only know things, but also have some restraint.

that said, most are doctrinaire conservatives, but even among them, i've never been talked to like this.

would you be interested in reading it?

[Critters2]

15. Yes, I must admit. I would. nt

[madinmaryland]

3. As TZ said, keep it anonymous, but you can PM it to me.

[Tangerine LaBamba]

9. You have no right ............

Legally, the email belongs to him, and you have absolutely no right to do anything with it.

You're asking for trouble. Your hesitation is your good sense telling you to back off from a really dumb idea.

[CreekDog]

11. well i showed it to another pastor

i blacked out the senders name.

why is this pastor guaranteed privacy on this?

[Tangerine LaBamba]

13. It's his property ..........

As I stated, the letter is the property of the sender, and you have no right to disseminate it.

We're all guaranteed privacy on what we send. That's why magazines and websites have the disclaimer that I'm sure you've seen, stating that all letters or submissions made to them become their property.

The letter he sent you had no such disclaimer. It's his. If you want to show it around, you must get his permission in writing.......

[CreekDog]

14. then can i quote his letter back in my response to him?

i know you are an attorney but this strikes me as bogus.

also can i quote even one word that he said, or talk about what he told me?

[Tangerine LaBamba]

16. Can you quote his letter in your response

to him?

Since my attempt to help answer your question strikes you as "bogus," I'll let you find a lawyer whose answer might strike you better.

Good luck.

[CreekDog]

18. forget it.

but i appreciate the first answer. try not to get too excited over one word. i didn't call your advice bogus, to be fair, if that's what the fuss is about.

and by the way, i do appreciate your posts on these issues and read them in the other forums.

[madinmaryland]

20. If you are concerned, then I would suggest you talk to an attorney.

Taking advice from Holiday Inn Express attorneys on DU may not be a wise decision.

[CreekDog]

22. okay, that's 2

people on TLB's bad side.

frankly, i did less to get there than you! :rofl:

(and this guy won't be consulting an attorney on a stupid email :rofl:)

[madinmaryland]

24. Well, I have to hand it to you this time.

There was no gender confusion of (TLB) on your part this time!

:rofl:

:hi:

[CreekDog]

26. because i have no clue on that one

thank goodness for gender neutral pronouns. :D

[Critters2]

17. I thought that once an e-mail finds its way into your inbox,

it's yours.

[Richard Steele]

37. That's simply not true. He sent it to CreekDog, CreekDog can share it.

Do you honestly think that FOREWARDING an eMail is a crime?

[rurallib]

19. If there is a threat on Obama I think I might share it with the FBI

or secret service or whatever agency. Some of these idiots make threatening remarks thinking it is funny etc.

[CreekDog]

21. no, no, no, nothing like that, just a guy being a jerk

and telling me i should take holy week to repent of being a Democrat.

in longer and cruder form. :eyes:

[Critters2]

23. LOL! Oh, yeah. I just put that right into the prayer of confession

on Palm Sunday, Maundy Thursday, and Easter. "Oh, Lord, we beseech thee, forgive us for voting with the majority here in our sinfully blue state." Cuz, "forgive us for being Democrats" gets repetitive after a while.

[CreekDog]

25. never pray sarcastically

:hide: :rofl:

[madinmaryland]

28. That's a DUzy!

:rofl:

I'd love to hear a sarcastic prayer.

[CreekDog]

29. why don't you say one and tell us how it goes

:evilgrin: :rofl:

[madinmaryland]

32. Well, my daughter gets upset when I pray to the Flying Spaghetti Monster,

but it may not go real well.

Ramen, Dude. May the pasta be with you!

[Critters2]

30. Eh. We're UCC, so God isn't listening anyway. nt

[CreekDog]

31. don't you guys have an agreement of sorts with ELCA?

to share pastors and such?

[Critters2]

33. Yeah, we're in full communion with them.

Which means we can celebrate communion in one another's churches. UCC ecumenical types told them we believe in the real presence, even though I don't know any UCCs who do. Well, not in the way Lutherans understand it anyway.

[laconicsax]

27. The NSAs already read it, so maybe?

[CreekDog]

34. thanks for all the advice and fun posts

i will let you know! :evilgrin:

[RandomThoughts]

35. I have thought about situations like that before. Here is what I thought out.

If he was angry, according to most teachings, he was not in the spirit of God, so his letter was not written by a pastor at that moment, but by a flawed person.

Avoiding anger makes things work so much better in life, you can express yourself to share thoughts and not condemn others, I find it much more pleasant way to communicate. Of coarse everyone makes mistakes occasionally, and that includes the pastors and ministers of faith. Most of them know that. It is actually possible to go for weeks or months or even years without feeling anger. Not bottling it up, or getting passive aggressive, just never letting it in. Its really quite peaceful.

On the subject of making it public, ask him if it was meant to be private or not. If he assumed it was suppose to be confidential, then talking to him first would help solve potential bad feelings from him, something that is always nice to do.

Not speaking for that other pastor, but I came to the conclusion for myself that private conversations lead to formation of special groups within other groups, so long ago I did not consider posts I make private, and if I ever received email (I rarely get any emails) I would let people know I consider that public also. No need for secrecy in my view of things. Light and truth always works out for the best :)

However if it is more kind to speak with an individual, and not about that individual to others, that is a choice sometimes. Depends on if others will learn or be enriched by the sharing of conversations, and if the person is under any assumed or actual oaths of confidentiality, since that would be a trust issue. And if such oaths are breached by actions beyond moral acceptance. Lots of things go into the thoughts.

Nice thing about knowing you are flawed is knowing that in the grand scheme of things, you never have to hide :) And you live with the knowledge that things get better every year :)

On the topic of anger, it can be a method to block or protect a person from thinking, if a person is forced to examine there own thoughts or contradictions, anger is a common reaction to avoid self examination. Then when discussing a topic, you have to remove the anger first, then resume the conversation. If a person is angry, they have a hard time really having conversations.

[jobycom]

36. Forward it to his boss.

Along with a comment that you can't imagine tithing to a church whose pastor's values are so offensive to you.

If there is something racist in it, I'd do even more. I'd raise the issue at a church meeting, if your church is structured so that you can, or forward it to the church's board. I wouldn't do that if it were simply a harsh political opinion, but I would if it were an obvious racist attack, because that would relate directly to the way he relates to people and judges them, and that could be an issue greater than a personal attack on you or a disgusting political opinion.

My thoughts, anyway. Without having seen the contents, these are just suggestions that may or may not be relevant.