There is a joke that when a business consultant was asked the secret of his success he said that he would go into a company and look for the guy that had been there 25 years. He would ask the guy what should be done. He then wrote up the ideas and turned them into the company and received a check for $50,000.
The joke highlights the value of what is often overlooked. A person may not ask a question because they feel it is too simple or dumb. However, the person who answers may be benefited as well. There is often value in unexpected places.
With a forum, many people prefer not to risk having themselves or their thoughts exposed to potential ridicule. I hope to administer this forum to both hinder intemperate behavior as well as encourage those who have valuable insights and even questions to express them.
If someone has a comment or question, I want to be available to help them compose it or even post it for them under my name (if they wish) so that they can remain anonymous, buffered from the slings and arrows of outrageous trolls.
A second reason people are often reluctant to post is that they are often afraid that their question of comment may appear dumb. Isaac Asminov once wrote that he had thought people that didn’t understand math were stupid. until he ran into differential equations. When he encountered his own limits, he began to be sensitive to the limits of others. When it comes to bible study there are many reasons for appearing dumb. One is that we may have received poor instruction and are starting from further back than we would have preferred.
When considering that the purpose of this forum is to promote bible study and learning, and that we all come to it at different levels and from different directions, none of us should feel that we are in any position to “throw the first stone” (or any stone).