Relax. Not everybody knows how to invoke italic font for emphasis (I don't). I tip my hat to the exclusion of "gossip," but we all know the daily news is no better than that anyway. At what point does an inside rumor become of interest? It seems no more offensive to me than all the crazy conspiracy theories that are granted tolerance on these pages.
"At what point does an inside rumor become of interest?"
Many a church have been destroyed from within through gossip and rumor mongering. Rumor and gossip are not based on evidence, but projection. The FBI knows full well how to use this to their advantage for causing division, recruiting, and to bear false witness.
What you say is true and uncontroversial, so far as I am concerned. But give me an answer to the question. I see some people on this site insisting on documentary evidence (not a bad insistence) and other people accepting as fact the wildest fancies having no basis in reality (I think you can guess who). When do we take an inside rumor with a thoughtful "hmmm" and put it on a separate shelf to be mindful of in light of subsequent events?
Relax. Not everybody knows how to invoke italic font for emphasis (I don't). I tip my hat to the exclusion of "gossip," but we all know the daily news is no better than that anyway. At what point does an inside rumor become of interest? It seems no more offensive to me than all the crazy conspiracy theories that are granted tolerance on these pages.
Many a church have been destroyed from within through gossip and rumor mongering. Rumor and gossip are not based on evidence, but projection. The FBI knows full well how to use this to their advantage for causing division, recruiting, and to bear false witness.
What you say is true and uncontroversial, so far as I am concerned. But give me an answer to the question. I see some people on this site insisting on documentary evidence (not a bad insistence) and other people accepting as fact the wildest fancies having no basis in reality (I think you can guess who). When do we take an inside rumor with a thoughtful "hmmm" and put it on a separate shelf to be mindful of in light of subsequent events?