Four Reasons Why Public Critique Does Not Invoke Matthew 18

Rick Phillips
In following the dialogue on Ref21 between Drs. Belcher and Collins, I was struck by a complaint from Collins that Belcher should have picked up the phone and discussed his concerns privately.  This demand for personal contact prior to public criticism of published writings is becoming almost ubiquitous these days.  We even hear complaints that public critique violates Matthew 18 unless there has private dialogue first.  Let me offer the following four reasons why this is completely wrong: