Jennifer

Cheryl, I have two thoughts on the refusal for those men to speak with you. For one thing, I would personally be relieved. Not only could this be proof of their awareness of their own weaknesses and failure to stand up to scrutiny, but it may be less of a headache. (It would to me, anyway, but then I’m not as knowledgeable on the matter as you).

on the other hand, it might actually be a sign of respect for them not to debate with you. They may know the Scripture exhorting people to reveal sin, but they probably also know that we are all human and therefore our interpretations of the Bible are open to the possibility of error. If they are not power mongers, then they would not be obsessed with correcting you. Perhaps that’s their reason.