Yes, and God preserved much of those things in the written scriptures for our benefit. How much good we receive from what is there is dependent upon us:
"Blessed are they which do hunger and thirst after righteousness: for they shall be filled." Matt 5:6
And who is to decide who qualifies to be a participant?
If God were to go along with that I would want to be on His side, however, has any person you have known ever changed, or been changed, from a negative direction to a positive one? Consider the change wrought in Saul/Paul upon meeting Jesus on the road to Damascus. Consider also Judah, a ringleader in the sale of his brother Joseph into slavery, who later in his life spoke up offering himself to save his brother Benjamin and his aging father, Jacob.
Again the question to ask is, who is to decide that someone is not entitled to speak. There certainly is a time to speak and a time to remain silent as per Ecclesiastes 3:7, but while God has given us the time and the choice, does He not want us to give our reins back to Him?
Far be it from me to render judgement for or against someone else. I cannot decide for them what is right for them... even if I believe that I know. Should not God lead us even in deciding to speak out against those who appear evil to us?
"...Lord, wilt thou that we command fire to come down from heaven, and consume them, even as Elias did?
But he turned, and rebuked them, and said, Ye know not what manner of spirit ye are of.
For the Son of man is not come to destroy men's lives, but to save them..." Luke 9:54-56
Sorry Amadeus, but this is the whole point of the thread, I find people who say '
...I'm entitled to my opinion...', do so whenever they've said something ridiculous. But equally, it annoys me a great deal when I hear Christians say '
...who am I to judge?' Christians are the salt of the earth, and if they can't tell right from wrong, or wisdom from foolishness, or pretense from integrity, then who can?
My point is, I will always call someone on something they said that is either offensive, foolish or inappropriate. Because, I would like to think that, first of all, I have enough wisdom to tell the difference, and secondly, i have enough integrity to confront and impede the wickedness.
Why be it 'far from you' to do this?
Yes, there is a time to rebuke, and the example you brought up about Paul, exemplifies this (i'm surprised that you used it)? That is, I'm not convinced that Jesus was being tender in this moment.
Likewise when Paul caused Elymas to go blind, Jesus never stopped rebuking his disciples, nor the Pharisees & Sadducees, or the merchants in the temple, etc...
Yes, much good can come from austere words.
Appreciate the OP's context when he said this. Like what I said at the start of this post, under such circumstances, using 'entitled to one's opinion' is just a non-sequitor. Everyone knows that, in such a forum, opinions are welcome and that every one has one. But, don't engage and waste everyone's time with outrageous or unqualified arguments. In such a case, being entitled to an opinion does not justify the effort required in refuting the point.
And yes, a Christian should be able to know when someone is arguing, just for the sake of arguing, it's called wisdom and insight, ...something that the children of this world do not have.