[Buggman]

Instead, since man has "free will", we have reduce God down into a "homeboy" rather than our leader and champion.

Huh? That hardly follows. The fact that I can choose to rebel against my rightful sovereign does not suddenly make him my peer.

[Dr. Eckleburg]

The fact that I choose to rebel against my rightful sovereign does not suddenly make him my peer.

You're right. It makes you His superior.

It's either all by the hand of God, according to His holy purpose which He ordained from before the foundation of the world, or none of it is.

Dead men cannot "choose" God. Like with Lazarus, only God can breath life into the stone-cold corpse and give a new heart to the fallen sinner.

Faith is the result of God's grace; not the cause of it. Or else man and his choices do indeed become God's better.

"For by grace are ye saved through faith; and that not of yourselves: it is the gift of God:

Not of works, lest any man should boast.

For we are his workmanship, created in Christ Jesus unto good works, which God hath before ordained that we should walk in them." -- Ephesians 2:8-10.

  

[HarleyD]

Either we're miscommunicating or you're trying to draw me into something that I'm not interested in being drawn into. Our society (and by this I mean the world) has gotten to a point where we no longer respect leaders-any leaders. The President, Congress (well I can understand DemocRATS), the Winsors, the Pope, etc.) Leaders are just corrupt officials who are only concerned about their own interest. Unfortunately, in many cases this is true. But all this rubs on our concept of God. Consequently God becomes a "homeboy" (one of the gang). Regardless of whether you're Calvin or Arminian you cannot be electd-give yourself (your choice) by/to "one of the gang". Church becomes a place where "nice" people get together to share where to find the best orthodontist or to help in the latest food bank drive.

It's not a matter of rebelling against a sovereign God. You have to START with believing in a sovereign God to begin with. Thus we have a total meltdown of authority where "Christian" homosexuals, transvestites, pro-choicer, etc. rule the church and those true believers are casted as heretics and kicked out of their own buildings which they paid for. Which we are seeing today and now has happened to John MacArther. And how long do you think it will be before the BBN stops playing Billy Grahmm because "people are confused by his message"? Soon the only thing the BBN will be playing is that guy directly from the Crystal Cathedral.