Posted on 02/25/2002 11:01:41 PM PST by fortheDeclaration
Check your link, it didn't work.
I think for now we both should refrain from posting to the other.
If you post to me, I will respond. That is not "flagging" you.
A correct link
As a result, I am going to bail in this thread, and move on to different ground.
And, xzins, we never did have a discussion on the "T", but I don't expect that you want to address that point.
Then might I suggest that the best thing we can do with him is not have chatty conversation about this and that. The only thing we should do is present a united Christian front with him: "Repent and Believe!"
I know you have discussed with him before; he doesn't need to discuss Arminianism vs Calvinism, he needs Lost vs Saved.
At one level, it doesn't matter where we go, 'cause it seems we all get attracted to the same threads anyway.
At another level, it does matter. We'd probably all look a bit more serious about our Christianity if we practiced a little more civility. Notice I didn't say "agreement" or "toleration."
We keep trying to characterize or "mind read" each other's posts. Some of the assumptions might well be valid, but we'll never know.
It's not personal. Just an oversight.
By the way, is it true that you, too, feed puppies to boa constrictors? I hear you make the iron lady look like a campfire girl? (That's intended as humor.... :-)
My boa only eats Methodist Ministers.....I let him choose:>)
Amen!
Now, that is something I can Amen a Calvinist about!
I am Saved, that makes you ... what?
It is time, at the end of the thread, after all these denials, to restate the things that are true no matter how many times you all deny them, and even if I am the only one to uphold them:
I have accepted Jesus Christ as my Lord and Savior. I have taken His name upon me. I am born again. I am regenerate. I am a Christian. I have been ordained to preach the Gospel and administer the ordinances thereof. I solemnly testify that Jesus Christ is our Lord and God, our Redeemer, our King, who atoned for our sins, broke the bands of death, and made eternal life possible for us. He will come again, as the ancient apostles saw him go into heaven. He has sent apostles and prophets and additional Scripture to the earth in our day, as it is His prerogative to do.
Don't be excessively distracted trying to understand things before the foundation of the world, once you know who you are, a child of God, and that you are accountable before Him for your earthly stewardship.
Focus on the things you are to learn and do here, in particular mastering the Christlike attributes of character, the things you were taught from kindergarten age and before:
Faith, hope, love unfeigned, virtue, humility, meekness, courage, the Golden Rule, patience, godliness, temperance, diligence, brotherly kindness, faithfulness, trustworthiness, and so forth.
May the Lord's rich blessings be with you all!
Numbers 6:24-26
24 The LORD bless thee, and keep thee:
25 The LORD make his face shine upon thee, and be gracious unto thee:
26 The LORD lift up his countenance upon thee, and give thee peace.
I was really distressed to read some of the comments on this thread while I was gone. I had honestly thought that we were able to keep this conversation civil, without a lot of personal attacks. While I know that this subject can be intense (for me, at least), it would do us all a lot of good to not post as soon as you read something offensive. Perhaps the poster didn't mean it in the way your took it, or there was a typo. In any case, nothing posted here is worth two or more fellow Christians getting upset with one another.
I have no idea which posts got yanked, nor do I care. This is not a face-to-face discussion, and we can all afford to wait a few minutes before posting something that we would regret later on. Pray before every post to be sure that is the right thing to do.
Thank you.
We should add to that the words of Mr. Wesley:
One word more: Is it not the duty of every Arminian Preacher, First, never, in public or in private, to use the word Calvinist as a term of reproach; seeing it is neither better nor worse than calling names? -- a practice no more consistent with good sense or good manners, than it is with Christianity. Secondly. To do all that in him lies to prevent his hearers from doing it, by showing them the sin and folly of it? And is it not equally the duty of every Calvinist Preacher, First, never in public or in private, in preaching or in conversation, to use the word Arminian as a term of reproach? Secondly. To do all that in him lies to prevent his hearers from doing it, by showing them the sin and folly thereof; and that the more earnestly and diligently, if they have been accustomed so to do? perhaps encouraged therein by his own example!
Good counsel. And I'm not preaching that to anyone but Ward.
Your counsel is wise.
For the record, the posts were NOT inflamatory, NOT insulting, and did not violate posting guidelines.
I, Ward Smythe, complained, because I thought they were excessive and would further bog down the "conversation" here. Now that the sun's up and the heat of the moment has passed, maybe I would at least react differently, or speak differently.
Rightly or wrongly - the reader can judge for himself - I felt like I was being personally attacked, both on the thread and through freepmail (and not just by one person). In my mind, at least, I thought I was pressing the debate. The recipients of my posts may feel differently.
While I've been a poster on FreeRepublic for over two years now (and lurked a good while before that), I've only lately ventured onto "religion" threads. Perhaps I need to learn that the tactics I use in political debate don't transfer over to religious debate.
I don't back down from my beliefs, but I am well cautioned in how I should present them.
This sounds like an apology and/or retraction might be lurking in this post somewhere. Are you two forbidden from contacting each other, or can you find out if someone's trying to set things right?
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