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Locked on 04/19/2004 7:52:52 PM PDT by Admin Moderator, reason:
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Posted on 03/10/2004 9:37:27 PM PST by malakhi
Statesmen may plan and speculate for liberty, but it is religion and morality alone which can establish the principles upon which freedom can securely stand. The only foundation of a free constitution is pure virtue. - John Adams |
What, exactly, are we trying not to blow?
The tone of some of the past day's posts has been excessively heated.
There's only been one guy who has been blowing his cool around here since yesterday. And he's not the one that was suspended.
What about all those mean thinks you said about Mack?
...I will raise them up a Prophet from among their brethren, like unto thee, and will put my words in his mouth; and he shall speak unto them all that I shall command him. And it shall come to pass, that whosoever will not hearken unto my words which he shall speak in my name, I will require it of him. - Deuteronomy 18:15,18-19
The operative words in these verses are PROPHET! YHWH would raise a PROPHET amidst them, NOT a second-god, nor a god-man, or demi-god or sun-god.
Yehoshua said that he was a prophet.
Matthew 13
57 And they were offended in him. But Jesus said unto them, A prophet is not without honour, save in his own country, and in his own house.
Luke 13
33 Nevertheless I must walk to day, and to morrow, and the day following: for it cannot be that a prophet perish out of Jerusalem
PROPHET. Yehoshua was a prophet and he told people what to do. To repent and keep the commandments, and according to the second portion that you posted, YHWH will require it of people that do not listen to what the prophet Yehoshua speaks in YHWH's name. (repent and keep the commandments)
Selah! (think about it)
If God selects some people to give grace to, by inverse he has not chosen to give other people this grace. So God, in your estimation does indeed arbitrarily decide who gets saved and who doesn't.
There is no denying that we all deserve death. There is also no denying that we are saved by God's graciousness. What is denied is the arbitrariness of God's decision.
From your position, you are better off simply admitting the obvious and saying "Yes, God grants grace to some and not to others and we haven't got a clue why. By picking some for salvation God has chosen the others for damnation. He is sovereign and that is His business."
So to say He is cheating someone of an opportunity to go to Heaven because of withheld Grace means that God owed the person Grace and didnt give it to the person.
We simply believe God gives grace to each of us. We can accept or reject it. That makes the fault for damnation ours and not that of God's ineffable choice. It just makes a whole lot more sense and dignity for God to behave this way.
That charge is always leveled at Calvinist theology. However, we do have Free Will. We are free to exercise our will within the bounds of our nature.
Which lead to damnation. And this is exactly how God made the people whom He will then damn. I fail to see how any Calvinist notion of Free Will can account for man's responsibility for his fate. Beacause you admit that all is God's Sovereignity. God chose to create certain men for damnation. Just say it. Don't muddy the issue by proclaiming a "free will" that can be of no consequence.
SD
Not the real question here.
The OSAS issue begs "can any of the sheep choose to leave?" not whether He loses them.
The TULIP issue begs "We're they all sheep to begin with? Or we're they 'adopted' into the fold later?"
Then you're the winner. Last year we didn't have any weighting. I think it's a better system and we never actually discussed the rules this year.
SD
I'm not trying to shut anything down.
My goal is to have a place where these things can get talked about and even if someone loses his cool now and then they don't have to worry about getting ejected.
I know that some would be happy to have this thread moved or pulled. I don't happen to share this sentiment.
There's only been one guy who has been blowing his cool around here since yesterday.
I already freepmailed Mack about his last post.
The Moderator did not tell me specifically which posts he found objectionable.
Who was suspended, and for what?
LOL
SD
He certainly chases after them. But it's still our choice to follow or not.
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