[SoothingDave]

1. Both cannot be true (free will is rejected).
2. Both are true; how this can be is a mystery (SoothingDave's position).
3. God's sovereignty allows for man's free will (my position).

Good summation. I would say, however, that #3 and #2 don't necessarily or always conflict. Or for that matter, I can even see where #1 (free will being curtailed or highly "influenced") doesn't conflict. Both number 3 and number 1 can be true at times in service to the position of #2.

Of course that's what you get for embracing a duality as a mystery. :-)

SD

[PayNoAttentionManBehindCurtain]

Mack and I were just discussing this:)

It's a mystery to our finite minds how God could put His sovereingty aside to allow for our freewill. His grace came in that He called all men. He did not give us freewill with no direction. The direction is there from Him, just do we follow it. He could very easily have given us our freewill but no call and seen how many of us found/accepted Him. Yikes! So in reality it is His grace that saved us.

We had a Sunday School lesson awhile back where the teacher showed from the bible that ALL men are born believing in God. The desire to know Him is in us. You learn to be athiest.

Becky