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I want to see where does human will come into play and if not what's the point. I don't care for biblical references. I want to know why I have intellect. Do I have a will or not.

This thread has motivated me to start reading again in the history of the Protestant Reformation. The first Protestant translation of the Bible to include the innovation of verse numbers occurred in Geneva, Switzerland--Calvin's city--by the printer Robert Etienne in 1551. While this made it much easier to find a single text, it was less easy to follow a continuous story or, for example, a sustained Pauline argument.

Whatever the convenience of verse numbers may have provided, it also made the Scriptures seem something like a chemical compound that can be analyzed into its constituent elements or atoms. It also makes it easy to recombine those elements to form "new molecules." I think this helps to explain why some Protestants have a tendency to reduce any argument to Book, Chapter, and Verse.

This is not a technique that most Protestants use. Most also want to know why they have an intellect and will.

I think this helps to explain why some Protestants have a tendency to reduce any argument to Book, Chapter, and Verse.

This is not a technique that most Protestants use. Most also want to know why they have an intellect and will

That is an awesome insight, stripes1776. You are a breath of fresh air. I feel a lot better knowing that most Protestants are actually closer to us than I was led to believe. Thank you. Thank you.

Whatever the convenience of verse numbers may have provided, it also made the Scriptures seem something like a chemical compound that can be analyzed into its constituent elements or atoms. It also makes it easy to recombine those elements to form "new molecules." I think this helps to explain why some Protestants have a tendency to reduce any argument to Book, Chapter, and Verse. This is not a technique that most Protestants use. Most also want to know why they have an intellect and will.

Hello Stripes1776 -

I have been reading your posts since you joined this thread and have noted that you seem very comfortable with speaking on behalf of "most Protestants". From your posts I know for sure that you do not speak for Baptists, the largest Protestant denomination. In general, nor would I imagine that you speak for Lutherans. Nor would I imagine that you speak for Presbyterians.

I just named three of the top four most populous non-Catholic faiths in this country and none of them agree with you. I'm just wondering where is this Protestant majority that you are championing?

"I think this helps to explain why some Protestants have a tendency to reduce any argument to Book, Chapter, and Verse. This is not a technique that most Protestants use. Most also want to know why they have an intellect and will."

I find that John Calvin's commentaries, and the Protestant's Confessions of Faith (e.g. Westminster, Baptists) to be one of the most comprehensive systematic theology ever put together by theologians. When I was researching this material and the Reformation, the standard complaint that I came across time and again by those in opposition was, "Calvinists have an answer for everything."

I thought this was a rather strange complaint. While this isn't quite true the theology is one of the most thorough examinations of scripture and has stood the test of time for over 500 years. I have yet to find anyone here offering a similar comprehensive analysis of scripture.