[HarleyD]

You make Dionysius' point for him. If man corrupts himself, that corruption does not come from God.

No. Dionysius point is that even the demons cannot truly be evil because they come from God. There must still be some good in them. That is not correct. There nature like our nature is corrupted. You can't be 99.995 pure before God's eyes.

If you think I'm subscribing to man's "free will" their fall, I wouldn't be so rash. The only way any of this could have happened is if God ordained it to happen. Man corrupts himself but this is all part of God's plan. The problem I find with a lot of non-Calvinist folks is they don't understand that Calvinism does not make God the "author of evil". It simply states that God ordained Adam step, Adam fell and the rest is history.

What we disagree about is Total Depravity. Christianity has never subscribed to this doctrine--it is an invention of Calvin.

What we disagree about is original sin. This wasn't an invention of Calvin but is documented through Augustine writings. Dionysius felt man was only "sick" because he came from the Good. Just like he felt the demons might be sicker but still they are basically good. Augustine said we were dead to knowing anything about God. He based this on the plethera of scriptures that plainly tells us we are dead in our sins and we must be born again. No where in scripture does it state that man is "sick".

God doesn't consider man to be evil, but under the influence of evil.

I gave you about five verses that states otherwise. When I ran a query 98 verses popped up in the New Testament alone (albeit not all dealt specifically with this issue). Incredibly you ignore all these verses and make the statement that God doesn't consider man to be evil??? Here just one from the Old Testament:

Gen 38:7 But Er, Judah's firstborn, was evil in the sight of the LORD, so the LORD took his life.

He considered at least one to be evil.

[stripes1776]

What we disagree about is original sin. This wasn't an invention of Calvin but is documented through Augustine writings.

You have Calvin and Augustine viewed throught the eyes of Calvin and scripture interpreted through the eyes of Calvin. Where is +Theophilus (god lover) of Antioch, +Irenaeus, +Athanasius of Alexandria, +Basil, +Gregory of Nazianzus, +Gregory of Nyssa, +John Chrysostom, +Cyril of Alexandria, +Macarius, +Maximus the Confessor, +John Damascene, +Simeon the New Theologian, +Greogory Palamas?

Man corrupts himself but this is all part of God's plan. The problem I find with a lot of non-Calvinist folks is they don't understand that Calvinism does not make God the "author of evil". It simply states that God ordained Adam step, Adam fell and the rest is history.

Well, what Calvinists don't understand is that most Christians don't view God as a master computer programmer.

I gave you about five verses that states otherwise.

I don't filter scripture under the lens of Calvin. I study how the Fathers, saints, and theologians of the church understood scripture and the experience of their participation in the life of the Holy Trinity throughout the 2000 year history of Christianity. In my opinion, this is the only thing that can prepare the ground for reading scripture.

Incredibly you ignore all these verses and make the statement that God doesn't consider man to be evil

I don't play Jeopardy: "Alex, can I have 'One verse quotes from the Bible' for 200?" You can twist it and turn it any way you want. How did the Fathers, saints, and theologians understand their experience of the Holy Trinity over the past 2000 years? Now that is a category that can help to understand scripture.