I don't think "intellectual dishonesty" is a SUFFICIENT explanation. Some make reasonable earnest EFFORTS to be intellectually honest but just CANNOT make the grade for some reason(s). At some point, a big chunk of those reasons has to be demonic deception and blinding of believer's hearts and minds allowed through some flaw in the believer's focus; attitude; priorities or some such.
These threads quickly become disturbingly reminding of hours of experiences trying to make sense out of folks who's construction on reality was finely honed and practiced dissociative cluelessness and egg salad communications structures. And the harder one worked to make sense--ANY--interpretive sense out of the egg salad verbalizations, the more absolutely irrational they became.
MOST of the time in such cases, demonic forces have been evident . . . that or an extremely clever case of malingering--VIA an extremely askew construction on daily reality.
They tend to refuse to confront the fact that they just may be wrong. For them to be wrong, or to even take it under consideration, is to somehow join the dark side.
I could care less whether or not people are stupid enough to believe in preterism (full or partial). It makes no biblical sense whatsoever and makes Jesus out to be a liar. But their modus operandi is to question our integrity and accuse us of being dishonest in our firmly held beliefs. They somehow think that dispensationalism is on a par with satan worship and not only must be challenged by must be destroyed and driven from the church.
Well, it ain't going anywhere. I find the dispensationalist model to be the only truly consistent interpretive model for eschatology. I'm sure there are enough of us to keep the preterists from throwing us all into the bottomless pit.
Happy Thanksgiving Quix.
May God truly bless you.
Marlowe
I think that objectivity about something you have put a great deal of time and study into is very difficult. Especially, if during that course of study you have come to a position on that topic. In the end we are not arguing about justification by Grace Alone through Faith Alone, but are seeking discernment of the end times and the signs that indicate their imminent coming.
We have to remember (me included) that these same FRiends we are arguing with today are the ones we stand with when we argue against works based justification, or exculsivist sects.