Not sure why I should believe you - you have no choice whether or not you believe it's true, even if it isn't. Right? You shouldn't believe me. You should search the scriptures to find out if these things are so. If one honestly read the scriptures through a Reformed perspective (the outward and inward calling of man), then it is difficult to reject what is being said. The scriptures are not complicated in the Reformed light (well-perhaps Revelation).
I would suggest an honest reading of the Gospel of John. If people would simply take the time and read this entire gospel through the outward and inward call of man perspective, they could come to no other conclusion then God chooses men.
As Yoda said, "You must unlearn what you have learned."
If one honestly read the scriptures through a Reformed perspective (the outward and inward calling of man), LOL! So which is it? "Honestly" or "through a Reformed perspective"? ;-)
Seriously, the more you depend on (without elaborating on) a text from "the Reformed perpective," the more baffling your point will be to those who don't share that perspective. And this is a major deficiency of the "proof text" as argument -- there's waaaay too often an equal and opposite, or at least divergent, "proof text" available, even apart from the range of understandings that may have been offered for individual texts.
Thanks for your reply.
You should search the scriptures to find out if these things are so.
Why? Do I have choice? Did you?
If one honestly read the scriptures through a Reformed perspective
Why choose this perspective? What is the criteria for choosing one perspective over another?
The scriptures are not complicated in the Reformed light
Is "not complicated/simplicity" the basis for choosing a perspective? Why? What if it results in "very simple, but false"?
I would suggest an honest reading of the Gospel of John. If people would simply take the time and read this entire gospel through the outward and inward call of man perspective, they could come to no other conclusion then God chooses men.
What if it also results in a conclusion we know to be false? For example: what if "choosing to read through this perspective" results in the conclusion that "we did not choose to read through this perspective"?
Should we choose to accept or reject a conclusion even if that conclusion forces us to accept something we know is not true? Why? Is it because it makes scripture "less complicated"?