What's new
By:
Filters
Christian Forums

This is a sample guest message. Register a free account today to become a member! Once signed in, you'll be able to participate on this site by adding your own topics and posts, as well as connect with other members through your own private inbox!

Search results

Search the forum
  1. I

    Predestination and Calvinism

    Haha! Let's just chalk it up to my experience on these forums so far. When I ask in simple words, I am either not precise enough or I haven't cited factual Scriptural or external sources. When I ask in precise terms, they are not simple enough. Bear with me until I get better at communicating...
  2. I

    Predestination and Calvinism

    In this context, you seem to have defined the word "believe" differently from the word "faith" - while actually they amount to the same meaning, "faith" being the noun form of the verb "to believe in". So, to have faith in someone would be the same as to believe in that person. Do you understand...
  3. I

    The stumbling blocks of reformed doctrines

    If one man can obey, so can anyone else. Is it then just to conclude anyone in sinful flesh as if they were guilty of the same disobedience too, when they could have chosen to obey in the garden and lived without any of these consequences? Is it just that some/many who might have chosen not to...
  4. I

    The stumbling blocks of reformed doctrines

    Actually, I didn't intend to mean it as either causing the other - but rather the Corruption that invaded them causing these both. Sin, that now has begun to dwell in man's flesh, causes both the blindness to the truth as well as rebellion against God's will. My position permits me to wholly...
  5. I

    The stumbling blocks of reformed doctrines

    Of course. I suppose Newton's 1st Law holds good there too - that what is good would remain good and what is evil would remain evil until acted upon by an external trigger. (I've obviously paraphrased it.) God created everything good. The trigger for satan to become corrupted with self-pride...
  6. I

    The stumbling blocks of reformed doctrines

    I'm not presuming to answer on behalf of Deborah13 - just my own beliefs on this. Why cannot there be yet another alternative where Adam is not thinking at all about what God told? He sees Eve hand over the fruit - knows she's eaten the forbidden fruit - is blinded to the truth of God's command...
  7. I

    The stumbling blocks of reformed doctrines

    Neither was I referring to any particular person's response to God - just the opportunity of such objections even being raised. If one sees the Garden scenario as a test of freewill, and given that each of us are different from each other, shouldn't each of us be given the opportunity to...
  8. I

    The stumbling blocks of reformed doctrines

    If you did agree with my previous post, you would understand me saying that "I" take responsibility for having sin, not because I had conscious control over it, but because my flesh that got corrupted by sin is a part of this "I" - and not because my flesh could have done anything about it...
  9. I

    The stumbling blocks of reformed doctrines

    This is most agreeable. I am quietly thrilled to be conversing about this with someone other than myself. Anyhow, to answer your questions - 1. Yes - God(Love) in us, that is in our spirit, is the cause of all our good. Sin in us, that is in our flesh, is the cause of all our evil. 2. No - You...
  10. I

    The stumbling blocks of reformed doctrines

    Given that reformed doctrines form an entire worldview/belief-system in itself, I suppose pretty much everything we discuss would have to be explained by these. And since the doctrine of freewill is a distinctive point of difference too, I see we're pretty much on track discussing that. Just to...
  11. I

    The stumbling blocks of reformed doctrines

    As per your illustration, man forgave the woman because he understood from the circumstances that she was not to be faulted. Similarly, the woman does not find fault with the child. And from this, I can extrapolate it to seeing how God does not find fault with the man, and not the other way...
  12. I

    The stumbling blocks of reformed doctrines

    This is yet another of those points of semantic confusion. Consider the concept of being spotless - Spotless(1) - refers to the continuous fact that Christ was not corrupted by even a single spot of blemish at any point in time. Spotless(2) - refers to the final state of the believer, wherein...
  13. I

    The stumbling blocks of reformed doctrines

    I know we've always been in agreement on this. My entire conversation with you over this is not to state disagreements, but for you to explicitly acknowledge these basic truths too, in conjunction with what else you're stating, without which your points will be misunderstood by someone who...
  14. I

    The stumbling blocks of reformed doctrines

    Firstly, I need some clarity in semantics. I understand the word "blame" being used in 2 distinct ways - Blame(1) - To accuse and condemn a person for their actions(John 8:10), as if to self-righteously expect them to have done otherwise. Blame(2) - To place responsibility over a person for the...
  15. I

    The stumbling blocks of reformed doctrines

    See, my position permits me to agree with your above statements. I too believe God allows man to resist the Holy Spirit - but I qualify man here as one in the flesh. God does allow man to resist the Holy Spirit in the flesh - to conclude man in the flesh under sin, with no excuse against God's...
  16. I

    The stumbling blocks of reformed doctrines

    I understand how you mean it and I agree with that. It's just that semantics plays a role as well - to hear you say that belief is not an exercise in freewill could be understood as man being forced into believing, which is not the case either. I'd say belief is an exercise of our will, that is...
  17. I

    The stumbling blocks of reformed doctrines

    Ah, the question - What made the devil, the devil. The answer C.S.Lewis saw from Scripture was the Great Sin. That's what he titled a chapter in his book, Mere Christianity - the very chapter I was reading when I was converted - on the sin of Self-Pride. For what sin did satan really commit in...
  18. I

    The stumbling blocks of reformed doctrines

    Neither do I. I think even before this, it's beyond doubt that the OT saints looked forward to Christ(1Pet 1:10-11). I had quoted Acts 19 not to imply that those weren't believers - but rather to note the order of baptism itself. The baptism of repentance followed by the baptism of faith. That...
  19. I

    The stumbling blocks of reformed doctrines

    Of course. Sin begins wherever God does not sustain and preserve by His own holy nature. I was simply referring to mankind alone in my earlier post - that was not intended to say that sin began with Adam. These are the earnest questions I've had - 1. If the Garden of Eden was a "Test" of man's...
  20. I

    The stumbling blocks of reformed doctrines

    That's clear enough - this is not where the confusion lies. Which of these verses have Regeneration and Faith in the same context? I see you reading Regeneration=Salvation, which I've shown in earlier posts is not the case. If you'd like to discuss those points, I'd be happy to elaborate and...
Back
Top