Quote:
Originally Posted by cityonahill
I hope I've learned to cool it abit and try to listen instead of always sounding off about anything and everything that I may disagree with. I have to admit...Many times, my issues are not specifically with the LC but with reformed theology in general which of course is a bigger fish to fry and includes many of those who call themselves "evangelical."
Have realized alot in last few years, months, and even days and I reject both the armenian and calvinist views for the most part when it comes to grace, faith, and God's salvation...
The threads on "heaven and hell" have had a profound impact on my preconcieved beliefs and have led to me studying this issue at length and totally changing my views of the after-life!
Anyway, just wanted to share...thanks also to aron for the discussions about judgment and salvation...it's really caused me to dig deeper!
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Your testimony of learning to listen to others instead of just waiting to impose your views is heartening. In an environment which can too often be populated by adversarial exchanges, or people "talking past each other", it's always encouraging to see demonstrations of actual learning.
I am likewise heartened by your recognition that perhaps the calvinist/arminian debate doesn't have to force us into an either/or proposition. Both views have solid basis in the God's Word, and are worth careful consideration, but perhaps are not "the" interpretation of scripture.
I profited likewise from the exchanges, and was grateful for them. It's easy to construct something, over time, in your mind, and then use this conceptual construction to filter the Bible whenever you come to it to read. You automatically "highlight" certain verses which are in line with your construction, and ignore, overlook, or minimize other verses and sections which don't match it as well.
But then when you share your ideational construct with others, and they go, "Not so fast. What about this, or that?", and you have to stop and reassess with the eyes of others, it is a tremendous help.
2 points in closing: 1) I suspect one of the negatives of having power for Lee (being the 'acting god', and all) was that he was unable to receive this kind of help from others. His ideational construction was supposedly unassailable, and though it had some good points (I believe), it was untouchable and thus the errors were never addressed. And we all know what happens with a little leaven...
2) My beef with the whole system eventually became not so much with its errors (we all have errors, to some degree), but that for the above reason it became largely a dead end for me, and I realized I had to look elsewhere for further uncovering of the truth in God's Word. I also want to dig deeper, and hopefully my sharing was not in the "I am right" vein (though I occasionally go there - if not careful it becomes my 'default' mode), but rather the sharing of "There are other aspects here perhaps worth considering".
I appreciated the fellowship as well. Peace to you, and grace