Recent content by Ryft

As already pointed out by others, it is not true that an Arminian can escape this dilemma because the Arminian likewise has no idea whether or not his children will be counted among those chosen by God (having foreseen their enduring faith).

I'll tell you a secret? A lot of us felt the same way prior to embracing the Reformed faith. Not all, of course, but a lot. When I came to Christ in 1997 it was through a friend who was Mennonite Brethren, which teaches an Arminian view of the gospel. For years we both viewed Calvinism as...

I really appreciate how Arthur Pink stated the matter: "We say again that the above distinction between the natural ability and the moral and spiritual inability of the sinner is of prime importance. By nature he possesses natural ability but lacks moral and spiritual ability. The fact that he...

"The depravity of man is at once the most empirically verifiable reality but, at the same time, the most intellectually resisted fact." — Malcolm Muggeridge

I realize this post is old (from 28 December 2008) but I wanted to chime in with my perspective on these issues. Whether or not this person still follows this thread he started is another matter, but in the event he does... here is my contribution for his consideration. I think I believe in...

I suppose it would come down to what is meant by the words "depressed" or "unhappy." Seriously. There is just way too much potential for equivocation here. For instance, it is possible (a) for you to have interpreted these words in a way different from (b) how they were intended by the sources...

The most extraordinarily effective campaign Satan has ever conducted was convincing people that he doesn't exist.

So far as we can tell, the fundamental stuff that makes up our conscious mind is the human brain, which obviously decomposes after death. Scientifically speaking, the conscious mind does not continue outside the death of the body. And the Scriptures likewise declare, "The dead know nothing"; in...

(Please forgive my earlier posts; I had no idea you were really that young. Had I known this, I would have written in way that a person your age could more easily digest and understand—which I will of course do from this post onward.) What you have said here is scientifically strong, but the...

I have defeated more than just one argument. You forgot that in addition to addressing Problem of Evil arguments I also confronted your argument, defeating the idea that God cannot be both 'omniscient' and 'omnipotent' at the same time by showing that there is no contradiction. Remember, I...

I don't think you fully grasped the correction, because here you are talking about God "seeing himself changing something." That is contradictory for a being who is omnipresent, or exists at every point in time and space simultaneously. For God there is never such a thing as "changing...

It seems you don't understand a very crucial element in your own argument—but you're in good company because a lot of people miss it when they raise this argument. Specifically, this argument only works with regard to beings that are bounded by temporal and spatial limitations (space-time...

Well, it's your thread, so... okay. Problem of Evil (or Suffering) arguments are crippled by logical fallacies; which specific fallacy is committed depends on which argument is being presented. For example, in my most recent debate with an atheist on this argument (call him Smith), he began...

Most everyone is going to recommend the tradition or denomination that they are comfortable with in their faith, which is going to vary widely because people are at different stages of their spiritual journey and have different levels of conviction about what is important. Someone who is brand...

By exposing their logical weakness or outright bankruptcy. Pick one and I shall show you (but do it by private message; don't hijack this thread).