Please go back to running your autocratic site and leave the rest of us to hammer this out with out starchamber.
Ummm - I think you may have misunderstood something about calvinism there....Purifying FLAME said:BUT BUT BUT . . . . .
Yea I know. There are people who seem to think that Christian=good and not Christian = evil. Sorry, but I am not a calvinist and that kind of Calvinistic reasoning should not dominate a site dedicated to CHRISTIANITY as a whole.
It was a response in defense of cruelty which came back on a Google search. And since the moment I arrived here, I've been kicked around and treated like an inferior by the majority. I'm just the type of person who digs in more deeply when confronted with that kind of treatment.
The one thing I've not found here is God. When I first came here, I was fairly certain there were no gods. After a very short time here, spent with people who claimed they knew God and had the Holy Spirit dwelling within them, I became completely certain. The behavior of Christians here is why a CF poll showed only two conversions to 13 deconversions. You talking the talk but actions speak louder than words and your refusal to walk the walk is what people notice.
I'm not being manipulative and my words aren't fancy. It's just straight reporting. And the evidence of that lies within the posts of those who attempt to attack my statements. They can't offer any kind of refutation of what I've said, because even they know I'm correct. Any 10-year old child knows that you're supposed to treat others as equals. They also know that if you won't or can't bring yourself to do so, you're not really capable of loving others.
What pretty words did I offer? I just said it like it is. And I've not promised anyone anything. All I've done is hold up a mirror and you don't like what you're seeing. But you can't allow yourself to recognize that you're wrong, so you try to cast me in the role of Satan so that you can walk away with your prejudice in tact and try to convince yourself that it's not wrong to hold yourself as superior to everyone else.
It's already true and you keep demonstrating that with every vote for Option 2.
You see only one thing, and that which you chose to see here. You don't listen to contrary reason, which is why people don't bother arguing with you anymore. I for one am sick of trying, since you're completely unwilling to stop and listen, or try to understand. You continue to demonstrate this with every hyperbolic post you make.
IOW, turn this church into a social club.
IOW, keep this church a church.
I like the idea of a church on the internet. There are plenty of non-Christian places (yes, even with "heavy Christian leaning) where Christians can go and reach out to the lost. And even back when this site was "strict", there was ample outreach opportunity!!
You know, I was kinda saddenned when a local church ran out of money and had to sell out to become a dance hall (used occasionally for services), but in this case, the Pastor's fully capable of keeping the church running, and he wants to convert it to a social club.
How sad.
Total depravity? Nah - I understand it very well and reject the notion that only the ELECT can do or be "good" wholesale.
The pure facts are either escaping you here or you wish that they would. We're asking for equal treatment, that's all. We're not asking to be treated better or differently, just the same. And you act as though that's an absurd request. There are a lot of words that describe the kind of attitude being demonstrated by the majority of Christians here. Not a single one is pleasant and most are considered to be insults. And that's part of the problem. I had presented one of the most fitting words here. I posted it along with the definition from Answers.com. I demonstrated that it's a perfect fit for the behaviors and beliefs Christians (I'm not forgetting that it's not every Christian), are demonstrating here. But the word is so offensive, that it was sugggested the thread might be closed down so I've discontinued using it. How is that for hypocrisy? You don't mind following behaviors which are the definition of such a word, but if someone properly labels those behaviors by using the correct word, you want them shut up.Epiphanygirl said:
