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Revelation is given for those who can hear, and act upon that hearing to the extent that they’re able, to the extent that a person is capable of moral accountability. Otherwise, there’d be no reason for God to reveal Himself and His will at all. Soteriology as it pertains to infants is a whole ‘nother animal.
No, The gift of faith precedes our response but are response is optional. It works that way with all grace. God actually covets are willingness and so He approaches us first and prompts and moves us towards Himself but we can refuse- since Eden, He draws the line at making humans into some sort of Christian automatons. We can fail to answer the door when He knocks. We can fail to care when He loves us. Or we can spit back out the heavenly gift after tasting it.
Yes, that's what happened to Paul. Was that also what happened to you? Plenty of people were specially graced all throughout the bible, for God's specific purposes according to His wisdom for the advancement of His kingdom, for the salvation of man. He continues to do so even now, but that is far from the norm for us regular folk. And even at that Paul acknowledged that he had to strive, towards his final end in heaven.
I can "walk away" like I can jump into a pit of boiling oil. . .why would I? . . .ain't happenin'. . .the Holy Spirit indwells and keeps me in God's way (Eph 1:13-14, 2 Co 1:22, 5:5).
Not when grace is the source of true morality. It's insufficient to say that grace is limited solely to forgivness of sin. There's a response that is not only expected, but also enabled, to the extent that we remain in Him. Here's an example of the love we've been shown, now expected to be reciprocated:
Probably won't, nor with me. But it's best to know the truth of the matter-that we can-and that's why we're warned not to. Either way, as stated repeatedly, good fruit is the surest sign of fellowship with God, any experiences or professions notwithstanding.
Who, where, did anyone trivialize it???
It certainly does, as with all Scripture. And it's quite consistent with other passages that make it clear that man is expected to respond, and isn't forced to do so. God wants more from-and for- us than to merely forgive unrighteousness without actually restoring the justice/righteousness lost in Eden-for our highest good. He didn't create us to be sinners, after all. We have a purpose, a telos, which is intrinsically connected to salvation. To put it best, man is created to know and love God, as well as neighbor. Then justice is truly restored-and is even greater than that which He began with in His creation, in us. And love, this righteousnes, is necessarily both a gift and a choice.
I think that your perspective may be reflecting an idealisation of how The Orthodox Churches function. If you look at Russia now and if you look at Ukraine now, if you look at Turkey and The Orthodox Church there and if you look at Greece, and in The United States, the ideal you present isn't quite how things work today. I do not mean to disparage any of The Orthodox Christians that I know here, nor to say things about their churches that I'm not qualified to say. Nevertheless, there is a degree of stamping out happening in Russia, there is a degree of stamping out happening in Ukraine. So, even though they are extreme examples, the practise of stamping out is not unique to mediaeval Western Catholicism.
I think that your perspective may be reflecting an idealisation of how The Orthodox Churches function. If you look at Russia now and if you look at Ukraine now, if you look at Turkey and The Orthodox Church there and if you look at Greece, and in The United States, the ideal you present isn't quite how things work today. I do not mean to disparage any of The Orthodox Christians that I know here, nor to say things about their churches that I'm not qualified to say. Nevertheless, there is a degree of stamping out happening in Russia, there is a degree of stamping out happening in Ukraine. So, even though they are extreme examples, the practise of stamping out is not unique to mediaeval Western Catholicism.
I believe then unless we abandoned the idealisations and the pretended rightness of this or that church, including the Catholic Church there is no way ahead for ecumenical discussion. And by we, I mean participants in Christian Forums.
I also believe that history as valuable as it is and from which many lessons may be learned, will not help us in our current divisions, within Christian forums.
I do admit, there is a certain pleasure to playing the game the way it is played here. We each get to pick the history we like most, we each get to quote the Saints we most admire, we each get to pick on the alleged faults of the other churches as we please, or at least to point them out. It makes for lively debates and discussions. Tally-ho and all that ...
By the way, I wrote this at about 2:30 in the morning, so please make allowances for that.
The truth of the matter is that we won't. . .no born again walks away, because they are kept the Holy Spirit (Eph 1:13-14, 2 Co 1:22, 5:5), whose arm is not too short.
No, warnings are how God warns us. Calling and election are never so sure that they don't need to be made sure (2 Pet 2:10). Just as no one can predict their own election with perfect certainty, neither can they predict their own perseverance. Again, good fruit is the truest indicator.
