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Reformationist said:Yeah, I'm a great one for the bickering.You make a good point though. When I'm not in a self righteous or prideful mood I'm normally able to have some very productive discussions with Michelle. She always brings up some very good points and it forces me to give my answers some study and thought. I'll try to do better. Thanks for the encouragement.
I think it matters in the sense that if we are going to believe something, whatever it may be, we should at least know why we believe it. Problems arise when I focus more on "being right" or "having the last word" than on seeking to understand my beliefs for godly reasons. I believe God is using Michelle to show me this sinfulness in myself and though I continue to fail in dealing with her it seems that He is also giving her the grace to not give up on me, at least not for very long. I think I've only been on her ignore list one time.
LOL! Well, your advice has become a reality. I just became a site deployment lead for a major contract so that, coupled with my new hours (12:30 a.m. to 9 a.m.) might do a better job of keeping me busy.
Well, if your avatar is a pic of you then I certainly don't want to be on the receiving end of one of those beatings.
God bless
It's okay Michelle. I know he was only picking at me.Shelb5 said:Second, I do not think Don deserves to be called Sensationalist.
Thanks Michelle. That means alot coming from you and I appreciate the fact that you have looked past my sarcasm numerous times.I do not agree with him on theology and I have had to endure sarcasm from him on many occasion as he I but he is only sharing with us truth as he sees it. It would be a different matter altogether if he was only objecting out of a bias to the Church or a hatred and I see no evidence that he is anti Catholic."
In fact, I think Don is respectful of Catholic beliefs, and he has a genuine interest in learning about them even if he will never agree.
I feel exactly the same way Michelle. Thank you.I can say in spite of the bickering I honestly like Don, I wouldnt engage him if I didnt. I suppose it is because he and I are a lot alike. You see, one of my main drawbacks is that I will not be out done in sarcasm and I figure it this way, we, Don and myself can serve as a throne in one anothers side in order to grow in holiness by resisting the temptation to respond with sarcasm and we are always closest to Jesus when we can forgive and ask to be forgiven.
This time the Lord has graced me with the ability to engage in discussion without it being from pride. I think a large part of that has been your obvious desire to glorify God in this thread.I apologize if our discussion as been upsetting to the readers but for me on my part and I do not think on Dons part either, from what I can sense from him, that either one of us are acting from pride, we are genuinely seeking discussion for the sake of serving and better knowing the lord.
Sorry bro. I don't understand what you mean here.martinluther2003 said:that's you buddy-
God bless everyone catholic and non catholicReformationist said:It's okay Michelle. I know he was only picking at me.
Thanks Michelle. That means alot coming from you and I appreciate the fact that you have looked past my sarcasm numerous times.
I feel exactly the same way Michelle. Thank you.
This time the Lord has graced me with the ability to engage in discussion without it being from pride. I think a large part of that has been your obvious desire to glorify God in this thread.
Thank you again Michelle,
God bless
Thank you very much for the kind words Mike. Coming from you I take this as a huge compliment. I'll try not to let it go to my head.eldermike said:Most of the folks on this forum are gifted teachers. Reformationist is one of the best!.
I'd say that you're probably right. The Lord tells us that without love we have nothing so, as you point out here, no matter how much of the Law we know if that knowledge does not change us into a person who loves the Lord or cause us to cherish our brethren then knowing doctrine has been of no benefit to us.Perhaps it's not doctrine that God wants us to learn here. Just a thought.
Thanks for the kind words. You're right. I'm not known for sparing any words in a discussion.emmajane said:Just to say, that I've read all the posts here - and Mike's right, Don's a great teacher. I've learned from his discussions with Jerome and Shelb on this thread. (some of them are a bit long though!)
Well, I was really talking about someone changing their entire system of beliefs, i.e., Protestant to Catholic, Catholic to Protestant, Reformed to Arminian, Arminian to Reformed, etc. Believe me, just like everyone else I've done my fair share of learning from others on this site.Only 3 people change their views?
I'm surprised... since I've been at CF (5 months or so) I've changed my views on lots of things! - Inter-denominational differences being the biggie. I've doubted / questioned my career as a surgeon after participating in a debate concerning contraception and human interference with God's will. And I've had some really thought-provoking discourse in GA with some of the regulars, which has stopped me in my tracks and made me re-assess my thoughts and position.
Thank you again for the encouragement Emma.Keep up the good work here, Don!
Peace be with you
Emma
Yeah!!! I'm with Michelle on this one!!!Shelb5 said:Hey all:
I do not know how this turned into a "let's beat up on Don" thread but to get back on track.
Getting light headed... having... trouble... breathing...None of us know what is going on inside the other's heart or mind, we should never under estimate the power of the Holy Spirit working on our will.
Yes that right Don, I said will as in free will, don't pass out.
Ps. Wink and smile means joke.
I certainly wasn't offended. It was clear to me that you were just picking at us, and, you weren't wrong in what you said. There certainly are times when I need to rethink the reasons I'm having the discussion and figure out if I need to "get over myself."BAchristian said:I wasn't beating up on anyone. I thought with the multitude of icons that I had present in my message that it would be considered light-hearty fun...
Guess not...
Regardless, I apologize if anyone was "offended" by it...
It does work for you Jason. I don't think I've ever seen you argue with anyone on this MB. Thanks for the godly example.Hoonbaba said:I always try to be careful not to make statements that I can't prove. Even then, I would generally preface my thoughts with 'in my opinion' or 'I believe', that way it wouldn't sound like I claim to be 100% correct. Sometimes I can see some really major errors, and so I'd explain things without sounding like a know it all. It seems to work for me
God bless!
-Jason
LOL! Good point!!Godzman said:well I wouldn't want to go with scrooge at all, tiny tim all the way
Reformationist said:LOL! If you can bear it give me a couple of days. I just started a new job yesterday and it's the night shift. Unfortunately I'm still trying to get acclimated to my new hours so I'm working on about two hours sleep.
I promise to get to it though.
God bless,
Don
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