Drich0150, please. Your words echo ironically in my ears. I asked you, as christians, a question - regarding the nature of God - in order for me to explore Christianity through real christians.
According to your follow up questions your interest only goes as far as your current interpretation of "real" Christianity allows you to argue a specific point.
What you believe interests me, but even more so why you believe what you believe.
Again your exploration of Why we believe as we do, seems to be limited to one specific dimension of the topic. You have turned a blind eye to anything you are not willing to argue.
Indeed, it was a closed question. But a simple yes/no answer does not satisfy me.
To which yes or no response are you referring?
I then ask you (the people on this forum in general) why you answered the way you did, and this is the reply I get from you, drich.
The reason you got the reply you did is because you are selectively sniping the answers that you can deconstruct with your general understanding of "free will." While ignoring anything that does not fit the argument you have prepared yourself to argue or "explore."
If exploration of Christianity stops at swallowing whatever you answer without further questioning of how/why and so on, then it is you that do not allow yourself thought outside a very specific set of parameters. If you can't provide reasons for you belief, than what do you support your beliefs on? That's all I ask.
Are you even responding to the same post that i am referring to? When I directly confronted your definitions of freewill all interest in the subject matter seemed to be lost until someone else made a comment that fit your favored definition of the term. Your "interest" in our beliefs seem to go only as far as you can turn our beliefs on us. You seem to have little interest in a understanding that has you questioning you own interpretations of this subject matter. This is beyond hypocritical behavior, and this is exactly why I said your efforts more closely resembled a witch hunt more closely than what ever it is you have fooled yourself into believing you are doing.
You ask me about my behavior. I ask you, have I been rude?
Selectively deconstructing certain arguments, and pretending others were over looked... Yes that is rude.
You insult those who are making an effort to address your question, by picking apart answers and not addressing them as a whole.
Have I been judging in any way in this thread?
This entire post was a personal judgment in that you deemed or judged the situation necessary to turn my topic of conversation from comparing the biblical definition of free will with your definition of free will, into a what looks like a personal assault, which affords you the right to question or JUDGE my approach to your actions here. So yes you have judge in this thread!
If you prefer a monologue - you talking without listening to response - then why are you even on this forum?
Perhaps you are confused to the nature of this specific area of the forum. Although it is encouraged for the OP to ask questions, this is not a debate forum. Nor is this a place to force Christianity to accept a secular understanding of your topic of choice. This is a place where non believers come to Explore Christianity. You ask us questions and We give You answers.. Kinda like an interactive Monologue.
If you think that a polite, reasonable dialog is a 'witch hunt', how can you even function as a human being together with other people with different beliefs than yours?
I simply pointed out that your actions more closely resemble a witch hunt rather than a "polite dialog." I never said you are burning people for being a witch.
It's funny hearing about persecution from a follower of the hands down largest religion on the planet.
One does not have to be in the minority to be persecuted, your actions prove this to be true.
Your and certain other's belittling attitude soils this thread. Let us please adopt a polite tone of voice, where we can talk about things on equal and fair ground. Thank you, and sorry for the understandably, albeit necessary, less-than-pleasant reply.
If my actions are considered belittling, yet they accurately portray your actions here in this thread, then what does that say about your actions?