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Done with General Theology.........

seekingpurity047

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drstevej said:
Woah, my elect brethren and sistren.... whazzup with the sound of retreat?

Take the light of sovereign grace out from under the Semper Forum bushel and shine it forth.

If we don't have something worth explaining in GT and GA, etc. then this holy huddle needs to be shut down. The thought of Calvinists hiding in a corner is unthinkable.

So take some encouragement from one who is himself a petal shy of a TULIP...

Go forth and gracefully articulate the sovereign grace of God in the marketplaces of CF.

My goodness, there are lurkers lurking... adorn the gospel of grace and proclaim it louder than a whisper.

Exurge, Calvinisti, et judica causam tuam...

Hi steve. well... I understand your point of view, and I can't help but agree, however. Sometimes we need to take a break from it. I have been there far too often over the passed week, so I'm just going to take a break from it. Also, I will be observing the chaos! So... I'm gonna relax and focus on Him, and just pray for these people, then go back. I shouldn't be gone from there too long!

To the glory of God,

Randy
 
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pinkieposies

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drstevej said:
Woah, my elect brethren and sistren.... whazzup with the sound of retreat?
drstevej said:

Take the light of sovereign grace out from under the Semper Forum bushel and shine it forth.

If we don't have something worth explaining in GT and GA, etc. then this holy huddle needs to be shut down. The thought of Calvinists hiding in a corner is unthinkable.

So take some encouragement from one who is himself a petal shy of a TULIP...

Go forth and gracefully articulate the sovereign grace of God in the marketplaces of CF.

My goodness, there are lurkers lurking... adorn the gospel of grace and proclaim it louder than a whisper.

Exurge, Calvinisti, et judica causam tuam...



I agree with you; It's just that I, myself, feel a little less than gracefully articulate. I am new to the faith. Though that is no excuse, I find myself feeling less than adequate, and plenty intimidated by some of those very angry, arrogant people in there...I don't know. :sigh:

God Bless,
Erin
 
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JJB

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Paleoconservatarian said:
Wow. Seems we December-born are taking over. Most of my friends have December birthdays as well.

Every once in a while, I feel like I don't have enough problems in my life, so I head over to GT and pick a fight. I'm getting used to the peaceful life at SR, though.

Happy Birthday, Paleo! :clap: Have a piece of cake for all of us! :yum:



(Jim, I sent your b-day wishes on page one of this thread, I think it is).
 
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Paleoconservatarian

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pinkieposies said:
I agree with you; It's just that I, myself, feel a little less than gracefully articulate. I am new to the faith. Though that is no excuse, I find myself feeling less than adequate, and plenty intimidated by some of those very angry, arrogant people in there...I don't know. :sigh:

God Bless,
Erin

I am the same way. And my memory is horrendous. So I often leave things out of my arguments, or forget precisely what I was going to say, and it often comes out quite different than how I formulated it in my head.
 
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McWilliams

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Paleoconservatarian said:
I am the same way. And my memory is horrendous. So I often leave things out of my arguments, or forget precisely what I was going to say, and it often comes out quite different than how I formulated it in my head.


Oh wait!! Trouble with your memory at 20?
ROFL!!! :D

There are a few surprises in your future!
God bless this birthday with a sharp memory!!:clap:
 
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Paleoconservatarian

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McWilliams said:
Oh wait!! Trouble with your memory at 20?
ROFL!!! :D

There are a few surprises in your future!
God bless this birthday with a sharp memory!!:clap:

Well, perhaps it's not as bad as I make it sound, and it has been improving. But at least I can re-read my books without getting bored.

JJB said:
Happy Birthday, Paleo! :clap: Have a piece of cake for all of us! :yum:

Thanks! But instead of cake, Ma made me some apple pie. :yum:
 
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McWilliams

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Paleoconservatarian said:
Well, perhaps it's not as bad as I make it sound, and it has been improving. But at least I can re-read my books without getting bored.



Thanks! But instead of cake, Ma made me some apple pie. :yum:

Bless Ma for making that pie! Sounds like a special treat!
When stressed or really frustrated our memories are inhibited, for sure! After posting on GA thats likely what was happening there! Yes, lol, you can read and re read the same books when memory problems occur; does get a little maddening at times though! :D
 
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McWilliams

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JimfromOhio said:
I am fighting with one about disability and healing. He is a WoFer !!

They seem to use strange approaches, right? I always wonder if they sell their plan in Darfur or Sudan!
Our remaining humble, grateful before a holy God is what He desires from us. Not that we 'claim the prosperity, healing and wellbeing' they demand from Him. When we fully trust in Him we know His ways are best, even when we dont understand what is happening in the present! His reasons are high and profound!
Neither do I concern myself with great matters, Nor with things too profound for me! Ps. 131:1
 
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JimfromOhio

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McWilliams said:
They seem to use strange approaches, right? I always wonder if they sell their plan in Darfur or Sudan!
Our remaining humble, grateful before a holy God is what He desires from us. Not that we 'claim the prosperity, healing and wellbeing' they demand from Him. When we fully trust in Him we know His ways are best, even when we dont understand what is happening in the present! His reasons are high and profound!
Neither do I concern myself with great matters, Nor with things too profound for me! Ps. 131:1

Yes... I have disibility and I can't stand any theology that is false relating to healing and disability.
 
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mlqurgw

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Paleoconservatarian said:
I am the same way. And my memory is horrendous. So I often leave things out of my arguments, or forget precisely what I was going to say, and it often comes out quite different than how I formulated it in my head.
Happy birthday! What I do to help my faulty memory is write down what I want to say on a sheet of paper and then I can read it over and tweak it if I need to.
 
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JJB

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Paleoconservatarian said:
Well, perhaps it's not as bad as I make it sound, and it has been improving. But at least I can re-read my books without getting bored.



Thanks! But instead of cake, Ma made me some apple pie. :yum:

That's one good thing about a poor memory. Ooooh, I don't remember reading that before! ^_^

As for apple pie -- even better! :thumbsup:
 
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ghs1994

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I believe that most of the fights start by someone thinking they have a good bead on things before they examine the scriptures.

1. Too much interpretation instead of taking it a face value.

2. Taking difficult scriptures and making up something instead of comparing them to the one's that are clear.

3. Having to know everything instead of saying "I don't know, can I get a little guidance?".

4. Knowing God's character: What He's done and what He's commanded.

5. Listening and examining before answering.

6. Puffed up with knowledge and human reasoning instead of basking in His wisdom.
 
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CCWoody

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ghs1994 said:
I believe that most of the fights start by someone thinking they have a good bead on things before they examine the scriptures.

4. Knowing God's character: What He's done and what He's commanded.
I'm sorry, but I reject this one outright if I understand what you mean. It is impossible to know God's character as you put it without having his self-revelation, i.e. the Scriptures, correctly interpreted. You cannot start with his character and then intepret. That path leaves you with 2 unsavory possibilities:
  1. I am forcing my own ideas about the Lord on the Scriptures. IOW, just making up stuff and making the Bible conform to my own image of God.
  2. Relying on a form of gnosticism. IOW a heresy.
The proper method is to read and correctly interpret what he has revealed about himself. Is this what you meant?
 
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ghs1994

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CCWoody said:
The proper method is to read and correctly interpret what he has revealed about himself. Is this what you meant?

Hmm...I'm not sure what you mean, maybe we're both saying the same thing, but just in a different way. I'll elaborate just a little.

What I'm getting at is without knowing what God has done and what He has commanded us....let me add cuz I forgot......the guidance of the Spirit in His Word.......we cannot possibly understand anything about Him. Now, I'm not saying I understand His ways, but I do know His character. We have that privaledge to know Him that way because of Christ.

Does that sound better?;) Sorry if I wasn't clear.
 
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CCWoody

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ghs1994 said:
Hmm...I'm not sure what you mean, maybe we're both saying the same thing, but just in a different way. I'll elaborate just a little.

What I'm getting at is without knowing what God has done and what He has commanded us....let me add cuz I forgot......the guidance of the Spirit in His Word.......we cannot possibly understand anything about Him. Now, I'm not saying I understand His ways, but I do know His character. We have that privaledge to know Him that way because of Christ.

Does that sound better?;) Sorry if I wasn't clear.
Yes, better. We cannot put the cart before the horse and begin with our idea of the character of God and then read our Bible. That will lead to a warped theology (the symptom). The cause can be as bad as gnosticism.

The Bible is a portrait of God. From it, we see the glory of God.
  • The god of this world has blinded the minds of the unbelieving so that they might not see the light of the gospel of the glory of Christ, who is the image of God…. For God, who said, "Light shall shine out of darkness," is the one who has shone in our hearts to give the Light of the knowledge of the glory of God in the face of Christ.
Notice that Paul speaks of God's enlightening our hearts (as in the work of creation) to apprehend "the knowledge of the glory of God in the face of Christ." He is talking about people who have never seen the historical Jesus. How can they know Him and be sure of Him? What they "see" is the verbal portrayal of Jesus in the Gospel, that is, in the apostolic preaching of Christ. This portrayal, Paul says, accompanied by God's shining "in our hearts," appears to us as what is really is--"the glory of God in… Christ," or as "the glory of Christ… the image of God."
 
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GrinningDwarf

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mlqurgw said:
Happy birthday! What I do to help my faulty memory is write down what I want to say on a sheet of paper and then I can read it over and tweak it if I need to.

If I can tell a reply is going to be somewhat involved, I try not to reply right away on-line. I'll hammer something out on my word processor, and then maybe have my wife take a look at it, rewrite as necessary, and then copy-and-paste into the reply post.

I just had an example of this over the past couple of days at a Petra forum I'm a member of. (Petra...as in, the Christian band.) A Muslim, if you can believe it, made some posts attacking our 'corrupted' scriptures and bragging that they only worship one god. I made a couple of off the cuff replys, but for more depth I worked on it today during breaks from work and posted it when I got off. (I work where I live and go home during breaks and lunch.)

The beauty of that approach is that I now have a document on the reliability of scripture, a critique of the Qu'ran, and an apologetic of the Trinity ready to go any time I might need one in the future!
 
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vangelicmonk

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pjw said:
I like GT, there are some interesting discussions. a lot of people say very harsh and rude things to others without thinking, I'm sometimes guilty of this, please forgive me.

hmm. someone actually says something decent. Praise God for you.
 
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