First of all, the reason it didn't go well when you broke off the thread was that you didn't state it, and didn't clarify later when asked. In fact, for a thread that was important enough to break off, you haven't even replied again. You left the impression that you were saying it in regards to me, which if you were, was not clear from the rest of the discussion.
payattention said:
Pointless is an opinion. Either you are satisfied with the status quo or you believe that Christ will return when we have decided which laws we must keep. I don't know which.
The status quo of people staying on the topic, not turning every issue into a discussion of your methodology? Yes, we do like that.
As to that quote from Judges...how precisely do you think I interpret it?
No one said anything about Christ coming when we keep certain laws.
Nor did I say that fallen nature was a reference to HUMAN nature. The whole creation is groaning according to Romans 8 under sin. Of course, you might not accept that, being from Paul.
And what I meant was that nature is degraded to a survival of the fittest contest. Now the things around us may still speak to God's power as Paul affirms in Romans 1, but it does not speak to God's character.
But again, you might not accept that either. You see, the real reason it is pointless is that you don't accept any scripture at face value. So a discussion built AROUND the scriptures is just an endless exercise in trying to get you to say what you think about it--as though that were somehow a key to the rest of us understanding it. You feel free to pick and choose according to your view of nature, so there can be no assumptions at all about what you accept as legitimate evidence in a discussion.
The only possible explanation we can find for what your method would be is that we study the scriptures scientifically as we do nature. But ifyou really thought that, surely you could have said it just as plain as that from the outset, that you subscribe to higher ciritical methodology ,etc. And we could have all gotten on with life.
The goal of independent thought is to think out the subject matter. Not to read your mind.
If you want people to think independently, then put some texts that challenges their usual thinking. The one on the second coming of Jesus was a decent example. But when you do this
a. don't start it in every thread you go to, even those where it clearly has no business like Woobadooba's
b. don't assume that no one but you has ever looked at this text in an honest light.
It is sheer arrogance.