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AlexDTX

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As I expected. You want to argue US. You ignored my first question: what is the point in trying to convince Christians who are already saved in this doctrine? There is no point, apart from undermining the Great Commission. This doctrine is a demonic doctrine and you are spreading a false gospel.
 
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AlexDTX

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Thank you. This came to me after I posted, so I added it. I believe it was the Lord who was showing me this comparison.
 
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Light of the East

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Correction: In Adam ALL were made sinners, therefore, in Christ ALL are made righteous. The word "many" in this verse must mean all for all are under the condemnation of sin. This is only just and fair.

And God does not WANT people to be saved. It is His divine, omnipotent, and HOLY WILL!!! Can any created creature defy His will? If so, then He is not omnipotent, is He? And if not omnipotent, then what assurance do we have that Satan could not somehow in the future, find a way to defeat our all-powerful God? If a mere man can do this, then would not a fallen angel somehow find a way?

This whole idea goes back to creatio ex nilho, as David Bentley Hart speaks of in his new book. That is, creation is ordained to a telos, a final end and purpose. Does God bring all His holy will to pass, asks the catechism? The answer is yes, therefore, if any man is ultimately lost, then it was never God's will to save that man in the first place, and then, going back to creation, it was God's will that the man (men) not be saved when they were created.

And thus, the Calvinists are correct. God creates men to damn them for no other reason than His sheer good pleasure (and enjoyment?). Which would make Him not love.....but a monster.
 
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Dorothy Mae

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I know the theology well. No one in the Bible mentioned ancestral sin from Adam. Inherited spiritual weakness because of the sin of the elders is true. But if they did not do that sin, we would not have a weakness there. No one in the Bible mentions sin nature.

Its really a lot easier to take James' view on the matter. "What causes conflicts and quarrels among you? Don’t they come from the passions at war within you? 2You crave what you do not have; you kill and covet, but are unable to obtain it. You quarrel and fight. You do not have, because you do not ask. 3And when you do ask, you do not receive, because you ask with wrong motives, that you may squander it on your pleasures." I believe what James says about why we sin and quarrel.
 
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BNR32FAN

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If all have sinned then it’s obvious that we are sinners by nature.
 
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Dorothy Mae

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Dear Alex: There is but one way to convince Christians of anything outside of their experience. That expansion is NOT in my power or domain!
There are rare Christians who are like the Bereans were and study the scripture (NOT EXPERIENCE) to see if the things they are taught are true. But I admit they are rare. They do not rely on their experience as the main reason they believe something. Experience is the mother of delusion.
Salvation is in three tenses all leading into deeper union with Him. The Great Commission cannot be "thwarted". He is the Saviour of All, some have not discovered it yet.
No one in the Bible equated salvation leading to deeper union with Him. Actually obedience to God leads to deeper "union" with GOd, if there is such a thing in the mind of God. I think God thinks of us as walking humbly with him, not experiencing some kind of spiritual union. I do not see that as a promise.
 
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Dorothy Mae

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If all have sinned then it’s obvious that we are sinners by nature.
No it is not. It is obvious that we want and do not have. We do not have because we do not ask. We ask and do not receive because we ask with wrong motives. We fight and destroy to fulfill wrong desires. THat is the reason we sin. IT is not at all as comfortable as some fictious sin nature we were born with and cannot help and are really not responsible for our sin. I actually know CHristians who instead of asking forgiveness, they tell those they sinned against it was not them, just their sin nature. THis is the fruit of that theology. People repent of something they cannot help and do not take responsiblity for the wrong they do blaming their sin nature which is Adam's fault.
 
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BNR32FAN

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Let me see if I understand you correctly. You agree that we have a sinful nature but our sinful nature was not inherited thru Adam?
 
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Light of the East

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QUOTE="Sketcher,

Nope. It would demonstrate his righteous judgement. Evil deserves to be punished.

Your answer shows that you haven't thought out the ramifications of what you said. It is not righteous to punish a man or woman beyond the degree of punishment that the sin deserves. This is not my idea, this was given to us by God in the form of lex talionis, that is, punishment equal to the crime. There is only one sin which would deserve eternal punishment, but it is impossible for a man to commit - you would have to destroy a soul completely, that is, to annihilate it. And we cannot do that.

Deservingly so.

Again, that is your idea completely. That is not what the Bible teaches.

He does, when he has mercy upon people. That won't always be the case.

So you are telling me that there will be a time that God will stop being love? Honestly, go get a nice cigar, a pint of some fine ale, and sit down and ruminate on what you have just said here.

The Eastern Orthodox have an interesting view of Hell - they see it as sort of a reaction that evil people have to being in the presence of God, while the sanctified believers are able to enjoy it. I'm sure one of them could explain this view better.

Yeah, we don't believe in it in the way that Western theology teaches it. It isn't a place, Dante was a nutcase, and God is not some sadist who is out for vengeance. He is loving, heavenly Father who desires the healing of all His sick children so that they may come Home and live with Him in love.

No.

Back up here a minute. You just inferred that somewhere down the road, God changes, that is, He stops being love and therefore stops giving grace to men. Make up your mind.
 
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Dorothy Mae

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Let me see if I understand you correctly. You agree that we have a sinful nature but our sinful nature was not inherited thru Adam?
When we sin, we make our nature sinful. Actually I am not suggesting any more than the BIble says as to why we sin. We want and cannot have and so we take, regardless of what it does to others. It is all our fault. THat is why the older Jews left the "stone the woman caught in adultery" scene first...they had lived long and had sinner more than the younger people there.
 
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BNR32FAN

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No it is not. It is obvious that we want and do not have. We do not have because we do not ask. We ask and do not receive because we ask with wrong motives. We fight and destroy to fulfill wrong desires. THat is the reason we sin.

Everyone does this, so how is this not the very definition of a sinful nature?

Just because some people blame their sinful nature in an attempt to dodge their guilt doesn’t negate that all of us have a sinful nature. It is a natural behavior trait that we all have.
 
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zoidar

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My reading of the Bible is our own sin separates us from God. Neither Jesus nor any of the disciples preached we are condemned by what Adam did, if we read what they preached to unbelievers.

Sure, but we sin because of Adam.
 
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Dorothy Mae

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Everyone does this, so how is this not the very definition of a sinful nature?
Except you say it comes from birth. THe Bible says it comes from our desires. The lust of the flesh, the lust of the eyes, and the pride of life.
Just because some people blame their sinful nature in an attempt to dodge their guilt doesn’t negate that all of us have a sinful nature. It is a natural behavior trait that we all have.
Yes, I know the theology. It is very comforting to those who sin. They blame Adam. THis is a real fruit of the theology. Jesus said, btw, to just a tree by its fruit. It is a valid problem. IT is not some people. It is in some way everyone who embraces its Adam's fault I since theology. Very comforting theology. No one who wrote the BIble excused sin this way.
 
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Light of the East

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Your appeal to the Early Fathers as your standard by which you defend hell strikes me as a real piece of hypocrisy unless you belong to the Orthodox Church. The Early Fathers taught absolutely nothing which could be construed as modern Evangelicalism (non-denominationalism).

One other thing. The Eastern Church was part of the Roman Empire and thus was very much influenced by the Roman mindset. This is why there were three different eschatologies being taught in five different theological schools for the first five centuries of the Church: Universalism, ECT, and Annihilationism. You can find Fathers of the Church who taught ECT and you will also find Fathers such as St. Gregory of Nyssa who taught Universalism. It all depends on the cultural milieu in which they were raised and who taught them.
 
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Dorothy Mae

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Sure, but we sin because of Adam.
Again, I know the theology that blames Adam instead of us. I can only say that if a person refuses to accept their own desires as the reason for their sin but instead blame Adam, they are missing grace. God opposes the proud but gives grace to the humble. THis is the opposite of humbling oneself. It is keeping human pride fully in tact. Blame Adam instead of yourself. Pride pleased but no grace given.
 
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Light of the East

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Stop with the red herring already. You apparently know NOTHING about Patristic Universalism. If you understood it, you would know that we should be warning people that there will be chastisement - and that being quite painful - for every sin we have done and left unconfessed. No one who is a Universalist would dare suggest to go out and live as sinful as you wish because in the end you will be saved.

St. Paul, that Great Universalist who wrote that God will have mercy on all and that it is the will of God to save all, also strictly warned His people against sin.

Honestly, this accusation from hellists is more than a little tiring and annoying.

And while I am at it....since you believe that God is going to fry everyone forever who hasn't "accepted Jesus," when was the last time you pleaded with a sinner to get saved with tears in your eyes? Do you spend every free moment you have handing out tracts and witnessing on street corners? If not, why not? Don't you know that if we don't live people as we love ourselves, we will forfeit heaven? And if you are saved from eternal hell and this is is a good for you, then why are you not out sharing this with the world instead of sitting at your computer answering us Universalists?
 
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Light of the East

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Without JUSTICE, no Integrity. No value. No worth for ANY person.


No one is saying that there is not punishment. That is not the issue. The issue is the idea of an unjust punishment which goes far beyond any sin committed in chronological time.
 
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zoidar

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We sin because of our sinful nature given to us from Adam. We can't blame Adam because we choose to listen to the sinful nature through free will. Without the sinful nature we couldn't choose sin.
 
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