Subject: Is there middle ground? |
Bible Note: Weather we like it or not, Truth divides people (perceived or real truth). "...what is this morbid desire to know the theoretical extent of the application of the blood of Christ?" I don't think "morbid" is the word I would use to describe a desire to know the extent of Christ’s sacrifice. God created man with an intense desire to explore and make sense of the universe around him; that desire has poured into Theology. I think the problem with this curiosity lies when people feel they have hit the gold mine of truth and everyone who disagrees with them is either ignorant (that has been implied countless times. I remember one thread where someone made fun of a persons grammer and spelling! Talk about a red-herring.) or they are not applying correct hermeneutical tactics when approaching the scripture (I wish I had a nickel every time someone used the phrase “In context the passage really means…”), or you just don’t really understand what Calvin or Armenius taught (Usually what they are saying is they know more about what Calvin taught than….lets say Norman Geisler as a recent example of my latest debate on this issue.). Which I always wondered, having read a number of Norman Geisler’s books and listened to some of his debates, how they would fare in a debate with him on what Calvin taught? I am sure not well but I digress. Sometimes each point mentioned above is used legitimately during a debate. There are times when I don’t understand a person’s shade of calvanism, but that does not mean I have not wrestled with the issue and am not “in the know” as to what Calvinist generally believe. I recently read a book that covers the 3 major views on Calvanism concerning predestination and election! If there are 3 major views on Calvanism, I wonder how many variants of those three views exist? Sad to say, many times the tactics sited above is used as a subtle jab against their opponent attempting to attack their credibility to help aid in their “winning” the debate. After all, who would listen to someone who doesn’t know how to interpret scripture correctly and has no idea as to what Calvin really taught? I am sure that is what you feel is “morbid” about the C and A debate. I don’t mind lively, spirited discussions between C and A’s but we as believers must take the high-ground when debating and not use some of the more un-Christ like debate tactics taught in college and high-school debate teams. Our purpose should not be to “win” a debate but to arrive at truth. Just my 1 cent in this matter |