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Absolutely.webdog said:Scripture never defines Christ's death as a "self centered" act, but as an act of love (John 15:13). The result of that love brings Him glory, yes, but it is not self centered.
1 Corinthians 13:5 teaches us that love is NOT selfish...so now you've got problems.
Pastor Larry said:This is self-contradictory. If "His name sake" is the reason for his "man-centeredness," then he is in fact centered on his name and man receives the overflow of it.
How can anyone here possibly deny that God is centered on his own glory? This is so patently obvious in Scripture, only a hermneutic worse than what has been demonstrated by some "non-Calvinists" here could arrive at this conclusion.
Why do you think love and pursuit of God's glory are somehow incompatible? I think what we are seeing here is the problem we see elsewhere in your thinking ... You grab a couple of verses of Scripture and ignore the rest of them. That ends up leading to a flawed theology.Scripture never defines Christ's death as a "self centered" act, but as an act of love (John 15:13). The result of that love brings Him glory, yes, but it is not self centered.
Saying the two don't equate doesn't make it so. Offer proof, please, that there is a vast difference.Rippon said:Saying that God is self-centered and that that therefore means that God is selfish does not equate .
Leave the ad hominems out of this discussion, Larry. I have done no such thing. There is a difference between pulling a couple verses to prove a point and building one's theology solely on a couple verses. I'm not "ignoring the rest of them", so your accusation is false.Why do you think love and pursuit of God's glory are somehow incompatible? I think what we are seeing here is the problem we see elsewhere in your thinking ... You grab a couple of verses of Scripture and ignore the rest of them.
...like calvinism?That ends up leading to a flawed theology.
The Bible also declares that Jesus died to atone for sin....to reconcile mankind to the Father...and to defeat death. These all bring glory to God. This doesn't mean this was done in a self centered way nor fashion.The Bible declares that Jesus died to bring glory to God, and that his purpose in saving people was to bring glory to himself.
Define the difference between selfishness and self centeredness.I would not argue at all that God's love is selfish. But being self-centered is not selfish either so we have no problem there.
Acts 12:23 Then immediately an angel of the Lord struck him, because he did not give glory to God. And he was eaten by worms and died.
Bogus 12:23 Then immediately a man's servant struck down God, because He did not give glory to the man. And God was eaten by wormholes and died.
Would it help if the word being used was "God-centered"?webdog said:It may be a matter of semantics, but I don't believe "self centered" should be the correct phrase..
But scripture says more than that. God's glory is not merely the result of his show of love toward human beings, but the ultimate purpose for it.The result of that love brings Him glory, yes,
In return, not being to be mean, I think that your presuppositions about what God is like determine what you find in Scripture. As we have seen the Scripture presented here, your side has no real answers for it.How can we all read the same book and see God so differently? The God that Calvinists describe is nothing like the God that I read about in scripture. This is my observation and not meant to be mean.
For his name sake? What does that mean to you?God is centered on man, He died for them to be saved for His name sake.
So what should God glorify? What is worthy of the affection and glory of God?If God glorifies Himself than His glory means nothing.
Perhaps you could stoop to show us where this is. The most Scripture you ever post seems to be your name.I see this quite clear in scripture.
I didn't bring any in.Leave the ad hominems out of this discussion, Larry.
You have rarely given any reasoned response to them. The verses you pull out to prove a point only prove that point because you ignore other verses, and sometimes they don't even prove your point at that.I have done no such thing. There is a difference between pulling a couple verses to prove a point and building one's theology solely on a couple verses. I'm not "ignoring the rest of them", so your accusation is false.
No....like calvinism?
It doesn't mean it wasn't. Why did God save man? What was his reason? It was to bring glory to himself.The Bible also declares that Jesus died to atone for sin....to reconcile mankind to the Father...and to defeat death. These all bring glory to God. This doesn't mean this was done in a self centered way nor fashion.
Selfishness is an unjust focus on self. Self-centeredness is simply being centered on self. God is not unjustly focused on himself. He is justly focused on the pursuit of his own glory, and he has plainly told that to us.Define the difference between selfishness and self centeredness.
psalms109:31 said:This is what is awesome about a triune God.
They glorify each other and never themselves to show us the way.
The Father glorifies the Son the Son glorifies the Father and we glorify the Father through Jesus by the Holy Spirit that is within us.
The Father we lift up His church in the last days.
What is my side Pastor?Pastor Larry said:In return, not being to be mean, I think that your presuppositions about what God is like determine what you find in Scripture. As we have seen the Scripture presented here, your side has no real answers for it.
npetreley said:Do you make these up yourself, or is there a site where you can copy and paste religious-sounding one-liners?
How can we all read the same book and see God so differently? The God that Calvinists describe is nothing like the God that I read about in scripture. This is my observation and not meant to be mean.
As I recall, you argue for the arminian side.What is my side Pastor?
I have never questioned your faith in Christ, nor the faith of those who disagrees with me on this. But we disagree. We cannot both be right.Can we not lay aside our differences and be on the side of Christ? Must the debate about Calvinism continue to split us apart? Will you only consider me to be a sister in Christ if I agree with you?
It doesn't bother me that much. In fact, I don't think I have ever responded to you very much, have I? What bothers me is when people say I believe something that I don't.If I believe in free will, why does that bother you so much?
Yes.Can we not be united in Christ and still maintain some differences in our interpretation of scripture?
No.Do you think I'm unsaved because I believe in free will?
Actually we all have presuppositions. Your's may not have been formed by a Christian home, but you still have them.As far as my presuppositions go, I didn't have any. I wasn't raised in a Christian house and I have depended on the Bible for all my teachings.