You've erected yet another straw man. Don't assume, debate within facts not your assumptions my friend. Can you point me to where I alluded to Ephesians 2:8? No you cannot, you're simply setting up straw man arguments then battling them -- you're more intelligent than to do this James. You've also brought in 'against their will' something I've not mentioned and you're arguing against another erected straw man.
You said faith is a gift from God. Granted, I'll give it to you, you did not use Eph 2:8. or 1 Cor 12. So then I'll give you the opportunity to show me where the Bible says faith is a gift. If you can't show in the Bible that faith is a gift from God, then not only did I not use a straw man argument, but you would be admitting that your statement was extra-Biblical.
Perhaps I simply knew which verses Calvinists rely on to prove that faith is a gift. But feel free to show me where else in the Bible that faith is called a gift. I don't mind being corrected if I'm wrong.
I will say this though, our wills must be changed and God alone does that, as in our lost state we are at heart enemies toward God, hostile toward God, and slaves to sin as per John 8, Romans 6 and more. So yes, salvation is against mans will in his lost state, that's a fact.
And yet your argument that I was erecting a straw man debate was partly based on you never saying that salvation was against man's will, and then you follow that up with this "yes, salvation is against mans will". So who's really using straw man arguments! Kind of defeats the purpose of claiming I don't understand the issues when you admit to them later.
For example this is different than getting someone else to say a prayer then proclaiming them saved because the preacher quotes Romans 10:13 and this is what SOME do. This is incorrect theology and many have done this and secured faith in faith the heart of another, deceiving them and their is no change in the person. Instead something must change, and that by Gods power alone. Thus there is no such thing as faith regeneration. It is Spirit regeneration that converts. We have today 1) Faith regeneration; 2) Baptismal regeneration; 3) Spirit regeneration. Only one is salvific.
Now this much I can agree with you on with the exception of what is erroneously called "faith regeneration". Faith is the means by which salvation is acquired, faith itself is not salvation, and I have already listed all the verses heretofore to show that. I agree that it is the Spirit that does the regeneration (Titus 3:5) but faith is required for that to take place.
Romans 10:17 -- faith comes from hearing the Word of Christ, not from us. It's a gift. There are more passages supporting this.
This would refute your own position if you are claiming that faith is a gift from God, because here faith comes by HEARING the word of God and "how shall they hear without a preacher". So there are at least 2 elements that are present before God even gets involved: 1) the hearing and 2) the preacher.
However, a person can not have faith if he does not know what he is supposed to have faith in. Oprah Winfrey talks about "faith" all the time. "Just have faith". Faith in
what? The word of God is what tells the sinner the subject that their faith is to be in: Christ. It is also the means by which the sinner knows what Christ did to acquire redemption (death and resurrection). And it is the word of God as opposed to the Bhagavad Gita or the Quran.
Romans 10:17 does not say that faith is a gift. It demonstrates the source of where of faith is found. If faith was a gift that is imposed, then there would be no need for the Bible, a sinner would have the ability to believe without it.