What does Christmas mean to you?

[quantumfaith]

Exactly. The way he acts perhaps he should give it up and sell shoes.



It is typically men who engage in debate, and you're correct, false teachers shouldn't be tolerated and there are many on the BB who follow the anti-cal/arminian man-centric philosophy.



Exactly, hence Galatians 1:8ff. To stand against these and rebuke them is met with shock and awe and countered with the PC accusation of lack of tolerance and love nonsense, an worldly trait that these who hold to this false theology have picked up.



True. And he's motivated by sowing discord, broad brushing, accusing, holding grudges, displaying malice and other works of the flesh. He's not interested in truth, it's all the former.

If you make ONE more statement like this one accusing anyone of "anti-cal/arminian" flavor as a "false teacher" ....I WILL report to the moderators.

 

[preacher4truth]

No Pa, distain is necessary. Without it, we are not on our guard against false teachers and charlitans on the pulput. There are a whole lot of these in the world misreprenting God, teaching social gospel, disreguarding doctrine yada yada. They need to be exposed and yanked from their posts and not coddled.

Yeah, well, what he doesn't get is that the Word supercedes that document. And yes, we do use that document in our church, but the Word is always first and foremost.

But that said Matthew 13 talks about these miscreants in the kingdom, as bad fish cast back into the sea, as wheat among tares &c. I wouldn't be so quick to declare them God's sheep or 'the church' as he is more than willing to imply. However, we are to let them grow together until harvest, and we are to also expose them and some are to be avoided.

Evangelist6589 has a good balance between both, and his rebuking and calling these things out is met with hatred for said truth. To top it off he is stalked over his stance thread to thread and this is followed with unChristlike accusations against him all the while the accusers make pretense they are being 'spiritual'. :laugh: :thumbsup:

 

[Scarlett O.]

It is typically men who engage in debate, and you're correct, false teachers shouldn't be tolerated and there are many on the BB who follow the anti-cal/arminian man-centric philosophy.

I'd like to say something - as a woman - to that statement, p4t.

What's called debate around here, especially in the C/A forums is not debate, but often times (not all the time) a cruel and venomous spewing of accusations and borderline hatred. I don't say that word hatred lightly. And ... it comes from equally from BOTH sides. I'm not blaming one side more than the other.

And I must make an observation - as a woman - I don't find that kind of godless trash talk manly at all. I don't think it's fighting the good fight at all.

You want to know why women tend to stay away from threads like that? It's because we either get patronized or ignored. Statements like "women tend to be more content at the shallow end of the spiritual pool" (made by a man here whom I admire by the way) sort of tells me - as a woman - that men are not accustomed to discussing the Bible with women and for me to tread lightly.

I started a thread almost three years ago that addressed a sincere question of mine pertaining to Calvinism. It wasn't a biting question or a question that would pick a fight. I have a handful of young couple friends of mine that are hard-core into Calvinism and asking the question of them would hurt their feelings and I didn't want to do that. So I came here. The fighting that ensued after the 2 response went on for 10 pages. I requested in my OP that there be NO fighting - as all I wanted was a Biblical explanation from someone who holds to those tenets. I still have no answer to my question.

That type of thing I avoid at all costs - call that being female or being whatever.

You have to admit preacher4truth that there isn't much honest debate here at the BB. There is some. But there is a lot of fighting windmills and speaking hatred disguised as speaking the truth.

What some (not you necessarily) call debate is nothing more than a destructive screaming match. And that doesn't define manliness, it describes a banshee. Do voices and emotions have to be raised sometimes in defense of the truth. Yes. I have no opposition to that. I'm vehemently opposed however to tearing down fellow Christians to exalt the truth. Tear down the lies, the ungodly traditions, and false teachings. But we don't have to rip each other to shreds to do that.

 

[thisnumbersdisconnected]

I'd like to say something - as a woman - to that statement, p4t.

What's called debate around here, especially in the C/A forums is not debate, but often times (not all the time) a cruel and venomous spewing of accusations and borderline hatred. I don't say that word hatred lightly. And ... it comes from equally from BOTH sides. I'm not blaming one side more than the other.

And I must make an observation - as a woman - I don't find that kind of godless trash talk manly at all. I don't think it's fighting the good fight at all.

You want to know why women tend to stay away from threads like that? It's because we either get patronized or ignored. Statements like "women tend to be more content at the shallow end of the spiritual pool" (made by a man here whom I admire by the way) sort of tells me - as a woman - that men are not accustomed to discussing the Bible with women and for me to tread lightly.

I started a thread almost three years ago that addressed a sincere question of mine pertaining to Calvinism. It wasn't a biting question or a question that would pick a fight. I have a handful of young couple friends of mine that are hard-core into Calvinism and asking the question of them would hurt their feelings and I didn't want to do that. So I came here. The fighting that ensued after the 2 response went on for 10 pages. I requested in my OP that there be NO fighting - as all I wanted was a Biblical explanation from someone who holds to those tenets. I still have no answer to my question.

That type of thing I avoid at all costs - call that being female or being whatever.

You have to admit preacher4truth that there isn't much honest debate here at the BB. There is some. But there is a lot of fighting windmills and speaking hatred disguised as speaking the truth.

What some (not you necessarily) call debate is nothing more than a destructive screaming match. And that doesn't define manliness, it describes a banshee. Do voices and emotions have to be raised sometimes in defense of the truth. Yes. I have no opposition to that. I'm vehemently opposed however to tearing down fellow Christians to exalt the truth. Tear down the lies, the ungodly traditions, and false teachings. But we don't have to rip each other to shreds to do that.

Excellent post, Scarlett. It describes my experience in attempting to bring sanity to the debate of Calvinism last week. It didn't take a half-dozen posts for the thread to deteriorate into spewing and name calling that left me unwilling to even go back to it, and I was the one who started it.

This last paragraph here, all of us men on here should read and re-read. And you mention above, also, that women are marginalized in these "discussions" and that men don't want to discuss biblical things with women. I have to wonder, what do we do in doing studies and devotionals with our wives? I have a study time with my wife every evening before we go to bed. I think it is essential to the well-being of our marriage and for our individual spiritual growth, to share and understand the Bible together. If we don't see exactly eye to eye, we should discuss those differences, iron them out if possible. I believe that were we to interpret the Bible differently, it would undermine our confidence in each other, and certainly in her trust in me as the spiritual head of the household.

How can men hold the attitude that "women tend to be more content at the shallow end of the spiritual pool" and still treat their wives with respect and love in having daily devotionals with them? The answer is, we will either treat them as lessor beings, or we won't engage with them in Bible study at all. Either would be a travesty, and a denial of our marriage vows. She is an equal, it is just that God has placed me in the position of having the final word regarding spiritual things, and if I treat her as anything other than my equal, she will never respect my decisions in that realm, or any other.