(June 23, 2016 at 2:57 pm)RobbyPants Wrote:(June 17, 2016 at 9:34 am)tacebotedo Wrote: Calvinism, if anyone does not know, is the most offensive, bigoted, elitest clap trap you will eve come across.
As creepy as it is, it's probably the most intellectually honest version of Christianity I've seen. They've learned to let go of stuff like free will and humans having a choice if they go to heaven or hell in lieu of keeping a truly omniscient deity. Sure, their god looks like Cthulhu with a beard, but at least it's accurate to the source material.
(June 17, 2016 at 9:34 am)tacebotedo Wrote: Anyone else familiar with this web site ?
No. I got soft-banned from worthychristianforums and decided I didn't like Christian forums.
@ RobbyPants: Calvinism is pretty tough. I don't think it's fair to say it's the most intellectually honest version of Christianity. It's more akin to Islam. The God of the Bible acts within time, reacts to humanity. He seems to be taken by surprise sometimes and other times changes his mind. I know may Christians would gasp at this, but not every Christina in the world is a Rhodes Scholar (or even reads the Bible).
I would agree that the Christian God has the characteristics of omnipresence, omnipotence, and omniscience. But look at the normal definitions of those 3: Being all places at all times, the ability to do anything he wishes, and the knowledge of all things.
I'll start with omnipotence. Omnipotence does not mean the doer of all things, it means the ability to do anything he wishes (within the limits of ration meaning he can't create a rock heavy enough for him not to be able to lift, that's just a logic problem not a physical limitation). Omnipotence means God can create a world or not, it's up to him.
Likewise, omnipresence means the ability to be all places or none, to a greater or lesser degree. We don't suppose God is here in our Earth to the same degree he is in Heaven. His glory isn't fully displayed here as it is in Heaven. Likewise, it may be entirely void in Hell.
So why then do we say his omniscience must mean he knows all things? I think it's just because we didn't think big enough. If God's omnipotence means he can do anything he wants to do, then why must he know everything? Why can he not choose not to know some things? For consistency, shouldn't the Christina God's omniscience be defined as the ability to anything he chooses to know?
Sorry to go off on a tangent, but the Muslims believe Allah does all things and is in full control. Calvinism is closer to that theology than the Christianity of the Bible in that regard. Now, in regards to the source material, if there's any specific material you'd like to discuss?
