(September 9, 2011 at 2:03 am)Captain Scarlet Wrote: You have no idea, whatsoever, of my motives in asking questions of individuals on this forum. And on this point (like so many others) you are wrong. I gave you my answer, and if you had bothererd to check my last response to Ryft (post #130) you will see I did ask him exactly that, because I value his opinion too (although I do not agree with him).
It is an odd accusation indeed from an xtian, that I need my views re-enforcing by others who share them. Oh the irony.
It was just a simple question, I just couldn’t figure out why you seemed to value Rhythm’s opinions on a matter he knows very little about as much as Ryft’s who knows a great deal about the matter. I assume that you were implying I only read authors that agree with me, if you knew me you’d realize that was a ridiculous claim, but you don’t know me so I guess I will let it slide.
(September 9, 2011 at 4:42 am)Ace Otana Wrote: K, interesting read. Now what made you convert to Christianity? I'm starting to sound like a TV host.
Sorry, I just got mental images of sitting on Oprah’s couch.
Well being a Reformed Christian I now of course know that a redeeming act by the Holy Spirit is what truly “made” me convert to Christianity, but I think you are more curious about how it all came about right? I was raised Christian, but I was raised in a Baptist Church that took a more Arminian (or even semi-pelagian) approach to Christian Theology. This approach leaves a lot of questions unanswerable, so I would have discussions with atheists and they would present questions that I couldn’t really answer. So about three years ago I was coaching at a Christian School and I was listening to the apologetics teacher there teach, and he made some boneheaded statement like, “Oh Calvinists are easy to refute.” I knew that my older brother had become a Calvinist a few years earlier, though I didn’t know much about the theology. My older brother is the sharpest individual I have ever met, so I knew that if he took that position it definitely was not “easy to refute”. So I began talking to him about it and researching the topic. As I researched it I found out that it was much more based on scripture and logically consistent. It was like someone had turned on the light bulb, after that time holding discussions with atheists, Mormons, and even other Christians became so much easier. So I guess that’s the story in a nutshell.
Quote:Alot. Hard verifiable evidence. I have pretty high standards when it comes to big claims. My parents had an awful time trying to convince me that there was a Santa Claus. Took them alot of effort to sway me over. Now that I'm alot older and wiser, I reckon it would be near impossible to convince me of anything without strong evidence.
Fair enough.
