Boyd from Vegas=Epic fail*

[Jess]

Hey Doug,


"Steve, you have an awesome amount of patients in keeping your cool with someone like that."


Are you sure you don't mean "patience"? (I think you must have brought your work home with you)

Jess

[Douglas]

Thanks Jess,

I need to slow down and actualy read what I post sometimes. lol

[Murf]

I would love to hear this dialog instead of the "debate" that usually happens with Calvinism vs Arminianism.

Steve hold down his magic button and says
"Look I know your a Calvinist and believe me I have heard all your aurguements but instead of another debate, what I would like to discuss is what motivated you to call the station with such passion. You obviously believe your view are correct but that isn't why you called. Why do you think it so important to have me or anyone else converted to Calvinism?"

Caller: "Because.... probably something about the "Truth of God" or Heresy

Steve: "Can you show me the Bible versus where is says...?".

Caller: "Everywhere"

Steve: "Why is it so important to you that I agree to be a Calvist?"

Since this debate has only been going on for a few centuries now, I wonder if focusing on the behavor of the Christians in the discussion isn't a more relavent topic.

[Jason]

Murf, that's an excellent point! When 2 people discuss an issue and the less knowledgeable party is lacking in humility, going through trying to exegete the scriptures should be abandoned pretty quickly. It's like like watching a dog chase his tail. When one party in a Christian discussion is clearly being rude, obnoxious or arrogant (whether he's right or not) the exegesis should immediately stop because the more pressing issue is acknowledging the behavior of our brother or sister. Steve Gregg could out-debate me on just about any topic but if I caught him being arrogant, I'd have to stop our discussion and ask him about that. The same goes for someone who is losing an argument and throwing out insults. For the Christian, the way in which we present our disagreements is more inportant than the topic we are contesting.

If an unbeliever were to stumble upon one of these venomous Calvinist/Arminian debates they'd probably run for the hills, thinking Christians are mostly concerned with who can cram the most insults in before the other person responds. I also applaud Steve for his patience, wishing only that he'd address the demenor of the hostile party rather than JUST their arguments. Listening to some of these debates, it's almost as if the only thing that matters is correct theology. Warning a brother for incessantly unloving behavior is a good and noble thing, though not always easy.

[steve]

Those are good ideas.