Wow you got Mason worked up.  I don't blame him tho.  You are very closed minded.  Being inflexible makes you very difficult to have a discussion with erathoniel.  I know it's hard to understand but when you are as closed minded as you are you guarantee the inability to learn.  You are purposefully negating empathy.  Besides what your pastor teaches in your church may be different from what another pastor teaches in another church.  Much of the bible is left up to interpretation.  In fact figuring out exactly how and when the bible was canonized is left to speculation.  The books in the bible might have changed up until the Council of Nicea, and who knows even unti now.  Makes it all blurry.  By the way the more I read your article the less sense it makes.

 

Typical Erath reaction. I'm sure that is what God taught you as well, when you have the power to silence other people, use it. You are a master at using that free will God gave you.

Is it Mason you didn't like or was it that you didn't like the fact that yet another person has made you think twice about your opinions but in the end you refuse to be open minded as psychx pointed out? So sad, you seem to have some potential for making so decent arguments, but the mere fact that you don't come to debate but to impose your beliefs on everyone else makes you a close minded blind person who will never learn beyond the barriers you create for yourself.

So will I be next on your blacklist? I'm sure my comments merit joining it since you don't like to be told the truth. Not that you would know it if it bit you in the rear.

I agree.

MasonM posts:

Yes the Bible says such, meaning we are to obey all of man's just laws becasue they serve the greater good of society of which we are a part. However, not all of man's laws are just laws, that is , according to the natural law or in harmony with God's laws and those we are not to obey. In other words, man-made laws do not override God's laws.

Take abortion for example...In 1973, the Supreme Court "legalized" abortion, the medical practice of killing a baby in the womb. Laws that approve or condone sodomy is another.


Erathoniel,

Imagine that? CharlesCS is not tolerant of your intolerance of MasonM's hateful remark cursing you to Hell.


CharlesCS,

By my remarks you may have noticed that much like I perceive Erathoniel to be, I'm a person who operates with fixed, absolute standards of truth and justice. I'm a discriminating person in that while I try to understand and appreciate everybody, I do not accept their ideas as being equal or good if they are not in harmony with God's laws or commands.

Yes, we ought to listen to other's ideas with an open-mind, but if we understand some ideas to be false or morally evil and don't tell you about it, then, in truth, we are the ones being dishonest and uncaring about your well-being.


It seems to me that Erathoniel was giving everyone here a fair hearing on their respective views and obviously he doesn't agree, but so what----that's what a good debate is all about. One is not close-minded for simply disagreeing with another's point of view.

If you can't just accept the text.

What truth? Nope, I don't blacklist until someone gets majorly hostile.

You do realize you are being "closed minded" by saying that?

Wow, the comments get cornier and cornier by the minute. Dude, you still have a lot to learn about debating and arguing.



The one you are too blind to see. But hey, we all have the right to ignore reality and live within our "The world should be like this" world. You know, the same world God created in 6 days? By ignoring the realities that God created you are ignoring God himself. But hye, feel free to ignore all you want. You seem to be really good at that.

Which truth, again, would that be?

I respect you way to view the world and it's people. But I have to wonder why bother to try to understand anyone if once you realize their ideals and opinions are not to your satisfaction based on your faith your whole attempt to understand them is replaced with the need to point out to them how wrong you believe they are. It's one thing to tell someone what you believe, it's another to say they are wrong because your faith says so. The truth is, and lets be honest here, that unless my opinions (or anyone else's) are somewhat within your realm of equal and good, my opinions are not valid. Of course, this is not something that bothers me because I have my beliefs and in them I am willing to tolerate your beliefs. I do what I can to help people become better people, but God gave us free will, meaning I can not change anyone, they can only change themselves. I can only point to what I believe is the right direction, it's up to everyone else to do what they believe is best.



Listening means that you would take those ideas into account. But considering you already have a preset mentality where nothing can convince you otherwise of what you have already determined based on your faith, in reality you are not truly listening but simply giving the impression that you are. The other persons opinion, before you even hear it, has already been categorized between " the same as me" and "wrong" with no room for consideration. So the truth is you lose the ability to debate since debating would require both sides to accept that the other person could be right, in your case, you already predetermined the other person is wrong before they made their argument so long as their argument does not fall within your ideals. So again I wonder what's the point of listening? You may as well be upfront and say if someones opinion does not coincide with yours than it is your belief that they are wrong because you believe your ideals are absolute. But then we are not perfect, only God is, so to claim your ideals or rules are absolute is to think somewhat very highly of yourself.



No, one is "not" closed-minded for disagreeing. One is closed-minded for believe their opinion is absolute and everyone else's who does not follow their opinion is wrong. Closed-minded obviously means not allowing anything in to your mind. Debating means you are willing to listen, consider and maybe even change your mind based on new information. Erathoniel does none of these and from what I can see, based on your own words, neither do you. But that's OK, because I do care about both your opinions. And I take everything into consideration because I am not perfect and I could be wrong, which I have been on many topics, including my own faith.

Erathoniel does give everyone a chance to express their opinion, but does not hesitate to point out the errors of their way and when others try to make their point understood, he sticks to his guns and continues to put peoples opinions down by making his opinions absolute, as if he is never wrong. That is when people get upset with him. And then he wonders why people get aggressive and abusive. How would you feel if you were always having your opinions put down by someone who seems to think their opinions are superior to yours, regardless of topic?

I am not God Erathoniel, I can not make the blind see. I can only point in 1 direction and hope you understand. But I may as well try to stop Niagra Falls from running. The results would be the same. You don't wanna understand, you wanna control, you wanna be absolute (I like that word) and that does nothing for a good debate.

Einstein didn't wanna understand, he didn't wanna control. He wanted to be relative (sorry, couldn't resist).

What is a debate? This is life. General consensus determines only one thing: Government. Oh, and also the winner of the popularity contests. But what's the difference?

erathoniel
I'll bet your eyes are brown.

Green. What does eye color have to do with anything?

Lula posts:

CharlesSC posts:

That's correct, only God is perfect and only His ideals and rules are absolute and therefore truth.

Perhaps I wasn't clear and so if you'll notice the part I highlighted shows that those ideals and rules I try my best to operate under and follow are God's absolutes, His rules and ideals, not my own.

You've come to the wrong conclusion for following God's fixed, absolute standards has nothing to do with me thinking highly of myself. I'm just stating where I get my standards of right and wrong from and it's from those that I judge others in a very discriinating fashion.

As to God's absolutes versus every type of opinion that comes blowing by, I'll offer the following for consideration:

"Dearly beloved, believe not every spirit; but try the spirits if they be of God: becasue many false prophets are gone out into the world."

"Thus says the Lord: Stand ye on the ways and see and ask for the old paths, which is the good way, and walk ye in it, and you shall find refreshment for your souls." And they said, "We will not walk."

"And I appointed watchmen over you saying, Harken ye to the sound of the trumpet." And they said, "We will not harken."

As I understand this, those who said they will not walk or not harken don't want to be under God's absolutes. Would someone who follows this advice be considered close-minded?

Sorry where in that bible quote does it mention the word 'just'?

The Holy Bible contains hundreds of quotes with the word "just". Here's a sampling from both the Old and New Testament.

Genesis 18:23, of those in Sodom and Gomorrah, Abraham asks God, "Will thou destroy the just with the wicked?"

Exodus 9:27, Pharao said to Moses and Aaron, "..I have sinned this time also, the LOrd is just and my people are wicked."

23:7, God tells Moses the laws for judges, "The innocent and just person thou shalt not put to death, becasue I abhor the wicked."

Deuteronomy 1:16, "And I commanded them, saying: Hear them, and judge that which is just; whether he be one of your country or a stranger."

4:8, "For what other nations is there so renowned that hath ceremonies, and just judgments, and all the law, which I will set forth this day before your eyes?"

16:18, "Thou shalt appoint judges and magistrates in all thy gates, which the Lord thy God shall give thee, in all thy tribes, that they may judge the people with just judgments."

Proverbs 8:15, "By Me, kings reign, and lawgivers decree just things."

13:5, "The just shall hate a lying word, but the wicked confoundeth, and shall be confounded."

St.Luke 12:57, "ANd why even of yourselves, do you not judge that which is just?"

St.John 5:30, "I cannot of myself do anything. As I hear so I judge and my judgment is just becasue I seek not my own will, but the will of Him who sent Me."

Apocalypse 16:7, "And I heard another from the altar saying, Yea, O Lord God Almighty, true and just are thy judgments."