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Originally Posted by SemperFideles  Thank you for clarifying precisely what I was demonstrating. What is clear in the Scriptures and can be required of a Confessional believer is defined by you. Ironic that you don't find this arrogant. Of course, by what standard you would then say that justification by faith is clear is beyond me - except I suppose by consensus or that you approve that it is a Confessional requirement. But perhaps I should heed the pagan that contacted me recently wondering why we didn't allow unbelievers to partcipate here. |
This is a perfect demonstration of what I was saying. My point on this thread is about attitude. You can have all your confessional ducks in a row, but if you treat everyone outside of Confessionalism with sarcasm, calling them fools, cowards, and so on, you missed something somewhere along the line. I'm not even talking about my personal views on the thread, b/c I'm not a pacifist, though I have come to understand more why they arrive at their positions.
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I'm saying that the Scriptures are clear. The Scriptures are true and that those who stand outside the Church's confession of those Scriptures are wrong. Especially those individuals and sects that arrogate to themselves aberrant private interpretations. I'm quite content that you're done with this discussion.
Or one that labels a man that believes in a Confession as arrogant even? This is the nature of "the tolerant" is it not? Those that are Confessional and do not loosen their subscription where you do are arrogant. Your open-mindedness in this matter gives you authority to prescribe the arrogant where my convictions of the Scriptures do not permit me to describe the character of a man as I believe the Scriptures do. As in society, so you believe here that the tolerant are those with such a right.
As you have offered nothing in the manner of Reformed thinking on the subject, I'm quite happy that you remain silent in the matter.
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Again, my point is not whether you are right or wrong about holding to the Confession tightly. You seem to think that I'm saying you're arrogant for holding to the Confession. Wrong. What I'm saying is that you can hold to the Confession tightly without treating everyone in an arrogant, unkind manner.
So with that, I will not post on this thread again. I'm not arguing for pacifism. All I'm saying is that I wish that Christians, especially Reformed Christians, would demonstrate a deep grace and humility when discussing these matters, even when committed to their Confessional understanding.