Antagonistic? No. Impatient? Yes.Originally posted by MeanieCalvinist
SemperFidelis,
You can correct me if I am wrong here but you seem very antagonistic in your responses to Sam. I do not understand your need to go into personal attacks against the "Reformed Baptists." From what I see and you can correct me if I am wrong, Sam is just trying to interact and reason from the Scripture with you concerning this matter. I also understand that many times our personal convictions can blind us in our interactions.(I know this from personal experience).
However, I have seen no response to the questions that Sam has posted concerning believer baptism. I am hoping to get a clear understanding of why you hold to the beliefs you do. I am always willing to be conformed by the word of God. Again, I have really enjoyed the many discussions on this issue and would be willing to even change my own position on this matter IF, I could find clear biblical evidence.
This is why I have been intently reading this discussion. BTW, we all have our presups. We have to start from somewhere; My presup is that the Scriptures and the Scriptures ALONE are the Word of God and the only authority concerning our faith and practices.
Please take that time to answer Sam's questions, I am very interested in hearing what you have to share from the Scriptures.
In Christ,
MeanieCalvinist
PS. No I am not a Charles Finney Fan
Sam joined this forum as this thread was beginning. This is not Sam's thread. Look at the original post. The question was from a Presbyterian to the group asking for some opinions. I gave mine. Sam jumped in as one of his first posts and posted "signature" Baptistic theology regarding the sacrament.
I responded by making general observations showing the differences in basic assumptions regarding the nature of the sacrament. From there, Bruce began to answer more detailed questions from Sam (mind you, outside the intent of the OP). Bruce thought Sam was asking questions to try to understand the Presbyterian position but then Sam began to parse his explanation and use the thread as an opportunity to put forward a full-orbed discussion of why he is a Reformed Baptist.
As I have explained, ALREADY, I am not interested in dealing with ALL of Sam's misconceptions regarding the Scripture. Call them presuppositions, call them axioms, call them a priori beliefs - call them whatever you want - there is just too much to undo. It simply does not do to take on the Scriptures as he has presented them. He's gone far down the road in forming his conclusions about what they mean before he gets to them. He says he has not but his interpretational grid blinks like a big neon light for many of us who have been interacting with each other for a while.
So, No, I will not answer Sam's questions. This forum is certainly a great place to go to learn and interact with one another but it is a bit rude to hijack another man's Original post and then insist that people give a full-orbed critique of how you understand and interpret the Scriptures. If Sam or you want to start your own thread and ask the group to work some of the issues raised then be my guest. I would recommend you first look to see if some of the ideas have been debated vigorously within the first page of threads (as many have). I also recommend taking on fewer, rather than many, issues at a time. Most conclusions are connected to a few core assumptions.
As for myself, I've tried to "discipline" myself not to keep too many plates spinning. I have a profession, after all, that keeps me pretty busy and a family to look after. The "Let's discuss every reason why I'm a Reformed Baptist" threads lead down too many rabbit holes. I have engaged aggressively on the Piper thread to stick to one point as much as possible but you can see how much baggage is brought to bear even on 7 verses of the Bible.
Finally, for you and Sam, my point regarding Narratives and neo-Pentacostalism is a very important one for you both to consider. Neo-Pentecostals will point to the narratives in Acts to show that, in ever instance, Baptism of the Holy Spirit follows Christian Baptism. They use the same argument from Narrative that Sam uses (Show me an example of baptism by the Holy Spirit that doesn't come long after the actual baptism). The challenge "Are you a neo-Pentecostal" was meant to cause some reflection on the value of Narratives to form Systems of Doctrine.
[Edited on 3-10-2006 by SemperFideles]