I really don't think that anyone posts in order to cause strife.
He does it to cause Strife.
Look at the title of This Thread... Its an attack on the "Gift of Salvation".. and He calls it "Spiritual Extortion".
I think persons these days have differing opinions about doctrinal beliefs.
Its always been that you have Truth and you have the other.
I've said many times that the reformation was necessary....but it was also unfortunate.
Why?
Because it disintegrated the core beliefs of Christianity, which had always been believed...
in order to reject those that had been added on by the CC.
I think that before i could agree with your post, you would have to list a few "core belief's of Christianity" that were disintegrated by the "Reformation"
Like what?
Since Sola Scriptura became the norm....it was possible to read different ideas into the scriptures that were NEVER believed in the early church. There's mention of predestination in the NT, so Calvin concentrated on that, devoted himself to Augustine and. voila, Calvinism.
There's mention of how God wants everyone to be saved, so universalism. It's difficult to understand the hypostatic union...so JWs.
And on it goes.
Yes, its always the case that a verse, or 2 or 3,.....are misunderstood or they are misused on purpose by a MAN, who creates a teaching.
This becomes a Cult, eventually,........... once enough people believe it.
I wish we could get back to the very beginning,,,maybe till the middle of the 2nd century...
but we cannot...so, here we are.
Well, regarding the forum....we are "here" because there are a handful of topics that are allowed on most Forums, that generate all the arguing and the anger.
If you end those Topics, if you ban them from Discussion..... you end not only the fighting, but you end the daily reason that bring a good portion of the people back to the forum everyday.
They wont stick around and that is good for the Forum and for the members.
See...They are not here to learn, .. They are here to grind the
Dull Axe Head of their Theology, into the Forum, and then fight with whomever responds.
That is their carnal need.. and they have to feed it all the time, here... and on most forums, that allow certain Topics, that brings these types around, daily.