Now that makes no sense. I was really curious why you would come around, post a bit, then complain about the tenor of the messages from the get-go, pout, and go marching home.
I have a great interest in what dispensationalists say when it makes sense from the Bible. But when they are pressed to actually defend their views from the Bible, or it is pointed out how one statement is inconsistent with the Bible, they tend to take it personally. I don’t get it.
As Michael Corleone said, "It's not personal. It's strictly business."
First, I haven’t gone anywhere. Second, my first post was not a complaint. It was a clarification. The second one was calling someone out on using the term “dispies” to non-dispensationalists. Third, I’m not pouting. I’m simply calling it as I have seen it on multiple threads. There is NO interest in our biblical arguments. Our biblical arguments are dismissed. If there were truly a good-faith interest, we could look at the Scriptures, say “ I can see where you could see that, but I believe it really teaches this...” and agree to disagree. There is NONE of that around here, at least not in our conversations.
Take Chuck Smith for instance. He is ridiculed and painted as a heretic in this article and the corresponding commentary that you posted. In reality, he is currently in the middle of a split in the Calvary chapels over far more insidious heresies than any eschatological views he may or may not have. He is standing against the emergent church, which is destroying churches across this land. But, he will never get any sort of credit for any good that he believes because people are too interested in demonizing him.
As to this thread,the insults started before a single dispensationalist had said a thing. There is no interest in discussing things. There is an interest in belittling and feeling superior.
When I was in seminary, I was one of a handful of folks that took a pre-trib, pre-mill view of Scripture. Most of my profs were post-trib, and a few Amill. Nobody was a preterist. Yet, we could discuss our points of view and still respect one another because of our approach to the Scriptures.
You and I would agree on a great number of things. First of all, I’m a 5 point Calvinist. But, we will never get that far because of the ugliness that surrounds these threads. I wish it weren’t that way. But the political nature of this site has seemed to make it acceptable to use the same level of discourse when talking with brothers and sisters in Christ.
And Michael Corleone may have said, “It’s not personal. It’s strictly business.” But is that the excuse that you want to give before the judgment seat of Christ? It’s not one I will want to raise? Truly, our sins were judged on the cross. But the works which we have done, in terms of reward, have yet to be examined. All of this supposed contending for truth on these threads...all of the insults...all of the name calling; how is that going to stack up when motivation is examined. “Sorry Lord, it wasn’t personal. It was business.” I don’t want to be in those shoes. Not saying I’m perfect. Not saying that my motivations are always pure. They aren’t. But we should all take stock in what we are saying and why we are saying it.