My attitude

I am bad at arguing. I'm enrolled in a private school learning much about theology. I hear statements from friends that are less intelligent/scholarly say things about God that are sincere but also wrong. I don't know how to handle this, part of my conviction is that I should explain to them further truth.

The problem is people don't take being corrected well. People would rather be affirmed in their presuppositions instead of truth. It's an overall frustration with the body of Christ as well as myself in not being able to handle it better.

SO yep any advice is always good, thanks for the encouragement in advance :)
 
jamdrew said:
I am bad at arguing. I'm enrolled in a private school learning much about theology. I hear statements from friends that are less intelligent/scholarly say things about God that are sincere but also wrong. I don't know how to handle this, part of my conviction is that I should explain to them further truth.

The problem is people don't take being corrected well. People would rather be affirmed in their presuppositions instead of truth. It's an overall frustration with the body of Christ as well as myself in not being able to handle it better.

SO yep any advice is always good, thanks for the encouragement in advance :)
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I have been there. It's difficult to hear things that in your heart seem incongruence with the truth. God is with you! Ask Him for wisdom and peace for the words to say to your friends at the appropriate time. Love will conquer all (in the end). :)
 
jamdrew said:
I am bad at arguing. I'm enrolled in a private school learning much about theology. I hear statements from friends that are less intelligent/scholarly say things about God that are sincere but also wrong. I don't know how to handle this, part of my conviction is that I should explain to them further truth.

The problem is people don't take being corrected well. People would rather be affirmed in their presuppositions instead of truth. It's an overall frustration with the body of Christ as well as myself in not being able to handle it better.

SO yep any advice is always good, thanks for the encouragement in advance :)
Click to expand...
I believe there will always be tension between overzealous debate and a laissez faire attitude as long as we struggle against the flesh and struggle against others struggling against the flesh.

If debate is exhausting you, I would strongly advise taking a step back, spending time in prayer on the matter, and specifically praying daily that the Lord would guide you when, where, and how to discuss weighty matters with others.

I have a tendency to want to prove my point, but I have to make a point to remember that it's not my wit or wisdom that leads people to Christ--it's the conviction of the Holy Spirit. The same holds true in theological debates: We can provide the evidence, plead our case, but we can not and should not expect to prove a point definitively.

As the President of two Christian gaming organization, I have often struggled with the role and importance of apologetics. I want desperately to share my faith in a way that glorifies God, but to do so, I must rely on the God who saved me. This dependency is frustrating to the flesh, especially to those who, like me, want to "fix" things they see are clearly broken.

If you take nothing else away from this thread and if you forget the remainder of my post completely, I would implore you to reserve time in the next few days to pray in a private place, removed from and undisturbed by distractions. I believe you'll find that that time will do you a world of good.
 
I think it's also important to keep a positive attitude, and be open to new considerations.

A lot of the time we try to stress a point, and it becomes right vs. wrong, but I contend that more oft than not your attitude is more important than the words you say, so please keep that in mind. Also, if you feel that they're wrong, just mention your possible reasons why, and leave it at that. There's no reason to chase the topic further, really. And, the more you can ease your way into and out of a conversation the better, I think; you don't have to be dead-locked into it.
 
//flameshield on, their words bounce right off.
and start debating. after all it's supposed to be a discussion innit?
 
Thanks Tek7 for the encouragement to prayer, sometimes life can be simplified in such a way.

I am newly married and some trials are coming our way financially as her temp job is not going to turn into a full time job. Being that I'm still a student I can't handle anymore hours beyond the 30 hours of work + 16 credit hours of school. This obviously takes it's toll sometimes, but last night was great and we worked out a pretty solid plan for her to become a full-time nanny.(I hope this isn't too personal and is a safe place to vent :) )
Very encouraging also to realize God truly does provide in a non-prosperity gospel type way :P

silverleaf,
Discussions/debates only happen when both parties are willing to listen. When I hear someone explain a false doctrine as truth it makes me irritated.

For example: yesterday someone interpreted 2 corinthians 5:21 as Christ literally becoming sin. That is to say Christ had become a murder rapist liar and thief all at once on the cross. This is obviously heretical and I came at it with a very kind word.
However, this person disagreed and said Christ couldn't have paid the penalty for sin if he didn't literally become sin...

This turned into me explaining the purpose of the law in that Christ fulfilled it and that the passage was referencing he understood what it felt like to stand condemned for those crimes, but never actually committed those crimes. I also referenced that the Greek word for "became sin" could also mean "sin offering" which clearly refutes his argument. But, as I explained in my last post. People don't want truth, they want to be right.

The conversation ended with him getting irritated with me and quoting me as being blasphemous and the Bible college is brain washing me. meh...
 
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