Brainwashing? Christianity seems to be taking weird steps, here at least.

[Rhyfelwyr]

No such thing as Hyper-Calvinism. It's a doctrine which contains election, and therefore contains God's damning of souls. A more fuzzy form of Calvinism can be achieved by limiting God's power. You've talked a lot about not believing in double pre-destination but, as I pointed out, this denies the binary of heaven-hell and God's all-powerful and irresitable nature which you proclaim.

God never works in the lives of people to damn them, there's no need to, they'll do that themselves. He only ever works in people's lives to save them. Yes God created them, but it is purely the nature of their being that damns people, with no extra influence from God once they are created. Hyper-Calvinism suggests that there is, but this is incorrect.

As regards your Church, you have been taught that Roman Catholic Saints are somehow special in their relationship to God. This is anti-Roman Catholic invective (it's also anti-catholic, but that's another issue entirely). You've probably also been told that Roman priests are believed to have to some special power from God.

I'm pretty sure I didn't hear it at church, however no person/group of people on earth has the ability or right to say with absolute authority that any one person is in Heaven. And no I don't believe that anyone thinks priests are granted special powers from God, I've never heard anything on the matter. I would presume Catholics consider priests to be human just like the rest of us, and that the church hierarchy was mainly for practical rather than spiritual reasons. At least till you get to the top, then its dodgy.

I would not be arguing with you if I did not believe he was all-powerful and all merciful. When I have time I'm going to write a tract on this and set out my objections systematically but if you look back over this thread you will see that I have ranged accross love, power, mercy and other elements of the Divine.

I look forward to reading it, because it is a question I cannot answer myself.

You might think of it as an insult to God that you trust your own judgement so completely and are vain in your self assurence. (I must have read that somewhere, I don't write like that normally.)

Seriously though, if you're going to go in for the "fiery arrows" bit you need to take the "false angel" bit as well.

I thought that as well, that is would be wrong for me to be sure in anything that I felt. Human beings are completely inferior to the power of God and Satan, I know well that one could easily trick us into thinking he was the other. I just believe that when God gives us understanding, it lifts us to a level above doubt, when we know it cannot be Satan, because God lets us know. And I know it doesn't make sense when you look back reflecting on it (you think how can I have been sure it was God), but that is beause you're on a different level, its like you're looking straight across when what you just experienced was above you. You can never understand it except when you're there.

So I suppose I can never explain it properly.