i don't know what else to say... Well, here's what I might have said after that:
It's fine if you want to warn me, even appreciated. But there's a difference between warning me and proverbially beating me over the head because upon hearing your "warning", and after careful consideration, I chose to disregard the warning.
Furthermore, you say the "ravine is there" and you know I will plunge to a terrible doom, yet you offer no proof. The ravine is not on any maps, you have no satellite imagery of this ravine, no photographs of this ravine, and no eye witness accounts of this ravine. All you have is a bunch of people claiming the ravine is there, but not one of them has actually travelled to the ravine and seen it.
What's that you say? That's where faith comes in? Quite right. Using a modified version of your analogy, suppose you were driving on a lovely road to a planned vacation destination and someone waves you down on the side of the road and tries to sell you a squirrel (they're cracker jack pets you know) tell you there is a dangerous ravine ahead that is, oddly enough, so well hidden that you won't be able to see it and stop in time.
Are you telling me that you'd completely believe that person and turn around? Even after you speak further with the man and he admits he has no proof nor has he seen it himself, you'd turn around. Sure, maybe he's right and why take that chance? So you take it on faith Well, that's perfectly fine that you want to accept his warning as truth. But in this scenario, would you really then also stop by the road yourself just so you can also warn me, over and over? Would you lose my respect because of a disagreement over the validity of this person's words?
But then apparently you would. My point is, you have warned me. I thank you. Now let's just move past it. Jesus said to spread the news, not badger people when they listen and chose not to agree. He even said to "shake the dust of your sandals" and move on, which seems to be a very strong statement against continually spending your time on people who don't agree.
Well, here's what I might have said after that:
It's fine if you want to warn me, even appreciated. But there's a difference between warning me and proverbially beating me over the head because upon hearing your "warning", and after careful consideration, I chose to disregard the warning.
Furthermore, you say the "ravine is there" and you know I will plunge to a terrible doom, yet you offer no proof. The ravine is not on any maps, you have no satellite imagery of this ravine, no photographs of this ravine, and no eye witness accounts of this ravine. All you have is a bunch of people claiming the ravine is there, but not one of them has actually travelled to the ravine and seen it.
What's that you say? That's where faith comes in? Quite right. Using a modified version of your analogy, suppose you were driving on a lovely road to a planned vacation destination and someone waves you down on the side of the road and tries to sell you a squirrel (they're cracker jack pets you know) tell you there is a dangerous ravine ahead that is, oddly enough, so well hidden that you won't be able to see it and stop in time.
Are you telling me that you'd completely believe that person and turn around? Even after you speak further with the man and he admits he has no proof nor has he seen it himself, you'd turn around. Sure, maybe he's right and why take that chance? So you take it on faith Well, that's perfectly fine that you want to accept his warning as truth. But in this scenario, would you really then also stop by the road yourself just so you can also warn me, over and over? Would you lose my respect because of a disagreement over the validity of this person's words?
But then apparently you would. My point is, you have warned me. I thank you. Now let's just move past it. Jesus said to spread the news, not badger people when they listen and chose not to agree. He even said to "shake the dust of your sandals" and move on, which seems to be a very strong statement against continually spending your time on people who don't agree.
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