If you have never heard of Karen Armstrong, go to your public library. Several of her books are likely in the section on religion. Armstrong has written several New York Times best sellers on religion and is regarded as one of the most respected scholars in this field.
Very subjective evaluation.
I googled her and looked at where she is coming from. I never heard of her before because she is simply not important and not worth listening to. There are a lot of people writing out there, far more than anyone can keep up with.
Is that a threat?
What I believe is monstrous about this conception of God is that there are some souls that He has created that he predestines to hell. Only a horrific deity would create a soul that he knows for all eternity will never be permitted to love him or choose him.
We proclaim predestination, but not double predestination, which is what you are arguing for.
Yes, I read your posts in their entirety.
Because, according to the Reformed position, they have no choice. ** No matter what they do, how much they love Him, they have been predestined for hell.**
The Catholic position is that God does NOT reject those souls that do not enter heaven. They reject God.
How is the Catholic God a monster?
He has predestined some to hell, in the Reformed position. That means that some individuals, no matter how much they love, or want to love, or choose to love, will not enter heaven.
I think the best way to refute Karen Armstrong’s assertion is that “in general”, yes, the Jews were sinners.
I think with Calvin. Although I see a lot of Muslim influence in the Reformed theology–Allah the most sovereign, who loves some, but not all. Allah is sovereign and man is incapable and helpless and despairing and depraved.
When she died and was glorified. Christ laid down the path for us. Unfortunately for us we are still born of this post-Fall world. So we need to die and then be resurrected before completing what Christ has set for all of us. That is why we need to strive to become good like God, because once we get to the Resurrection we will be in communion with God and if our human will is not aligned with God’s divine being, we will experience torment.
Karen Armstrong is an ex-Catholic. An ex-nun. As such, she is biased.
You do realize that Jesus is both God and man, right?
Have you heard of St. Seraphim of Savor? Or St. Barsanuphius?
So you believe that Mary was tainted by sin all of her life?
Why would the Orthodox need to invent things like this to object to the IC. The objection to the IC is not about when Mary sinned or if she sinned at all.
Dvdjs, this post of yours cannot be refuted in my humble opinion:
The idea within Eastern Orthodoxy that the sinless of the Theotokos stems, exclusively, from the Annunciation ir relatively new, - really a counterpoint to promulgation of the IC. (And the championing of the mulligan of Chrysostom about her ongoing sinfulness is even newer - an internet phenomenon.) But even if that idea were accepted it still means saving grace before the resurrection, thus vitiating that line of argumentation against the IC. Moreover, that idea is also contradicted by the liturgical teachings of the EOC, which make a clear statement of the purity of the Theotokos inspiring the awe of angels already at her entrance into the Temple. I see a pattern in which some EOs stretch so far to differentiate EO teachings from CC ones that they wind up contradicting their own teachings and traditions.
Do you believe that God can be tainted by sin?
I’ll answer that after you answer my question that I posed first.
God sanctifies everything He touches.
Incidentally, this is contrary to Orthodox teaching.
So then Mary became sinless when the Holy Spirit overshadowed her.
No. God cannot be tainted by sin.