Dear Sirs,
I am not sure whether I should laugh or cry. Your words are painful and yet almost macabre. You are all very brilliant theologians and have studied Systematic teachings of John Calvin, Gordon Haddon Clark and the like, but not every person is, how do I put this politely, without inciting a revolution. Not everyone is a nerdy Christian. Some just enjoy the joy of the Lord, and the peace of the Lord. They are not really into sitting down and pouring through books on theology but would much rather prefer reading a novel. Not to say they are not thinkers, but they are not geared that way. People are very different. This is the idea of the unique creation of God, He has not made us all identical, sort of like penguins. We are so different in our personalities. A farm hand might read Chaucer or Shakespeare, or Browning or Gullivers travels, but wether or not he reads Calvin, Luther, Fox, Bunyan, Spurgeon is another idea altogether. Some glean gigantic philosophical and intellectual lessons from an observation, where others might only get the most elementary idea and be completely fulfilled thereby.

Do you get it ? We are not all the same. For this difference in personality, are you willing to destroy the work of the Holy Spirit in the lives of humble folks who enjoy simple faith, must all need to be complex in their faith to be happy in God. I think not!

Adopted as usual, you will pick a phrase that suits your argument and not reply intelligently to the overall thought that I am expressing and you Pilgrim will give me long quotes that you have gleaned in your deep studies of the writings of men and women of God, but none of this help, because what is really at stake is the simple truth that in Christ we are not all the same, some are of humble intelligence and are stimulated to great peace and joy by less, and such as state is a most pleasant one for them, but to expect that others should neccesarily be as you are is to not comprehend the simple joy and peace in the Holy Spirit that others enjoy who too have come to know this Saviour who will not be styled but who loves the simple and and complex and the inbetween folks like me. I do not mean compromised, but somewhere between simple joy and a need to have ones cup filled mentally with a lot as well. Surely in your life you have discovered that not all mankind are the same. A simple man might glean great joy from simply singing a psalm while he or she is a bout their work, whereas another of great intellectual prowess would prefer to listen to a recitation of the entire works of a great scholar.

I am not an idiot, but I have mastered the works of John Robbins and Gordon Clark, I can also grasp some of Michael Sudduth and Alvin Plantinga's works but when I get to people like Godel, I wince, I am lost, I am a child. Once I asked a student if they could understand the book of Romans, to which the student smartly replied, "Oh yes I understand it all." I was amazed, I have struggled with Romans and Hebrews and the longer theological books for years, not that I do not enjoy them, I just cannot absorb the whole of the proximity of their sheer profundity. I love John's Gospel, and a simpleton I once knew who still lived with his mother and was unable to be married, yet worked a good days work and got his wage, snatched at passages and could never grasp fully any passages, he was just a humble servant of God and made up for it in his joy and gentle witness of kindness. Another woman who I know would not have even know the diffence between justification and sanctification, and would certainly not have begun to build an understanding of predestination, was a kind soul who met the physical needs of suffering patients by doing massage professionally. It is this sort of person that may happily want to just sing and worship Jesus freely and has not the complexities of theological argument to find fault, who is able to enjoy simply their Lord. To accuse such a one of Arminianism, Pelagianism or whatever is cruel and unkind and will not wash well on at the judgment seat of Christ who shows not favourtism or respect of persons. To whom are we giving the chosen seats and who do we think we are to decide who will sit where. This is the Fathers decision and we should be most careful how we wet the blade of our defence against those for whom He has died, who we are not in any position to arise in judgment over. It would be very pleasant if it were agreed to never again waste bandwidth on the internet killing the testimony of those who like you but not as smart, love and cherish the Saviour. Trust me on this one, you guys are in a dark place here. Just ease up and think about it before you come back with more snaps and snarls calling light darkness without having even so much as considered that some are His.

Peace,