Hi CalBob,
Thanks for taking time to respond to this subject. I am not familiar with the Calvinist/Wesleyan beliefs, although both sound familiar...I will look into that a little more. I am familiar with Skinner...and funny you should mention him! I am slowly working on my masters in the field of behavioral therapy, but I've never applied it to this subject! It may be totally unrelated...I simply don't know...but the basic premise is...drumroll...all behaviors are learned. And they are, at the most basic level, a form of communication which purpose achieves one of four basic outcomes. My own training...which is because no one was there to help me with my autistic son so I became therapy-wise...tells me that behavior is a choice. My intuition says it's not. So, I'll be pondering all this great input I've received from you all!
So, this is purely an intellectual discussion. It's not really an emotional issue...I have friends from all walks of life who are dear, and I wouldn't change that or them for anything. But I still keep trying to figure things out! The world is fascinating. Sky