The problem with this rationalizing, and twisting of Scripture, is manifold:
1) John 12:32 doesn't come immediately after John 6:44. If God had wanted it to appear that way, He would have done so. They are DIFFERENT passages in DIFFERENT contexts.
2) John 6:44 refers to the FATHER's drawing, while John 12:32 refers to the SON'S drawing, so they are clearly NOT referring to the same thing.
John 5:19 says, "Jesus gave them this answer: "I tell you the truth, the Son can do nothing by himself;
he can do only what he sees his Father doing, because whatever the Father does the Son also does." Sounds like you either have a poor understanding of the Holy Trinity or you are anti-Trinitarian. Which is it?
If you want to "ask the Greeks", why don't you quote what the Biblical KOINE Greek says, rather than what "modern Greek" says?
John 12:32 κἀγὼ ἐὰν ὑψωθῶ ἐκ τῆς γῆς, πάντας ἑλκύσω πρὸς ἐμαυτόν.
The Koine Greek term "pantas", comes from "pas", meaning "all".
John ORIGINALLY wrote "pantas", which does NOT necessarily mean, "everyone, no exceptions". So unless anyone wants to say that JOHN does not understand his own language, the Greek stands (and you are wrong).
Btw, if John 12:32 is SUPPOSED to contain "όλους" instead of "πάντας", then why didn't John use that word, as he did in 1 John 5:19?
I got 84 hits for the word
πάντας in my Koine Greek Bible. I'll take the first 4 hits (Matt 2:4, 2:6, 4:24, 8:16) and examine how each verse uses the word
πάντας:
In Koine Greek:
Mat 2:4 καὶ συναγαγὼν
πάντας τοὺς ἀρχιερεῖς καὶ γραμματεῖς τοῦ λαοῦ ἐπυνθάνετο παρ᾿ αὐτῶν ποῦ ὁ Χριστὸς γεννᾶται.
Mat 2:16 Τότε ῾Ηρῴδης ἰδὼν ὅτι ἐνεπαίχθη ὑπὸ τῶν μάγων, ἐθυμώθη λίαν, καὶ ἀποστείλας ἀνεῖλε
πάντας τοὺς παῖδας τοὺς ἐν Βηθλεὲμ καὶ ἐν πᾶσι τοῖς ὁρίοις αὐτῆς ἀπὸ διετοῦς καὶ κατωτέρω, κατὰ τὸν χρόνον ὃν ἠκρίβωσε παρὰ τῶν μάγων.
Mat 4:24 καὶ ἀπῆλθεν ἡ ἀκοὴ αὐτοῦ εἰς ὅλην τὴν Συρίαν, καὶ προσήνεγκαν αὐτῷ
πάντας τοὺς κακῶς ἔχοντας ποικίλαις νόσοις καὶ βασάνοις συνεχομένους, καὶ δαιμονιζομένους καὶ σεληνιαζομένους καὶ παραλυτικούς, καὶ ἐθεράπευσεν αὐτούς·
Mat 8:16 ᾿Οψίας δὲ γενομένης προσήνεγκαν αὐτῷ δαιμονιζομένους πολλούς, καὶ ἐξέβαλε τὰ πνεύματα λόγῳ καὶ
πάντας τοὺς κακῶς ἔχοντας ἐθεράπευσεν,
In English:
Mat 2:4: And when he had gathered
all the chief priests and scribes of the people together, he demanded of them where Christ should be born.
Mat 2:16: Then Herod, when he saw that he was mocked by the wise men, was greatly enraged. And he sent and killed
all the boys in Bethlehem, and in all its districts, from two years old and under, according to the time which he had carefully inquired of the wise men.
Mat 4:24 And His fame went throughout all Syria. And they brought to Him
all those being badly ill suffering various diseases and torments, and those who had been possessed with demons, and those who had been moonstruck, and paralytics. And He healed them.
Mat 8:16 And evening coming on, they brought to Him many who had been possessed with demons. And He cast out the spirits with a word, and
healed all who were sick
My analysis:
So when Mat 2:4 says "all the chiefs" were gathered, does he mean some were gathered? Nope, ALL were gathered.
When Mat 2:16 says "all the boys" under 2 years old were killed, does he mean some were killed or that ALL were killed? Obviously ALL were killed by decree of Herod.
When Mat 4:24 says "all those being badly ill" were brought to Jesus, did the people pick and choose one from each category of illness or did they bring ALL the sick?
When Mat 8:16 says that Jesus "healed all who were sick" did Jesus heal one from each category of sickness or did He heal ALL of them?
Where does the Bible teach that "image of God" includes being "equipped to make a choice for God or against God"? You seem to be simply ASSUMING that.
Rom 1:20, 2:15 falls perfectly in line with the fact that even a person who has not yet been introduced to Christianity (a Gentile) can still follow his conscience and emulate God's laws by loving his family, helping strangers, doing everything to the best of his abilities, etc… In fact, in Rom 2:16 Paul emphasized that their very judgment before Christ will factor in their conscience and hearts.
By definition, it is irresistible.
Here is how both the Greek term, and the English term, are used. You will notice then they NEVER allow "resisting":
"draw a gun"
"with-drawl"
"draw a sword"
"draw blood"
"draw blinds"
"draw interest"
"draw curtains"
"draw a breath"
"draw a cheque"
"the honey drew flies";
“the light drew moths”;
"the enemy drew fire";
"horse-drawn carriage";
"draw the short straw"
"draw on a bank account";
"draw water from a well"
"amount of power drawn";
"draw a card from a deck”
"draw a bow" (archery);
"the college drew students";
"the performance drew cheers";
"draw-er" (you drag/pull it open);
"draw" (winning ticket) for a 50/50 draw;
"the prisoner was drawn and quartered";
“draw on a cigarette" ("take a draw");
Deut. 21:3 a heifer that...has not pulled <ἑλκύω> in a yoke.
2Sam. 22:17 he drew <ἑλκύω> me out of many waters.
1 Mac 10:82 Then brought <ἑλκύω> Simon forth his host,
3 Mac 5:49 infants drew <ἑλκύω> what seemed their last milk [from the breast].
4 Mac 11:9 the spearbearers bound him, and drew <ἑλκύω> him to the catapelt:
Ps. 10:9 he seizes the poor when he draws <ἑλκύω> him into his net.
Ps. 119:131 I open my mouth and pant <ἑλκύω pneuma>, lit. "draw air"
Eccl. 2:3 how to cheer my body with wine (lit., "draw <ἑλκύω> wine into my body"
Job 20:28 The possessions of his house will be carried away, <ἑλκύω>
Job 39:10 or will he harrow <ἑλκύω> the valleys after you? (lit. "drag your furrows")
Sir. 28:19 who hath not drawn <ἑλκύω> the yoke thereof,
Hab. 1:15 he drags <ἑλκύω> them out with his net;
Isa. 10:15 [shall] the saw magnify itself against him who wields <ἑλκύω> it?
Jer. 14:6 they pant <ἑλκύω> for air (lit. "draw air") like jackals;
Jer. 38:13 Then they drew <ἑλκύω> Jeremiah up with ropes
John 18:10 Then Simon Peter, having a sword, drew <ἑλκύω> it
John 21:6 So they cast [the net], and now they were not able to haul <ἑλκύω>it in
John 21:11 So Simon Peter went aboard and hauled <ἑλκύω> the net ashore
Acts 16:19 they seized Paul and Silas and dragged <ἑλκύω> them into the marketplace
Acts 21:30 They seized Paul and dragged <ἑλκύω> him out of the temple
James 2:6 the ones who drag <ἑλκύω> you into court?
In Greek, when ἑλκύσῃ is associated with inanimate objects then ἑλκύσῃ means to physically drag. There is no other way to draw an inanimate object than to be physical and forceful about it such as dragging it. Here I was talking about humans with God-given minds and hearts so we are a little above inanimate objects wouldn't you think? That's why, in Greek, a person who is ἑλκύστικος is said to be attractive or winsome, not a dictator.
There are a couple of examples with your counterexample. First, you are depending on a translation, so "ελκυω" wasn't the original term, a Hebrew term was.
What do you have against the LXX OT? We have a saying in the South: If it's good enough for Paul then it's good enough for me.
Secondly, consider this. A horse draws a wagon from Walnut Grove to Sleepy Eye. Then he stops drawing it. Was the drawing ineffectual? Of course not. It simply reached its destination, and then stopped. So cessation of drawing doesn't mean it's ineffectual, or resistible. It simply means that the drawing stopped.
Again, you are referencing inanimate objects. We are not inanimate objects. Get that straight.
I think you want us to ASSUME that the text said, "Over many years you TRIED to draw them", but that's not what it says.
Stop adding your own words into the text. The Koine and Modern Greek text stands by itself.
You seem to be ASSUMING that.
I'm still waiting for you to show us SCRIPTURE that allegedly teaches that.
Rom 1:20, 2:15 falls perfectly in line with the fact that even a person who has not yet been introduced to Christianity (a Gentile) can still follow his conscience and emulate God's laws by loving his family, helping strangers, doing everything to the best of his abilities, etc… In fact, in Rom 2:16 Paul emphasized that their very judgment before Christ will factor in their conscience and hearts.
CONCLUSION: The more Greek one knows, the more he is appalled by the zero-sum attitude and Biblical distortion that prevails in Reformed theology.