Sorry for the rambling the last imte but basically it dealt with the question that how can bad things happen even when He is in control of history? Does that mean God is bad. I answered that God IS in control because he determines the conclusion and the general path like the major events leading to it but He lets us determine how it is reached but no matter which way we choose it will be reached. In this He is usually passive either permitting or not permitting but if things are not going according to schedule He WILL act like making the stones cry out if no one greeted Jesus on the way to Jerusalem.
Today we will investigate how we can have free will to choose to believe God if we need the Spirit to 'touch' us? This sounds so much like brainwashing. I don't really know the answer but I am hazarding a guess base on the ananlogy I get from studying. A person is presented Fact1 to 10, he may be able to memorize them but he still does not understand he will forget it in a day but sometimes if he somehow manages to connect fact 10 with 5 and then connect with 2 then 7 all the rest will fall into place and he will understand and never forget eventhough he never read those facts again for the next three years, it will be in his heart. Another person may need fact 3 to be presented first then1, 6, and 10 before he understands.
The same goes with the Gospel, we need the Holy Spirit to help that person connect the facts of the Gospel and the arguments for its authenticity so he will understand it reaches his heart and not only his mind. Once connected he understands the message but he still have a choice to choose to believe or not. Hence the need for the Spirit does not remove free-will. What is your take?