A B757 FLT CREW REFUSED A HDG CHANGE BECAUSE OF WX AND WAS PUT INTO A HOLD.

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DEVIATING AROUND A LINE OF TSTMS AND WITHIN 30 MI OF TURNING N TO CLR WX WHEN CTLR ORDERED ME TO TURN IMMEDIATELY TO HDG OF 280 DEGS FOR TFC AVOIDANCE. THE HDG WOULD HAVE PUT ME IN DIRECT LINE OF A TSTM ONLY 20 MI AWAY. I REFUSED THE ORDER STATING THAT IT WOULD PUT ME RIGHT IN A TSTM. CTLR INSISTED I MAKE THE TURN ANYWAY. I SUGGESTED A HIGHER OR LOWER OR ANOTHER DIRECTION BUT HE CONTINUED TO INSIST A HDG OF 280 DEGS. I MADE A STEEP BANK TO THE R FLYING THROUGH 280 DEG HDG TO AVOID THE STORM AND CONTINUED TO THE R; MAKING A COURSE REVERSAL. AT THAT TIME THE CTLR ASSIGNED A DIRECT TO SPS AND HOLD WITH NO EFC. AFTER 3 INQUIRIES ABOUT AN EFC TIME; HE GAVE ME AN EFC OF XA00. THIS CTLR WAS ORDERING OTHER ACFT SIMILAR HDG ASSIGNMENTS WITH SIMILAR REFUSALS DUE TO THE WX. I DON'T CARE IF I HAVE 4 OR 400 PAX ON MY ACFT; I WILL NOT FLY INTO A TSTM AND FEEL THIS CTLR WAS TOO OVERWHELMED WITH THE SITUATION AND HANDLED THIS INCIDENT POORLY THAT COULD HAVE ENDED IN DISASTER. WE HAD 30 MI TO GO UNTIL CLR OF WX NOW PUT IN A DANGEROUS POS. WHILE HOLDING AT SPS; THE LINE OF STORMS CONTINUED TO MOVE NEAR MY POS AND I CALLED TO REMIND THE CTLR. HE INSTRUCTED ME TO CONTINUE HOLDING AT THAT POS REGARDLESS. SOON AFTER; WE WERE CLRED TO ABI AND MOVED TO ANOTHER CTLR.