Please register to participate in our discussions with 2 million other members - it's free and quick! Some forums can only be seen by registered members. After you create your account, you'll be able to customize options and access all our 15,000 new posts/day with fewer ads.
It's a good question -- Only God knows the heart and how many of the world's 2.6+ billion professing Christians, are truly born-again believers. Paradoxically, the answer isn't found in whether an individual has 'sufficient faith or religion,' but, on whether God reigns as Lord of the individual's life. Along these lines, many know that Jesus IS Lord, but, only those who know Jesus AS THEIR personal Lord and Savior, have eternal life.
So the Christian faith can be layered? So far I have counted two: belief that is based on man-made ideas, then belief in just Jesus. Is there a way to know where one is?
Whenever I hear people saying they "used to be Christians or lost their Christian faith," it's easy to conclude they never had a true "Christian" faith to begin with. Invariably, they mean they used to attend church, but, got disillusioned by the church or people claiming to be Christians.
True Christian faith is vested in God/Christ and His faithfulness, power and truth. He alone is the same yesterday, today and tomorrow; righteous, holy and just - and always full of grace, mercy and truth. A true Christian is born again in God's Holy Spirit and becomes a new creation in Jesus Christ, who changes them from the inside-out. That is not a human attitude, belief or feeling, but, rather a confirming work of God and His Spirit.
No. One who "used to be a Christian," based their trust and faith on religion, people, church or a hundred other things, but, not Jesus Christ. No one can truly say, "I truly loved Christ and was born again in the Spirit," but, now I'm not.
I'll just wait for a few others to show up and refute what you have said. We have at least two members (and probably more), active on the forum right now, who were once 100% totally believing fundamentalist Christians, believing everything that was taught, praying regularly, attending church, participating in Christian activities, teaching Sunday School, etc., but have changed. Each one has a different story, but they were once real, devout Christians and now they are not.
It's not the same when one bases their life, truth and faith on themselves, instead of the power of God. Atheists and other non-believers declare in their own wisdom, "God is not real, therefore, one's faith is in imaginary things." But, those who truly know and are born again in the Holy Spirit, know a new power, grace and truth working in them --- beyond their own.
"The person without the Spirit does not accept the things that come from the Spirit of God but considers them foolishness, and cannot understand them because they are discerned only through the Spirit."
1 Cor 2:14
Some of them changed their minds. Believe what they tell you. There is no reason for them to lie about their beliefs.
It is not possible to be an ex-Christian. Once you belong to Christ, it’s forever. It is possible to be an ex-atheist, no?
As I said in another post (just a few posts up), we have members right here in R&S that were once devout fundamentalist Christians who are no longer. Some of them have stories of great anguish about their path away from Christianity.
As I said in another post (just a few posts up), we have members right here in R&S that were once devout fundamentalist Christians who are no longer. Some of them have stories of great anguish about their path away from Christianity.
What I got from what jimmie said was like a son and his father....they could disown
each other...but, hey, they are still father and son.
One can say over and over, "My father is dead....or I have no son."
But that invisible link is still there....did I get that right jimmie?
Added: ...that the son may have cut the link...but the father hasn't?
Last edited by mensaguy; 02-22-2019 at 06:42 AM..
Reason: Fixed quoted post
What I got from what jimmie said was like a son and his father....they could disown
each other...but, hey, they are still father and son.
One can say over and over, "My father is dead....or I have no son."
But that invisible link is still there....did I get that right jimmie?
What I got from what jimmie said was like a son and his father....they could disown
each other...but, hey, they are still father and son.
One can say over and over, "My father is dead....or I have no son."
But that invisible link is still there....did I get that right jimmie?
Added: ...that the son may have cut the link...but the father hasn't?
You may be right. I guess you are since Jimmie gave you a thumbs up, but it's pretty hard to misunderstand when he said "It is not possible to be an ex-Christian." We have ex-Christians right here in this forum.
As I said in another post (just a few posts up), we have members right here in R&S that were once devout fundamentalist Christians who are no longer. Some of them have stories of great anguish about their path away from Christianity.
I’m one of them. But jimmie has me on ignore, and John (jghorton) told me long ago he wouldn’t respond to anything I have to say. They’ve heard my story: 40+ years as a person whose entire life was dedicated to, grounded in and led by Christian beliefs founded on a sincere faith in the Bible as the word of God, and the immense grief and distress I experienced when I lost that faith. It’s apparently easier for them to dismiss me as never having been one of them and shun me as damnable and unworthy of their time. Though they insist I was never one of them, I believe they see me as a traitor and is anyone hated more than a traitor?
Last edited by mensaguy; 02-22-2019 at 08:19 AM..
Reason: Quoted post edited
Whenever I hear people saying they "used to be Christians or lost their Christian faith," it's easy to conclude they never had a true "Christian" faith to begin with. Invariably, they mean they used to attend church, but, got disillusioned by the church or people claiming to be Christians.
Wrong. I was disillusioned by the Bible, not people.
Quote:
True Christian faith is vested in God/Christ and His faithfulness, power and truth. He alone is the same yesterday, today and tomorrow; righteous, holy and just - and always full of grace, mercy and truth. A true Christian is born again in God's Holy Spirit and becomes a new creation in Jesus Christ, who changes them from the inside-out. That is not a human attitude, belief or feeling, but, rather a confirming work of God and His Spirit.
No. One who "used to be a Christian," based their trust and faith on religion, people, church or a hundred other things, but, not Jesus Christ. No one can truly say, "I truly loved Christ and was born again in the Spirit," but, now I'm not.
And yet, when I told you that while I lost my faith in the Bible as the word of God, I had found trust in the God who is love, you assured me that I had no business trusting God because I no longer accepted the tenets of your religion.
It is not possible to be an ex-Christian. Once you belong to Christ, it’s forever. It is possible to be an ex-atheist, no?
This ex-Christian disagrees.
Please register to post and access all features of our very popular forum. It is free and quick. Over $68,000 in prizes has already been given out to active posters on our forum. Additional giveaways are planned.
Detailed information about all U.S. cities, counties, and zip codes on our site: City-data.com.
Please register to participate in our discussions with 2 million other members - it's free and quick! Some forums can only be seen by registered members. After you create your account, you'll be able to customize options and access all our 15,000 new posts/day with fewer ads.
