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Pastimes : Religion on SI -- Ignore unavailable to you. Want to Upgrade?

To: Skipper who wrote (264)	9/19/1998 6:21:00 PM
From: Emile Vidrine	Read Replies (1) \| Respond to of 1542

"As I've told you before, I am apostate. A true believer will think that I was then not a true believer, but I am telling you, I was. At that time, my mind was as fully convinced as yours is now. "However, my mind could never be at peace with certain elements of Christian doctrine, and so, over a long stretch of years, I came to the point where I felt safe in rejecting it. That was not easy, as you know what Paul says about apostates. Hi Skipper, I deeply appreciate your thoughts and honest exposure of your present and past posture towards Christ and the Christian religion. You tell us that "...a true believer will think that I was then not a true believer, but I am telling you, I was. ". Although I was exposed to the concept of "once saved, always saved" from an early age, I believe both the Bible and the universal Christian Church has always taught that men could reject Christ(become apostates) even after becoming authentic Christians. The Scriptures tell us that once believers have truly fallen away, it is impossible to bring them back to repentance. So, I fully agree that it is indeed impossible to bring you back to repentance if you were once an authentic Born Again believer and have now completely fallen away and trampled the Blood of Christ underfoot. True apostasy is the most horrifying and terrible experience that any human could ever experience. Apostasy brings a soul back to the same darkness and death(wallowing in the mire or a dog turning to his vomit) that he possessed before salvation, but with the added torment of having experienced light and life. The unbeliever has simply never known the light or true life in Christ, while the apostate lives in his darkness with the constant memory of the light of Christ that he once had. I accept your belief that: "A true believer will think that I was then not a true believer, but I am telling you, I was." I am convinced that you mostly believe this statement but have lingering doubts. These doubts have been evident to me for the two years of our cyber aquaintance. There was always a subtle element of respect for Christ evident in your writings that also manifested itself in the spirit. I believe this element of respect points to an underlying spirit that never fully accepted the convictions and dictates of the mind. It is possible to achieve a mind conviction of Christianity without ever having experienced the reality behind the doctrines and teachings of the Church. This is commonly known as cultural Christianity. Every religion and every society attempts to socialize its members into the acceptable cultural norm. Socialization creates a powerful aritifical sense of social and cultural reality in the members of a group. Adolescents often peek through this cultural coat of paint and momentarily glimpse other possible realities. Most societies have developed subtle structures to deal with these aberrations. Christian societies and individuals are not immune to these normal social forces. Every member of a Christian Church is socialized into the doctrines and social realities of their group just like every non-Christian group. There is, however, a very distinct difference between the Christian social reality and all non-Christian or anti-Christian social realities; the Christian social norms, doctrines and dogmas are founded upon eternal truths, while the non-Christian and anti-Christian social norms, dogmas and doctrines are based on myth and legend and have no basis in truth. When the members of non-Christian groups begins to dig beneath the social and cultural coat of paint, they come face to face with the myths and legends upon which their religious realities were built. The absence of rational, historical and concrete truths frees them from their false "social realities". In contrast to these false religions based upon myths and legends, the doctrines and dogmas of the Christian Faith are based upon historical truths recorded by eyewitnesses. The deeper a Christian researches the doctrinal truths of his faith, the more he becomes aware of the rational and historical foundation of his beliefs. New Testaments accounts were written by the men who walked, talked and touched the major characters of the documents. Their accounts were not based upon hearsay or second-hand information, but on their own personal observations and experiences. Many of these eyewitnesses strengthened the integrity of the accounts by their willingness to die as martyrs rather than renounce their words. The Apostles and disciples not only witnessed the historical life, death, Resurrection, and Ascension of Jesus but also his promise of the Holy Spirit and a new birth as the sons of God. Their accounts recorded an accurate hitorical account of Jesus's life as well as the life in the Holy Spirit that was given to believers after his Ascension. This Holy Spirit filled life is still available to believers today. The power and authenticity of Christianity is not only based upon documented past historical truths but also upon the living reality of the Holy Spirit who comes to live in the Christians today. The historical truths and realities contained in the New Testament documents not only capture the essence of Jesus's life and fulfillment of the prophecies, but also the essence of the lives of his followers as they are filled with the Holy Spirit and begin to build the Christian Church. The actions of the Holy Spirit today further verify the truths contained in the words of the New Testament. Jesus is alive and continues to baptize believers in the Holy Spirit just as he did almost 2000 years ago. Have you ever experienced authentic Christianity with the baptism of the Holy Spirit and the new birth, Skipper? Was your Christian experience a mere social reality or cultural coat of paint? Was your disappointment with Christianity based upon this false social reality rather then the life of God within that the authentic Christian life gives? I would encourage you to delve beneath the surface of things and come to the core of the Christian reality. Jesus Christ is the Son of God who came into the world to die for the sins of all men. Jesus Christ was raised from the dead and now lives and reigns with God and the Holy Spirit now and forever. He baptizes those who believe in him with the Holy Spirit and recreates their human spirit into the image and likeness of God. There is no life for man outside of Jesus. He is the creator and ruler of both the earth and the heavens and will come again to judge the living and the dead. Is your apostasy an apostasy against a false social religious reality rather than the authentic reality of the Son of God. Scratch beneath the false social reality and examine the truths of the Christian faith and you will find the Truth. Skipper, Jesus died for your sins so that you could become a son of God. The spiritual heritage that you so desired in your youth but could not find in cultural Christianity awaits you now in the living Christ who was sacrificed on your behalf. Emile