Well, since I've gotten few (as in, one) comments about the clarification, I'm going to move on. As always if you have more questions/comments, feel free to post or email.
Here we have another post by Threnody claiming her previous Christianity. The title asks two questions, Was she a Christian? And, Does it matter? The simple answers are, respectively, No and then Yes.
No, she was not a Christian. Biblically, she could not have been and I went into this with quite a lot of detail previously, so instead of reiterating those two posts, instead I'm going to take this from a different angle. Threnody offers as proof the things that she desired, asked, prayed for; the things that she experienced and felt. She says that at times she had a relationship with God.
As a counter example I offer up King Saul - King Saul who was chosen by God to lead Israel. King Saul who prophesied on, if memory serves, more than one occasion. King Saul started out well. He started out humbly. King Saul had a type of relationship with God - we know this because the Bible says that the Spirit of the Lord came upon him. King Saul was also the guy who tried to kill David, the man after God's own heart, MANY times. King Saul was the guy who wouldn't let the kingdom go. King Saul sought for God and God did not answer because Saul was not His. King Saul went to a witch for help after he had previously tried to destroy them all.
Saul repented more than once for what he did to David. Saul sought God's help, His direction and God was silent. And in the end, Saul always went back to the wrong until God took him out of the picture. King Saul felt God's direction and moving, but as far as we can tell, he died without ever knowing God.
Does it matter? Not if Christianity isn't true, as Threnody claims. If, however, Christianity is true, it is of the highest importance.
I don't have a proof for Christianity. I believe it; I've experienced it. But it would seem strange to me if God allowed us to prove something that requires, at it's very basic level, faith. Romans 8:24-25 says, "We are saved by hope. But hope that is seen, is not hope. For what a man seeth, why doth he yet hope for? But, if we hope for that we see not, then do we with patience wait for it."
That kind of hope is faith - it's not the hope where you say, "I really hope I get a puppy for Christmas!" It's expectant. It's trusting. It's the hope of seeing your loved one come home from work after a really long day. You expect it and you're just waiting for it to come. If we could prove Christianity, why would we need to have faith? If you can prove God, you don't need to believe that He exists. There's no trust in proof.
This doesn't mean that Christianity is illogical or doesn't makes sense. It just means that we can't prove it. I can't prove the wind. I feel it; it makes sense; but I don't know where it comes from. I can't see it; I can't prove it, but it IS logical. Such is Christianity.
spot on!
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