How much faith does it take to....?
That question is kind of like the angels on a pinhead question. Honestly, how can humans quantify faith? We can't measure it; it's not physical. We can sense when it's growing or lessening, but we can't say, "I have X amount of faith." Faith doesn't come in liters or pounds. You have enough or you don't. That's about the only measurement there is.
So when Threnody asks, "How much faith does it take to be a Christian?" there isn't really an answer. Faith the "size of a mustard seed" isn't referring to something measurable; it's a metaphor. A mustard seed is very small. A very small amount of faith is enough to move a mountain. Now, I don't know about everyone, but I'm pretty sure that I don't know ANYBODY who thinks they could tell a mountain to move and it would move. There are differing reasons for this, but basically, we all have REALLY small amounts of faith.
However, the problem was not the size or amount of Threnody's faith; the problem was the nature of it. There are two kinds of faith. They probably have theological names, but I don't know them, so I'll refer to them as such - saving faith and nebulous belief. You can have all the nebulous belief in the world and it's not going to save you. But you only need a pinch of saving faith to be a Christian.
Threnody also claims that "by the Bible's standards I was a child of God" even though in the previous post she said she had no relationship with God. There's a disconnect there. She then claims that I can't know that she wasn't because I'm not God (God, Whom she doesn't believe exists. . . .). However, God has made some things very clear, so that even the most ignorant, unlearned people (like me) can know some things. For instance, I KNOW that lying is wrong. It's sin. God tells us that.
In I John, God tells us, through John, that the reason people leave the church (not leave A church, leave THE Church) is to manifest (or make known, make clear) that they were never PART of the church. Threnody left. Thus, Threnody wasn't part of it. I don't need to judge her heart; some questions, God already gave us the answers to. "...If they had been of us, they would, no doubt, have continued with us..." - I John 2:19
Honestly, had she JUST left, I might not be quite as certain (since I would have practically no knowledge of her and how far her departure went), but considering the purpose of the blog, the things that she has written since her departure, and a host of other things (like verbally denouncing God and calling Him a liar), it's abundantly clear that Threnody was never a Christian, no matter how much she believes she was. Biblically, she could not have been.
As for the allegations that I am twisting her posts, that's not at all my intent, and I've yet to read of something specific that I've twisted. At the very least, everything I've written has a basis - even if some things may have been misunderstood.
The Bible has never asked anyone to believe anything that is opposite or illogical. There are things that on the face of them may SEEM opposite or illogical, but they're not. Also, God MADE the world, so He's obviously made a difference in it. Therefore, even if He were completely silent, by virtue of there being a Creator Who set things in motion and determined beforehand which DNA would go where, He had to have orchestrated everything already. God cannot be a moot point.
Threnody claimed that for every difference that Christians would claim God is the cause, she could come up with a nonreligious explanation. A nonreligious explanation for creation??? There is no such thing. A full explanation consists in two parts: the how and the why. There is no nonreligious explanation that can say WHY the world exists. Because without a creator, it's all random and purposeless. There is no why without God.
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