God made us the most relational creatures in the world. We can communicate and relate in ways that supercede all other creatures on earth. This is because we were created in God's image, and our God is a relational God. And the primary purpose God made us relational is so we can have a personal relationship with Him.
Here are the verses which tell us that being a Christian means having a personal relationship with God:
John 17:3: "And this is eternal life: to KNOW you, the only true God, and the one whom you sent—Jesus the Messiah."
Matthew 7: “Not everyone who says to Me, ‘Lord, Lord,’ shall enter the kingdom of heaven, but he who does the will of My Father in heaven. Many will say to Me in that day, ‘Lord, Lord, have we not prophesied in Your name, cast out demons in Your name, and done many wonders in Your name?’ And then I will declare to them, ‘I never KNEW you; depart from Me, you who practice lawlessness!"
Do you ever invite anyone into your home who you don't know? No. Heaven is Jesus' home and He will not invite anyone into Heaven who He doesn't know.
If we are Christians, we personally KNOW Jesus/God. Certainly, we can step away from that relationship, just like some of us do with our relationship with our mother, but to claim she no longer exists?
If we KNOW God, and then step away from our relationship with Him, there are only 2 possible reasons for this scenario:
1) We KNOW He exists and willingly step away/fall away, maybe due to some temptation or hardship we may blame Him for, which nonetheless does not negate His existence or...
2) We NEVER KNEW Him in the first place. This is the most likely scenario with those who claim to be 'ex-Christians'.
'Ex'Christians' went to church, read the Bible, went to Bible study, maybe even lead a Bible study. I know of pastors who became Christians AFTER 20 years in the ministry! They never KNEW Him up until that point in time 20 years after the fact! They held the position of pastor and told others they were Christians for 20 years when they weren't. They preached the Gospel during that time, counseled others from the Scriptures, held prayer meetings, presided over marriage ceremonies and funerals, etc. etc.
Although they believed in His existence for a time, they never had a personal relationship with Him. There was no personal relationship; only an intellectual belief in God's existence. However, they never KNEW Him. They later changed their minds about His existence when they heard about the theory of evolution, the theory of abiogenesis, the theory of cosmology, the theory of.....whatever.
Intellectual beliefs are things for which we can easily change our minds but personal relationships are a different matter.
This is what happens when we are overly impresses with those who have PhDs in some field of pseudoscience like those areas of speculation mentioned above. Unfortunately, what we don't understand is that immense topics such as the origin of the universe or the origin of life are out of our reach to scientifically confirm, leaving us with speculation about that which occurred in ancient history. There is no way to apply the scientific method - or any other scientific method - to confirm such theories, leaving us with the dubious position of placing our faith in those whom we listen to, with their grand theories and presuppositions.
This is why Jesus said: "Enter through the narrow gate. For wide is the gate and broad is the road that leads to destruction, and many enter through it. But small is the gate and narrow the road that leads to life, and only a few find it."
The level of our education has nothing to do with the condition of our heart. We can have ten PhDs but if we're bent away from God, we're blind, walking in darkness, and on the road to destruction, as well as those who foolishly listen to them.
NO faulty HUMAN BEING will ever be able to tell us, with CERTAINTY, the origins of our universe or origin of life, through ANY technology.
If they try to tell us so, they are not a braniac but a megalomaniac. It should never cease to amaze us how much stretching of the truth, exaggeration, and extravagance of the claims we see in the media today. Every pseudoscientist wants to be in the limelight, and there are throngs of armchair science-fiction fans out there to satisfy their ridiculous egos.
Imagine yourself going to a friend's house, gathering everyone at the house together, and setting up a telescope in the backyard. After gazing at the stars through the telescope for 2 hours, you tell everyone you discovered how the world and cosmos began. They will laugh at you and wonder where you got that oversized ego.
But now, imagine putting a big "PhD" or "University Professor" title on your forehead, and guess what? Some people will actually believe you! So don't be gullible. Be wise and discerning about the truth, including scientific truths (and falsehoods!).
Megalomania:
1. A psychopathological condition characterized by delusional fantasies of wealth, power, or omnipotence.
2. An obsession with grandiose or extravagant things or actions.
Habakkuk 2
See, he is puffed up; his desires are not upright--but the righteous will live by his faith.
Psalm 10: The wicked, through the pride of his countenance, will not seek after God...
1 Timothy
Avoiding profane and vain babblings, and oppositions of science, falsely so called...
"Where are we when presented with the mystery of life? We find ourselves facing a granite wall which we have not even chipped . . We know virtually nothing of growth, nothing of life."—*W. Kaempffert, "The Greatest Mystery of All: the Secret of Life," New York Times.
Here are the verses which tell us that being a Christian means having a personal relationship with God:
John 17:3: "And this is eternal life: to KNOW you, the only true God, and the one whom you sent—Jesus the Messiah."
Matthew 7: “Not everyone who says to Me, ‘Lord, Lord,’ shall enter the kingdom of heaven, but he who does the will of My Father in heaven. Many will say to Me in that day, ‘Lord, Lord, have we not prophesied in Your name, cast out demons in Your name, and done many wonders in Your name?’ And then I will declare to them, ‘I never KNEW you; depart from Me, you who practice lawlessness!"
Do you ever invite anyone into your home who you don't know? No. Heaven is Jesus' home and He will not invite anyone into Heaven who He doesn't know.
If we are Christians, we personally KNOW Jesus/God. Certainly, we can step away from that relationship, just like some of us do with our relationship with our mother, but to claim she no longer exists?
If we KNOW God, and then step away from our relationship with Him, there are only 2 possible reasons for this scenario:
1) We KNOW He exists and willingly step away/fall away, maybe due to some temptation or hardship we may blame Him for, which nonetheless does not negate His existence or...
2) We NEVER KNEW Him in the first place. This is the most likely scenario with those who claim to be 'ex-Christians'.
'Ex'Christians' went to church, read the Bible, went to Bible study, maybe even lead a Bible study. I know of pastors who became Christians AFTER 20 years in the ministry! They never KNEW Him up until that point in time 20 years after the fact! They held the position of pastor and told others they were Christians for 20 years when they weren't. They preached the Gospel during that time, counseled others from the Scriptures, held prayer meetings, presided over marriage ceremonies and funerals, etc. etc.
Although they believed in His existence for a time, they never had a personal relationship with Him. There was no personal relationship; only an intellectual belief in God's existence. However, they never KNEW Him. They later changed their minds about His existence when they heard about the theory of evolution, the theory of abiogenesis, the theory of cosmology, the theory of.....whatever.
Intellectual beliefs are things for which we can easily change our minds but personal relationships are a different matter.
This is what happens when we are overly impresses with those who have PhDs in some field of pseudoscience like those areas of speculation mentioned above. Unfortunately, what we don't understand is that immense topics such as the origin of the universe or the origin of life are out of our reach to scientifically confirm, leaving us with speculation about that which occurred in ancient history. There is no way to apply the scientific method - or any other scientific method - to confirm such theories, leaving us with the dubious position of placing our faith in those whom we listen to, with their grand theories and presuppositions.
This is why Jesus said: "Enter through the narrow gate. For wide is the gate and broad is the road that leads to destruction, and many enter through it. But small is the gate and narrow the road that leads to life, and only a few find it."
The level of our education has nothing to do with the condition of our heart. We can have ten PhDs but if we're bent away from God, we're blind, walking in darkness, and on the road to destruction, as well as those who foolishly listen to them.
NO faulty HUMAN BEING will ever be able to tell us, with CERTAINTY, the origins of our universe or origin of life, through ANY technology.
If they try to tell us so, they are not a braniac but a megalomaniac. It should never cease to amaze us how much stretching of the truth, exaggeration, and extravagance of the claims we see in the media today. Every pseudoscientist wants to be in the limelight, and there are throngs of armchair science-fiction fans out there to satisfy their ridiculous egos.
Imagine yourself going to a friend's house, gathering everyone at the house together, and setting up a telescope in the backyard. After gazing at the stars through the telescope for 2 hours, you tell everyone you discovered how the world and cosmos began. They will laugh at you and wonder where you got that oversized ego.
But now, imagine putting a big "PhD" or "University Professor" title on your forehead, and guess what? Some people will actually believe you! So don't be gullible. Be wise and discerning about the truth, including scientific truths (and falsehoods!).
Megalomania:
1. A psychopathological condition characterized by delusional fantasies of wealth, power, or omnipotence.
2. An obsession with grandiose or extravagant things or actions.
Habakkuk 2
See, he is puffed up; his desires are not upright--but the righteous will live by his faith.
Psalm 10: The wicked, through the pride of his countenance, will not seek after God...
1 Timothy
Avoiding profane and vain babblings, and oppositions of science, falsely so called...
"Where are we when presented with the mystery of life? We find ourselves facing a granite wall which we have not even chipped . . We know virtually nothing of growth, nothing of life."—*W. Kaempffert, "The Greatest Mystery of All: the Secret of Life," New York Times.
