age 15 — “the main point of life is to have the best existence possible”

[Multicolored Lemur]

And I remember a warm happy feeling in my chest which radiated outward—

As I read the 23rd Psalm sitting in church comfortably waiting with plenty of time before the service began,

and during a hay ride sponsored by the youth group, laying on my back, as two of the chaperone parents good-naturedly commented that I seemed to have found a comfortable position.

 

[Multicolored Lemur]

When a person is born again they are kept by the power of God.

Among your many threads of both the head and the heart, perhaps you could include advice for 1st year Christians?

I think a goodly number of people coming to Agnostic Forum might find this helpful.

 

[Scooter]

Among your many threads of both the head and the heart, perhaps you could include advice for 1st year Christians?

Sure. Get into a Bible believing, Bible teaching church. Surround yourself with mature Christians who will help you and pray for you on your new journey. All new believers need to be properly disciplined. One of the biggest failures of churches today is letting new believers fall through the cracks.

 

[AgnosticBoy]

I can’t speak about your experiences, but I do know what the Bible teaches. When a person is saved, they are born again. When a person is born again they are kept by the power of God. I would love to hear about your Christian experience.

I was born and raised into Christianity. I went to a Christian private school for the first few school grades.

My experience was largely positive as a Christian. I prayed, I thought I had some supernatural experiences (those were negative - scary), but it wasn't until I got into my early 20s that I began to encounter serious objections to the Bible. At the same time, I also came found out about Christian apologetics. In the end though I think there were just some objections that were serious enough for me to leave the Christian faith.

I see absolutely nothing wrong with having non-religious interests. I love to compete in live action pistol matches. I shoot almost every weekend. Last week I bought a kayak and took it out fishing last night.

Good for you.

 

[AgnosticBoy]

Sure. Get into a Bible believing, Bible teaching church. Surround yourself with mature Christians who will help you and pray for you on your new journey. All new believers need to be properly disciplined. One of the biggest failures of churches today is letting new believers fall through the cracks.

I think some Christians also need to take the time to love God with their mind by learning about the faith, its writings (the Bible, influential writings from other Christians), Christian apologetics, etc. Eventhough I don't practice Christianity as an agnostic, but I do respect much of it because of all of the good points that smart/inspirational Christians come up with.

 

[Scooter]

I was born and raised into Christianity. I went to a Christian private school for the first few school grades.

Thanks for sharing your experience. Those things are great but they don’t make you a Christian. Were you ever saved?

 

[AgnosticBoy]

Thanks for sharing your experience. Those things are great but they don’t make you a Christian. Were you ever saved?

Probably not. Not by the standard view you brought up earlier - the once saved always saved. For sure, I can say that I was a genuine believer in Christianity, and I'm still open to returning if the things that caused major doubts were settled. Then again, I'm open to becoming an atheist, as well.

 

[Multicolored Lemur]

Probably not. Not by the standard view you brought up earlier - the once saved always saved.

In the evangelical church of my youth, if you say a prayer to accept Jesus as your Savior and Lord, you are saved.

 

[Scooter]

Probably not. Not by the standard view you brought up earlier - the once saved always saved. For sure, I can say that I was a genuine believer in Christianity, and I'm still open to returning if the things that caused major doubts were settled. Then again, I'm open to becoming an atheist, as well.

Being a genuine believer in Christianity is not the same as being born again. It’s not believing in a religion that saves but placing your faith in a person. It’s not my place to determine who is saved and who isn’t. I just tell people how to be saved and why they need salvation. I’m glad you’re open to being saved.

 

[Scooter]

In the evangelical church of my youth, if you say a prayer to accept Jesus as your Savior and Lord, you are saved.

I hope this is not exactly what your church taught because this isn’t the truth. Just saying a prayer is not enough to save someone. There has to be personal conviction that a person is a sinner and cannot reach God on their own. A person needs to see how lost they really are before they seek salvation. This is what drives a person to Jesus to ask forgiveness for their sins. This is known as repentance. Repentance is turning from sin and at the same time turning to God. When we realize how much Christ suffered for us, just because He loves us, it makes it easy to run to Him and seek forgiveness. When we commit our lives to Jesus Christ, in full assurance, then He saves us and we are given a new life in Him. That’s when you know you have been born again. So you see it is much more than just saying a prayer.