New Ager to Christian to Atheist

[Drich]

The Direct words of Christ trump 'church' doctrine.

I provided the direct words of Christ, you provided the beginnings of the 'doctrine of salvation.' so yeah Christ's teachings dictate or define biblical Christianity here.

You provided a single parable, and you're pretending that it trumps everything else that Jesus said.

I'm pretty sure dishonesty is a no-no. You're making baby Jesus cry.

Then, please provide some of the "other things Christ said" that renders this parable moot. (BCV)

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The Direct words of Christ trump 'church' doctrine.

I provided the direct words of Christ, you provided the beginnings of the 'doctrine of salvation.' so yeah Christ's teachings dictate or define biblical Christianity here.

"And he said unto them, Go ye into all the world, and preach the gospel to the whole creation.
He that believeth and is baptized shall be saved; but he that disbelieveth shall be condemned."

Mark 16: 15,16, ASV

He spoke by way of a parable: 5 “The sower went out to sow his seed; and as he sowed, some fell beside the road, and it was trampled under foot and the birds of the [a]air ate it up. 6 Other seed fell on rocky soil, and as soon as it grew up, it withered away, because it had no moisture. 7 Other seed fell among the thorns; and the thorns grew up with it and choked it out. 8 Other seed fell into the good soil, and grew up, and produced a crop a hundred times as great.” As He said these things, He would call out, “He who has ears to hear, let him hear.”

9 His disciples began questioning Him as to what this parable meant. 10 And He said, “To you it has been granted to know the mysteries of the kingdom of God, but to the rest it is in parables, so that seeing they may not see, and hearing they may not understand.

11 “Now the parable is this: the seed is the word of God. 12 Those beside the road are those who have heard; then the devil comes and takes away the word from their heart, so that they will not believe and be saved. 13 Those on the rocky soil are those who, when they hear, receive the word with joy; and these have no firm root; [c]they believe for a while, and in time of temptation fall away. 14 The seed which fell among the thorns, these are the ones who have heard, and as they go on their way they are choked with worries and riches and pleasures of this life, and bring no fruit to maturity. 15 But the seed in the good soil, these are the ones who have heard the word in an honest and good heart, and hold it fast, and bear fruit with [d]perseverance."
Luke 8: 4a-16, NASB

Looks like Jesus said at least twice that you have to hear the Gospel in order to be saved.

Again, all of this fall under the parable of the talents, in that one is ultimately responsible to what he has been given.

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I'm trying to learn something here, be patient.

GC

Like I said, you're welcome to ask questions. If I had met someone with my story 15 years ago, I would have been extremely confused. Because traditional Christianity told me that people like me are impossible.

Interestingly, I find that at least half the atheists I've met are former Christians, most of them quite zealous for god in their day. And all of us have encountered the stock "you must not have really been a Christian" response. Because if a truly Born-again, Spirit-filled Christian can wake up one day and realize it's all nonsense, then the very foundation of Christianity seems threatened.

Jesus kinda called your condition in another parable.

Ever heard of the wise and foolish builders?
I took the following from my thread here:
http://atheistforums.org/thread-27948.ht...=Rock+sand

I assume most of you are familiar with the parable of the wise and foolish builders/the man who built his house on the sand and the man who built his house upon the rock.
If not it starts at verse 24: https://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?se...rsion=NASB

Both men had the same objective here and that was to build his own house. In the story our house is our legacy or our effort to build a relationship with God. (Empty Religion or religious effort for short)
Meaning a wise man (man who truly knows God) and a foolish man (a man who does not know God or rather only knows God through religion) can live a life and do the exact same things as the wise man does.(which results in a house/religion) for both. However according to Christ one house will stand and one house will fall when tested.

When you ask for God to send 'proof.' Or to strengthen your relationship with Him he sends the rains to test/proof your house. Meaning if the picture of God you have/your religious views are based on the biblical portrayal of God you will see God as your foundation. (You will be able to see the proof He sends in the Holy Spirit.) However if you have built your understanding of God on the empty religions of your fathers then it is more likely that your house will have been washed away, and if you are the proud type, you will most likly see your faith washed away with your house as well.

This is why it is so important to continue knocking. Because in your prayer you asked to see God, and rather than God allow you to continue to build a 'house' on a corrupt foundation, He will simply stop supporting your house/religious beliefs, allowing your house to collapse under its own fatal flaws.

This is where many of you are at. You sought God and rather than re enforce your ideas of what God is, He has taken those imperfect images from you, by giving you the proof you need to disqualify those pictures of Him as being 'God.'

You all have done the hard part, and that is cast off the empty traditional beliefs, God has help you in wiping your slate clean. The question then becomes, what do you want to build on your slate now? Do any of you still have the desire to seek God? (Most of you are more than 1/2 way there.) or do you assume just because you disqualified the idea of God you had as a child means no other version of God can possibly exist.

How much pride does it take to assume that the picture/understanding of God you had as a child, can even be close to the creator of everything?

Or in your specific case how much pride does it take to assume that a 'bad trip' sets you on the path to receive all their is to know about God?