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Whatever your theology dictates, don't you think it is telling that hundreds (if not thousands) of Christians have prayed over me and believed they received word from God that "his hand was on" me, and that God was directing them to confirm my ministry? If all of these Christians can be fooled after firmly believing that God has given them confirmation of my Christianity and my "call" to ministry, how can any Christian trust that they are hearing anything from God?
No, James White probably never prayed to God to confirm my salvation, but he did consider me an intelligent person, well-versed in Christian apologetics. But all of these churches that firmly believed that God had indicated that I was a believer and called to do Christian work, what can be said of all of them?
It seems that the Christian is only left with three options: (1) those churches didn't really get any guidance from God and only believed they did, (2) they did hear from God, but he tricked them into thinking that I was a Christian and a "called" Christian minister, or (3) that a true Christian can lose his or her faith.
http://debunkingchristianity.blogspot.com/
posted by exbeliever
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Every time Lotus adds another member to his ever-expanding team of also-rans, they introduce themselves by threatening to haul out the heavy-artillery and devastate the Christian cause with their big guns.
And every time they show up for a fight, what we’re in fact bombarded with are BB guns and peashooters, slingshots and rubber-tipped arrows—you know, the kind with the suction cup. Oh, and lots and lots of spit-wads.
So this is what Loftus had his mind by his “cumulative case” against the Christian faith.
And when his Lilliputian army isn’t pelting us with mouse droppings, they’re dusting off their golden oldies and cranking up the Victrola to regale us with scratchy tales of their misspent youth. “When I was a boy…”
Just consider the above. Exbeliever* seems to think that he’s posed a formidable trilemma for the Christian. How ever will we wiggle out of the dire conundrum?
To begin with, the Bible never says that God “calls” men to the pastorate. This is just a tradition that’s taken root. It has no solid foundation in Scripture.
Second, we judge “the faithful” according to a credible profession of faith. Since we can’t see into their hearts, we judge them by what they say and do. This is, in the nature of the case, a provisional judgment.
Third, this is only a trilemma for a Pentecostal. No, God doesn’t whisper in our ear who’s a sheep and who’s a goat.
If you get your theology from TBN, then you will, indeed, by a sucker for any charlatan who comes along. All that proves is that you have to be a dupe to be duped.
Fourth, we shouldn’t trust what we are “hearing” from God. Rather, we should trust the Bible. It is the written word, and not the spoken word, that is God’s word for today.
Fifth, the more apostate biographies you read, the more you see a pattern emerge. For they do generally come from the more anti-intellectual and legalistic churches.
You don’t have many Lutheran apostates or Presbyterian apostates. Rather, the lion’s share come from charismatic and fundamentalist churches, as well as cultic denominations.
So the rotten apples haven’t fallen far from the tree.
”Exbeliever,” otherwise known as exbeliever*, is the name of a poster who is not to be confused with the “real” exbeliever.
Isn't it interesting how these apostates systematically attack the Reformed faith? Why not attack the ones they fell out of instead? It's because the Reformed Doctrines teach that God saves His people and preserves them for eternity. The COC and the AG types of churches make allowances for salvation by choice so it can be lost later. As far as cults go, can their members apostasize since they are already in a false faith?
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