Josh wrote:The unchurched or atheist (such as I used to be) is, believe me, very turned off by such nonsense ideas as a “mid trib rapture” and often is put off from belief at all if they think to be a Christian, they have to believe such things.
Better to focus on the gospel and keep such minutiae out of the program for new believers - and for established ones.
I have no idea what "mid trib rapture" is? And I have never heard that a Christian has to believe such things! I have learned more things about the rapture being wrong from you and I don't recall anywhere where you have pointed to scripture that might relate...
This again is an example of the reactionism that turns people away.
The “I used to be” referred to an atheist / agnostic.
Most my prior experience with around Christianity was that you seemed to have to believe in a lot of strange things, like certain eschatology. Believe me, in some typical evangelical churches, this is a very frequent topic. It’s really common on Christian radio and in popular Christian books. Unfortunately, that was most of my exposure to Christianity. And I pretty much had no faith at all after growing up basically believing the end times were about to happen, a one world government with a mark of the beast, and so on (none of which ever happened).
Thankfully I understand now the Bible shows a different way, and following Jesus doesn’t require believing in the rapture.
Josh wrote:The “I used to be” referred to an atheist / agnostic.
Most my prior experience with around Christianity was that you seemed to have to believe in a lot of strange things, like certain eschatology. Believe me, in some typical evangelical churches, this is a very frequent topic. It’s really common on Christian radio and in popular Christian books. Unfortunately, that was most of my exposure to Christianity. And I pretty much had no faith at all after growing up basically believing the end times were about to happen, a one world government with a mark of the beast, and so on (none of which ever happened).
Thankfully I understand now the Bible shows a different way, and following Jesus doesn’t require believing in the rapture.
Amen, Josh. I am glad for you.
I think understanding why you approach things or word things the way you do will be helpful for me, even if extremely challenging to relate to.
I will now expect certain people to just come across as reactionary is all, even if they aren't necessarily living that way. But I also have my own perception partly from my background that limits my ability to see clearly, and shouldn't assume the motive of some people even when they sound reactionary.
Josh wrote:The “I used to be” referred to an atheist / agnostic.
Most my prior experience with around Christianity was that you seemed to have to believe in a lot of strange things, like certain eschatology. Believe me, in some typical evangelical churches, this is a very frequent topic. It’s really common on Christian radio and in popular Christian books. Unfortunately, that was most of my exposure to Christianity. And I pretty much had no faith at all after growing up basically believing the end times were about to happen, a one world government with a mark of the beast, and so on (none of which ever happened).
Thankfully I understand now the Bible shows a different way, and following Jesus doesn’t require believing in the rapture.
Amen, Josh. I am glad for you.
I think understanding why you approach things or word things the way you do will be helpful for me, even if extremely challenging to relate to.
I will now expect certain people to just come across as reactionary is all, even if they aren't necessarily living that way. But I also have my own perception partly from my background that limits my ability to see clearly, and shouldn't assume the motive of some people even when they sound reactionary.
Certainly one of the difficulties we have in understanding each other is based on our own perceptions and life experiences. We often hear people asking if there is no common sense anymore, but common sense is only common to me and to others with my exact same experiences and responses to them. So, no, there is no common sense because we each have a unique sense based on who we are.
I can understand your difficulty when we just talk about what is wrong with a certain idea but never get around to discussing what is right. I bought a book someone had recommended - my daughter picked it up and said the writer spent too much time explaining the wrong views instead of just explaining the right views. We don't need to understand the wrong ideas to understand the right idea or belief.
Josh wrote:The “I used to be” referred to an atheist / agnostic.
Most my prior experience with around Christianity was that you seemed to have to believe in a lot of strange things, like certain eschatology. Believe me, in some typical evangelical churches, this is a very frequent topic. It’s really common on Christian radio and in popular Christian books. Unfortunately, that was most of my exposure to Christianity. And I pretty much had no faith at all after growing up basically believing the end times were about to happen, a one world government with a mark of the beast, and so on (none of which ever happened).
Thankfully I understand now the Bible shows a different way, and following Jesus doesn’t require believing in the rapture.
Amen, Josh. I am glad for you.
I think understanding why you approach things or word things the way you do will be helpful for me, even if extremely challenging to relate to.
I will now expect certain people to just come across as reactionary is all, even if they aren't necessarily living that way. But I also have my own perception partly from my background that limits my ability to see clearly, and shouldn't assume the motive of some people even when they sound reactionary.
Certainly one of the difficulties we have in understanding each other is based on our own perceptions and life experiences. We often hear people asking if there is no common sense anymore, but common sense is only common to me and to others with my exact same experiences and responses to them. So, no, there is no common sense because we each have a unique sense based on who we are.
I can understand your difficulty when we just talk about what is wrong with a certain idea but never get around to discussing what is right. I bought a book someone had recommended - my daughter picked it up and said the writer spent too much time explaining the wrong views instead of just explaining the right views. We don't need to understand the wrong ideas to understand the right idea or belief.
That's why I was somewhat 'disturbed' by the "pecking order" discussion.
0 x
Noah was a conspiracy theorist...and then it began to rain.~Unknown
