@pettytalk saidI have an intellect like any other believer or non-believer, but I would not describe myself as "an intellectual".
Were you not an intellectual when you received and accepted the seed of faith?
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@pettytalk saidI believed that Jesus was the Son of God who was sent to save us from our sins. I believed in justification by faith and that his death and that because of his resurrection ~ if I was repentant ~ I could be forgiven for my sins. Given what I believed Jesus had done for me and for all of us, I strived to obey his commandments and I believed that, to this end, I was helped by the Holy Spirit, and I hoped this would be evident in my actions. I believed that the reward for my faith was life after death [the actual nature of which, I did not know], something made possible by Jesus’ sacrifice and my repentance.
In other words, please give me some details of the faith you had, so that we can properly identify it.
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@pettytalk saidI am no more or less able to do this than you can prove to me that you are not a fake Christian, something I am not asking you to do.
Then prove to me that you were not a fake Christian, to begin with, and truly had what it takes.
@ghost-of-a-duke saidA wise assessment on water depth.
Shallow waters are noisy; deep waters are silent.
Anon
But I've also heard about fast-moving currents at the deep end of the pool, and I've seen the fast-rising bubbles that make a noticeable popping sound once they reach the surface. I silently contemplated who might have been swimming nearby.
@pettytalk saidPeople can lose their religious faith, obviously so.
please tell me what do you maintain, for the record. Faith is impossible to lose once we gain it? Or that it is possible to lose the faith we acquire?
@fmf saidI said: You claim to have been a man of faith at one time, but are not now, since you say that you wised up, and deemed the faith you had acquired unworthy of your newfound "intellectualism."
No. I have made no claim like this.
And you said: No. I have made no claim like this.
Now I say: Are you ready to make this claim now, in front of God and anyone who can see our posting?
I note that you prefer to piecemeal your responses. Therefore let us break bread together. I'm now asking again, of what faith are you an ex from? We'll take it from there, to see what you claim to have lost.
@fmf saidI said: Were you not an intellectual when you received and accepted the seed of faith?
I have an intellect like any other believer or non-believer, but I would not describe myself as "an intellectual".
You said: I have an intellect like any other believer or non-believer, but I would not describe myself as "an intellectual".
I now need to rephrase the question, for clarification, since I don't claim to be an intellectual either, although I got the impression that you were. By your comments I was assuming that you were. I had to assume because I would not know one, even if I were to bump into one on a public street, or on a public forum. Unless, of course, they had a sign hung on heads that read: I'm an Intellectual. And I would politely, and respectfully respond with, excuse me, my fault, but glad to know you, just the same.
My rephrased question: Do you retain, if you can remember, that you were any wiser then, than you are now? I'm asking for your own judgement, as to whether or not your level of knowledge, and keen sense of truth, had anything to do with no longer believing what you believed when you believed those things you said about believing?
This is what you previously said on believing, in past tense.
FMF said: I believed that Jesus was the Son of God who was sent to save us from our sins. I believed in justification by faith and that his death and that because of his resurrection ~ if I was repentant ~ I could be forgiven for my sins. Given what I believed Jesus had done for me and for all of us, I strived to obey his commandments and I believed that, to this end, I was helped by the Holy Spirit, and I hoped this would be evident in my actions. I believed that the reward for my faith was life after death [the actual nature of which, I did not know], something made possible by Jesus’ sacrifice and my repentance.
@pettytalk said"In front of God ?
Now I say: Are you ready to make this claim now, in front of God and anyone who can see our posting?
What are you on about?