...never a christian...

I really hope that some of you will email me to explain why you are no longer following Christ. I am still a Christian, and I pray that I never turn away from the faith because if I do that proves that I never was a Christian to begin with(read 1st John). Contact me, and inform me of your views. Please challenge my thoughts. Thank all of you for your time.

Kevin King
romans10vs9@hotmail.com

What's All the Fuss?

sent in by Michael J Fowler

When I was eight, my mother admitted that there was no Santa Claus. So followed the rest of the fairy tales.

As I grew older, I noticed that the followers of the "Prince of Peace" seemed to do a lot of killing.

I have quietly been an atheist for over forty years.

I have been a critical care nurse and a firefighter/paramedic because of my belief that humanity must help itself. In my careers I have had to "feign christianity" to keep my jobs secure. I have read more of the bible than most xtians that I know.

After I was seriously injured, we moved to AZ. Ever since the neighbors found out about our (non) beliefs we have been harassed; tires punctured, property vandalized, my son was assaulted at school,etc.

We are considering emigration to a country that allows freedom of thought as I am too old, crippled and in pain to fight anymore.

JESUS STILL LOVES YOU

sent in by Philippe

  • Regardless of your beliefs, your hurting, your pain ... Jesus still loves you.
  • Regardless of your upbringing, your stance on morals, money or sex... Jesus still loves you.
  • Regardless of your views, your anger, your hate... Jesus still loves you

Deep down you know that and you know you are running away from Him, if Jesus didn't care about you why would he take your sin - all your sin - and hang on the cross for you.

If you were the only person on this earth Jesus still would have come down, took your sins on his shoulders and died in your place.

You had a better birth than the Son of God and you surely will have a better death - if you were seriously bothered about the Bible and it's teaching you would have re-started your relationship with God by inviting Jesus back into your life and asking God Himself.

It's true religion lets us down, church lets us down, the world lets you down and christians let you down - but you know like me that in reality

Jesus is faithful and will NEVER let you down.

As for God's love he doesn't give it to His favourite religious people but to everyone, even those He knows will reject it - that is Amazing Grace. Romans 5:8 'God demonstrates His own love for us in this: While we were still sinners, Christ died for us'. Not when we were followers of Jesus but when we rejected Him, hated him, and made websites encouraging others to hate him too. When all is said and done this thing remains Jesus loves you.

It is finished... So follow!

quick_flip@yahoo.co.uk

Something I'd Like to Share

sent in by Ed Babinski

Why do so many human beings assume so much in general, and have such difficulty even getting members of their own family to agree with them on trifling matters, yet seek to evangelize the entire world and tell everyone "what's what?" I am convinced that the ability to communicate is an art and takes far more patience and practice than most others. The mere fact that the world is filled with difficulties in communication, and that such difficulty is not necessarily due to "sin," constitutes one more reason why I do not believe "God's Word" determines where everyone goes for eternity. For instance, some conservative Christians argue in favor of hell by calling it “God’s great compliment.” Surely there is some confusion and miscommunication somewhere if you have to use the word "compliment" in such a fashion. If hell is such a “compliment” then what does God do when he wants to “insult” somebody?
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Given headaches, backaches, toothaches, strains, scrapes, breaks, cuts, rashes, burns, bruises, PMS, fatigue, hunger, odors, molds, colds, yeast, parasites, viruses, cancers, genetic defects, blindness, deafness, paralysis, mental illness, ugliness, ignorance, miscommunications, embarrassments, unrequited love, dashed hopes, boredom, hard labor, repetitious labor, accidents, old age, senility, fires, floods, earthquakes, typhoons, tornadoes, hurricanes and volcanoes, I can not see how anyone, after they are dead, deserves “eternal punishment” as well.
---------
When I was a boy I heard tell of an old farmer in Vermont. He was dying.
The minister was at his bedside -- asked him if he was a Christian, if he was prepared to die. The old man answered that he had made no preparation, that he was not a Christian, that he had never done anything but work. The preacher said that he could give him no hope unless he had faith in Christ, and that if he had no faith his soul would certainly be lost. The old man was not frightened. He was perfectly calm. In a weak and broken voice he said, “Mr. Preacher, I suppose you noticed my farm. My wife and I came here more than fifty years ago. We were just married. It was a forest then and the land was covered with stones. I cut down the trees, burned the logs, picked up the stones, and laid the walls. My wife spun and wove and worked every moment. We raised and educated our children -- denied ourselves. During all these years my wife never had a good dress, or a decent bonnet. I never had a good suit of clothes. We lived on the plainest food. Our hands, our bodies are deformed by toil. We never had a vacation. We loved each other and the children. That is the only luxury we ever had. Now I am about to die and you ask me if I am prepared. Mr.
Preacher, I have no fear of the future, no terror of any other world.
There may be such a place as hell -- but if there is, you never can make me believe that it’s any worse than old Vermont.”
- Robert Ingersoll, “Why I Am An Agnostic”
-------
It is strange to me that people can consign others to hell without a scruple. One only has to remember a toothache, not to wish it eternally on anyone.
- Lucy Daugalis (daugalis@arcom.com.au)
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When all has been considered, it seems to me to be the irresistible intuition that infinite punishment for finite sin would be unjust, and therefore wrong. We feel that even weak and erring Man would shrink from such an act. And we cannot conceive of God as acting on a lower standard of right and wrong.
- Lewis Carroll (author of Alice in Wonderland), “Eternal Punishment,”
Diversions and Digressions of Lewis Carroll
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Do I believe in eternal punishment? Hell no. I always believed God could get his revenge in far less time.
- Robert Ingersoll
----------
An idea, which has terrified millions, claims that some of us will go to a place called Hell, where we will suffer eternal torture. This does not scare me because, when I try to imagine a Mind behind this universe, I cannot conceive that Mind, usually called “God,” as totally mad. I mean, guys, compare that “God” with the worst monsters you can think of -- Adolph Hitler, Joe Stalin, that sort of guy. None of them ever inflicted more than finite pain on their victims. Even de Sade, in his sado-masochistic fantasy novels, never devised an unlimited torture. The idea that the Mind of Creation (if such exists) wants to torture some of its critters for endless infinities of infinities seems too absurd to take seriously. Such a deranged Mind could not create a mud hut, much less the exquisitely mathematical universe around us. If such a monster-God did exist, the sane attitude would consist of practicing the Buddhist virtue of compassion. Don’t give way to hatred: try to understand and forgive him. Maybe He will recover his wits some day.
- Robert Anton Wilson, “Cheerful Reflections on Death and Dying,” Gnoware, February 1999

-------------

ORTHODOX CHRISTIAN RESPONSES TO WHAT I SENT ABOVE

Alexanian:: God does not force anyone to jump.

DAVE: May I suggest a different approach to hell? I think it is God's loving provision for those who would be in incredible pain in the presence of absolute holiness. Hell is the place where, not being conscious of God, eternal souls will be most comfortable. But it must be different for those who did not know from those who knew and rejected.
Dave

------------------

ED: Dear Alex and Dave, your responses above are evidently just as ad hoc as my own reasoning.

Alex appears ignorant of the passages in the Word of God that do depict God "forcing people to jump" as it were, in a variety of situations, both Old Testament and New. Perhaps Alex has never read Calvin or Luther either, or classical Catholic literature on hell and the Bible.

And Dave's depiction of hell as "God's loving provision" is something I fail to understand. He's using "love" in an entirely different fashion from the way I understand the word -- having souls hidden away in closets for eternity, to avoid encountering a God who cannot help tearing them to pieces by his mere presence? It's just another way of trying to depict orthodoxy without being too offensive to others. Well, if God can't be in these people's presence, what about others? Angels, other human souls?
Someone could conceivably reach those closet cases, or at least share tea with them from time to time, listen to them. Everybody could use a friend when they're down.

Likewise, as I pointed out to Alex, if "hell is comfortable" then how is it hell? Why ought a person, as Jesus taught, cut off their own hand rather than go there, even metaphorically speaking? And then adding the threats about apostates like myself who "knew and rejected" how "different" my punishment is going to be. Really, Dave.

I have studied many NDE's and spoken to people who have had them, and found no evidence that "Born againers" have cornered the market on experiencing love in the next life. Hellish NDEs are the exception, not
the rule.

Also, I believe I brought up the subject of universalist Christians in Christian history (many in the early church), and also George Macdonald's universalism.

I like living on this planet, working, my job isn't so bad and has many benefits, and I don't mind so much people having opinions different from my own, though I appreciate those who are able to moderate themselves in speech and express themselves well. This world is neither heaven nor hell, but something else. And surely any infinite being that could create the present world could also create one like it that lasted infinity instead of creating a "hell."

Seems to me that the options that one might come up with as an infinite being are more diverse than either "heaven" or "hell."

In fact, I'll go so far as to say that any religion that can only think in terms of "heaven" or "hell" is gonna be a haven for manic-depressives.

I recall Howard Storm's vision of the afterlife in his NDE. The fundamentalist christian from the southern U.S. died and arrived in the afterlife in a place created especially for them, to ease their transition, a place with a church on a green grassy knoll. People from other religions with other beliefs and from other parts of the world were treated to equally respectful scenarios and the truth of a wider more universal spirituality was only gradually revealled to each of them.

Or there's the old joke about St. Peter giving the new arrivals to heaven a tour of the premises, and there on a cloud below them was a bunch of people with paper bags over their heads. St. Peter whispered to the folks in the tour bus, "Please don't make too much noise as we pass over this cloud, it's the Born Again Christians, they think they're the only ones up here."

Time and God are the best teachers. And that's what love is really about, throughout eternity. "Love never fails..." 1 Cor.

Or as was engraved on the tombstone of two ancient astronomers "We have loved the stars far too much to fear the night."

Cheers,

edwardtbabinski.us

Wife Swap!

Greetings!

I am writing in the hopes that someone affiliated with your site might be interested in appearing on a new ABC television series. The show, (which has the rather salacious title of Wife Swap), has two mothers exchange families for 2 weeks, such that both can explore another family’s values and lifestyle, and share their perspective too. It’s a format that has won numerous awards in the UK, and been critically acclaimed on this side of the Atlantic as well.

We are always searching for intelligent, opinionated individuals from a diversity of backgrounds. Currently, we are eager to feature a family headed by parents who are raising their children without imposing religious beliefs on them. In a society where non-theistic individuals can be marginalized, participating would provide an opportunity to put a human face to the atheist or humanist perspective.

Is there anyway that you might be able to help us find some families? This could be as simple as a message about us in a mass email, a notice in a newsletter, or sharing the information with anyone you know personally that might be interested.

Anyone interested can call or email me directly. They would not be committing to the show in any way. I would simply give them more details and answer any questions they might have.

Thanks for taking the time to read this, and please give me a call or write should you have any questions or concerns.

Kind regards,
Stacy Wood
Associate Producer
Tel: (212) 404-1472
Email: stacy.wood@rdfmedia.com
www.WifeSwapTVShow.com

'One of the most entertaining new entries in reality TV, Wife Swap reminds us that the American living room is as fascinating a laboratory of human emotions as Borneo or the corporate boardroom.' Time Magazine

'Wife Swap is promisingly sly and serious, funny and flabbergasting. It's a reality show, yes, but also in its way a fascinating pop sociological experiment, one that increases in complexity and impact as it goes along.' Washington Post

Jesus is my parachute!

As I have browsed this site and read the 'testimonies' of the uncoverting people here...I notice several things. Most here believe Christianity is a set of rules or guidelines that you live by. Every group of people gathered has expectations of those within the gathering and to not adhere to those expectations means you are somewhat ousted from the group....except in "your" churches where you expected these people to accept you no matter how you presented yourself...people are people and they fail each other.

So here is what the truth really is about. Stop meeting the creed and meet God. It's about trusting IN JESUS not about what you can do for God.

Stop following people or churches and their dogma's. Jesus said take up your cross and follow me...not Tom, Dick, and Harry.

The Bible says you will be presented with the trial of your faith in order to prove to you, not God whether you really have trusted him and have been indwelt by the Holy Spirit. Sadly, most of you here know the answer to this question. You were never saved. That is why you didn't last. That is why you got offended and quit...a person who truly has the Spirit of God in them cannot quit....What is in him will not be overcome by anything in this world. Those who do not overcome the trials or at least get through them with there faith in god either stronger or more resolute...never had true faith in the first place.....because of the reason I stated before.

Here is the deal. 10 commandment show you and I are all guilty...everyone has lied, everyone has stolen, everyone has at some time lusted after that girl or guy that we wanted so bad. All have sinned. What churches are not teaching is that going to church, being baptised..it's all useless. You cannot fill a hole that goes on for eternity and that is the penalty for your sin. You have offended a pure, holy, infinite God. yeah, I know he is a God of love....but he is thrice HOLY....so his holiness outweighs his love 3 times. That's something else churches neglect. If I gave you a glass of water with a drop of sewage in it, it would turn your stomache and you'd be offended at me for even suggesting you drink it...yet you ask God to accept you with all your death from sin, into his holy eternity of life. Since the wages of sin is death, what can you do...you're dead. Dead men do not do anything...all that you do is null, void, vanity....God says even your works of righteousness are as filthy rags.

You are left with a question. You have tried church. You have tried putting Jesus on for this life and he failed you because things got tough, people didn't love you like they should have and life is just plain unfair. Join the club. Don't think I say this without my fair share of trials. In the last 6 years I have went through things that I couldn't imagine and are far worse than anything I've read on this site yet. But I am still a Christian because I didn't put Jesus on like suit for this life...I put Jesus on as a parachute for eternity...big difference in perspective.

Forget all this stuff about Jesus helping you with your marriage or your finances or whatever.....none of that applies to you until Jesus saves your soul from Hell.
The little banner over there talks about everyone being God's beloved creations and how could a good God send his beloved creations to Hell. Because he is HOLY and you are a rebel in the infinite presence of a holy God....his grace is on you now as you read this...because you should be in hell as you read this. You are a rebel. You believe yourself to be higher than God, more important than God. This life isn't about you. God made you for his pleasure, not for yours. While that may offend you, the fact is and will remain...one day you will die, you will not be received blameless before a HOLY God, you will be guilty of lying, you will be guilty of stealing, guilty of Lust...and in all those you will be guilty of setting yourself up over God making yourself as God. The fact is Jesus said do not be afraid of him who can destroy your body...but be very afraid of him who can destroy your body and soul.

There is only one thing and one thing only that changes a person so that no matter what happens, they are always a Christian...and that is truly believing in Jesus Christ for their payment of their guilt of their sins and accepting him as a Holy God and repenting from your sinful ways...it may sound cliche, and it may nauseate you.....but I've been through worse than most of the spoiled brats in here for the cause of Christ and I've had my fair share of temper tantrums with God, but when you belong to HIM, you ever let go because HE SAID...I will NEVER LEAVE YOU, NOR FORSAKE YOU....a true believer can't escape from God and become an unbeliever because God has sealed that promise with his own blood covenant. Only someone who never believed can escape and become an unbeliever because they never had that promise from God and so therefore are perfectly able to run away from God. You are not his, you are of your father the devil....Good Daddies never disown there blood children....I know, mine is still with me and we've been through Hell on earth.

Scott

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