Post by jlr1701 on Sept 15, 2017 18:33:59 GMT -6
Hey everybody,
I'm just wondering... from a biblical perspective, what is going on with apostates who consider themselves to be "ex-Christians"? And I'm asking this having counted myself among that group until very recently. It literally took a miraculous act of God to open my eyes! I am doing everything I can think of over on Facebook to get my "ex-Christian" friends to see the fact that big things are going on in the world that strongly point to the fact that we are living in the last of the Last Days and that Jesus may very well be returning very soon. But it's like talking to a brick wall! Nothing I can say to them makes any difference, and no amount of pointing out world events and how well they line up with the Bible is getting through to them. They all know that I have a history of mental illness that includes usually short-lived bouts of religiosity. This is common in bipolar disorder, and I've always accepted it as a part of the illness that I have to live with. But I cannot get them to WAKE UP and see that this particular return to faith is VERY different. I've tried to get them to see that I'm not believing because of emotions brought on by mental illness. I'm believing in Christ because of information I encountered here that has permanently changed my worldview. And that will be the case whether we have things nailed down or not. Even if the rapture doesn't occur as soon as we think it will, that won't stop me from keeping the faith. But anyway... in their minds, this all has to do with my mental illness, and I will return to hardcore atheism again soon enough and be feeling foolish for my flight back up into manic religious belief. I just cannot get them to see that I am not manic at the moment. My doctors and I all agree that my mental health is and has been stable for quite some time now. One of my friends even suggested that my doctors know that I am manic but they are choosing not to address it for fear that doing so would lead to a major depressive episode! But he does not understand that if my doctors knew that I was ill and did not address it, that would be extremely irresponsible on their part.
But at any rate... my question is: Is there a biblical explanation for why people who have departed from the faith are much more opposed to the Gospel than average people tend to be? Why are they so dead set on maintaining their hardcore atheism? Why are they not willing to even entertain the possibility that God might exist and that many events going on in the world right now might have huge significance?
I ask these things knowing that only God could have opened my eyes and allowed me to see. My friends are BLIND to all of this, and it makes me think of 2 Corinthians 4:4. Or are they part of the group that God is sending a strong delusion?
Thanks,
Jeff
I'm just wondering... from a biblical perspective, what is going on with apostates who consider themselves to be "ex-Christians"? And I'm asking this having counted myself among that group until very recently. It literally took a miraculous act of God to open my eyes! I am doing everything I can think of over on Facebook to get my "ex-Christian" friends to see the fact that big things are going on in the world that strongly point to the fact that we are living in the last of the Last Days and that Jesus may very well be returning very soon. But it's like talking to a brick wall! Nothing I can say to them makes any difference, and no amount of pointing out world events and how well they line up with the Bible is getting through to them. They all know that I have a history of mental illness that includes usually short-lived bouts of religiosity. This is common in bipolar disorder, and I've always accepted it as a part of the illness that I have to live with. But I cannot get them to WAKE UP and see that this particular return to faith is VERY different. I've tried to get them to see that I'm not believing because of emotions brought on by mental illness. I'm believing in Christ because of information I encountered here that has permanently changed my worldview. And that will be the case whether we have things nailed down or not. Even if the rapture doesn't occur as soon as we think it will, that won't stop me from keeping the faith. But anyway... in their minds, this all has to do with my mental illness, and I will return to hardcore atheism again soon enough and be feeling foolish for my flight back up into manic religious belief. I just cannot get them to see that I am not manic at the moment. My doctors and I all agree that my mental health is and has been stable for quite some time now. One of my friends even suggested that my doctors know that I am manic but they are choosing not to address it for fear that doing so would lead to a major depressive episode! But he does not understand that if my doctors knew that I was ill and did not address it, that would be extremely irresponsible on their part.
But at any rate... my question is: Is there a biblical explanation for why people who have departed from the faith are much more opposed to the Gospel than average people tend to be? Why are they so dead set on maintaining their hardcore atheism? Why are they not willing to even entertain the possibility that God might exist and that many events going on in the world right now might have huge significance?
I ask these things knowing that only God could have opened my eyes and allowed me to see. My friends are BLIND to all of this, and it makes me think of 2 Corinthians 4:4. Or are they part of the group that God is sending a strong delusion?
Thanks,
Jeff