I understand the constancy of your argument of "being born again" as I am intimately acquainted with the bible and had a severe baptist upbringing.
My question is what about all the other things and ways Jesus talked about, the ways that He shares and the lives that He comments on?
I believe that sometimes people get into arguments about spiritual things because they have a different vocabulary. You are saying one must be born again, another says no I don't. What does that term mean to you, what does that term mean to another? When that is explained you may find much more common ground than you ever thought possible.
Salvation has always been about faith, since you have studied the bible diligently you know this to be true. Splicer seems to me to be saying over and over again that it is about believing, that's faith. It seems there is some preconceived notions from both of you about both of you, let's drop that and be concerned with the discussion at hand.
In my faith experience when Christ was speaking with Nicodemus about new birth he was not speaking of a method but rather a process. The new birth or being "born again" is what happens as a result of the individual's faith. Their life is changed from the inside out, another writer calls it "being made new" What about about Splicer? Has anyone asked him if when he started to believe in Jesus did his life change in ways he can't always express even though he did not become instantly without sinful actions? "Born again" is a term that doesn't settle well with a lot of people because it conjures an image of old time judgmental bible thumping KJV only preachers saying the most ridiculous things about the God of the universe that many, many of us believe in but do dot share exactly the same theological bent about as our fundamentalist baptist siblings.
We don't share the love of God around the world and then require them to learn and speak English after or as a prerequisite to their faith. Let's let people keep their language.
Why keep hammering the term when there is so much issue with it? Talk about who the "Way" is and that it is simply by faith in that way. You are still going to find yourself in direct opposition to a lot of people likely because of your beliefs differing from theirs about billions of people burning in "hell" for eternity, but you will have made some progress in being at peace with all men and truly doing the work of Christ, which is not judgment but Reconciliation.
If you love "sinners", and I use that term only because of its meaning to someone like yourself, then I personally challenge you to read AND pray about what you read in the book "Love Wins" by Rob Bell.
On a side note, Any of you who have ever been caught in the line of fire from people saying who God is and what He thinks about people and sin and you just decided to never think about that kind of God I would say the book mentioned would be a story about God you have never heard!
Thanks!
Re: The oldest trick in the Book
Member #: 2617
Registered: 1996-2001
Posted:
131
Name:
Bill
Location:
Pacific NW
Personal:
late 40s
Experience:
~31 years
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