At 09:04 AM 3/11/00 -0600, Wendee Holtcamp wrote:
>I don't believe any person who was truly "in Christ" having seen the true
>power and love and grace of the risen Lord would EVER leave. Those people
>most likely were raised in a church and/or family where the love of Christ
>was professed but not truly practiced.
THat is the usual answer which I think, unfortunately salves our conciences
for not helping our brothers and sisters in Christ to continue in the
faith. If they weren't in the faith then it is not our fault that they left
it.
THis approach also has the drawback that since no true believer can ever
leave the faith, true belief becomes defined by the fact that one stayed.
And because no true believer can ever leave, it really doesn't matter what
we teach them because they won't be able leave the faith.
I personally have trouble with those implications. And it doesn't match the
observations I have had of some truly committed people, Like Charles
Templeton, who ended up leaving the faith.
glenn
Foundation, Fall and Flood
Adam, Apes and Anthropology
http://www.flash.net/~mortongr/dmd.htm
Lots of information on creation/evolution
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