Why are christians so desperate to deny those who became Atheists were ever christians? [Spirituality & Religion]

@Adaydreambeliever You don't need to be religious to have humanity. If Christianity doesn't work for you then it's fine but have respect for other people's beliefs

@karysma OOh was that a telling off? Well done! But misplaced! I personally don't mind if people want to believe in fairy stories.. that's up to them, but this story was about those people not respecting those who were Christian and now are not.. so...
PS an awful lot of so-called Christians are distinctly lacking in humanity I find.. those who spew hatred for gay people.. same sex marriage, often re women too.. AND in this case.. against those who don't share their beliefs.. soo...

@Adaydreambeliever If I was telling you off I wouldn't have been this polite. I was talking to you as a human being. [quote]that their belief may be a load of BS[/quote] you said this the first time, I was responding to that.

Just because someone is Christian doesn't mean they are perfect. If they are judging then it means that they are still growing in Christianity. They are going to have moments like this from time to time but the finished product will be so much better so bear with them.

I don't have a problem with people who don't share my beliefs but I don't like my beliefs being disrespected

@karysma but you are missing the point my fellow human being.. you are missing quite a few points.. the first and most obvious is context.. the context of the story I was responding to is relevant..
The second, and again pretty obvious.. is .. *MAY* be.. may be means I am not saying they are or are not.. I never said one way or the other and I never told people they cannot believe BS if they want to.. SO, your ire and concern, while very sweet, are factually misplaced in this instance.

I think again.. that this story was about Christians not respecting.. and I guess, if atheists, (and I never said I was one!) don't respect Christians disrespecting their beliefs.. then perhaps the atheists are also growing :P

@karysma [quote]If Christianity doesn't work for you then it's fine but have respect for other people's beliefs[/quote]
In the same way, if christianity works for you fine, but have respect for other people's beliefs or absence thereof.

@suzie1960 other people's beliefs is none of my business

@Adaydreambeliever Im sorry, one is not a devout Christian without studying the Bible. She was not devout and she did not know the bible. Its like me telling you im a trained runner, but havent left the couch. What we see is bs on her behalf and yours as well. She was no Christian.

@Reverend [quote]I'm sorry, one is not a devout Christian without studying the Bible. [/quote]
So the claim about there being something like 2 billion christians is just hype as the vast majority of them have [b]never[/b] read the bible. At least I did when I was a christian. I freely admit I became a christian on blind faith alone as I hadn't read the bible at that point.

[quote]She was no Christian.[/quote]
So you're another one of those, terrified to face the fact that it's possible for a christian to see through all the lies and deception and break free.

@suzie1960 you said you were a "devout" Christian, did you not? A devout Christian knows their way in the Bible, they have studied it and accepted its teachings. As far as the two billion Christians, all it takes to be a Christian is belief in the life, death, burial and resurrection of Christ, so yes that could be a decent number. You read the bible when you were a Christian.. hmm so either you werent really one or you were on the right path and denied what was laid out for you. Which is it? There are no other logical explanations.

@suzie1960 regarding you second issue, im not afraid of anything. Im actually trying to understand wether its possible for you to be saved. From what i see its very possible, you were NOT a devout Christian otherwise you would have known truth. An unsaved person cannot understand the teachings in the bible.

@Reverend You're clutching at straws now and apparently contradicting yourself because you're desperate to "prove" I wasn't a christian. You're problem is that, at the time, I was no different from other devout christians. If I were not a christian, nor were any of the others so the 2 billion or so christians like to boast about is greatly exaggerated.

The logical explanation is that I was a christian but, upon reading the bible, I saw through all the lies and deceit so was able to break free. I did find the truth, you haven't found it yet. You just can't accept that because the very idea is anathema to you. It means you could be a victim of christianity's lies too. That what a lot of christians are terrified of when they hear testimonies such as mine. Maybe you're the exception but I doubt it.

@suzie1960 no im not clutching at straws and im not terrified by your testimony by any means. So then the conclusion of your testimony is you were on the way to being a Christian, you read the bible and rejected it? How can you become a "devout" Christian without first understanding the WORD? You cant! When you did read it you rejected it, wrote it off as lies etc. However you want to put it. You were not Christian, you were presented with some things you agreed with, the Holy Spirit started working in you and in the end you rejected it. You can say you believed until you are blue in the face. How could you believe when you had not read it yourself and had not heard?

@Reverend I see you referred to me, then spouted a lot of very questionable twaddle.. I am afraid just saying things like she wasn't this or that doesn't actually make it so. Your words make me cringe in disbelief. Please don't refer to me again. Oh and telling me that my words are bs -really does say it all as regards your own Christianity. If there's a god then sunshine, he/she or it really doesn't support bigoted or narrow minded people who disrespect others just for voicing an opinion.

@Adaydreambeliever and as i stated before, if the shoe fits. Wear it. You see, something us Christians have that you dont are certain things in scripture that tell us wether or not the person was a Christian, or if they are reprobate. The best thing for you to do is mind your own and dont try to tell someone that believes how they ought to be, you know nothing about it. Im sure you call everyone who doesnt believe your trash, narrow minded and bigoted, and as far as mentioning you. You knkw nothing about God so it would be best if you not tell me what HE would or would not approve.

@Reverend [quote]So then the conclusion of your testimony is you were on the way to being a Christian, you read the bible and rejected it? How can you become a "devout" Christian without first understanding the WORD? [/quote]
As I said, you're clutching at straws. I was a devout christian in that I followed what [b]believed[/b] (it is all supposed to be a matter of belief after all) to be the teachings of christianity. As part of that devotion, I began to study the bible with the help of "the holy spirit". I only later discovered it was just a figment of my imagination.

You're just desperate to deny I was a christian because it calls your own beliefs into question.

You could also do what you told @Adaydreambeliever to do - mind your own and don't try to tell someone what they believed. You know nothing about it nor what I went through when I rejected that trash and tried to break free of christianity

@suzie1960 You turning away from something in no way makes me question my beliefs or faith. Im wanting to deny you was ever a Christian so i can rule out the possibility of you being a Reprobate. If the way you say things are so its safe to say that you fall in the Reprobate category and it would be meaningless to discuss anything spiritual with you any further. You heard, you accepted, your started reading and learning, and then rejected it.

Now that I see, and you have confirmed your stance and it fits perfectly, I will do just that. Theres really nothing more I can say or can do for you.

@Reverend [quote]Im wanting to deny you was ever a Christian so i can rule out the possibility of you being a Reprobate[/quote]
Quite frankly, I don't really care what you or other christian believe. The fact it remains, I was a christian but I saw though the deception and broke free. I just think it's the height of arrogance for christians to try to deny I was ever a christian but arrogance seems to be a hallmark of christianity.

@suzie1960 You telling me what you just did disproves you were Christian. If you were a devout Christian you would obviously know that God gives us certain things in which to tell how a person is spiritually. Its not a height of arrogance by an means, whats really happening is God is true and what you say is a lie. If what your telling me were to align with the Bible, i would have no problem with it. Fact is, you were not a Christian, you were on your way. Then when you were given the facts you denied it. Therefore becoming Reprobate. That makes sense, thats the ONLY way your story jives with biblical doctrine on your kind.

@Reverend [quote]You telling me what you just did disproves you were Christian.[/quote]
What on Earth gives you that idea?

As a devout christian, I [b]believed[/b] in the christian god and everything chrisrtianity taught. It was only after studying the subject I found is was all lies. Telling me I was not a christian is just arrogance. It's no different from me saying I know you're not a real christian. Whether my experience jives with biblical doctrine is irrelevant because the whole bible is irrelevant.

@suzie1960 No, the Bible is what makes this entire discussion relevant. Without the Bible, or the lack thereof you would have never written this post and we wouldbt be discussing this right now.

@suzie1960 Been there too and drew the same conclusion.

@Reverend The bible is just a collection of myths and superstitions. As I'm no longer as christian, it has no relevance to my life.

@OldHippie I think most people who actually study the bible do. Most of those who claim to believe in it don't have a clue as to what it says.

@suzie1960 Atheists, have read the Buybull far more.
That's why they are Atheists..
No cherry picking! 🤷‍♀️

@suzie1960 I was raised protestant, Church of Christ. My grandmother was the organist and I went every Sunday. Everything was fine until I started asking questions at young peoples meetings they refused to answer or I was told I was just being arguementative.
I left the church at 13 and I've never been in a church since.
The minister never tried to get me to come back because at 13 I'd destroyed their argument about who gets to go to heaven.