From: adams@spss.com (Steve Adams)
Newsgroups: talk.religion.misc
Subject: Re: The delusional nature of sincere belief.
Date: 29 Dec 92 19:34:49 GMT
Organization: SPSS Inc.

drake+@cs.cmu.edu (Drake) writes:

>In article <adams.725585678@spssig> adams@spss.com (Steve Adams) writes:
>
>>Jumping into a thread that you really weren't following, eh?
>Of course!  I meet the strangest people that way... <g>
Fair enough...I've done it myself!

>>Except that this was in response to an specific person (Sean Hartigan), who
>>claimed to have 'accepted Christ,' but didn't believe in the resurection or
>>the incarnation.  Sean's point was that since he had "accepted" Christ, he
>>was covered.  I pointed out that this was not the case.

>Fine; care to address my case?  Born again, accepted Christ, washed in
>the blood of the Lamb, born of water and of the Spirit, felt the presence
>of the Almighty.  Believed in resurrection, crucifiction, incarnation,
>and inspiration.  I'm a Satanist now.

>Sean thought that he accepted Christ.  You think that you've accepted
>Christ.  You claim that Sean never did.  How do you know that you
>have?

The doctrinal answer is, of course, that you weren't really saved.  How
does one know?  There should be life-changing experiences...you should live
your life as close to that of Christ as humanly possible.  

Any person can come to the word and later reject it.  I don't have a
problem with that...I don't hold 'once saved, always saved' as a doctrine
myself, because I see evidence that contradicts it.  The basic
fundamentalist answer is, of course, that only God knows who is really
saved and who isn't.  Well, so be it.  I can only go by what I see.

I can't explain your situation without knowing *why* you rejected the
teachings of the Bible...and as for worshiping Satan...you seem to be 
accepting the Christian doctrine on evil & its personification, why not 
the doctrine on good and its personification?

>>As to your specific comments, the issue is that when one accepts Jesus
>>Christ as Lord, one does so with their whole mind and whole heart and whole
>>soul.  If you don't do that, then you haven't accepted.
>
>Catch me up here; what do you say that that means to you?  I mean, what
>practical difference does accepting Christ make?  (You get to go to heaven
>later on, for one, right?  Anything else?)

I don't think that there is anything 'practical' that one gains.  For it is
entirely possible to live a good, caring life without accepting Christ.
Eternal life is the reward, as it were, for believers.  But that's not why
I believe.

In fact, I'm convinced I deserve hell, and if God judges that's where I
belong, that is within his will, and I can't argue.  On the other hand, if,
as promised by the scripture, I do gain heaven, then so be it.

Clearly I know which I prefer...but I also know which I deserve.


Rebuke taken, by the way...you are free to hop in any time ya want...

 -Steve
--
  The opinions expressed above are those of the author and not SPSS, Inc.
                         -------------------
   adams@spss.com                                  Phone: (312) 329-3522
   Steve Adams        "Space-age cybernomad"       Fax:   (312) 329-3558