Christianity is not a matter of self identification. Anyone can say, "I am a Christian." That means nothing.

Its the only thing I have to go off of to believe your a christian, particularly in this format, than your self identification.

As a number of moderators pointed out, if your right then no one can call themselves christian, no one would know if they actually were one.

As the other guy said, your making this aloooot harder than it needs to be.

Originally posted by Jedidiah

Christianity is not a matter of self identification. Anyone can say, "I am a Christian." That means nothing.

There's a difference between saying "I am a Christian" and identifying yourself for yourself as a Christian.

Can a person truly consider themself to be a Christian, yet not be one?

Are you a Christian, because you go to church every Sunday, give money to the poor and so on?

And don't forget: Nobody expects the Spanish Inquisition!


- FreezBee

[quote=Jedidiah;2780463]

Originally posted by Seasanctuary

How does a person who believes she is a Christian determine she really is a Christian as opposed to only thinking she is a Christian?

Why does she think she is a Christian?

Why do we have the retarded habit of putting in "she" when we are being generic, and "he" has been used for that for centuries. It drives me nuts.

I blame Mary for all those wolves howling at night keeping people awake.

Originally posted by Jaecp

Its the only thing I have to go off of to believe your a christian, particularly in this format, than your self identification.

As a number of moderators pointed out, if your right then no one can call themselves christian, no one would know if they actually were one.

As the other guy said, your making this aloooot harder than it needs to be.

Argument from authority?

People sometimes ignore things when the person is just another joe.

More than just they have said what they did though.

Let me clear something up for you. Some of our moderators have some really dumb views. You should not be using any of us as an argument from authority unless a person is known to have specialized in a certain area.

**and many moderators think the owners have some really dumb views

Also remember, the philosophy at TWeb is that once a moderator enters a debate, they are not a moderator in that thread and are as any other member.

K,

I was thinking, mostly of

Originally posted by themuzicman

If this is the case, then there are none alive who can claim to be Christians

Which sounded pretty good.

If what jed is saying is true, then no one could honestly say they are christian with any real conviction if they won't know if they are True Christians™ until after they die.

So, why do you have moderators with really dumb views?

Because there is room for tolerance in non-essentials. That is part of Christian unity.

Originally posted by seanD

I would imagine that there are many Christians who know they aren't, don't truly believe it is true, but are going through the motions to appease family, friends, and/or habitual tradition.

I would say this is true of ALL religions in ALL societies where religion continues to have an influence. It is easier to ‘go with the flow’, whereas to oppose it risks social opprobrium. Consequently, depending on the dominant religion of the particular society, many are merely nominal Christians just as many are merely nominal Muslims...or Hindus. Most people just want to get on with their lives and raise their children as best they can with minimal obstacles..

Originally posted by Jedidiah

So far I have not had anything except the phony no-true-"scotsman" business.

When even those who are sympathetic to your beliefs (as I am) cannot but define your argument as such, perhaps the accusation is not as phony as you might think.

You are taking your logic solely from your scriptures--well, OK, that's logically consistent, and to be expected from a devout person of any faith. The problem is that other people (myself included) have experienced things your scriptures state cannot happen. Are we to disbelieve our own experiences in favor of your argument?

Originally posted by dizzle

Why do we have the retarded habit of putting in "she" when we are being generic, and "he" has been used for that for centuries. It drives me nuts.

I was just doing it for awareness of sexism in language, but now I have a much more petty reason to keep doing it!

Originally posted by Jedidiah

The author continues after his tirade against these folks you think are ex Crhistians by saying, "But, beloved, we are convinced of better things concerning you, and things that accompany salvation, though we are speaking in this way."

Thus, there are no ex-Christians

Um.. the author is saying that he doesn't believe any of his readers have taken this path, and thus this is a warning, not a condemnation. If this path is impossible, then the author is lying.

However, this path is clearly possible, as the Hebrews were headed down it.

Anyone who progresses this path is. There are.

Originally posted by Jedidiah

According to my understanding of the Bible . . . .

If another Christian's understanding contradicts yours, how would you suggest I determine which of you has the correct understanding?

Originally posted by Jaecp

If what jed is saying is true, then no one could honestly say they are christian with any real conviction if they won't know if they are True Christians™ until after they die.

This is a whole different discussion which is not a productive area to discuss with non believers.