Any "Born Again" Christians here? (page 6)

yknot

If you were born into a "Christian" faith and have always believed do you need to 'born again' or did that happen when you at some point in your childhood it was written in your heart?

Any takers?

lovelylil

I'll take;

While both as a JW and a member of the Catholic Church prior to that I read those words in the Bible about being "born again" many times but never understood what they meant.

It was not until 2003 when I left the org. and was longing to get to know the real Jesus when I experienced being born again by the spirit. To be precise, my heart and mind was opened to the fact that Christ is the only way to salvation, not any organization on earth. My spritual eyes were opened and instead of just reading the bible texts, I could now have a deeper understanding of them. And yes, like many, I physically felt God's love and spirit upon me. My spirit began to long to want to be with Christ.

It took 25 years of searching for the truth about God before this happened. All that time I was looking to an organization or church that could help "save" me. Christ taught me that he is the only way.

When I speak about salvation, I am speaking in a spiritual sense. I do not want to hijack this thread for a deeper discussion, maybe another time we can do that.

I do not believe though we are fully "born again" until our death when we will be raised in an incorruptable body that can enter the heavenly realm. But in a spiritual sense we are already reborn because the Holy Spirit teaches us and we have become a new creation. one that is now dependent upon Christ. It is the deposit of the Holy Spirit we received from Christ that is the evidence that we are now accepted as children of God and saved, forever!

Peace, Lilly

poppers

"The above quoted from The Message Bible are His words - not mine." The words are from the bible, yes, but there can be no certainty that they are God's words. You have a faith and belief they are, but that doesn't make it so. No one can say what "God" is for any certainty, so how can you claim they are God's words aside from a belief they are? .... "And, I meant that the entire message of the Bible is love, not fear." Perhaps, but notice how the threat of violence, fear, and outright violence are used as powerful tools to sway people to believe and accept certain things. This is what happens when whatever "God" really is gets turned into a man made image - conditional love. How can conditional love be real love?

snowbird

My tidbit:

http://www.jehovahs-witness.com/6/145187/2618316/post.ashx#2618316

Poppers, I don't know what you're looking for, except, maybe a fight?

Today is a Friday, the political threads have worn me out, my tooth is hurting. The last thing I need is to go round and round with someone on JWD. Been there, done that, got the bruise marks to prove it.

I look forward with eager anticipation to the blessed day when our Lord reveals Himself. That's all I have to say.

Thank you.

Sylvia

poppers

I'm not looking for a fight, Snowbird, only that people take time to actually use some reasoning and some honest inquiry. Is it sinful to use the mind to question things? Is it sinful to bring up inconsistencies? I know it can be a scary thing to question one's beliefs, but if you are sincere about finding whatever "truth" is it is necessary. Perhaps whatever "truth" really is cannot be contained in beliefs of any kind. It seems to me that clinging to beliefs, especially those concerning "God" and religion, is the root of so much turmoil, both within oneself and between people and nations. What would happen if every belief you held were to dissolve? Are you willing to find out?

OUTLAW

SnowBird..So if I don`t believe in Jesus as my mediator,I`m going to a Firey Lake?????.....That does`nt sound very Christian to me.....It sounds about as Christian,as nailing Jesus to a Cross!!..The Roman`s and the Jew`s thought it was a great idea at the time..But..World opinion turned against them..LOL!!...........I`m don`t believe in Jesus as my mediator and I`m going to CanCun Mexico..So the Bible is Wrong!!................................... Laughing Mutley ...OUTLAW

snowbird

What would happen if every belief you held were to dissolve? Are you willing to find out?

Funny that you should use the word "dissolve," because I believe that's exactly what's going to happen in the future.

If I read the Bible correctly, and I believe I do, the whole universe is going through an intense period unlike any other. Everything we think we know is going to come into question.

The Bible calls it a tribulation; I'm willing to find out how I'll fare.

Are you?

Sylvia

snowbird

I`m don`t believe in Jesus as my mediator and I`m going to CanCun Mexico..So the Bible is Wrong!!......................................OUTLAW

Have a great time and watch out for the water! Tee hee hee.

Sylvia

lovelylil

poppers,

You raise some good points. It may be so that religion is behind a lot of violence and wars, but you cannot blame the Bible in itself. As you know, people interpret it differently and unfortunately many who have not been given the Holy Spirit of God try to interpret it and that is where we can have big trouble. Take for instance, the WT society for one. We know how their interpretations have injured and killed hundreds of thousands of people. But, can we blame the Bible for it, or is it the people using the Bible as a weapon against others?

Being a Christian who is born of the spirit, my relationship is not with an organization of any kind, it is with the person of Christ. If anyone claims to be in him but does what is wrong he is a liar. Many proclaim they are Christian but their allegiance is more towards their church, organization, leader or pastor. Not the person of Jesus. If it were for the person of Christ, they would not go out and harm their fellow man.

Just for your information, you do not even need a bible to get to know God. For believers, we understand that he also made himself known in other ways to humanity, one is through all his creations from the beginning of time to now, and the other way is through the person of his Son Christ Jesus. Many get hung up on interpretation of the Bible but early Christians didn't even have any such "book" like we have today and yet they had a firm faith and belief that is not matched by many believers alive today.

For true Christians, we understand that Christianity is much more than being about a Book, or interpretation of a book. It is about a personal relationship with our creator. Noone is saved by accurate bible knowledge or examing scriptures daily, only by going to the peson, Jesus Christ.

Peace, Lilly

poppers

From Snowbird: "The Bible calls it a tribulation; I'm willing to find out how I'll fare. Are you?" All I can do is accept whatever unfolds in this present moment. As soon as I make an interpretation of what unfolds I am lost in some kind of fantasy. Thoughts and beliefs about what might happen at some future date are not reality. The most truthful way any person can live is to be fully present in each moment devoid of any kind of thought about it. In fact, when you are fully present to "what is" there is no belief to get lost in.

Any "Born Again" Christians here?

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