"David W. Irish said...I think that whether or not the scriptures are true or not is irrelevant. Christianity is a mindset, a philosophy, a way of living, that depends on the practitioners/believers practicing it more than anything . . . When I was a Christian…"
David, it's important to speak truthfully about our experiences, by using the correct terminology. Rather than saying "When I was a Christian," you should say "When I professed to be a Christian," or, to be biblically sound, "When I was a false convert." Your spurious experience isn't surprising, because you believe that being a Christian is "a mindset, a philosophy, a way of living." That's not the definition of a Christian. I had those things in my surfing days. Rather, a Christian is someone who knows the Lord (see John 17:3).
A false convert doesn't know Him (see 1 John 2:3-4, 1 John 4:6-8). He fakes it, but time exposes his hypocrisy. Judas is a good example of a false convert. He faked it for 3 ˝ years. He was so trusted, he looked after the finances, but the Bible says that he was a thief (see John 12:6). When Jesus said that one of the disciples would betray Him, they said, "Is it I, Lord?" They suspected themselves, rather than the trusted treasurer. When Judas went out to betray Jesus, some of the disciples thought that he went to give money to the poor. He fooled everyone but God. The Scriptures tell us that Jesus knew from the beginning who would betray Him (see John 6:70).
Judas had no idea who Jesus was, even though he ate and drank with Him (as does the false convert, in taking communion). Judas didn't see Him as the ultimate treasure in an earthen vessel--God manifest in the flesh. When a woman broke an alabaster box of precious ointment and poured it on His feet, as an act of worship, Judas complained that the money should have instead been given to the poor. Jesus wasn't worth it. He was only worth about 30 pieces of silver.
David, if you respond to me by saying that you were a genuine Christian, then you are admitting that you knew the Lord, that Jesus rose from the dead, and Christianity is therefore true. If you didn't know the Lord, then you were a false convert. You were either one or the other.
The other thought is, if you were of the disposition that you could be deceived, how do you know that it's not happening again? The essence of "deception" is that the deceived person doesn't know he's deceived. That why we need God's Word as a guide.
If I had been through your experience, I would be as upset as you. Remember that Judas ended up hanging himself. So, be careful when you dine with atheists, because the sweet dishes they serve up contain undetected poison that will find its way into your very heart. They will feed you tasty Bible verses out of context, misquotes, and half-truths. The devil will give you enough rope to hang yourself. I would hate that to happen to you. Thanks for reading this.
