Discourse/Christian-Sinaite: How differing faith choices affect friendship

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[First posted in  2015.  This is yet another discourse between two friends formerly belonging to the same household of  Christ-centered faith.  One leaves the faith and follows the way of Sinai 6000 and predictably, as it happens in such friendships, there is a rift, understandably.  The pattern is much the same as you should expect by now, if you have followed the posts under the category DISCOURSE.  We share these exchanges to enlighten those who are in transition from Christ-centered faith to a Christ-less one such as ours, or perhaps we should say  Jesus-centered faith and Jesus-less faith, since “christ” is simply  Greek for the English word “messiah” or the Hebrew “maschiach”.  There really seems to be no meeting of minds when one side disengages from Christianity while the other remains.  Relationships are affected even if there is half-hearted effort to continue in friendship.  Still, there is much to learn from reading exchanges between individuals whose faith convictions are strong and clearly expressed.  The ‘eavesdroppers’ or ‘outsiders listening/looking in’ probably agree with one side or another or remain objective, not swayed by views expressed; whatever, we encourage you to  add your opinion in the boxes provided below every post in this website.  In fact, we wish there were more visitors leaving messages, negative or positive, all welcome; that’s how we learn from one another.

The writers here are identified only as ‘Sinaite’ and ‘Christian’ and the originals are edited where information is not relevant to the discussion indicated by [square parenthesis]. This is long, several emails compiled in one post; there is purpose for not serializing this particular discourse.—Admin1.]
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Christian:  I caught this guy on t.v. one day months ago. He was on for HOURS on end. All the congregants in the audience were dressed in white. 

His whole message was on the “Kingdom of Jesus Christ.” He is from Davao City and his church is the Jesus Christ Cathedral. 

 

They had an 800 number on the t.v. screen that people could call for more info. I ended up talking to a nice lady from the Bay Area for about 1/2 hr.  

 

The crux of this “ministry” is that Jesus is God. They don’t

believe in the Triune God evident in three persons, Father, Son and Holy Spirit.

I disagreed with what she told me, but I found her very dedicated to the message this “pastor” was preaching.

 

Like I said, the program went on for hours of him talking without a break. About 3 hrs.

 
Sinaite:    This guy  is one of the many religious charismatic leaders here; they all own TV networks and have expanded to USA. Even the Catholic Church here now have Hollywood-like productions for their worship services; the idea, I guess is, their flock can stay right at home, watch televised worship, if that’s their idea of worship.
 
All this make me sick! In fact, and I hope you’re not a Joel Osteen fan, he and his ilk (that Hindu looking guy with diamond pin on his necktie) and all the other TV evangelists, superrich jet-setters — enough, enough, enough!
 
This is why I have lost interest in Christianity and did a lot of soul-searching 4 years ago. The result will surprise you. I left Christ-centered religion after I decided to check out the roots of that faith and discovered too many things that made me go further back to what it claims as its ‘foundation’.
 
I have a proposal for you:  instead of our wasting our precious time further on ​[talking about ​things we can’t do anything about except fret over— dead ends​] ​ let us write our differing thoughts about our faith.  ​[The faith community I belong to] has started ​[writing about our transition] ​ 4 years ago, on a website which is now being hosted for free by a friend.  
 
I know you are strongly convicted in Christian doctrine as I was for most of my life, until 4 years ago. So you are the voice (among others) who will counter the teachings that my group and I have put out on the website. This will give you an outlet, another cause to take up if you care to, perhaps add meaning in your life at this point, etc.  You are articulate, express yourself clearly, (talking to seniors is a great training for teaching and communicating); you write fast etc.  –these are all compliments.
 
Add to the Christian apologetics we feature on the website for balance (we have many of them, former Christian colleagues with whom we have running discourses) all for web visitors to be exposed to all sides, and learn, and decide for themselves.  If you just start reading enough of the website to get a grasp of what we are all about, then you can react in writing (email to nsbsinai6000@gmail.com). I will post every article you send, in opposition or in agreement. 
 
Just for starters though, ​here is an introduction I wrote when we first started the website February 2012:   https://sinai6000.net/life-is-a-pilgrimage/.  Read, then check out the rest of the posts.
 

You and I have been independent worshippers of the God we are convinced we know at any point in our lives.

​ ​

We’re God-seekers, but we also have to be Truth-seekers. . .  and Truth has been mishandled by religions for centuries as we well know.  We both think ‘out of the box’ and that’s good, that puts us in a category of people who don’t have to get stuck and just like the turtle, gotta get out of comfort-turtle-shell to get to the next point in the destination going where?  Well for me, I’ve always loved God at any point in my life and much of my strivings since 27, have ​moved​  toward knowing ​more about ​ Him. But got stuck in Christianity almost ​like forever​—​the website explains.

 
This is not to convert you or anyone else, it is an outlet for us to share what we’ve learned. 
 
Write dear friend!  And be one of the challengers we publish on the web. Think of a pseudonym, we simply use our initials.
 
1st reaction:
 
Christian:   With all due respect, I sensed you had changed and turned your back on Bibllical Christianity when I met with you. I got a very cold feeling in that regard and it has concerned me. I am not sure this adventure is for me. 
 

But I will tell you right off the bat, I have found SBN (Jimmy Swaggart Ministries) to be preaching the message that I most embrace: i.e. that all that we have need of is found in the Cross of Christ. My faith is very simple in reality: I am a sinner; Jesus is my Savior.

 

The music and preaching ministry of Jimmy Swaggart and his son Donnie really tell it like it is. I find the music most comforting and uplifting and leads me into praise and worship. I watch their live services on Sun. a.m. and p.m. and Wed. nite, as well as re-runs. 

As a matter of fact, if I don’t have FOX news channel on, I have SBN on. I leave SBN on all night and wake up several times to watch and listen. I love listening to the old Crusades. Jimmy Swaggart was the first and only minister that I am aware of that exposed the Catholic church for the false religion that it is. 

 

I watch his wife’s program every morning from  7-9 a.m. and it is a talk/call-in discussion/answer type program. She covers political issues, education issues like Common Core that has been foisted on the public schools here in the U.S.and all manner of spiritual issues. And of course, everything is Bible-based and Christ-centered when addressed.

 

The only thing that I am in disagreement with is JSM’s take on Genesis 1:1 and 1:2. They are proponents of the Gap Theory, even though they say it is a “theory.” I take Ken Ham’s Answers in Genesis viewpoint on a young earth, 6 literal days of creation, no death before Adam sinned and a global flood.

 

And no, I am not a fan of Joel Osteen, the Daystar gang (Marcus and Joni Lamb, founders), the TBN gang (Paul Crouch died a year ago) but his son, Matt and giddy wife, Laurie are head of the ministry now. Nor am I fan of the Purpose Driven church/life guy, Rick Warren. They are all preaching another gospel. Many of them are Word of Faith, like the Copelands, Creflo Dollar andthose oddities that are into the Hebraic movement like Larry and Tiz Huch. And no, I can’t stand Benny Hinn either. All wolves in sheep’s clothing IMO. God will have to be the judge, and HE WILL JUDGE. The Bible says judgment will begin at the household of faith.

 

I believe the Lord has gifted me to preach and teach, and that is what I have done and continue to do. He has given me spiritual gifts like prophecy, word of wisdom, word of knowledge and discernment of spirits. I cannot deny these things. Therefore, I am secure in my faith. I am fully trusting the Lord in my life. I am not seeking another way. 

 

I do fear that you and I are not on the same page as pertains to the Lord Jesus Christ and the Word of God, the Bible. 

 

I will look into the things you have shared, but I cannot promise my involvement in any of it…unless the Lord changes my mind and I can serve Him by being part of it. For now, I think it’s another foray into something that will turn out like your foray into the Hebraic movement, which I wanted to discuss with you when we met, but I knew it was a moot point when I sensed you were into something else.

 

Thank you for letting me know about this, and I am glad I asked about [the preacher in Davao], as I was most curious if you knew anything about him.

 

I did mention that I also get a lot from the Hal Lindsey Report and Irvin Baxter Endtime teachings. Both have made it clear to me what the Revelation is about and endtime events. We are witnessing the unfolding of Bible prophecy unfolding right before our very eyes. We’re headed to a one-world religion and one-world government. There isn’t much one can do to argue with what we see and what the Bible says.​

 

 
2nd reaction:  
 
 
Christian:  What about the great old hymns? I have used my hymn history books to preach and teach many times. As a matter of fact I am thinking of incorporating Hymn Histories in my Music Appreciation programs this year. It’s all right there and can’t be denied those hymn writers were moved on by the Holy Spirit, many times in the midst of great trials and tribulations. If one didn’t have access to the Bible and only had a hymnal (which I have several) one could maintain their study of and understanding of the Bible just by reading the hymns.

 

Sinaite:   All religions that believe in a God, any God of their conviction, produce inspired writings, music, etc.  Some of the most beautiful of classical music have been centered on the Virgin Mary. Inspired hymnodists compose and write their lyrics out of love for the God they know. I seriously studied hymnody, the background of every hymn, I love the music and use it with revised lyrics, with the apology that “imitation is the best compliment”.  Christian lyricists teach the flock through the hymns; it’s a great teaching tool because words set to music are better remembered than memorizing verses.
 
What is the issue?  There is a universal God who created the universe and humanity. How does one know Him and what He is like and what He requires of humankind?  The source of truth is the issue with religions.  Where do we base our faith, on what ‘truth?  This has been the focus of the ‘journey’ or the ‘pilgrimage’ of every God-seeker/Truth-seeker.  Is the map we’ve been given the right one, will it lead us to the knowledge of the One True God? 
 
As former Christians, we all reacted to any deviation from Christian theology/dogma/doctrine, particularly about the Trinitarian Godhead.  Your reaction is exactly the same as all our other Christian colleagues/friends, we’re never surprised, we reacted the same way when we were there. 
 
We have been Christians, active in bible study, taught, evangelized, miinistered — nothing anyone can tell us anymore about what the religion is all about. Been there done that.  When you read the running discourses between our members and their Christian-counterparts, the same arguments come up! Nothing new, and that is why I thought that as a strongly convicted Christian who is more eloquent and a better writer than all the others we have posted (you should read the apologetics of both sides), you could add a lot to the exchange.
 
We are not out to “convert”  anyone — we don’t evangelize — but when we meet opposition and are accused of apostasy, or being deluded, or are not ‘saved’ and will ‘go to hell’, etc. we defend the stand we have taken, as anyone would, as Christians do all the time.  
 
We all love the God we have come to know . . . the source of truth about Him is available, accessible. That is the point of the post: https://sinai6000.net/revelation-in-a-nutshell/
If you read it, you will better understand how each individual decides what is truth for him, where is the source, how much of it can he access, etc. I figured that out and wrote that post for others to consider — or refute and debate.  
 
I love God as much as you do, He is big enough to handle our differing beliefs about him. I look at all people in any religion as God-seekers, on the way to knowing Him, if they don’t stop at any point in their journey of faith. Yes, going to the Hebraic roots of the Christian faith was worth it. God loves all seekers of Him and the best part of knowing more about Him is loving Him all the more, a blessing every step of the way.
 

If our not being on the ‘same page’ is a problem for you, we can go the same way we did last time we connected by email.  I wish you well in your walk with Him.

 
Christian:   Wow, you’ve written off our relationship already. And I wish you well in your walk with the Universal God you describe. Fits well with the one-world religion that is coming about.
 
Sinaite:   Correction, I did not write off our relationship.  I meant IF our not being on the same page faith-wise is a problem for you (because it is not a problem for me as i do value you as a friend and our relationship of course), then we can go the same way we did before, stop email communication, but have another reunion when I do go visit my sons next trip.
 
God is a universal God, not exclusive . . . religions are exclusive, the 3 monotheistic religions that claim their roots from Abraham—Judaism, Christianity, Islam.    All I did was read the history of the religion I was born in . . . – councils of men made decisions about God’s nature.
 

Anyway, we can switch to other topics since, as they say, two taboo topics to avoid if you want to continue in any relationship: religion and politics. . . . unless we are open-minded and tolerant enough ​in​ listening to views we don’t agree with.

​1st reaction:
 
Christian:   Oh, in answer to the question you posed to me: The issue is the hymns (and you know which ones I am referring to) lead to faith and trust in Christ. 
 
Once one finds Jesus Christ, God’s Only Begotten Son, the Saviour of the world who died for our sins and that is the purpose He came to the earth and was planned way back in Genesis, one should not have to continue seeking the One True God; they have already found Him if they were truly born again and believe Who He Is and What and Why He died on the Cross. 
 
That’s the ISSUE, dear friend. I don’t hear you mentioning Jesus Christ and that is the ISSUE for me.
 
2nd reaction: 
 

Christian:  It seems that I am the one who has rekindled our communication now and in the past. I did not hear from you since you left for San Francisco. So it would not be that different to have broken fellowship/communication.

I don’t think any subject should be off limits, but I do think because you and I are on different pages now in our belief and faith in the Lord Jesus Christ, we should not continue to barrage one another with our respective belief systems. You know where I am coming from and I now know where you are coming from, as I sensed there was something very different about your spirituality when we were together. 

 

You have sent quite a voluminous amount of what you believe and are involved in, most of which I have not any interest in reading.   

 

Now you know I am diametrically opposed to what you have written and your concept of God being Universal, and don’t care to be the “bait” for the readers of your website. To me it would be akin to casting my pearls before swine and giving what is sacred to the dogs.


So if we can continue on in a respectful manner towards one, we can remain in touch for whatever reason or whatever purpose we would chose to communicate with one another.

 

I will always treasure our times together and consider you a valued friend. We do have a history and once one is a part of one’s life, it is a loss when that ends.
 

 

Sinaite:    Understood. 
 
We are women of conviction, I think that’s a good thing; our strong faith in the God we know and love and serve— keeps our sanity amidst the problems we face. 
 
May God continue to bless the work you do for Him, and particularly your unique ministry for the seniors to whom you bring much joy.
 
Praying for peace in mind and heart and family circumstances,
we’ll catch up maybe . . . when I come to US to visit my sons.
 

 

Christian:  I honestly do not see why our email contact has to be all or nothing. If we have nothing that we can connect about by way of the written word, which is like writing a letter to one another, what is the use of even planning to get together when you come here in person.

I am dismayed by your response to my not wanting to be involved in your website chats, or to be indoctrinated in the way you believe about God. Universalism is nothing new, btw. I certainly do not feel you respect my decision and are taking it as rejection.

 

My thoughts have gone back to the beautiful fellowship you and I had around our mutual love of the Lord and how we shared it not only with one another, but with the residents and staff at  [Senior retirement facilities]. We were truly ministers of the gospel in those facilities.

 

We stood against [former boss] and her ungodly philosophy and how she tried to limit or do away with anything Christian. You discipled [an activity provider] the piano player who was involved in occultism, if memory serves me correctly. You held Bible studies with the Miranda lady. I could go on with the precious memories of how the gospel of Jesus Christ played such a role in our relationship as well as our work.

 

I want to clarify and correct some things I said about some of the t.v. ministries. While many of them do not preach and teach that with which I agree, TBN and Daystar do provide air time (at a cost I’m sure) to some great ministries that I do find biblically sound. 

 

I actually watched a couple of programs on each of those networks late into the night and found myself raising my hands in praise and agreement with what was being said.

 

It’s really up to the Lord to judge the hearts of men, especially those who put themselves in the role of preacher/teacher. They/we will be held to a higher standard of accountability. And although you say you don’t evangelize, you are definitely influencing people with what you believe about God.

 

Let’s not forget a couple of scriptures, one from John 1:1:
“In the beginning was the Word and the Word was with God and the Word was God.”
And the scripture where Jesus Himself said,
“I am the Way the TRUTH and the life, no man comes to the Father, except by Me.”
To me those are very succinct and powerful scriptures that I am sure you are well aware of. Once one finds God through Jesus Christ, there should be no further search for God or Truth, but rather how to live for Him. His Word is truth and is unfolding all around us in this world.

 

And by the way, Christianity is not a religion, but rather based on a relationship with Jesus Christ. If men have perverted the gospel and made it a religion, that’s where we get “churchism” and  they will be judged.

 

I’m sure not going to let t.v. evangelists and liberal so-called churches and pastors derail my personal relationship with Christ.
“I know whom I have believed and am persuaded that He is able to keep that which I’ve committed unto Him against that day.”
(I wrote this w/o getting my Bible out to note scripture references so forgive me for not citing them with book, chapter and verse.)

 

So, I guess the ball is in your court as to whether you would like to continue sharing in our friendship by way of email, one of the blessings of God that people all over the world can connect when they are far apart. But somehow I get the sense that you are relieved to not continue emailing with me. For some unknown reason, it has always seemed to have been a somewhat burdensome thing for you. 

 

Maybe you do better over a meal for a short period of time that you have control over, years apart. We shall see. I am leaving it all in the Lord’s Hands.

 

May He continue to watch over you and keep you. Until we meet again.
Love in Christ and for His sake.

 

Sinaite:  I was not trying to convince you to my faith; if you misread my intentions, allow me to clarify.  

You communicate very well, verbally and in writing.  You could use an outlet at this time when you’re feeling frustrated about a few things — home/family situation for one, and you expressed losing interest in senior activities because seniors are far gone and what is the point.  
Your energy and zeal to serve God could be put to better use through speaking up for your faith.  I thought, why not involve you in Christian apologetics since you do a better job than what I have read from the pastors and pastors wives and my former messianic teacher — all of whom are not writers and don’t express themselves as logically and as clearly as you do; in short, you are a notch above them.  You would also have a blog for yourself to talk as much as you like about your faith and the God your believe in.
That is all I had in mind.  It is not to use you as “bait” for website readers; it is to provide yet another voice in Christian apologetics, something you do very well.  Why waste your defense of the faith on me, I was there all my life, I used to mouth the same; I’ve left the faith. Jesus to me now is not God Himself, he was a historical figure,  Jew who taught Torah, loved Israel’s God.  Councils of men in the 4th century made decisions and voted on the nature of God and the nature of the historical Jesus.
The website explains much of it –that is why I sent you two articles to read to begin to refute, not meant to “barrage” you to convince you to think as I do.  It was intended to challenge you to defend Christianity.  You will not waste your pearls on swine, dear friend, the web visitors come from all over the world. Let me paste a sample of what I see on my administrators page to give you an idea of what posts these web visitors click,  [scan the visitor’s online at the bottom of the page].

My colleagues and I who all came from Christianity— know better than to ‘evangelize’ our former Christian colleagues.  All of you have exactly the same reaction, the same arguments—sound like us when we were still staunchly defending our Christian faith.  What we offer at the website

are​ opinions of all kinds — Noachides, Karaites, Christians in particular, because there are many souls out there hungry for God and His Truth and we provide a balance of opinions, particularly from Christians.
You can continue serving God in your own private way,  nothing wrong with that, but why waste a talent and gift you’ve been given. You have the zeal, combined with the gift of expressing that zeal for your God.  Why not use it? It’s much like going to any website, reading something there, leaving a comment or critique, nothing more, nothing less. Meanwhile website readers might find you super interesting and follow your blogs, if they’re not satisfied with what they’ve read so far in the discourses we have posted featuring Christian colleagues who have successful huge church fellowships but are not as good writers as they are preachers in the pulpit.  You will be in good company, and it will give meaning to time you spend by yourself.  
My time is consumed during lulls at the university involvement, in administering the website—I write posts, feature books and articles from other websites, reformatting articles of our members, etc.  Carrying on a discourse with you about our faith choices on email is better shared with others who might agree or disagree with you or me.
Really, what else are we going to email each other about that we can’t take up as friends catching up when I visit?  We are both lovers of the God we serve; what better service can we give than to indulge in apologetics for what we believe in?
Give it a thought.   Start with reading the two articles (sorry if you considered 2 articles a ‘barrage’), but you need a springboard to start writing a defense of your faith. If after a look-see of the website you still feel you’re ‘throwing pearls to swine’, then just say ‘No’ again.  I was not out to ‘use’ you as ‘bait’, I was out to give you a direction that well uses your gift and zeal for the God you love so much, just as I love the God I have come to know and embrace.  
Yes, we could continue emailing, and if we do, we’ll keep off the faith topic because I’ve expressed myself enough on the website and I know Christianity enough from over 5 decades of believing, living, teaching, discussing it.  Let us focus on other topics if we continue our email exchange. I think that’s fair enough, since we are, as you clearly stated,  in diametric opposition now in the paths we have taken, why indulge further in fruitless discussion? I will never return to Christianity and you will never leave it — so let’s talk about everything else.  I think that’s wise.

 

Christian:  Well, so good to hear back from you. And thank you for your kind words as pertains to my ability to express myself. Yes, I’ve been told many times about how articulate I am both in speaking and in writing. I think that is part of the gifting the Lord has given to me.

I will take some time to look over and read that which you’ve attached (which made this email stretch way out all wonky). I’m still not sure how I would add something to the blog. I probably misunderstood what you said in that regard. It was my understanding that I would email anything I wanted to post to you first. Maybe you could run the procedure by me again.

 

Also, I am in perfect agreement that we should not discuss our own personal faith in a way that we are espousing a belief system.  But I believe we should be able to share things in a way that would benignly acknowledge what we would believe is the Hand of God in our lives as pertains to various issues going on in our lives at any given time. I would find it very difficult to never mention the way I feel the Lord is working in my life. That is just as much apart of who I am as the air I breathe. I would not be offended in any way if you were to share from the same perspective. 

 

I do have to admit that right now my spirit is grieved to hear you say what you believe about Jesus Christ. Would it be safe to assume that you no longer believe the whole of the Bible either, particularly the New Testament. If that is true, I understand why you have turned your back on Jesus as Savior and Lord and are seeking God based on the Torah alone.  Basically that is much like where the Jews are in their understanding of Who Jesus is. He is not the Messiah and He is not God to the Jews. And yes, according to the Bible and Christian doctrine, the Jews are considered lost, except those who have put their faith in the coming Savior the first time and the returning King of Kings and Lord of Lords the second time.

 

Just trying to get my mind around your belief system. Thinking out  loud again, or in print. No need to answer unless you want to let me know if I got it.

Thanks again for responding. I look forward to staying in touch with you and vice versa, although it may not be daily . Believe it or not, I do manage to keep myself very busy every day, so spending time on a blog defending my faith might take awhile for me to get into.

 

 

And as far as the residents at [senior facility] go, I know I am making an impact on their lives if only for an hour 3x/week. The sweet little voices that thank me for coming as I head out the door make it all worthwhile. And each day is different with them. I have had a great week with them so far. Many of them are very sick with a bad cold right now, so if they aren’t coughing up a lung, they are sleeping. It’s a blessing from the Lord to be able to get up and put on an attractive outfit with a great jewelry ensemble and my planned activity resources in my trunk. I wouldn’t want to not go there.

 

O.K. this is enough for now. 

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Last 2 emails:   Final decision to blog or not to blog on this website.

 

Christian:  Thought I’d look this up just to refresh my mind on where and when it originated. As you will note from the last sentence that I cut and pasted, there are a number of universalists in the Philippines.

 

Here’s some of the text I got off the internet:

 

Unitarian Universalism [2][3][4] is a liberal religion of Christian background characterized by a “free and responsible search for truth and meaning“.[5] Unitarian Universalists do not share acreed but are unified by their shared search for spiritual growth. The roots of Unitarian Universalism (UU) are in liberal Christianity, specifically Unitarianism and Universalism. Unitarian Universalist’s state, from these traditions, comes a deep regard for intellectual freedom and inclusive love, so that congregations and members seek inspiration and derive insight from all major world religions.[6]

The theology of individual Unitarian Universalists ranges widely, with the majority beingHumanist,[7] but also having members that follow atheism, agnosticism, pantheism, deism,Judaism, Christianity, neopaganism, Hinduism, Buddhism, and many more.

The Unitarian Universalist Association (UUA) was formed in 1961, a consolidation of theAmerican Unitarian Association, established in 1825, and the Universalist Church of America,[8]established in 1866. It is headquartered in Boston, Massachusetts, and serves churches mostly in the United States. A group of thirty Philippine congregations is represented as a sole member within the UUA.

 2nd email:
Christian:  I have not taken the time to read the posts you attached to the last email. I guess I see no purpose to enter into a dialogue on a blog where one has rejected Jesus Christ as Savior and Lord. 

 

It would be akin to me finding blogs where Mormons, or Catholics, or maybe even Jews, blog about their respective belief systems that do not accept Jesus as God or salvation through His finished work on the cross, but rather salvation by works, and post comments on there refuting their belief system(s).

 

 

I was born into a home where my mother was raised Catholic and my father was raised Lutheran. I converted to Mormonism when I was 14 after the young couple who lived across the street took me to the LDS church. I was their baby-sitter for their adopted first child, a son.

 

I embraced Mormonism until I had my first son and began to question their beliefs about Jesus, and man becoming like God. Their mantra is “As man is God once was, and as God is man may become.”

 

 

We were also struggling with laying up a year’s supply of food. Our long hallway linen closet was full of flour, sugar, canned soup, jello, etc. But of course, we weren’t allowed to drink coffee or tea or other caffeinated beverages, so none of that there.

 

I’ll never forget the day I was ironing and I started asking the Lord to lead me to the truth. I went over to my book case and reached for the white leather KJV Bible my grandparents had sent to me for Christmas in 1960. It fell open to Matt. 6:19 at the top of the right page. My eyes went to the scripture about not laying up treasures on earth… and to the end of the chapter. From then on, every time I opened my Bible, it opened to a scripture that refuted Mormonism.

 

 

I remember gasping when I found the scripture about Satan disguising himself as an angel of light, as that’s how the Angel Moroni appeared to Joseph Smith.

 

Long story short, I (we) left the Mormon church and we started attending an Assembly of God church. Ferrol is from a “jack Mormon” (inactive) family, but they were very upset when we left the LDS church. We have a long church history and you pretty much know my feelings about “churchism”  better known as “denominationalism.” However, my faith, trust and belief in Jesus Christ has only grown over all these many years.

 

As you said, “you will never return to Christianity, and I will never leave.” So we have both drawn lines in the sand when it comes to our respective “paths.” For that reason, I will not be posting on your blog. To me it would be like the scripture says: “do not cast your pearls before swine, or give what is sacred to the dogs, or else they will turn and tear you to pieces.” That is the way I see it, even if that was not your intent to have me be “bait” or see it as me casting my pearls…

 

I think we can still be friends, but if it means waiting until you get back to the U.S. to catch up,  so be it.

 

Love in Christ.

 

 

 

Sinaite:  I perfectly understand; in fact I did not expect anything different. We are who we are, and that’s good . . . God allows us that much.  Freedom of the will is His precious gift to humankind; one He will never interfere with or invade.  I respect your staying with the faith you have chosen, and as you have sincerely stated, you respect my deviation from the faith.

May God bless our efforts to serve Him in our chosen directions. See you on my next trip, for sure I will be playing for the seniors at [facility] and join you at [facility].  Let you know when I’m there.
PostScripts . . . 
 
Christian:  Please indulge me as I have one more curiosity that I would love to ask you about. Did you share your “new path” with [2 friends]  when you were here? I would think that since they and the others you met with also, would be surprised to find that you left the Christian faith since you were such a strong witness for the Lord while you worked at [senior retirement facility]. I’m thinking [former boss]  would have especially met your news with great interest, unless of course, it was not expedient for you to share that part of your life with her/them.
 
 

Sinaite:  My reunion with [friends]  was purely a social one. We caught up with each other in the 7 years we had not seen each other.  I had never discussed my Christian faith with them even when I was at [senior retirement facility]; I simply led Sunday hymn-singing as an activity for the Christian seniors who could not go to church. And in general, the only people I’ve informed re: the different path I’ve taken are individuals I’ve connected with because they’re Christian, like you, and others I have brought to belief in Jesus Christ as God ( a lot of them in fact, right here in [in the city where I live]). 

 
 

Christian:  O.K. I understand about you not bringing this up in your time with them in a group social setting. I want to remind you that you did not bring it up with me either in the two times we were together in person. But I knew something was different about you when you referred to “your faith” as pertains to MY faith. Something was just off. Now that I know you have rejected faith in Jesus Christ and even rejected Him as God, it only confirms to me the gift of discernment of spirits that God has blessed me with.

I disagree with your comment about God giving us the “gift of free will and that He will not invade or interfere in it.” The Bible makes it very clear in various places that God sent a “lying spirit” “sent strong delusion” or “gave them over to a reprobate mind”  when those have opposed Him or rejected His great salvation. Adam and Eve ran from God even after He gave them many chances to repent. They never repented or accepted His covering and died lost. First example in the Bible..in great sequential detail.

The Hound of Heaven is forever pursuing us, and we can only come to Him when drawn by the Holy Spirit. The freewill was given to us so that we can chose to accept or reject “the Way, the Truth and the Life.” The Lord is testing us and we are in a precarious dangerous place once we come to saving grace through faith in Jesus Christ, and then outright reject and deny Who He is and what He has done for us. Our place is no longer secure in God except in Jesus Christ.

I also don’t “respect” the direction you are going. I accept it, but I don’t respect it. It has been very troubling to me, but has only drawn me closer to the God of the Bible, the Lord Jesus Christ and His Holy Spirit that leads us into all Truth.

Praise God and bless His Holy Name, that Name above all names!

 

Sinaite: Got it, [name]  I expected no less from you.

 

Christian:  I’ll take that as a positive [name].

 

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