Good stuff here. So often the whole "I tried Christianity and it didn't work" is actually code for "God didn't do what I want the way I wanted in the timeframe I stipulated, so I bailed." May the Lord raise up resilient followers of Jesus in our time. Thanks for this piece, Michael.
I've listened to what Rhett and Link said about their deconstruction and us always struck me as “I didn't like how Christianity made me feel so I'm choosing not to believe it anymore.”
Thanks Michael. When Rhett and Link first publicly “deconstructed,” one of my Christian friends was deeply discouraged. People’s reasons for leaving the faith, when made public, may destructively tempt us with doubts about our own faith. I encourage anyone who witnesses this to hold on to Romans 8:16:
“The Spirit himself bears witness with our spirit that we are children of God,”
The whole passage is a massive encouragement about the true nature of those who are in Christ — we are children of God; the Spirit gives us confidence of that fact!
I remember those CRU conferences and how hilarious Rhett and Link were. It's tragic to see their "deconstruction", but also a tad odd that they both did it at the same time.
I didn’t realize those two guys were apostates or had any Christian background at all. The few times my son watched them on YouTube I found them annoying.
"A little leaven leavens the whole lump" would be a good comment on this. Nowhere in the NT does it say or imply that faith is measured by God by attendance at church on Sunday nor that not doing so is "quitting Jesus." And faith is not communal. It is abosolutely personal. No communal faith in Church saves any individual. Only a personal conviction can lead to Salvation that can only come by belief- individual personal faith in Jesus. The article furthers the sort of weak theological reasoning and arguments that DO drive people from Christianity in the false dedicatory that church led worship is essential for faith and salvation. It's another installment that is all the fad among would-be pastors seeking fame through writing, using the same modus of spiritualizing coupled with weak theological and hermeneutical principles that are widely used in many churches to justify LGBT lifestyles and all matters of sin in the Church in the same way- to confuse what God has *actually* said. It seems clear the writer abandoned what Christ Jesus did actually say on the matter of faith and opted for a narrative this writer desires for his own pleasure, not Jesus'.
"A little leaven leavens the whole lump" would be a good comment on this. Nowhere in the NT does it say or imply that faith is measured by God by attendance at church on Sunday nor that not doing so is "quitting Jesus." And faith is not communal. It is abosolutely personal. No communal faith in Church saves any individual. Only a personal conviction can lead to Salvation that can only come by belief- individual personal faith in Jesus. The article furthers the sort of weak theological reasoning and arguments that DO drive people from Christianity in the false dedicatory that church led worship is essential for faith and salvation. It's another installment that is all the fad among would-be pastors seeking fame through writing, using the same modus of spiritualizing coupled with weak theological and hermeneutical principles that are widely used in many churches to justify LGBT lifestyles and all matters of sin in the Church in the same way- to confuse what God has *actually* said. It seems clear the writer abandoned what Christ Jesus did actually say on the matter of faith and opted for a narrative this writer desires for his own pleasure, not Jesus'.
Interesting you quoted Luke’s account of the parable because he records Jesus as saying “they believe for a while” countering the argument of once saved always saved. I agree we need to take time with God seriously because just like you mentioned, neglecting it leads us to neglect God.
Your perspective on faith is unempathetic. You should try taking atheists at their word instead of projecting your ideas of what disbelief might feel like on them.
Atheists leave the faith because they never had faith in Christ, not because they stopped engaging with a genuine faith they once had. And often they leave because they are tested beyond the limits of their false faith. A Christian who was born into wealth may leave the faith when he encounters financial hardship because he believes God would never allow him to lose everything for no reason; his faith was unbiblical to start with.
And atheists are not like petulant children who hate God and choose to leave out of pride or sloth — that’s the Prodigal Son, and he eventually returns. Atheists, like Rhett and Link, were never “sons” with genuine faith in Christ at all. They likely had faith in community and all the simple joys of mid-western, Christian camaraderie, but once they realized they could have community without Christ, the burden of upholding standards and institutions they didn’t believe in became pointless and burdensome. So they left, which is totally rational.
Good stuff here. So often the whole "I tried Christianity and it didn't work" is actually code for "God didn't do what I want the way I wanted in the timeframe I stipulated, so I bailed." May the Lord raise up resilient followers of Jesus in our time. Thanks for this piece, Michael.
faith in Christ is a fight worth fighting for!
I've listened to what Rhett and Link said about their deconstruction and us always struck me as “I didn't like how Christianity made me feel so I'm choosing not to believe it anymore.”
Thanks Michael. When Rhett and Link first publicly “deconstructed,” one of my Christian friends was deeply discouraged. People’s reasons for leaving the faith, when made public, may destructively tempt us with doubts about our own faith. I encourage anyone who witnesses this to hold on to Romans 8:16:
“The Spirit himself bears witness with our spirit that we are children of God,”
The whole passage is a massive encouragement about the true nature of those who are in Christ — we are children of God; the Spirit gives us confidence of that fact!
I remember those CRU conferences and how hilarious Rhett and Link were. It's tragic to see their "deconstruction", but also a tad odd that they both did it at the same time.
Yes, quite odd. Rhett was Batman and Link was Robin. Where Rhett goes, Link goes.
I didn’t realize those two guys were apostates or had any Christian background at all. The few times my son watched them on YouTube I found them annoying.
Good word, thanks for sharing.
A couple more pieces of the puzzle explaining why people drift away from Orthodox Christian belief are:
1) Fear of Man -> which opens the door wide open to exchanging God’s word for prestigious Man’s word...
2) buying (and caressing) a lie...
"A little leaven leavens the whole lump" would be a good comment on this. Nowhere in the NT does it say or imply that faith is measured by God by attendance at church on Sunday nor that not doing so is "quitting Jesus." And faith is not communal. It is abosolutely personal. No communal faith in Church saves any individual. Only a personal conviction can lead to Salvation that can only come by belief- individual personal faith in Jesus. The article furthers the sort of weak theological reasoning and arguments that DO drive people from Christianity in the false dedicatory that church led worship is essential for faith and salvation. It's another installment that is all the fad among would-be pastors seeking fame through writing, using the same modus of spiritualizing coupled with weak theological and hermeneutical principles that are widely used in many churches to justify LGBT lifestyles and all matters of sin in the Church in the same way- to confuse what God has *actually* said. It seems clear the writer abandoned what Christ Jesus did actually say on the matter of faith and opted for a narrative this writer desires for his own pleasure, not Jesus'.
"A little leaven leavens the whole lump" would be a good comment on this. Nowhere in the NT does it say or imply that faith is measured by God by attendance at church on Sunday nor that not doing so is "quitting Jesus." And faith is not communal. It is abosolutely personal. No communal faith in Church saves any individual. Only a personal conviction can lead to Salvation that can only come by belief- individual personal faith in Jesus. The article furthers the sort of weak theological reasoning and arguments that DO drive people from Christianity in the false dedicatory that church led worship is essential for faith and salvation. It's another installment that is all the fad among would-be pastors seeking fame through writing, using the same modus of spiritualizing coupled with weak theological and hermeneutical principles that are widely used in many churches to justify LGBT lifestyles and all matters of sin in the Church in the same way- to confuse what God has *actually* said. It seems clear the writer abandoned what Christ Jesus did actually say on the matter of faith and opted for a narrative this writer desires for his own pleasure, not Jesus'.
Interesting you quoted Luke’s account of the parable because he records Jesus as saying “they believe for a while” countering the argument of once saved always saved. I agree we need to take time with God seriously because just like you mentioned, neglecting it leads us to neglect God.
Your perspective on faith is unempathetic. You should try taking atheists at their word instead of projecting your ideas of what disbelief might feel like on them.
Atheists leave the faith because they never had faith in Christ, not because they stopped engaging with a genuine faith they once had. And often they leave because they are tested beyond the limits of their false faith. A Christian who was born into wealth may leave the faith when he encounters financial hardship because he believes God would never allow him to lose everything for no reason; his faith was unbiblical to start with.
And atheists are not like petulant children who hate God and choose to leave out of pride or sloth — that’s the Prodigal Son, and he eventually returns. Atheists, like Rhett and Link, were never “sons” with genuine faith in Christ at all. They likely had faith in community and all the simple joys of mid-western, Christian camaraderie, but once they realized they could have community without Christ, the burden of upholding standards and institutions they didn’t believe in became pointless and burdensome. So they left, which is totally rational.