re: Science Increasingly Makes the Case for God--WSJ--Eric Metaxas

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No. Its that i was a believer for 23 years of my life. Like a went voluntarily 3 times a week. More than just going through the motions. For you to act like the reason i dont believe is because i dont know what you know is ludicrous.

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I am sorry I was out on this debate for the better part of the day. There was a loss in my family and I was away attending the funeral.

Hester, I believe I noted where you asked what the consequences of Christianity were, or something to the effect...I will say what a benefit is. When attending funerals of a believer as a believer, the sting of death is greatly diminished. We have a peace that surpasses the conventional understanding of man.

Now I would like to say Hester that you seem like a really nice and good hearted guy and I am not saying any of this with malice towards you as you offered the same disclaimer yourself, but when I see what you said about being a believer for 23 years, I have to question this as well. Here's why. In the realm of Christianity and according to the Bible, when one accepts Christ as their Lord and Savior, the Holy Spirit comes in and sets up shop. The indwelling Holy Spirit is not an impersonal force, but an active one that cultivates the relationship with God. I am not wanting to be too preachy here either but in the scriptures we see that when one becomes a Christian and the Holy Spirit does his thing, they are a new creation per se and their salvation is referred to in the past tense..."saved". This means it is a done deal. Some may disagree but I don't find where the Holy Spirit ever leaves one upon his entrance into one's heart.

So, that leads me to this...if you were a believer and had the Holy Spirit come upon you, you would never be able to divest yourself of his presence and fully leave the faith behind as you state you have. It is more so the fruits your lack of a continued faith show me which leads me to believe you never fully came to know Jesus as your true Savior. Again, please don't misunderstand what I am saying to you. I am speaking out of genuine Christian brotherly love towards you.

I will wrap it up by saying the vacuum cleaner sales analogy is getting in the way of the message beyond what the scope of it is worth. Trying to sell one on an inanimate vacuum cleaner is light years different from calling one's attention to a relationship with a living God. God doesn't need a salesperson...he just needs an open mind to hear and eventually an open heart. Best wishes to you!