If I'm not mistaken Ace is calling BS on such claims. It gets interesting when believers doubt believers..
I have plenty of doubt when it comes to the human heart. I’ve met and known some truly despicable people that claimed to be a “believer”. I’ve had a lot of disagreements, fundamental differences in beliefs, with “believers”. Of course I believe that I’m correct but because of those disagreements I’ve sought answers for understanding. My search for truth and understanding takes many forms, none of which are up for debate. What I do know for absolute certain is that mankind is predisposed to sin and that applies to everyone of us, believers and non believers alike. Just because a man is a deacon or pastor or parishioner does not necessarily speak to his character, it should but it doesn’t because he is human and subject to the temptations that accompany our mortal flesh. My respect and trust for someone else lies in their behavior and character not in their title. I’ve quit going to certain churches because I didn’t feel God’s presence there and in a couple of cases I felt a darkness when entering what should’ve been the enlightening illumination of the Lord’s house. One “church” in particular personified everything that non believers complain and believe about Christians. The ones I knew from that “church” were lying, scheming, greedy charlatans. They thought that lying and tricking people into their “circle” was justifiable since they were doing it for god but I came to realize that was another of their lies. They turned more people away from the Word and gave non believers affirmation, they were doing more work for satan than they’d ever done for God.
There are a lot of “churches” out there and I don’t believe that they’re all good. I do believe that most of them are good and allowing 1 bad “church” to tarnish your view of all churches would be small-minded. If one is intellectually honest they’d realize that a church is merely an accumulation of mortals learning and worshiping God together. Because it’s an accumulation of mortals it’s subject to being destroyed or perverted for the indulgence of the sins of its parishioners.
All Christians aren’t necessarily so nor are they the same just as all atheists or agnostics aren’t the same, neither are their motivations the same. “Judging everyone by the worst examples of the group is unwise and inaccurate.
Jesus came not to save the righteous , but as physician to the sick and weak and embraced those that society shunned or rejected.. Q./ Would Jesus embrace those from church groups you say you found no presence of God? ..I mean is there a std. of sickness so chronic that even Jesus would reject them/turn them away?
Jesus even went to the extent of personally choosing disciples which would betray him ,deny him, repeatedly fail him in his time of need...If that's the best he could realistically hope for (from hand selected people), then those church groups which you reject may be nothing at all surprising in the one big broad church of Jesus.
-Bulletproof and Waterproof don't mean Idiotproof.
