hum. So many responses and compression on these whole post... !
The thing is that most Christians have been learning what they believe since childhood in the church. They have built their false beliefs brick upon brick into a huge building of fallacy. Now when you come along and point out that some of this is wrong, there is no way for them to take out that which you say is wrong without the whole thing collapsing and that is the last thing most of them want. You see they can not be given a bit of truth and expected to understand it, it simply does not fit together with all the rest of what they have come to believe. They are comfortable in their false beliefs, besides everybody else they know (except you) believe the same as they do.
You know that when you came to this truth it was absolutely necessary for your false house built on sand to fall and a great fall it was (Matt 7). It is a process to come to know this truth, tearing down the old and building a brand new building on the Rock. We know that this is impossible for a person to do on their own, for this to happen God must call them out of their delusion.
Kat
For me this was very nice and clearly explained.
I might will predict that while you keep assimilating more what you are learning you will become a more reserved person for a while.
We don't have time to try to knock off others peoples houses while we have to focus on build a new one for our selves,
- First, our whole surrounding context will start to change, you can't adapt anymore on your environment as before, we start to see the whole thing from the top or as a whole. Also the majority around you can't really adapt to you (the big difference is that you can understand them while they can't understand you)
- Second, You no longer share (and this will increase) the current structures, norms, attitudes and the same history of the place that surround you. (So you will need to be careful on every opinion and subject you get into, if you don't want to offend people all the time. maybe look for safer subjects to talk about)
- Also we need to work with what we have, be aware of our limitations. We are busy trying to build a brand new building.
Maybe once this is bigger and stable, There we will have a stage to answer properly when somebody honestly ask. It is also hard to be taken serious when our life's are being sponsored by a contradictory belief system. - For last. Any change to one aspect of the setting where you live will obviously have consequences for many other aspects, so you will need to anticipate and be prepared for drastic consequences.
As we keep walking, and building, there is less fear and more freedom. Also there can be high possibilities for us to become more lonely (spiritually). This is why we must come together online, and also why the first believers used to be encouraged to stay together. Still, Wherever we are and whatever we do; we must focus on keep on building, carefully.
And here is the dilemma again:
- Naively trying to change individuals on their own environment that they are so used too. [They may agree with you for one chat, but if their house is not about to be knocked down.. they will not have the straight, the enough knowledge or courage for change]
- Or wait until God (whenever He wants, and however he wants) must call them out of their delusion.
Words from people that we tent to think that know us the most are way more persuasive and strong, no matter if what they are saying make much sense or not, so they are the ones that we must be aware the must.
We are getting far! We are getting far from everything on religion that we used to think to be right!