I'm glad to see you back around, no matter how long it might be for. There have been few topics where I've seen very clear lines drawn in the sand, and this is one of them, and it's one of the two most shocking for me.

One side argues that it's no small crime to denounce, renounce, and call The Creator, a phoney, His Word, a tome of fantasy and myth, and biblical Christianity, a giant hoax. One side argues for the very serious nature of the crime of not only rejecting The Creator, but openly rejecting His very existence, and attributing Him and His Word, along with His Son's incarnation, sacrifice, death, and resurrection, to utter nonsense, reserved for the ignorant who are foolish enough to continue on believing such fantastical ridiculousness. One side views this to be no small crime commited; crucifying God afresh, and rejecting His existence, openly, especially for those who have tasted of Heavenly things, and been filled with the knowledge of His Word.

The other side argues for a saved man, backslidden, calls for empathy, compassion, prayers for restoration, and argues denouncement and renouncement as just sins commited, like any others, but fixable.

I don't know what I'm missing after reading some comments since this this Joshua Harris story broke recently. His apology to, and his new association with the LGBTQ community aside, this man, very publicly, denounced and renounced God, and Christianity, as a whole; effectively telling the world that the God of the Bible is a phoney, His Word a fraud, Christianity, a giant hoax, and that he was moving on; nothing to see here, to continue his search.

Yet, he did nothing more than commit just another sin, as a saved man, because we all sin, and that he'll just have to give an account for, like anyone else, but evenso, "Well done, good and faithful servant, enter into thy rest..."?

Ridiculous, isn't it? The very ones who are using mainstream media to do the accusing, don't even believe it themselves.
The race card is all they have left, after all else has failed, and failed miserably. There isn't any evidence, other than Trump's comments that they contort out of context to build a case that, once again, doesn't even exist.

He had been on suicide watch, and commiting suicide in a jail cell with little to nothing to do it with, and certainly nothing that would have made it a quick and easy job, speaks to his desperation...if it was in fact a suicide.

While I wouldn't deny anyone can be saved right before their death, I would think that most who do pray, and cry out immediately beforehand, after a lifetime of Christ-rejecting, do it as a failsafe; as a, just in case it's all true, afterall, type of thing.

I don't know, but the possibility seems bleak. However, with God, all things are possible. All I know for sure is that he is an enemy of The Living God, and doesn't deserve the sympathy I've been seeing from other Christians.

“The Lord knows Joshua’s heart,” he (Pastor Heath Lambert) added. “Was Joshua a Christianized unbeliever who never knew Christ? We do not know, but God does. Is he a Christian who has fallen into grievous sin, and is in need of restoration? We do not know, but God does.

I'm really not understanding the sympathetic attitudes towards this man, especially at this point in the game. Greiving, and a sadness for his wife and kids, his falling away, and his eternal spirit...sure, of course, but the poor, confused, Joshua our kind brother, sort of empathy that I pick up while reading articles seem to be dismissing the very serious nature of what's gone on here; His crime against God.

Hey US, you reminded me of something that I should have added to that comment, and it also shows the contrast:

I was talking only about while in office, as the leader of this nation at the time. He had a responsibility to speak up, and denounce the hatred, violence, bigotry, and the murders, but remained silent; only having anything to say when a black person was ever attacked or murdered.

Now, the very same people who never cared about OBama never speaking up, are lambasting Trump for not speaking up more than he has.

When Sharpton, Jackson, Farrakhan, and the hate rappers, called for violence on the crackers, and death to white cops, OBama said what? Nothing. When white cops were being slaughtered, what was OBamas response? No response. When the Black Panthers stood at the polling stations with clubs, threatening whites if they didn't vote OBama, and when they put out a public hit on George Zimmerman, what was the response? There wasn't one. Utter silence, so who are the bigots? Who are the racists? Who's doing all the hating, baiting, and inciting racial violence and division? The liberals, and it's been crystal clear to see all along.

Good morning, SC. Sobering and true, and that really is the bottomline, isn't it?

Now, while in this physical reality, we do need real-world solutions that mankind is tasked to, and has a responsibility to resolve. Although, the political machine rarely resolves much of anything, because for most, it's about agenda, and nothing more.

I won't continue rambling, but I get your drift, and it's right on. Christ is, and always has been the solution, ultimately, but He always seems to be hidden away in the shadows, and only called upon for assistance when it selfishly suits some fleeting need. Then, He gets boxed up and stored away again for the next time.

Yep, Christ is THE answer, but He's the priority for few.

Thanks for the correction, yes, the addiction itself.

"The Spirit works effectually, we rather clumsily.

Sometimes people need to understand a particular point of doctrine before their understanding comes to light."

I really think we all need to examine how we, ultimately, respond to those who we are in disagreement with, or who may simply not be understanding attempted points. Great patience is an expectation for any born again Christian, not an option.

Yes, The Spirit quickens our understanding; revealing the hidden, but valid point about different people needing to grasp particular (varying) points of doctrine, to make their understanding sure, complete, rounded, to get things to "click".

The comment made me think back to a high school, advanced algebra class. I was having an impossible time grasping a particular method, and no matter how Mr Foeghan explained the rules, I was left clueless and frustrated, because I had to grasp it. One day, I walked into the other adv algebra teachers room, Mr Majerous, between classes, and he explained it, using an example that completely lifted my confusion, and I finally got it; everything suddenly became crystal clear.