An Interesting Conversation

This thread came about after I watched this YouTube video.

Lindsey2021 posted the comment below, and I responded…sparking an interesting debate about what makes someone a Christian, and whether or not children can actually be considered Christians. Her stance on this may surprise you….


lindsey2021
If atheists truly didnt believe in god they wouldnt be asking for the proof. Jesus performed miracles and proclaimed he was God's son yet people still denied God. If they did the same 2000 years ago what makes you think they will suddenly believe now? The bible says the fool is the one who doesnt believe and these people wont believe unless they FIRST accept the holy spirit. No matter what "proof" you provide, they will reject it because they first havent accept the holy spirit.

sarahbertch
I am a born-again Christian turned Atheist. Your logic does not make sense, as I at one time accepted the Holy Spirit, only to find through research, reading, and logic, that none of it made any sense. Why then, by your reasoning, would I reject your so-called "proof" AFTER accepting the Holy Spirit?

lindsey2021
Yet you are still here still searching for an imaginary God.

its simple. you werent a christian. You never had the Holy Spirit.

sarahbertch
First , I am not searching for any god. I came across this video while watching atheist videos.

Second, I became a Christian at the age of 8, baptised at the age of 13, believed 100% that Jesus was my personal saviour. I prayed daily, studied the Bible, lead friends to Christ. I was a devoted follower, very involved in my church. How can you say that I wasn't a Christian? Did God deny my heart-felt application to his elite club? Your statement goes against everything that the church teaches.

lindsey2021
i stand correct. children are bought up in whatever environment their parents inflict on them whether it be religious or not. So at 13 you basically were a "christian" because thats what your parents were. your young mind could not comprehend the sanctity of religion and we dont understand these concepts and choose our paths until we are fully intellectually and mentally matured. i knew nothing about God and Jesus until my 20's. i believed but didnt understand before that time.

sarahbertch
Why then, would Jesus tell people to bring their children unto him? And why would the church encourage children to accept Jesus if they are too young to understand? At the age of 18 I rededicated my life to Christ because I felt I had a greater understanding of the decisions I had made in my childhood, and I wanted to start a more mature walk with Christ. I didn't start to question my own beliefs until I was 26. Where does it say "Thou shalt not become a Christian until you are mentally mature"?


lindsey2021
it doesnt say that at all. what I am saying is that a child is susceptible to the environment in which he is bought up. this is why you rarely see an atheist child with christian parents or atheist parents with christian children. children dont set their paths and begin to undestand themselves until they are out of their adolescent years.

sarahbertch
Also, I highly doubt that at the age of 20, you were "fully intellectual"....in fact, that term doesn't even make sense. Wouldn't that imply that one has reached their full capacity for knowledge? I don't think that is possible. Life is a never-ending learning process. You are making ridiculous comments to fit your argument.

lindsey2021
you are right that doesnt make any sense. I said intellectually and mentally matured. most atheists live by science am i right? well science has proven that children in their adolescent years have not fully developed their brains or rather they are not matured enough to understand some things such as cause/effect or consequences of actions that a fully developed adult would. this is why we have so much child immaturity.

sarahbertch
LOL! You probably shouldn't use science to try and explain your religious beliefs. OBVIOUSLY children are not completely developed...so are you saying that children can't believe in God, and that all Christian children are only Christians because their parents tell them to? This will make a very interesting argument for me to use to make my case in the future.

lindsey2021
Yes that is exactly what I am saying.

sarahbertch
Both my hubby and I are atheists, and yet, our 13 yr old daughter isn't. We've encouraged her to seek her own path, and she's always claimed that she feels there's a God, and that she believes in heaven and hell, etc. I've even taken her to church myself, putting my own beliefs aside to allow her to make her own decisions. My 15 yr old son is atheist, and has claimed this since long before we ever shared our beliefs with him. How can you explain this using your previous argument?


Shockingly, she never responded.