Posted on 04/10/2021 6:28:02 PM PDT by SeekAndFind
Paul Maxwell, a former Desiring God writer and the author of the book The Trauma of Doctrine, has announced he is no longer a Christian.
“What I really miss is connection with people,” Maxwell said on his Instagram feed. “What I’ve discovered is that I’m ready to connect again. And I’m kind of ready not to be angry anymore. I love you guys, and I love all the friendships and support I’ve built here. And I think it’s important to say that I’m just not a Christian anymore, and it feels really good. I’m really happy.”
“I can’t wait to discover what kind of connection I can have with all of you beautiful people as I try to figure out what’s next,” he added. “I love you guys. I’m in a really good spot. Probably the best spot of my life. I’m so full of joy for the first time. I love my life.”
Maxwell, who has his Ph.D. in theology and has written on the topics of theology, trauma, and fitness, later followed up with a message to those who told him he’s going to Hell and are “not really happy” as a result of his rejection of Christianity.
“I just say, ‘I know that you love me.’ I know, and I receive it as love. I know you care about the eternal state of my soul and you pushed through the social awkwardness of telling me this because you don't want me to suffer. And that is a good thing. That's a loving thing to do. And I hear where you're coming from, and I respect your perspective.”
Maxwell is the latest high-profile Christian figure to publicly renounce his faith in recent years.
Last year, Jon Steingard, the Canadian Christian rock band Hawk Nelson’s lead vocalist, announced on social media that “I no longer believe in God,” explaining “it didn’t happen overnight.”
In 2019, Joshua Harris, author of the controversial Christian bestseller I Kissed Dating Goodbye, sent shockwaves through the evangelical Christian community after he published an Instagram post announcing: “I am not a Christian. Many people tell me that there is a different way to practice faith and I want to remain open to this, but I’m not there now.”
A short time later, former Hillsong singer and songwriter Marty Sampson posted on Instagram: “Time for some real talk … I’m genuinely losing my faith … and it doesn’t bother me.”
In an interview with The Christian Post, H.B. Charles Jr., author and pastor of Shiloh Metropolitan Baptist Church in Jacksonville, Florida, said stories of defections from the Christian faith should serve as a “wake-up call” to the Western Church.
“The corporate worship of the Church is a key way to not only disciple the young generation but to strengthen all the saints to be steadfast in their faith,” he said. “My perseverance in the faith is not so much about me holding fast to Christ, but Him holding fast to me. We need to be teaching and singing sound doctrine. I believe that there is no need for something exotic or special in order to build faith and sustain faith for the long haul.”
Charles added that teaching the fundamentals of the Christian faith will “nurture the coming generation and help the saints to be focused on Christ and not man.”
“I feel like, to the degree we fail to do that, we'll hear many more of those stories, unfortunately,” he warned. “If faithful pastors and worship leaders don't declare their faithfulness to the Word of God and seek to lead their congregations in faithfully worshiping Him, this drift will continue.”
In a 2019 interview, Gospel Coalition founder and theologian Don Carson issued a word of caution to those tempted to judge those who have apostatized and called for discernment, offering the reminder that “just as it's possible to stereotype those who have fallen away as losers, so it's possible to stereotype those who are saying that they're losers.”
“They don't have labels on their foreheads,” Carson told CP. “So it might be that they need listening to and praying over, praying with, and so on. They might come back. I could tell you some remarkable stories of people who wandered away and what we would call backsliding, who nevertheless returned to the Lord a couple of decades later. So you want to allow that as a possibility and not, in any case, be supercilious or condescending.”
“It's all ‘good guys and bad guys' without discernment and recognition that the Bible pictures falling away and inconsistency in many, many different categories,” the theologian added. “Repentance is possible, as well as a renewed commitment to the covenant. It doesn't have to turn out in a bad way.”
The proper response to deconversion stories, according to Carson, is humility and prayer, acknowledging that “but for the grace of God, go I.”
“At the end of the day, apart from the grace of God,” he said, “we're all dead.”
Think of Simon the Sorcerer. “Believed”, baptized, but wanted to give money to have the power of the Holy Spirit.
To me his false “Christianity” was more showmanship to draw attention to himself.
Sad so many in the entertainment industry have the same.
[1 John 2:19]
Absolutely the correct answer.
Doubters.... Jesus said “blessed are they who have not seen yet believe.” Jesus was pleased when someone had faith.. believed in Him.
many find that hard to do. show me and then I believe.. it’s backwards.
I have children...adult kids... one son.. who I would have given my life for.. he was thoughtful and caring.. and talented beyond normal. he was a perfect individual.. but he doubted.. God did not give him the one thing he wanted.. a music career. one man stopped it dead in its tracks.
we had discussions.. and nothing changed his mind. ‘the bible was written by man’ and he could not make God out to be God. without the true experience, it was a story...
one day he went to the Dr for not feeling good.. dead tired. he was diagnosed with leukemia...
the next 2 yrs was spent seeking healing any way we could find it.
in the midst of those months... one night my son had a vision. he felt life leave his body and he was in or at the door to a heavenly surroundings. he saw family members and others.. he saw the hands of Jesus.. outstretched.
there was a message for him.. and he came to in a state of shock... warm.. loving.. but “What do I do with this?”
his wife prayed with him.. in that vision he became a true believer. his wife’s and his mother’s prayers were answered.
in the time left before he went to Glory.. Jesus and those he saw.. were with him to the end. never alone.. not afraid.. Jesus and heaven awaits... we can have it because Jesus paid the cost.. and if we believe and choose Him.
I lived thru a mother’s worst nightmare.. because Jesus was also with me.
His narcissism is off the charts. The constant references to me, myself, and I is nauseating. Similar to a hard drug addiction, narcissism is a contagious mental disorder for which the only known cure is death. Keep your distance from narcissists. Burn the body and sequester the emissions and ash deep into the Earth, preferably in the diving end of a subduction zone.
In other words, departing from the faith because it is not popular in the culture or even considered dangerous. He may have done so because of the latter but is no excuse for betraying the Lord like this.
Can he repent? Sure, but his ministry just went up in flames.
He may feel something maybe from his Woke friends, but what he has done is never enough for the Left. To get the same love later, he will have to go down the slippery slope and then more and more; from one perversion to another. Sad.
Looked up his picture in the article.
I can feel the soi from here.
“From deeply personal experience, I can’t think of anything dumber unless of course you were never really a Christian to begin with.”
You nailed it!
unless of course you were never really a Christian to begin with.
EXACTLY!
If you can DENY Christ, you are NOT a Christian.
This guy, and others like him, were NEVER saved! Their faith was a LIE!
They thought they could fool Jesus. LOL!
Did he “come out of the closet” yet? 3,2,1.
1 John 2:19
Outstanding.
I could be the star employee of a company I work at; my ID card gives me access to the building and I have passwords to all of the programs. I'm the model employee.
And then I start stealing stuff until I get caught; I'm shown the door. My ID card has been deactivated and my password disabled; I'm persona non grata at the firm, and I badmouth the establishment to no end.
ALL of my efforts prior to my turn to crime have gone to nothing, because Original Sin, which is always present and which must always be fought against, won out and I fell out of grace with the Creator and then, with my employer.
Is it possible I could turn back away from the bad and convince the company to hire me again? Sure. But without that, were my name to come up in a reference check to that company, how could they possibly have anything positive to say about me? (By what right could I walk around telling people that this company which I badmouth will take me back, even as I badmouth it; no apology is necessary.)
It doesn't pass the logic test.
Did they know this?
(Are ALL of these people involved in deception? Does this sound reasonable?)
It sounds to me as if they once had faith and then lost it; it happens quite a bit to us Catholics.
God bless you, frnewsjunkie, for posting your son’s struggle and his final destination to the loving arms of Our Dear Lord and Savior Christ Jesus. I know it had to be hard on your heart. Thank you.
Wow, hallelujah! So glad you wrote out that testimony! Thank you for sharing. We shall see our loved ones again.
I had a long talk with my Lord over time. This son was too good for this world.. it will eat the best of us alive .. given half a chance.
he was in NY for 4 yrs with one of the top recording studios... this talented son would not sell himself to the business and the business cut his career .. I either own you or no one will...
he came home an angry man... still the kind caring person but God failed him. that’s how we people decide who we think God is.
I prayed for him fervently. time passed and I so feared he would one day die lost. I could not live with this boy in hell for eternity.. that would have been the end of me
my prayer changed from asking... to a demand. desperate, I went before the Lord and said,,,this is no longer a request.. it’s a demand... and I recited His promises.. and zi added one more sentence.. and I knew what I was saying..
what ever it takes...
I threw it all on God.. and He heard me. you know when you’ve reached your own end.
My husband had died suddenly a few months before... this son was the one who called and kept tabs on his mom.. he was a writer.. a businessman....a master on the piano...a leader and had the respect of all who knew him.
He called me one Feb afternoon.. “are you sitting down..... I have been diagnosed with leukemia”.
God heals.. He can do anything.. and of course he can heal my son...for the next 2 yrs my life was to find a way to save my son.
hospital.. days spent in hospitals... one day he and I went to the top floor of the hospital where there was a baby grand piano.. he was tethered to the tubes... we took it all up.. and he played the piano.. people listened...
He and his wife were made for each other.. she has been such a blessing.
His body took hit after hit.. one day he said ,”I’m losing this battle.”
I sat with him and listened to him talk.. my son.. I hope you never have to go thru that...
I’m going to cut it here.. I am not finished.. and I want to add the rest later.. for anyone who struggles with what many try to make sense of..
the trust and faith...
its to help those who need a little more understanding on our walk...
A year into this battle, he had the vision.. My Lord took the time to go see my son..He didn’t leave us to suffer and live in fear. He took my son.. the one who tried to make God human.. mystery spiritually not understood.. and if we can’t understand.. then God is in our imagination. I pretty much live a life of black and white.. and I font mean races.. He lived in a lot of grey..
He took my son to a heavenly place... it was heaven or close enough. First he saw the 2 who had a message... his dad, and his wife’s brother who died a few years earlier... a young man.
they both told him pride was the one thing keeping so many from knowing our Lord. he had a long talk with his dad... and he never told me the rest ..just pride. he saw many in the distance.. he knew.. He said the love and peace was everywhere... he wanted to stay but his wife would be left...
His wife found him in tears sitting... What does one do after seeing the hands of Jesus and getting a first hand glimpse of what is prepared for us who believe in Jesus.
He prayed and he called me. That is what I had asked for.. redemption... God redeemed.... He even went to see him and showed the glory to him.
After a few more months... with people praying for him all around the world.. he wS losing ground.. He said this is no life.. hospitals... blood transfusion.. its a terrible thing to battle. he called it ended.. just take me home.... I dont want to die in the hospital.
His wife brought him home in a vehicle made for such a trip.. we had 2 weeks with him. His brothers and sister all here .. not believing their brother was going home home... listening to him talk for the time he could. He talked about my grandmother who raised me.. a gentle lady he loved for that special feeling he had around her.. She lost just about everything in her life and never lost her faith in God.. he asked about my mother who died young from pernicious anemia which they had no cure for then.
I was on one side and his wife on the other side.. praying and singing old hymns...day and night...
And I watched my son die... dont ever think God can’t help... God is the reason I can write this ..
Now let me explain faith.. It takes a faith and a trust I did not know was possible.
I wanted to keep my son.. if I could ... I would have begged God.. please don’t take my son... but He did take him.. I know God can heal.. but He took him.
He came to see my son... He could have done anything.. but He took him..
I had to come to... God must know more than I know.. God had a reason to take him.. and I chose to put my faith in my God that He knew what was best.. oh my... it hurts.. Its been 3 years and every day is another day I have not seen him.
but I know where he is and that he is ok.. more than ok.. he has seen Grandma and my mother... he has seen his dad.. he is in no pain.. and I bet God had a baby grand fir him to play on... my dear son... in Glory.. its what I asked for...
Thank the Lord in Glory...
overlook typos please..
God’s blessings to you.
My goodness, Junkie. What a tribute to your wonderful son and God saving him! Just beautiful.
I can only imagine the double edged sword you’re cut with, Junkie: So, so, so eternally grateful and happy that he’s saved and with Our Lord, and yet so sad that he has passed from this life to the next one.
Your having cried out to God and also demanding after having requested so long is very familiar territory for me. I think we grow by leaps and bounds when it’s such a problem with which we are surely forced to confront God. I DO understand, as I’ve done the exact same thing. For my daughter several times, and for myself during a certain situation. And God answered.
Your great love for your son and for God Almighty are evident. What a great soul you are, Junkie!
You have all my blessings and all the warm hugs I can shower on you via Our Lord. You are in my prayers.
Please take good care of yourself as you still grieve the loss of your son. I know that closure doesn’t always come in the time we think it should.
SC
Excellent response!
Okay. This won't be short and sweet. I warned you. :o)
Becoming/being a genuine born-again believer in Jesus Christ is more than simply being baptized Christian as a baby and being raised in a church or going forward during an invitation at a church service, it's more than hearing the gospel and it's even more than claiming to be a Christian. It's more than going to "church", giving money, obeying the commandments, being "good" or even telling others about Jesus. In fact, people can do all those things and still at the end hear the words from Jesus, "Depart from me I never knew you.".
So what IS becoming/being a genuine born-again Christian? It is a heart decision. It is a conscious act of faith:
That is what separates a genuine believer from a pseudo one. God certainly sees the heart - none of us can - and knows if our faith is genuine. He promises:
We are repeatedly told in Scripture that salvation is the gift of God. That it is by grace we are saved through faith and not by works lest anyone should boast. Those who come to God in faith are not turned away - we WILL be saved. We are born-again into the family of God. We are no longer just His creation, we are His children. We are indwelt and sealed by the Holy Spirit as a promise until the day of redemption. Will God break His promise? NO. Does God lie? NO.
We weren't justified by our works but by faith. We don't stay justified by our works either. We are being conformed into the image of Christ, God is at work in us:
So now with all that said, what do we say about those who said they were Christians but then abandoned their faith? I can think of a few things. A genuine believer WILL be transformed by the Holy Spirit. There is a process of sanctification - we are a work of God. But it won't work if there is no genuine faith.
But can a genuine believer become discouraged, have a weak faith, have doubts? Yes, we ARE human and we still have an old nature that wars against the new spirit nature (see Paul's issues in Romans 7). Even the disciples of Jesus who walked and lived with Him for three years had doubts after the crucifixion. If we're honest, we ALL go through periods of doubt because we are walking by faith and not by sight. Look at the Israelites and how easily they abandoned God as they went through hardships in the wilderness even though they saw many, many miraculous things God did for them. Yet, some of them retained their faith through it all. I believe that if a person is a true child of God, He is ready to deliver them through those times of doubt. Some people can go years in the valley of doubt but they WILL persevere. They cannot deny what has taken place within their hearts. We have to be reminded about the many times God has worked in our lives through answered prayer, providing our needs, giving us peace, surrounding us with His presence and promising to never leave us or forsake us. The Israelites were told to set up monuments where God had worked miraculously for them as reminders. We need those kinds of reminders, too. It's sometimes easy to forget all that God has done for us when we are faced with a new trial or time of testing.
I don't know what is in a person's heart that would cause him to publicly renounce his faith in Christ. Maybe it wasn't a real faith. Maybe he's going through a valley and will regain his faith one day. Only God knows but we can certainly pray for him. He may one day return to his faith and we know God will be faithful to forgive him and cleanse him from all unrighteousness. Maybe he will finally come to a genuine faith for the first time.
I have a family member who accepted Jesus Christ as Savior and had a strong faith for years. Then he went through some terrible times and renounced Christ and claimed to be an atheist. But now he has returned to his faith after many years in the valley of despair. Did he lose his salvation during that time of doubt or does God's mercy and grace cover such times? Whatever doubts a believer might be going through, there remains a born-again soul who God says He would never cast out or lose one. Won't the doubters faith be strengthened once he is in God's presence? You asked would God send someone who was once a believer to heaven who doesn't believe in it anymore? Well he will believe it when he sees it! Jesus told His disciples, “Have you believed because you have seen me? Blessed are those who have not seen and yet have believed.”. (John 20:29). Heaven is real as is God and Jesus Christ. The Christian faith is real and true. God will not disown His child if he is going through a period of doubt. His love is so much bigger than that. Thank God for His mercy and grace that not only overcomes sin it overcomes our lack of faith and won't we be eternally grateful that we didn't foolishly lose the gift of God because of our doubts! I hope this answers your question.
In your example of the employee stealing from their employer, let me give this response: if your boss found out about your crimes and brought you into his office and said, "Captain Walker, I know you have been stealing from me. You're fired but I'm not going to have you arrested and prosecuted. You are free to go but you can never work here again and no one will give you a reference." I think that's what we'd call MERCY - you didn't get what you deserved. I'd think you'd be relieved.
But if that same boss instead said, "Captain Walker, I know you have stolen from me and done wrong, but I will not have you arrested and prosecuted. Instead, I forgive you and I am promoting you and giving you a raise." That's what we would call GRACE - you are getting what you don't deserve. I think you'd be overwhelmed with gratitude!
Because of God's mercy we are not consumed, we are not going to hell for our sins because Jesus Christ died for our sins and we receive that mercy through faith. Because of God's grace we not only are forgiven of our sins we are adopted into His family and made heirs and joint heirs with Christ and will spend eternity in heaven with God. How great is God's love! When we ponder that beautiful truth, how can we be anything but grateful and desire to live a life that honors that great love, mercy and grace.
"For My thoughts are not your thoughts, neither are your ways My ways,” declares the LORD. “For as the heavens are higher than the earth, so My ways are higher than your ways and My thoughts than your thoughts. (Isaiah 55:8,9)
Blessed is the man who has made the LORD his trust, who has not turned to the proud, nor to those who lapse into falsehood. Many, O LORD my God, are the wonders You have done, and the plans You have for us— none can compare to You— if I proclaim and declare them, they are more than I can count. (Psalm 40:4,5)
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