I agree. I guess some RCs probably say that about us ex-Catholic Christians, here, too. ;o)
On that note, I don’t believe someone can be a genuine believer in Jesus Christ - be born again - and then turn his back completely on Him and even curse Him and mock other Christians. I don’t see how the Holy Spirit within could possibly tolerate that kind of talk and not seriously pierce the heart with guilt and remorse for doing so.
I can understand someone being raised in the Christian faith, going to church all their life with the family and then to be convinced by someone or something that they were told wrong and leaving the faith. But that kind of person never really made a heart decision to receive Jesus Christ as Savior - they just went along and thought they were Christian because that’s how they were brought up to think. It’s like the sower and the seed parable Jesus taught. What are your thoughts on this?
I think that it’s possible to fall away, but it’s not an easy thing to do. A very deliberate act of will. And not just culturally falling away, but deliberately choosing to reject the kindness of God.
Or at least it looked like it had happened in my experiences with people who had rejected Christ; long story. I can tell you more about it if you like.
Having said that, most cases of quote-unquote ‘ex-Christians’ are just as you said, the parable of the seed and the sower. Shallow soil or among the thorns.
But some good news is that the Lord doesn’t give up on us even when we don’t think about him!
Do you think in some extreme cases, rather than let a person go completely off the rails, God may sometimes physically remove the person from the earth?