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These two youtube clips are about an ex-pastor named Tim Sledge who turned away from his faith and Jesus and now calls himself a humanist who enjoys the wonders of the universe.
Some brief summaries of the contents of the two clips are
1. Tim Sledge thinks stories in the Bible are against scientific facts and "his (own) reasoning. He talks of God as being "an invisible silent God." He said if the resurrection was true, why didn't Jesus appear to more people (in the Bible) after he returned from death? Why did he appear to only very few people? Why didn't he appear to the emperor? Why does Jesus not appear every Easter today?
2. (From the second clip which is much shorter). Tim Sledge experienced "being sinned against by others" in the church. He was hurt by the people in his church and was overwhelmed by trying to help church members to deal with their mental illness.
3. It is not wise for Christians to refuse psychological help from mental health professionals when it comes to mental health problems.
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Some of my thoughts on this are
1. Did Tim Sledge ever experience God speaking to him instead of himself praying (talking) to God? Did he ever have a personal relationship with God? Was it possible that he did hear from God but got burnt out trying to help others that he got lost and disillusioned? What I mean is did Tim Sledge knew God but left his faith or was he never saved from the begining?
2. Churches have to teach about members being supportive and kind to other members so what happened to Tim Sledge won't happen to some believers.
3. I wonder whether Tim Sledge will ever return to his faith again.
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The first clip is very long (about 40 minutes). I didn't watch the whole thing and didn't get why Tim Sledge turned into a non-believer. The second clip talks about the reason why he left his faith.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=w7t-_-lrQVM
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SricznXMfZk
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89FNo energy, just going to do whatever. Sandra, It's hard to move at a certain time in life. You've been in your home forever, at least you'll be able to travel to the beach and enjoy. Oh, we did hear Boris Johnson's tenure ended due to a series of ethics scandals, accusations of dishonesty and a final collapse of government support that forced his recognation. What he didn't do like the...
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88FWhat I do like is early morning clouds and then they disappear and the sun comes out. That was it's cooler in the morning. I'm sitting here looking out the window at the hummingbird with the river and dike as a back drop. It's hard to invision ever leaving but I'm also a realist with aging, especially when the luncheon we had with thirty former classmates on Monday. Sandra, we get news of...
People lose their faith or it changes for many reasons
I know a Chinese man who went to live in Thailand. He was a Christian and got married to a Chinese woman who was also a Christian. They had marital problems, and the wife took off with another man who was involved in bad things and was murdered. The woman returned to her husband but lived in a separate house. I heard that her husband left his faith to become a Buddhist. His reason was Christians were judgemental. Pastors becoming non-believers is not something that happens often. I think the lack of love and the coldness of hearts in churches is one of the things that cause people to not want to have anything to do with churches or Christianity.
I honestly dont think God will reject us when we die for whatever religion rules we followed.
All God ever wanted was for us to believe in him, have faith in him, be nice to each other , It really is that simple.
Have they not read:
John 6:67-69
New King James Version
67 Then Jesus said to the twelve, “Do you also want to go away?”
68 But Simon Peter answered Him, “Lord, to whom shall we go? You have the words of eternal life. 69 Also we have come to believe and know that You are the [a]Christ, the Son of the living God.”
And:
Matthew 18:15-18
New King James Version
Dealing with a Sinning Brother
15 “Moreover if your brother sins against you, go and tell him his fault between you and him alone. If he hears you, you have gained your brother. 16 But if he will not hear, take with you one or two more, that ‘by the mouth of two or three witnesses every word may be established.’ 17 And if he refuses to hear them, tell it to the church. But if he refuses even to hear the church, let him be to you like a heathen and a tax collector.
And:
Matthew 18:21-23
New King James Version
The Parable of the Unforgiving Servant
21 Then Peter came to Him and said, “Lord, how often shall my brother sin against me, and I forgive him? Up to seven times?”
22 Jesus said to him, “I do not say to you, up to seven times, but up to seventy times seven. 23 Therefore the kingdom of heaven is like a certain king who wanted to settle accounts with his servants.........(see later verses for the parable).
And:
The whole book of Job is also a testament to the fact that we always only see part of the picture. (I won't paste that many verses here). As hard as it can be to acknowledge, God knows things we don't, and He's the boss of all creation.
I understand that people are sometimes badly wronged and feel deeply hurt. I've been treated badly before, unfortunately occasionally by Christians, but God wants us to handle things in accordance with scripture.
Such a sad story.
"God's promise of divine protection" by Clois Clark, Elder
https://www.faithbible.com/blog/2022/12/02/god-s-promise-of-divine-protection
"How does a person obtain the protection of God?" by Compelling Truth
https://www.compellingtruth.org/protection-of-God.html
I think when we pray to ask God to protect us from getting into car accidents, He answers the prayers, meaning He protects us from them. I am using this example because I prayed every time when I stepped in the car before driving off for God's protection. Lately, the prayer sounded more like "Please protect me (or us) from all harm as I go out ." I noticed that occasionally some cars would come so close in another lane or cut in front of me or I was cutting in front of them that a bad car crash could happen, but it didn't, and I felt it was God (or His angels) who protected me.
When it comes to illnesses, natural disasters, or other types of tragedies in life, we may not find an easy answer to it as to why God does not protect us from them. In many cases, you are right that God does not promise protection from, for instance, natural disasters if we live in a part of the world where certain natural disasters happen. Should we not pray for God's protection then when a tornado is heading our way? I guess my answer is I will still pray for God's protection but be prepared that I may be one of the unlucky ones. I will feel more sure God will answer the prayer if I have moved to a safe spot.