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From: aeq@pucc-h (Jeff Sargent)
Newsgroups: net.religion
Subject: Re: An Ex-Atheist Speaks - (nf)
Message-ID: <658@pucc-h>
Date: Thu, 12-Apr-84 03:05:10 EST
Article-I.D.: pucc-h.658
Posted: Thu Apr 12 03:05:10 1984
Date-Received: Fri, 13-Apr-84 08:08:12 EST
References: <1775@pur-ee.UUCP>
Organization: Purdue University Computing Center
Lines: 56

Reply to Thomas Ruschak:

        You took part of my testimony, replaced all the occurrences of
"God" with "Richard Simmons", and asked if I would take this as evidence
that Richard Simmons was God?

        Well, I would have to ask a few questions:
                Has anyone else had this experience?

                Does Richard Simmons CLAIM to be God, and does he have
                the power to back up what he says?

        If this testimony were the only one, I would be very suspicious
of Mr. Simmons and the person giving the testimony.  However, Christ has 
deeply changed hundreds of thousands of lives all over the world. I
am not alone.

        Many people have claimed to be God, but only one (to my know-
ledge) has ever shown He had the power, Jesus of Nazareth. The historians
and archaeologists have long since confirmed the historic accuracy of the
Gospels, particularly the Gospel of Luke.  Try reading it if you want to
find out whether Jesus could back up his claims.

        One thing you forget Tom, is that I used to be a very hard-headed,
skeptical atheist.  Do you not think I thought about several times then
about the very possibility you are talking about?  There is a person on
this system I used to resemble greatly, Rich Rosen.  If I had been writing
on this system during my atheist days, my letters would have sounded very
much like his.  Now Tom, do you think Rich is going to follow anyone who
claims to be God?  Do you think he would just throw out everything he
believes in on a whim?  Neither would I.  Take out a few moments everyone,
and think about what it would take to convert Rich.  That's probably
what it took to convince me.  Even after my "experience", I was still
skeptical.  The difference was that I was now willing to honestly try
to find out whether God exists.

        C.S. Lewis was an ardent opponent of Christianity for many years.
He later became one of the finest Christian authors I've ever read. Mike
Warnke was a Satanic High Priest and a drug pusher -- yet he became an
inspiring Christian comedian.  Saul of Tarsus was an ardent Jew who put
Christians to death until Jesus spoke to him (literally) on his way to
Damascus.  Saul then started preaching the gospel he formerly persecuted.
He became the Apostle Paul, one of the finest of the Apostles, who is
greatly responsible for the fact there are Gentile (not originally Jewish)
Christians today.  Tom, none of these people (and myself) were any more
gullible in their pre-Christian days than Rich is now.  It took something
powerful to convince any of them.  Tom, I've been solidly on both sides,
and I know them both pretty well.  I hope you will grant that, given this,
I should be in a good position to make a competent decision.  Is YOUR
position anywhere near as good?  It's SO easy to criticize anything when
you only know one side.


-- 
-- Scott Bowyer
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