didnt read all the thread but

to be a born again christian is what most call reaffirming yoru faith

you are a christian who may have gone down the wrong path and
seen the error of their ways and asked for forgiveness and gave their lives back to the lord

Walker ..if you were born into a christian family.....
and if you YOURSELF ,have ALSO accepted and believe in Jesus Christ as your Personal Lord and Saviour....
then you are a born again christian too.


Franklin Graham, for instance, was born into a christian family(son of Evangelist Billy Graham).....but until Franklin actually accepted Jesus into his heart himself , he was not a christian, simply because the rest of his family was.

A born again christian is simply someone who believes in the virgin birth of Jesus.... and believes Jesus died on that cross for our sins...and rose again from the dead on the third day...and ascended into heaven.... and a born again christian has also by Faith, accepted Jesus into his heart ,as His Lord and Saviour.



Walker....
you couldn't talk to "Heavenly Daddy" like you do, unless you had believed in Jesus too....or had already invited Jesus to live in your heart, too.

Personally, however, I don't think someone has to follow some strict formula, in order to become saved (which is what born again means).

I believe if you believe in the Jesus of the bible, and have meant it , when you accepted him into your heart as your Lord and Saviour, then you are saved.
Salvation is a free gift of grace...all we have to do is believe and recieve by Faith.....but mean it.

But by the same token, just because I don't believe someone has to follow some "strict formula" in order to be saved.....that doesn't mean that man can get saved any old way he
chooses.

Cause there are some " new age christians", that believe any old way will get you to heaven ...and you don't have to go by way of the cross.
And some of these " new age christians" even pray in "Jesus Name" too.

But if you look deeper into what they believe, it is a "new age Jesus" they believe in.....and not the Jessu spoken of in the bible.... a "christ consciousness they call it.
And it is NOT the same Jesus you or I believe in.

But Jesus did say, "My sheep hear my voice and the voice of a stranger they will not follow".

Also, we born again christians have the Holy Spirit in us.... to lead and guide us into all truth.

So Walker....this is why not everyone who says they are a "christian" , is truly a christian.

Again.....

a Christian is someone who
believes in the virgin birth of Jesus ...
and believes Jesus died on that cross for our sins....
and on the third day rose again from the dead...
and ascended into heaven...

and a christian also is someone ..
who by Faith ,
has confessed Jesus as His Lord and has accepted Jesus into his heart and meant it.....

And when a man has done that, that man is saved (or becomes born again).

You may be insulting a lot of Christians with a statement like this.

In my position, if you say you are a Christian, I believe you and you are a Christian. I am in no position to judge, and I take your word for it.

I guess some Christians feel they are in a position to judge, and perhaps they want to set themselves above others and divorce the bad behavior of others who call themselves Christians.

Are Catholics Born Again?
I think Evangelicals and Catholics totally agree about the awesomeness of a personal encounter with Jesus. In Pope Benedict XVI's new encyclical, "Spe Salvi" we read:

"Life in its true sense is not something we have exclusively in or from ourselves, it is a relationship. And life in its totality is a relationship with him who is the source of life. If we are in relation with him who does not die, who is life itself and love itself, then we are in life. Then we 'live... Our relationship with God is established through communion with Jesus -- we cannot achieve it alone or from our own resources alone."

Much debate has set Catholic "Baptism" against the Evangelical "Born again" concept. I think that greater common ground can be found if we compare the Evangelical "Born Again" experience to the Catholic "Second Conversion" experience which is when a Catholic surrenders to Jesus with an attitude of "Jesus, take my will and my life, I give everything to you." This is a spontaneous thing that happens during the journey of faithful Catholics who "get it." Yup, the Catholic Church teaches a personal relationship with Christ: The Catechism says:

1428 Christ's call to conversion continues to resound in the lives of Christians. This second conversion is an uninterrupted task for the whole Church who, "clasping sinners to her bosom, [is] at once holy and always in need of purification, [and] follows constantly the path of penance and renewal." This endeavor of conversion is not just a human work. It is the movement of a "contrite heart," drawn and moved by grace to respond to the merciful love of God who loved us first.

1430 Jesus' call to conversion and penance, like that of the prophets before him, does not aim first at outward works, "sackcloth and ashes," fasting and mortification, but at the conversion of the heart, interior conversion.

The Pope and the Catechism are two of the highest authorities in the Church. They are telling us to get personal with Jesus.

In one respect, the Catholics and Evangelicals are saying the same thing. "Surrender your life to Jesus. Let Him run it. Get personal with Him." This is what we have in common and why we can pray together and love one another as He has loved us. (Jn 15:12) My personal encounter with Jesus turned me upside down, or should I say right side up, and completely changed the way I looked at the world. I said "Yes" to Him and man did He move. I love praying with anyone who loves Jesus. (Mt 18:20).

Although Catholics preach a personal encounter with Christ we also emphasize the importance of the entire Body of Christ, which is the Church. The Christian walk is not a self centred journey, it is a journey for the community of believers, which the Bible calls the "Elect." (Col 8:33, Col. 3:12; 1 Tim. 5:21; Tit. 1:1; 2 John 1) This attention to the Body of Christ has sometimes caused Evangelicals to say that we are not into a personal relationship with Christ. This is not so. We are into a personal relationship with him, particularly during communion, and we belong to the Body of Christ, which is made up of all the faithful of this age and those who went before us.

from:
http://www.davidmacd.com/catholic/born_again_catholics.htm

yes. as eluded to in Matthew 13: 24-30. and subsequently to that, Matthew 13: 31-33.

and to that end, the Catholic Church does recognize that the tares and the wheat whose roots are intertwined cannot be weeded out, lest the wheat also be weeded out.(drawing from one of jesus' parables)

Meaning, there are many seeking God in the churches who have not come to the point of being transformed by the Holy Spirit's indwelling of their person, YET are welcome and NOT excuseable from being among the congregation in worship of God.

This sensitivity is an abundantly important one.

It is in the presence of the saints and the Holy Spirit that many come to believe in Jesus' abiding love being for them as well.

Walker... you wrote and I quote.....

<<<<<......Evangelical "Born again" concept. I think that greater common ground can be found if we compare the Evangelical "Born Again" experience to the Catholic "Second Conversion" experience which is when a Catholic surrenders to Jesus with an attitude of "Jesus, take my will and my life, I give everything to you." This is a spontaneous thing that happens during the journey of faithful Catholics who "get it." Yup, the Catholic Church teaches a personal relationship with Christ: The Catechism says:

1428 Christ's call to conversion continues to resound in the lives of Christians. This second conversion is an uninterrupted task for the whole Church who, "clasping sinners to her bosom, [is] at once holy and always in need of purification, [and] follows constantly the path of penance and renewal." This endeavor of conversion is not just a human work. It is the movement of a "contrite heart," drawn and moved by grace to respond to the merciful love of God who loved us first....>>>>

~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Walker... catholics are christians too.....IF they accepted Jesus into their lives as their Lord and Saviour..or... ask Jesus to take control of their lives.... same difference.....
They are Saved.


God doesn't care about following strict formulas..God looks at the heart.......and looks to see if Jesus lives in there.




Some of the Most Beautiful Loving Christians I know ,are Catholics .

And They Truly Love the Lord.