this subject has been touched many times but it is important that people understand this miracle. i am not asking any questions, just stating what it is to be born again. im making this post because there are many christians who are missing the mark and causing others to do so by telling them that they only need to believe to be born again. if this were so them Jesus would not have told nicodemus that he needed to be born of the water and the spirit(John3:3), this does not take place in your mind.i think about the ones that said that they did miracles and cast out demons in the name of Jesus and he told them to depart from him and that he didnt know them. where did their belief get them? our belief only causes us to be born again, it doesnt make us born again. i urge every who struggles with this matter to read the book of acts, paying special attention to the first 2 chapters, and Romans 8:9. it amazes me how many so called christians reject this concept. it is impossible to truly worship God or work any righteousness without his spirit. when God looks at you, does he see his spirit in you. the spirit literally resides in the born again person. its not just someone saying "i got Jesus in my heart", anyone who has been truly reborn understands that this is something that cannot be mistaken or guessed. if you have been born again then you know without a doubt. this is the seal of redemption.

i just want to add that i am not trying to condemn anyone or saying anyone will go to hell for not recieving this. everyone is free to choose what they want to believe, im just putting it out there.

I have no need of being 'born again'.

God has been with me from the moment of my birth.

i respect your stand and leave that to you and God.

Truly,

I can't even begin to imagine existing without God. I never had that experience so I have no clue how that could even work.

you said it very well abracadabra, you never had that experience so you dont understand how it works. this is an experience every human being must have. without this experience it is very difficult to understand it or really comprehend much of what the bible is speaking about. i didnt understand it before it happened to me. i know the bible seems to condradict itself but that is because people read it on the surface. if you dig a little deeper and have an understanding of the spiritual nature of God, you will find that all the books from the old to the new testament actually relate, tie in, and support each other. i can only credit the understanding that i have to the grace of God through his spirit. you cannot read the bible with a carnal mind and expect to understand it.

I think you misunderstood Abra's meaning. He has never had the experience of being far from god.

God walks with each of us (from the moment we exist) could you but see through the veil you would know this in truth. When we are born into this world our sprit is born with us... There is no need to be 'born again', only a need to open the eye of the spirit.

When we breath, we breath the breath of god as we take in the air of the earth. Our physical bodies need the one. Our sprit is nutured by the other.

i may have misunderstood ab's reply and i apologize for that if i did. i am not mistaken about being born again though. yes we breathe the air that God has given us but we are not born with his spirit. have you no understanding of his word when he says that whoever doesnt have his spirit then they are not his. if every man was born with his spirit then why did he say that. you are born of flesh and therefore born into sin. you need his spirit to be born of him for he is a spirit. im sorry but you will not get around this one man. id hate for you to find out the hard way. i would remind you that Jesus said that you need to be born again but i remember that you dont even accept him acccording to your post so whats the point in trying to convince you. if you dont believe in Jesus then there is absoulutly no way you are going to see that you need to be born again.

i just wanted to add that this breath that you are refering to is the breath of life, not Gods spirit. animals have this too man. it is our soul that sets us apart from every other creature.

Ja,

I'm truly happy for your spiritual revelation. I hope it brings much joy to your throughout your life.

you know man, i truly believe you are sincere about that and i accept it and thank you for all your replies dispite our differences.

Does being 'born again' require some human ritual or can any person simply declare they are 'born again'?

Is it necessary for others to tell people they are 'born again'?

Are there rituals or doctrine within the 'born again' community that would specifically exclude others from claiming a Christian label?

If faith alone in Jesus as savior is all that's requried for salvation, what does it matter what else people believe or do?

I accept that Jesus was a Prophet. As for anything that he is supposed to have said...

Did he say it to you? Chapters written by a third party stating what a second party was told by a first party are defined (in any other instance except the bible) as hearsay...

The breath I reference is the two fold...

One is the breath that this body needs to survive and science measures it and calls it air...

The other is the breath of god.

If the physical world exist, than also, does the spritual (All things have balance). Both 'realities' occupy the same space yet most can see only one, though both surround them.

He walks with me as he walks with you...

It stands to reason that in the spiritual world (the veil is but a thin thing) I therfore breath the breath of god as surely as I breath air in the physical world.

it requires Baptism ....which presents a problem for those Christians that haven't been baptisted or don't go to Church ..this is why Catholicism is the true form of Christianity

Baptism is not a "ritual". That is done willingly to show that you have turned your life over to God. It is an action to show your faith to the lord. As everyone knows actions speak louder then words. There are no "rituals" in Christianity. We don't sacrifice animals, we don't do anything along the lines of "rituals".

It is merely a choice one has taken to show the father he has laid down his own life and is picking up the life of the lord. That is what the baptism symbolises. It symbolises death and burial *the dunking of one under the water* and then when you are brought back up out of the water that symbolises the resurrection.

No one "claims" the Christian label in that exact sense. It is a title given to us from other beliefs and those of no belief. As you'll never find the world "christian" in the bible.

And no there are no "rituals" to being born again. The term being born again is quite simple. Once you have accepted Jesus as lord and saviour you have laid your life down not to live it for just you. You lay your life down and pick up the life the lord tells us to live, thus being born again. And this choice is usually shown through baptism. That is what baptism symbolizes, the dunking under the water *dying and being buried* then you are brought out of the water *the resurrection*.

Cowboy perhaps you never heard of "The Ritual of Exorcism" .."The Ritual of Communion" unless you believe that people actually do eat human flesh and drink human blood

Jesus to be born again had to get baptize..he didn't just declare that he was born again ...he went to John the baptist a man of the cloth to perform the ritual of baptism in order to full fill his righteousness

this is why the only reason a christian would post that there are no rituals in Christianity is because they don't go to church

Oh, it's not so bad.
I've never had God and I'm doing ok.

And your evidence for that assumption is what, exactly?

All that might make you feel better, but it's superstious drivel. A fantasy. A dream. It's not reality.

Either you are just wrong or you're just lying. Christianity is FILLED with rituals. Designed to reinforce the belief system and to keep people from thinking too hard.

And what makes you think know what reality is, pray tell?