陳天祥再回應：
If you do not believe in the consequences of leaving Christianity and take Heb 6:4-6 as an unreal threat, take a look at the components of having Christian faith as described in Heb and elsewhere in the Bible. To be an exChristian, you have to be a real Christian before. In general, according to the Bible, Christians should have acknowledged that they are created by God but have ignored Him as the creator, and knowing that this is a sin (in combination with other behavioral and mental perversions if aware) and God has set up salvation by crucifixion and resurrection of Jesus the incarnate, they have repent and received Jesus as the Lord. They committed to treat God as God. Upon receiving Christ, they would have some spiritual experience of joy. As they have Holy Spirit interacting with their thinking, conscience, and emotion, they would have illuminations in life orientation, values and moral conduct. Also, before they rejected their faith, they should also have believed the consequences mentioned in Heb as true and valid. If that is so, they are exChristians. In fact, all exChristians would also have experienced some sort of psychological struggles in rejecting their God together with the Christian life orientation and Christian values (and may be fellow Christians too) that they had cherished before.
Those who just come to the church for a period of time, no matter how long it has been, but have never such conversion and spiritual experience are not exChristians. They may be unChurched.
TC Chan to UU Hong Kong <uuhongkong@gmail.com>
簡譯：要成為「離教者」，首要條件是成為過真正基督徒。他們必須曾經認罪悔改、接受基督為救主。在信主後，他們會經歷靈裡喜樂，他們在聖靈光照下對生命、價值觀、道德有新的體會。如果他們都經歷過這些，然後離教，他們才算「離教者」。而且，「離教者」在離教過程中會有痛苦掙紮。相反，那些只是參與過教會，沒有以上悔改與屬靈經驗的，之後離開，也不算「離教者」，只是「離教會者」。
我的回應：同意。很多「離教者」都有過你描述的經驗。有些甚至是牧師和護教學家，例如
Why I Became an Atheist 一書作者
John Loftus。更重要的是，很多「離教者」，是為了真理與道德而離棄基督宗教的。他們看到基督宗教基本教義的荒謬，迷信神蹟異能，反科學，違反真理。《聖經》裡的神極權、排他、殘暴，教會歷史充滿血腥，當今教會不乏黑暗醜聞，抹黑慈悲異教，對同性戀者麻木不仁，違反道德。離開，為的是真理與道德。
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