No, you are not an "ex-Christian"

Article author: Jay Zeke Malakai

Article editor: Jay Zeke Malakai

 

Introduction

 

A recurring theme amoung atheists is the claim that they "used" to be Christians. They claim they've been Christians once, didn't like the experience, and so have no intention of returning. The recent comments of George Perdikis, one of the founding members of the Newsboys, claiming he is "now" an atheist adds itself to the list of atheists claiming to be ex-Christians. However, not only is the term "ex-Christian" a complete oxymoron, but the attitude of said "ex-Christians" often reveals their ulterior motives immediately. In this article, I wll show you what the Bible says about "ex-Christians", and using Perdikis as an example, I will demonstrate that those who claim to be "ex-Christians" never really were Christians in the first place.

 

What is a Christian?

First, what exactly is a Christian? A Christian is someone who has fully trusted in Jesus for their salvation. We, as Christians, have a personal relationship with God himself. The source of knowledge of all that is Christian is the Bible. If a concept goes against the Bible, that concept is not Christian, by definition (it must be noted here that this does not, neccessarily, mean that anyone who believes this concept is not a Christian themselves, only that they hold a non-Christian belief).

What does the Bible say?

If the Bible is the ultimate decider on what is and isn't Christian, what does the Bible say about being an ex-Christian? The most common verse to be cited on this issue is 1 John 2:19, which says They went out from us, but they were not of us; for if they had been of us, they would have continued with us. But they went out, that it might become plain that they all are not of us. Well, that seems pretty solid...

 

Clearly, the "departure" from Christianity proves that the people being referred to were not really Christians in the first place. If they were truly Christians, they would not have stopped, but they did "stop", which means they never really were Christians in the first place. Is this surprising, given that a Christian is someone who has a personal relationship with Jesus in the first place? When you know someone personally, you can't really be convinced of their non-existence without extreme subjection to multiple drugs. You will have more luck convincing a Christian that their best friend does not exist than you will of convincing them that their God does not exist.

And indeed, in John 10:27-29, Jesus reiterates the point that no one can stop a Christian from believing by saying "My sheep hear my voice, and I know them, and they follow me. I give them eternal life, and they will never perish, and no one will snatch them out of my hand. My Father, who has given them to me, is greater than all, and no one is able to snatch them out of the Father's hand." No one can take a Christian away from Jesus, so anyone who is taken away from Jesus never really belonged to him in the first place. He never knew them because they never knew him.

 

"Christians" by word alone

The thing that makes "ex-Christians" so prominent is the persisting belief that to be a Christian, all you need is to say you are a Christian. Of course, words do not determine your identity. The human mouth is capable of arranging words into any order they want. A pizza delivery guy can claim to be a doctor, and a criminal can claim to be a cop. One TV show, The Real Hustle, is based around its presenters taking on the role of con artists, then revealing themselves to their unsuspecting victims in the hope that their real world viewers in real world situations do not become victims of such crimes. The truth is, anyone can claim to be anything, which means a non-Christian can claim to be a Christian, or even an ex-Christian.

To further demonstrate this, I once posted an experiment on Facebook. I posted the words "I am an atheist", with no explanation other than the post itself. The response I got demonstrated that atheist means atheist. Christians were upset. Some of them gave me their sympathy, others tried to encourage me to return to my faith, and those who knew me better were convinced I'd been hacked, or was conducting an experiment (clever blighters). Some atheists were sarcastic, claiming "that's about as likely as me being a virgin", while others were suspicious of me. Eventually, everyone on the post agreed that me simply saying I was an atheist did not make me an atheist, because I do not fit the definiton of atheism. Finally, they understood the point. If a Christian saying he's an atheist doesn't work, neither does an atheist claiming he's a Christian.

There are scores of Bible verses that demonstrate this point quite adequately. In Matthew 7:21-23, for example, Jesus describes judgement day. He says “Not everyone who says to me, ‘Lord, Lord,’ will enter the kingdom of heaven, but the one who does the will of my Father who is in heaven. On that day many will say to me, ‘Lord, Lord, did we not prophesy in your name, and cast out demons in your name, and do many mighty works in your name?’ And then will I declare to them, ‘I never knew you; depart from me, you workers of lawlessness.’ Now, if Jesus himself says "not everyone who claims to be my follower actually is", and actually says that they are still condemned despite their claims to have done good in his name, doesn't that logically mean that word of mouth is not enough to be a Christian? The heart is what's important in Christianity. This works in reverse too. If a Christian rejected the label "Christian", but still lived as a Christian, they would still be a Christian by definition.

Perdikis' telling statements
With all this hype about the "sad departure" of Perdikis from Christianity, one would think he used to be one of the most popular Christians in the public eye. I suppose, in one way, that is true. He was once a member of the most popular Christian rock bands ever to play in Jesus' name. However, according to an article penned by Perdikis himself, Christianity just never was his thing. In his own words, "I always felt uncomfortable with the strict rules imposed by Christianity. All I wanted to do was create and play rock and roll… and yet most of the attention I received was focused on how well I maintained the impossible standards of religion. I wanted my life to be measured by my music, not by my ability to resist temptation." This statement proves, beyond all reasonable doubt, that Perdikis was never a Christian. Not only was he not a Christian, but it is also blatantly obvious that he didn't understand Christianity at all. No one who understands Christianity could ever claim it imposes strict rules, or that a Christian is required to maintain impossible standards.

Perdiskis also states that all he really wanted out of the band was his music. But why start a Christian band if you're not really a Christian? Perdikis' article explains "The choice to become a “Christian Rock Band” was heavily influenced by Peter’s parents, Bill and Rosalie Furler. As fundamentalist Christians, the only acceptable form of music was the kind that worshipped God. Bill and Rosalie were like second parents to me and, for that reason, I never questioned their advice."

Well, now we know why a non-Christian co-founded a Christian rock band, and also have a clue to where his strange ideas about Christianity come from. Perdikis' friend, Peter Furler's parents are described by Perdikis as "fundamentalist" Christians. Of course, the word "fundamentalist" actually means someone who holds to the fundamentals of a certain ideology or religion. However, when used by an atheist, it is usually a replacement for the word "extremist". Now, I do not know Furler's parents, so I will not comment on their state of being, but from Perdikis' description of them, it does sound like they did hold some extreme views which are not grounded in the Bible. If they held the extreme view that only Christian music was morally permissable, perhaps they held other extreme views. Perhaps they were legalists. This is the kind of view that usually puts people off Christianity, but it is not a part of Christianity itself. In fact, legalism runs counter to Christianity, which states that the death and resurrection of Jesus Christ is not only sufficient for salvation, but that it is the only route to salvation. Strict adherance to "impossible standards" cannot save a person, nor can a Christian lose his salvation based on the fact he likes secular music. Anyone who claims otherwise has not understood Christianity, and is actually non-Christian. The truth is, good works are a result of our salvation, not a cause. If Perdikis was a true Christian, he would have understood this easily enough, and would have been glad to live as moral a life as it is possible for him to live.

Perdikis followed his desires by studying anti-Christian literature. In his article, he confessed "I soon found myself fascinated by the works of Carl Sagan, Neil deGrasse Tyson, Lawrence Krauss, Brian Cox, and Richard Dawkins. I learned so much and was blown away by all the amazing scientific discoveries and facts." Now, anyone with half a brain will tell you that you don't ask a burglar what he thinks of the police. Of course anti-Christian writers are going to tell him of "amazing scientific discoveries and facts" that supposedly disprove God. That's how they make their money! Perdikis shows no signs of having searched for counter-arguments to his stated authors, only that he was "blown away" by what they wrote. I bet he isn't aware, for example, that Richard Dawkins is actually a bit of a laughing stock in his own world. Comedian Marcus Brigstocke, for example, once joked "Before I read The God Delusion I was a an atheist, after I read it I was an agnostic – I don't want to read it again in case I turn into a Christian!" Atheists often claim that we Christians are afraid to read their sources. It seems to me that this is the other way around. George Perdikis is afraid to cross-examine the words of Sagan, Tyson, Krauss, Cox and Dawkins. Even if he thought he was a Christian at the time, he would have at least put up some resistence to the anti-Christian literature he was reading. He would have done some research. The fact that he didn't suggests that actually, he already agreed with what these authors had to say.

Can a Christian doubt?
If there's no such thing as an "ex-Christian", can a Christian still have doubts? Sadly, the answer to that is yes, a Christian can have doubts. A Christian can even back slide for a while. Nothing can ever truly take a Christian away from Jesus, but there can be no doubt that every Christian is still human, and so are vulnerable to human weaknesses, including doubt and temptation. But there is hope. Aside from the fact that, as a Christian, you cannot lose your salvation, for it is maintained by the Holy Spirit (Ephesians 4:30; 2 Corinthians 1:22), but you can actually use doubt to eliminate itself. I call this concept self-apologetics. As I often say, any worldview that is not based on the Bible contradicts itself in some way. Doubt is not based on the Bible, so it, too, can collapse in on itself. It is entirely possible to doubt your faith in God is not strong enough. It might even be possible to consciously doubt his existence sometimes. But in those moments, what are you thinking? If you do not truly believe, why do you care? See, subconsciously, you need to believe in God in order to fear this lack of faith in the first place. The fact that you doubt your faith proves that you doubt your own doubts, because if you do not believe in God, you would not care if you believed in him or not. The fact that you are worried that your faith is not strong enough is proof that it is, because the desire to know him and to please him are all it takes. One of the benefits of being a Christian is that even your greatest weaknesses can be used as if they were your greatest strength. Give your doubts to God and watch in awe as he uses them to make you a better Christian.

Conclusion
The reality of the situation is that there is, by definition, no such thing as an "ex-Christian". It is an oxymoron. An "ex-Christian" either never was truly a Christian, or they still are, and are merely at a weak stage in their faith. Christians can doubt, backslide and even fall off the wagon sometimes, but a true Christian can never turn from God completely. They are garanteed salvation by the Holy Spirit. Those who claim to be "ex-Christians" never really seem to understand Christianity. The few who do almost always display their ulterior motives for leaving. Usually, it is their desire to live a non-Christian lifestyle, just as other non-Christians desire. These people never were Christians. We can only hope that one day, they may turn to God for real.