A few years back, Jon Steingard, the lead singer for the popular Christian band Hawk Nelson, announced on Instagram that he no longer believed in God. His story is a long one filled with doubts and theological wrestling over many years prior to the rescinding of his professed faith in Christianity.
“Former Christian Music Singer Jon Steingard: I No Longer Believe in God”
Key quotes from video :
@59:30 – the host asks Jon – “would you go back to May 20th and just not hit the “send” button on this deal [Jon’s public renunciation of his professed faith in Christianity]? … Jon replies – “no, once you’re unplugged from the [matrix] you can’t go back”. Here’s another possible way of restating Jon’s statement … “once you no longer believe in the faith you’ve once professed … you could never actually, and would never desire to ‘believe’ again] … the ‘door to salvation’ has become forever barred from entrance]” …
Matrix – (slang, figurative) a term describing a controlled environment or situation in which people act or behave in ways that conform to roles pre-determined by a powerful person(s) who decides how the world is supposed to function.
When you hear about the Matrix, everyone’s like, “Oh that movie starring Keanu Reeves.” Or to go a little deeper, the Matrix is the simulated reality that humans are in. The Matrix hides the truth from humanity, allowing them to live a convincing, simulated life while machines grow and harvest people to use as an ongoing energy source.
Apply this definition now to the world of “Christianity’, to the broad umbrella of people, “church denominations, and organizations that profess to be connected to it. Does anyone really suppose that all the people under that umbrella, those who profess to be “Christians”, are genuine believers/followers of Jesus Christ? Many suppose [perhaps like Jon] that they were actually genuine believers when in reality they were embracing a counterfeit version of it … one which their particular version of “Christianity” convinced them was true, or perhaps their particular experience of it led them to believe at one time that they were genuine followers of Christ.
So, with that said, is Jon’s statement …. “once you’re unplugged from the matrix you can’t go back” Biblically accurate? Has John actually barred himself, or been barred by God from a future opportunity for salvation? [it’s my opinion that this is not the case ….and for those who do believe it to be the case, will you just give up on trying to reach him for Christ?].
Let’s examine a hypothetical scenario based on Jon’s reply. Supposing that the ‘LOS’ [‘Loss Of Salvation’ for some genuine Christians] position was actually what the Bible is telling us, Jon wouldn’t ever be able to regain that salvation that he once possessed, but later, over time … forfeited [ a position/scenario that I disagree with]. The primary verses that the LOS camp appeal to in order to support their claim is found in Hebrews 6:4-6 :
4 For it is impossible for those who were once enlightened, and have tasted of the heavenly gift, and were made partakers of the Holy Ghost,
5 And have tasted the good word of God, and the powers of the world to come,
6 If they shall fall away, to renew them again unto repentance; seeing they crucify to themselves the Son of God afresh, and put him to an open shame.
Personally, I disagree with the above LOS position [held primarily by Arminians]. However, this doesn’t imply that my position is that of the Calvinist … my position can basically be described as a ‘1-point Calvinist’ – the “P” of the ‘T.U.L.I.P’. – the inevitable perseverance of the saints. My position in this case is one which rejects both the traditional Arminian and Calvian perspectives. Here I adopt a very important principle borrowed from the Molinist perspective which highlights the obvious hypothetical nature of the topic at hand [the “if” of Hebrews 6:6].
Here’s my position on the matter : < post #100 – page #5 Can a genuine, blood-bought, regenerated believer forfeit their salvation? > < post #133 – page #7 Can a genuine, blood-bought, regenerated believer forfeit their salvation? > < posts #166 & #179 – page #9 Can a genuine, blood-bought, regenerated believer forfeit their salvation? > posts #324 & #331 – page #17 Can a genuine, blood-bought, regenerated believer forfeit their salvation? >
And yes, there are many 1-point Calvinists out there … not merely those who apply certain Molinist principles/perspectives such as myself [as the commercial below says … lol]
“M&Ms Christmas Commercial: THEY DO EXIST!”
Now, returning to the first video posted in this article featuring Jon Steingard …
Starting @27:08 minutes into the video, Jon states his primary reason for renouncing his priorly professed faith … the problem of evil. This of course would fall under the broader category sometimes referred to as Epicurus’ trilemma – “If God is unable to prevent evil, then he is not all-powerful. If God is not willing to prevent evil, then he is not all-good. If God is both willing and able to prevent evil, then why does evil exist?”
Below I’ve included 3 inspiring and riveting videos that hopefully will help some of you who have, or are, wrestling with doubts that emanate from Epicurus’ trilemma. From my vantage point they could serve as an important tool in answering some [if not most] of the challenging questions that the scoffers often appeal to.
Many [perhaps even all?] followers of Christ will [sooner or later] struggle to one degree or another with some of the questions pertaining to the topic. Mature followers of Christ realize that they will never come close to having all of the answers on this side of Heaven… but have more than sufficient, that is, compelling evidence that provides them with full confidence in Biblical Christianity.
“The Problem of Suffering and Evil (1) – William Lane Craig at Aalborg University”
@15:09 minutes – “Is there a logical contradiction between the two statements : A. An all-loving, all-powerful God exists … and … suffering exists?” … @16:24 minutes – “Hidden Assumptions Made by the Atheist : 1. If God is all-powerful, He can create any world that He wants … and … 2. If God is all-loving, He prefers a world without suffering.”
“The Problem of Suffering and Evil (2) – William Lane Craig at Aalborg University”
@15:05 minutes – intro to Craig’s ensuing statement – “So, if we can’t infer from all the evil in the world that a good God exists, we could not infer from the good in the world that some evil being does not exist….and my response to this is to say that’s right, the two cases are just on a par. Given the complexity of life, it is correct that you cannot judge whether or not the Creator of the world is good or bad by doing this sort of inductive survey of the ‘goods’ and the ‘evils’ in the world….”
“Watch Defenders LIVE! // The Emotional Problem of Evil”
@16:24 mins. “At the end of the day, God is still the only solution to the problem of evil. If God does not exist, then we are locked without hope with a world filled with pointless and gratuitous [unwarranted] suffering. God is the final answer to the problem of suffering, for He redeems us from evil, and He takes us into the everlasting joy of an incommensurable [incomparable] good which is fellowship with Himself.”
Rapture Bound Outreach 