"Take Heed" Ministries

Cecil Andrews, 29 Edengrove Park, Ballynahinch, BT24 8AZ, Northern Ireland

Telephone/Fax 028 9756 5511. E-MAIL - takeheed@aol.com

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Full, unedited letter sent to the Belfast Telegraph in response to atheist,

William Burns

In the Belfast Telegraph of 28 May the paper published a very much-edited version of a letter I had sent in by way of response to a letter published by them the previous Saturday, 21 May. Well-known atheist, William Burns, had sent in that letter and it read as follows –

‘According to Alf McCreary [Belfast Telegraph, 7 May] critics of prayer and Christianity “…are making a secular judgment about a spiritual dimension to life which is difficult to define or quantify”. In Christian circles this is known as the “natural man” defence. The text of 1 Corinthians 2:14 says “…the natural man receiveth not the things of the Spirit of God for they are foolishness unto him: neither can he know them because they are spiritually discerned”. In other words, until you adopt a particular mindset you won’t be able to see that prayer or the things of God are true and always work. Those who employ this sort of logic fail to see that it is a circular argument. It explains and proves nothing. Christian and godly reasoning is, if you accept it as true [i.e. God, prayer, the Bible etc] you’ll see it’s true and if you see it’s true you’ll accept it as true. Of course people who believe in other religions argue the same way. They make assumptions without evidence. And Mr McCreary wonders why people don’t believe in God.’

The following is the FULL text of the letter I sent to the Belfast Telegraph but which was severely edited when published.

Dear editor,

In his latest letter [writeback 21 May] William Burns rightly identifies the problem for many people in the world when it comes to 'making a secular judgment about a spiritual dimension' by pointing to the teaching of the Bible in 1 Corinthians 2:14 where Paul says 'But the natural man receiveth not the things of the spirit of God, for they are foolishness unto him: neither can he know them because they are spiritually discerned'. Mr Burns then identifies what he believes to be how people can switch from being a 'natural man' to what I would term a 'supernatural man' and thus able to 'make a spiritual judgment about a spiritual dimension'. Mr Burns writes 'until you adopt a particular mindset you won't be able to see that prayer or the things of God are true and always work'.

The verse 14 quoted begins with the word 'but' - it identifies a contrast between the 'natural man' and the 'supernatural man' and the contrast is found earlier in verse 12 where Paul writes 'Now we ['supernatural men'] have received, not the spirit of the world but the spirit who is of God, that we might know the things that are freely given to us of God'.

The ability to 'make a spiritual judgment about a spiritual dimension' does not result from a natural process of 'adopting a particular mindset' as claimed by Mr Burns - in other words by making what some would view as a wise decision. That idea is rejected by Paul in 1 Corinthians 1:21 where he wrote 'in the wisdom of God, the world ['natural men'] by wisdom knew not God'. Rather the ability comes as a result of being indwelt by God the Holy Spirit who is God's gift to everyone 'born again' of the Spirit of God.

Just as Mr Burns could not actively assist in his first 'natural' generation so no one can actively assist in their own second and subsequent 'supernatural' regeneration. Such spiritual life is not the result of man's will ['adopting a particular mindset'] but is God's doing as we read in John 1:12-13 ['born not...of the will of man but of God'] and spiritual understanding about the things of God comes likewise from God Himself as Christ explained to Peter in Matthew 16:17 ['flesh and blood hath not revealed it unto thee but my Father who is in heaven'].

If Mr Burns is ever to accept the Bible truth that the 'natural man' is spiritually 'dead in tresspasses and sins' [Ephesians 2:1] he will need to be first 'made alive' spiritually by God. If that happens he will then realise that any ability he possesses to 'make a spiritual judgment about a spiritual dimension' has come, not from 'adopting a particular mindset', but has come from a gracious God-given revelation and assurance of now being able to testify personally as Paul did of 'the Son of God who loved me and gave himself for me' [Galatians 2:20]. Christians do not think 'in circles' but rather they glory 'in the cross' [Galatians 6:14].

Cecil Andrews

'Take Heed' Ministries

Ballynahinch