@fmf saidWell, I think we found your problem.
This form of "knowing someone" here in the lives we live is totally different from the "knowing someone" [i.e. Jesus] that occurs with faith. This makes your analogy a dud ~ and borderline sophistry, in fact, to my way of thinking.
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Obsession is unhealthy to the mental health of anyone.
Have there been anyone OBSESSED to the point of mental imbalance by the concept of hell? Yes.
There have also been some OBSESSED with the thought that Mary was a virgin mother of Jesus.
There have also been some OBSESSED with the thought that thy should be screaming in the streets about hell with random inconsiderate sense of duty.
Obsession is not mentally healthy.
The same New Testament that speaks of hell also speaks of the need for a Christian to have "a sober mind."
@fmf saidBUMP for KellyJay.
Here is your weak analogy:
If you and I were friends who lived next to one another 20 years ago, and today I deny I ever knew you 20 years ago, as a true statement! Would I be telling the truth?
Let's unpack this.
Allow me to interchange a few elements of the analogy to bring it closer to something related to what we are talking about:
If [I believed in J ...[text shortened]... in Jesus] 20 years ago, as a true statement! Would I be telling the truth?
My answer: No.
@fmf saidI don't think so at all; if you knew the Lord, you could say I didn't find Him appealing, or something along those lines; what you could not say is He isn't real and never has been; that is a contradiction you could never have walked with someone who isn't real, if there is deceit here it's yours. If you say I thought I was but wasn't walking with Him, that is admitting you never did, again, contradiction, and if there is deceit, it's yours.
My problem is that your analogy is deceitful. The question is, are you being deceitful on purpose or are you being a bit feeble-minded? Not being sure which it is is my "problem" at this juncture.
@kellyjay saidI did believe Jesus was real. Very real. It permeated every single moment and aspect of my life. There is absolutely no contradiction or deceit involved in stating that. The fact that I lost my faith does not mean the belief that I was "walking with Him" was not very real to me at that time.
I don't think so at all; if you knew the Lord, you could say I didn't find Him appealing, or something along those lines; what you could not say is He isn't real and never has been; that is a contradiction you could never have walked with someone who isn't real, if there is deceit here it's yours. If you say I thought I was but wasn't walking with Him, that is admitting you never did, again, contradiction, and if there is deceit, it's yours.
@kellyjay saidif there is deceit here it's yours. If you say I thought I was but wasn't walking with Him, that is admitting you never did, again, contradiction, and if there is deceit, it's yours.
I don't think so at all; if you knew the Lord, you could say I didn't find Him appealing, or something along those lines; what you could not say is He isn't real and never has been; that is a contradiction you could never have walked with someone who isn't real, if there is deceit here it's yours. If you say I thought I was but wasn't walking with Him, that is admitting you never did, again, contradiction, and if there is deceit, it's yours.
Yeah, yeah, KellyJay, for the umpteenth time, you are accusing me of being dishonest about what my faith was in the past. I get it.
How real and decisive and defining and influential - in very real terms - my faith was in the past is not altered by the fact that I lost that faith at a later stage in my life, KellyJay.
You cannot just reach through your computer screen and change what I believed to be true and real in the past. Maybe your faith is making you think you can.