"On January 16, 1984, I sent out this letter announcing my new-found
atheism to more than fifty colleagues, friends, and family members:"

"Dear friend, "
"You probably already know that I have gone through some significant
changes regarding spiritual things. The past five or six years has been
a time of deep re-evaluation for me, and during the last couple of
years I have decided that I can no longer honestly call myself a
Christian. You can probably imagine that it has been an agonizing
process for me. I was raised in a good Christian home, served in
missions and evangelism, went to a Christian college, became ordained
and ministered in three churches as Assistant Pastor. During those
years I was 100 percent convinced of my faith, and now I am just about
100 percent unconvinced."

No mention of his having placed his faith in LORD Jesus Christ.

No mention of GOD's love, which is the fruit of faith in LORD Jesus
Christ.

"The purpose of this letter is not to present my case. Yet, I will
point out that my studies have brought me through many important areas,
most notably: the authenticity of the Bible, faith vs. reason, church
history--and a bunch of other fun subjects like evolution, physics,
psychology, self-esteem, philosophy, parapsychology, pseudo-science,
mathematics, etc."

Without the LORD, all intellectual pursuits are meaningless
(Ecclesiastes).

"I'm not sure what the purpose of this letter is, except to serve as a
point of information to a friend or relative whom I consider to be
important in my life, and with whom I could not bear to be dishonest. I
have not thrown the baby out with the bath water. I still basically
maintain the same Christian values of kindness, love, giving,
temperance and respect that I was raised with. Christianity has much
good. Yet I feel I can demonstrate an alternate, rational basis for
those values outside of a system of faith and authority. Of course, I
admit, those values cannot save me from the fires of hell--but it is
irrational to hold a fear of something which is non-existent, and to
allow that fear to dominate one's philosophy and way of life."

Love is not a Christian value but a choice made through GOD's generous
gift of free will to obey Christ Jesus' two commandments:

(1) Love GOD with all your heart, soul, mind, and strength.

(2) Love all others including your enemies unconditionally as you would
love yourself.

"If the Bible is true I will run to it willingly. If there is a God, I
would be silly to deny Him. In fact, the little child in me still
sometimes wishes to regain the comforts and reassurances of my former
beliefs. I am a human being with the same fears and feelings we all
share. The Bible says those who seek will find. You know me. I am
constantly seeking. And I have not found. Right now I am somewhere
between the agnostic and the atheist, although I spend a great deal of
time in both camps."

Those with faith in LORD Jesus Christ find what they seek.

Those without faith in LORD Jesus Christ will remain lost.

"There is much more to say, and I would greatly appreciate any input
you can offer. I would suggest, though, that before we attempt any
meaningful dialogue, we should understand as much as possible about
each other's thoughts. If you wish, I will send you any of various
papers I am preparing, including: The Bible, Faith vs. Reason, . . ."

"My LORD **and** my GOD !" -- Archetypal atheist "doubting" Thomas
supplanting reason with faith upon seeing the risen Christ Jesus.

"Finally, I am not your enemy. Our enemy is the one who doesn't care
about these subjects--who thinks that you and I are silly to be
concerned with life and values. I intend no disrespect to you, or
anyone who is genuinely interested in religion and philosophy. It is
the non-thinker who bothers me and with whom meaningful interaction is
impossible."

"Dan Barker"

the opinion that arguing/debating are interactions that have meaning
because they serve to test the truth, Who is the LORD. This opinion is
confirmed with his writing "If the Bible is true I will run to it
willingly." His having this opinion from the outset reveals that though
he convinced himself through self-debate that he had faith, he never
did because those with faith have the LORD's peace, which passes all
worldly understanding so that they no longer test the LORD but simply
trust HIM. Moreover, it is written that we are not to test the LORD our
GOD. May GOD help neighbor Dan Barker whom I love unconditionally in
Jesus' most precious and holy name.  Amen.

Hope what the Holy Spirit has guided me to write has not disappointed
anyone.

May GOD continue to heal your heart, dear neighbor Floyd whom I love
unconditionally.

Prayerfully in Christ's amazing love,

Andrew <><
--
Andrew B. Chung
Cardiologist, Atlanta, Georgia, USA
http://HeartMDPhD.com/HolySpirit

As for knowing who are the very elect, these you will know by the
unconditional love they have for everyone including their enemies
(Matthew 5:44-45, 1 Corinthians 13:3, James 2:14-17).

http://groups.google.com/group/sci.med.cardiology/msg/d3b7b57d0fbf89ed?

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