by Perry Hall<\/p>\n
This might surprise you, but I agree. I spoke with an agnostic whose family had been persecuted by so-called Christians. They fled from their homeland for American freedom, much like many others who believed in Jesus. Ironically, both pagans and believers fled from persecution, seeking religious freedom.<\/p>\n
The agnostic said she hoped that Norse theology was true if she were to believe it. The conversation was cut short because she was needed elsewhere. But that got me thinking!<\/p>\n
Have you figured out what the title means?<\/p>\n
“It doesn’t matter what you believe” because our belief doesn’t make it true! This reminds me of a friend who didn’t like the bumper sticker, “God said it. I believe it. That settles it.” He retorted, “God said it. That settles it. Regardless of whether I believe it” (Weldon Adair).<\/p>\n
Our wishes and wants, even our beliefs, don’t make truth “truth. “God’s word is truth. Sanctify yourself in truth<\/em>” (John 17:17). It doesn’t matter what I believe; it matters what God says.<\/p>\n\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" by Perry Hall This might surprise you, but I agree. I spoke with an agnostic whose family had been persecuted by so-called Christians. They fled from their homeland for American freedom, much like many others who believed in Jesus. Ironically, both pagans and believers fled from persecution, seeking religious freedom. The agnostic said she hoped…<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"advanced_seo_description":"","jetpack_seo_html_title":"","jetpack_seo_noindex":false,"footnotes":"","jetpack_post_was_ever_published":false},"categories":[27],"tags":[139,441],"class_list":["post-70389","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-article","tag-belief","tag-truth"],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"jetpack_likes_enabled":true,"jetpack-related-posts":[{"id":59984,"url":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/how-do-i-help-my-niece-who-is-coming-out-as-agnostic-and-gay\/","url_meta":{"origin":70389,"position":0},"title":"How do I help my niece who is coming out as agnostic and gay?","author":"Jeffrey Hamilton","date":"March 16, 2023","format":false,"excerpt":"Question: Today, my niece confided in me about coming out as an agnostic and a gay to her parents. As most coming-out stories are, she was met with disapproval from her parents as they were members of a conservative denominational church. She is distressed by this, causing her to be\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Answer"","block_context":{"text":"Answer","link":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/category\/answer\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"","width":0,"height":0},"classes":[]},{"id":94120,"url":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/why-i-believe-in-god-its-not-blind-faith\/","url_meta":{"origin":70389,"position":1},"title":"Why I Believe in God (It\u2019s Not Blind Faith)","author":"Jeffrey Hamilton","date":"February 21, 2026","format":false,"excerpt":"by Doy Moyer via InLight Media Is belief in God actually rational? Or is faith just a blind leap? In this video, Doy Moyer, a preacher and former professor, explains why he believes in God - and why he is convinced that belief is not irrational or anti-intellectual. If you've\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Video"","block_context":{"text":"Video","link":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/category\/video\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"","width":0,"height":0},"classes":[]},{"id":60499,"url":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/is-the-bible-relevant\/","url_meta":{"origin":70389,"position":2},"title":"Is the Bible Relevant?","author":"Jeffrey Hamilton","date":"April 27, 2023","format":false,"excerpt":"by Dennis Abernathy How relevant is the Bible in today's world? Some think it isn't relevant at all. But I submit to you, that if the Bible is not relevant, then God is not relevant, because God cannot be separated from His Word! Thankfully, many millions of people, however, are\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Article"","block_context":{"text":"Article","link":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/category\/article\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"","width":0,"height":0},"classes":[]},{"id":70241,"url":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/do-i-not-have-enough-faith\/","url_meta":{"origin":70389,"position":3},"title":"Do I not have enough faith?","author":"Jeffrey Hamilton","date":"October 9, 2024","format":false,"excerpt":"Question: Hello Mr. Hamilton, I have a question in one of your articles titled: Does true faith mean the command to be baptized does not save a person? You said that: \"A person who does not obey demonstrates by his actions that he doesn't really believe.\" I have OCD, and\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Answer"","block_context":{"text":"Answer","link":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/category\/answer\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"","width":0,"height":0},"classes":[]},{"id":34157,"url":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/how-do-i-bring-an-agnostic-friend-to-christ\/","url_meta":{"origin":70389,"position":4},"title":"How do I bring an agnostic friend to Christ?","author":"Jeffrey Hamilton","date":"July 20, 2012","format":false,"excerpt":"Question: Hello. I thank you again for the opportunity to ask questions and get them answered so promptly! I am debating with my close friends, so my question is how do I bring my agnostic friend to Christ? Here is a discussion we are having at the moment and please\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Answer"","block_context":{"text":"Answer","link":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/category\/answer\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"","width":0,"height":0},"classes":[]},{"id":55907,"url":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/does-one-have-a-right-to-his-own-belief\/","url_meta":{"origin":70389,"position":5},"title":"Does One Have a Right to His Own Belief?","author":"Jeffrey Hamilton","date":"November 17, 2005","format":false,"excerpt":"by Eugene W. Clevenger via\u00a0The Preceptor, Vol. 1, No. 6, April 1952. A question that we often hear asked is, Does every person have a right to his own belief? I cannot answer that question honestly and completely with a simple \"Yes\" or \"No\", because to me the answer is\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Article"","block_context":{"text":"Article","link":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/category\/article\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"","width":0,"height":0},"classes":[]}],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/70389","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=70389"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/70389\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=70389"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=70389"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=70389"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}