You forgot to mention the mother of apostates, viz. the Roman Catholic Church. That harlot has drawn many men away from the one, true faith. I have seen many men seduced by her beauty.
Does St. Augustine count? He was certainly raised toward Christianity by his mother, even if he wasn't then baptized. He became a Manichee for a decade or so, ridiculing Catholic beliefs. It is true, though, that he seems to have held some misconceptions about Christianity during his Manichean period.
You forgot to mention the mother of apostates, viz. the Roman Catholic Church. That harlot has drawn many men away from the one, true faith. I have seen many men seduced by her beauty.
How true. Seems like people are drawn to anything but the Word.
Does St. Augustine count? He was certainly raised toward Christianity by his mother, even if he wasn't then baptized. He became a Manichee for a decade or so, ridiculing Catholic beliefs. It is true, though, that he seems to have held some misconceptions about Christianity during his Manichean period.
Charlie, to be an apostate, he would have needed to have claimed a conversion/regeneration experience while embracing the foundational truths of Christianity, then refute it. To meet the criteria here, he would then have to once again embrace it. Being reared with a Christian parent or in a Christian family is not the same thing, IMO.
Billy Graham? He has become a friend of Rome.
I have know at least 3 people who have apostatized and then returned to an orthodox confession.
What about the eighth book of the Confessions? Surely Augustine himself argues that he wasn't converted before 387 A.D.?
An apostate is not someone who falls into sin or a backslider.
An apostate is someone who made profession of faith in Jesus, understood and professed the Gospel, but then later denies one of the most essential Christian beliefs:
the deity of Jesus, his bodily resurrection, the general truth of Scripture, the existence of God, eternal life, salvation through faith in Christ, etc. An apostate is not one who embraces religious beliefs different from the evangelical perspective, but one who --at one time -- embraced and professed the evangelical faith (and new birth), but then later recanted on those beliefs.
For example, a woman professing to be saved, reached through a Baptist church, was baptized, taught Sunday School, etc., and then later becomes a Jehovah's Witness. A man comes to know Christ, is discipled, attends a conservative Bible college, and later becomes an atheist or embraces New Age religion.
According to Hebrews 6:1-8, such a person may not be renewable to repentance. I John 5:16-17 suggests there is a sin one may commit that is so bad that we need not even bother praying for such a person.
Is this interpretation correct on hermeneutical grounds? If so, does it mesh with appearance, or are appearances deceptive? Your thoughts, please.
"The Midrash Detective"