If you consider yourself 'born again,' did you have a sudden, miraculous change in your behaviour and personality etc?

[porridgeisbae]

For instance Revealing Truth on Youtube describes that he woke up and he could no longer get a swear word to come out of his mouth.

Did you suddenly and miraculously change?

[Oneofthesurvivors]

@porridgeisbae

For instance Revealing Truth on Youtube describes that he woke up and he could no longer get a swear word to come out of his mouth.

Did you suddenly and miraculously change?

But swearing isn't a sin.

[Mrstwiddle]

Would love to know peoples experiences too

[Coolhand2]

I have heard of people having miraculous changes but for me it was gradual change. I had hunger for God, so I read the bible a lot. Roman's 12 talks about renewing our minds, getting more word in us. I often think of it like, you were walking alone in this world, now that you are born again, you are walking with Jesus.

[bottomsup12]

Kind of I suppose? I stopped going to church when I grew into adolescence but as I've gotten older I found myself thinking there's some underlying universal "thing" that links everything. I mean how, why is this whole earth experience possible? When you think about it it's incredible and there must be some higher knowledge. And I'm open minded generally and I was very open minded to the fact there are things at play that we can see.
I always thought it was so closed minded and even arrogant when people assume we can see and know everything there is to know and the fact nobody has "seen" God means of course there isn't one??
I don't think humans are so omniscient that we know absolutely everything and we can't explain many things - why does love exist, why do we even have the natural will to survive, why are we inclined to procreate and carry on our species etc etc??
I was raised catholic and I'm glad about that because it does offer explanation for what we can't really explain, although I do think they get massive things wrong (why can't women be priests etc). But it's the only religion I know or have really explored so I guess I'll stick to it!

[porridgeisbae]

@Oneofthesurvivors

But swearing isn't a sin.

I don't know why you think that but it is. We're supposed to not be vulgar in our speech https://www.gotquestions.org/cussing-swearing.html

[Oneofthesurvivors]

@porridgeisbae

I don't know why you think that but it is. We're supposed to not be vulgar in our speech https://www.gotquestions.org/cussing-swearing.html

In a biblical context cursing and swearing are not the same thing and none of those verses quoted talk about swearing.

[porridgeisbae]

@Oneofthesurvivors

In a biblical context cursing and swearing are not the same thing and none of those verses quoted talk about swearing.

Yes I didn't think that site was a good explanation but mostly we just are not supposed to engage in vulgar speech https://www.focusonthefamily.com/family-qa/what-the-bible-says-about-swearing-and-dirty-words/

'Let no corrupting talk come out of your mouths, but only such as is good for building up, as fits the occasion, that it may give grace to those who hear.' Ephesians 4:29

[Oneofthesurvivors]

@porridgeisbae

Yes I didn't think that site was a good explanation but mostly we just are not supposed to engage in vulgar speech https://www.focusonthefamily.com/family-qa/what-the-bible-says-about-swearing-and-dirty-words/

'Let no corrupting talk come out of your mouths, but only such as is good for building up, as fits the occasion, that it may give grace to those who hear.' Ephesians 4:29

Yeah, I'm not clicking on a focus on the family link.

[DogandMog]

I don't understand the concept of being born again, as in it being a "once and done" thing. I understand it to be a daily process and struggle of transformation, illumination and catharsis. Every day we recalibrate ourselves towards God and repent of our accreted sins in order to move closer in unity with him. I still get sweary, click away my self imposed twitter app limit instead of reading some bible passages, eat the whole bar of chocolate etc etc. Fall down, get up again, reflect, hone actions, aspire towards holiness in the example of Jesus Christ "[who became] incarnate that we might be made god" (St Athanasius)

I had a sudden shift in faith, in that I could perceive the transcendence, comprehensiveness, intensity of meaning and mystery of the divine through all things, yet I struggle daily keeping to the faith and praxis.

[TemplesofDelight]

@DogandMog

I don't understand the concept of being born again, as in it being a "once and done" thing. I understand it to be a daily process and struggle of transformation, illumination and catharsis. Every day we recalibrate ourselves towards God and repent of our accreted sins in order to move closer in unity with him. I still get sweary, click away my self imposed twitter app limit instead of reading some bible passages, eat the whole bar of chocolate etc etc. Fall down, get up again, reflect, hone actions, aspire towards holiness in the example of Jesus Christ "[who became] incarnate that we might be made god" (St Athanasius)

I had a sudden shift in faith, in that I could perceive the transcendence, comprehensiveness, intensity of meaning and mystery of the divine through all things, yet I struggle daily keeping to the faith and praxis.

Those are strange examples -- swearing, exceeding your Twitter time limit or eating a whole bar of chocolate aren't sins, accreted or otherwise.

[DogandMog]

Sins are like stumbling at archery or steering a sailing boat... sin literally means "missing the mark", so anything that pulls us out of alignment and connection with God.

"Anything we do that falls short of perfect harmony with the will of God is sin. Sin is not merely rule-breaking, but failing to live in accord with the structure of reality itself." (Rod Dreher)

My chocolate/twitter/swearing habits fall very much outside of how God structured and intended the cosmos according to his will. This is apparent in how the consequences fall - we are not punished for our sins, but by our sins... several pounds of excess belly, grumpy and irritable due to reading twitter bun fights, less time spent in prayer and reading, and feeling less wholesome and spiritually refreshed... it's all pulling me away from calibration and relationship with God.

[FallingStar21]

We are all born again anyway - reincarnated, lifetime after lifetime until there is no more need for learning and correcting errors. Until we are of highest consciousness and one with Spirit.

[porridgeisbae]

@DogandMog

I don't understand the concept of being born again, as in it being a "once and done" thing. I understand it to be a daily process and struggle of transformation, illumination and catharsis. Every day we recalibrate ourselves towards God and repent of our accreted sins in order to move closer in unity with him. I still get sweary, click away my self imposed twitter app limit instead of reading some bible passages, eat the whole bar of chocolate etc etc. Fall down, get up again, reflect, hone actions, aspire towards holiness in the example of Jesus Christ "[who became] incarnate that we might be made god" (St Athanasius)

I had a sudden shift in faith, in that I could perceive the transcendence, comprehensiveness, intensity of meaning and mystery of the divine through all things, yet I struggle daily keeping to the faith and praxis.

That's my experience too. A lot of Youtube creators I watch try to imply that they don't sin often now they've turned to Jesus, and it kind of makes me wonder if I really am saved or not sometimes.

It makes more sense to me that we constantly deal with a fallen nature as well as our nature in Christ.

[porridgeisbae]

@FallingStar21

We are all born again anyway - reincarnated, lifetime after lifetime until there is no more need for learning and correcting errors. Until we are of highest consciousness and one with Spirit.

Nah.

[Firecarrier]

Yes 😊

[EveSix]

I experienced something akin to being 'born again', but as part of a different tradition, in my 20s. It completely changed my experience of the world and my existence in it, and it naturally followed that pretty much every thing about the way I manifest in the world changed; not necessarily obviously, but I perceived things differently and so have continued to make different choices.

[DreamTheMoors]

When I was young, I had a friend whose mother was extremely religious. A zealot. When we’d play at her house, her mum would gather us round in a circle and sit us down and pass out these religious pamphlets and preach to us for 20 minutes, sometimes longer.
It was frightening to me - I’d go home and tell my mum and she’d just laugh, probably thinking that a little religion wouldn’t hurt me.
They didn’t own a television. My friend was by far the smartest girl in school - now I think she had all that extra time to read and study. Of course she was smart.
Fast forward 10 years - my friend’s parents sent her off to a strict boarding school and I only saw her once at university. She seemed fine. Boarding school was definitely not a normal thing in rural California.
Fast forward another 15 years - we were adults now and living on our own. The religious zealot mother drove herself into an irrigation canal - it was ruled a suicide. This was Halloween.
The following Valentines Day, the dad remarried.
That’s the last I heard about any of them.
The mother frightened me from the time I was 8 years old. I can’t decide if her mental issues drove her religious zealousness or if her religious zealousness drove her mental issues.
Born again or born that way - she was scary.

[Thegreatestoftheseislove]

To the question in the OP: yes! 😊

[porridgeisbae]

@DreamTheMoors

When I was young, I had a friend whose mother was extremely religious. A zealot. When we’d play at her house, her mum would gather us round in a circle and sit us down and pass out these religious pamphlets and preach to us for 20 minutes, sometimes longer.
It was frightening to me - I’d go home and tell my mum and she’d just laugh, probably thinking that a little religion wouldn’t hurt me.
They didn’t own a television. My friend was by far the smartest girl in school - now I think she had all that extra time to read and study. Of course she was smart.
Fast forward 10 years - my friend’s parents sent her off to a strict boarding school and I only saw her once at university. She seemed fine. Boarding school was definitely not a normal thing in rural California.
Fast forward another 15 years - we were adults now and living on our own. The religious zealot mother drove herself into an irrigation canal - it was ruled a suicide. This was Halloween.
The following Valentines Day, the dad remarried.
That’s the last I heard about any of them.
The mother frightened me from the time I was 8 years old. I can’t decide if her mental issues drove her religious zealousness or if her religious zealousness drove her mental issues.
Born again or born that way - she was scary.

Some people with severe mental health problems can have an obsession with religion. But that doesn't mean every person into religion is deranged, of course.

I experienced something akin to being 'born again', but as part of a different tradition, in my 20s. It completely changed my experience of the world and my existence in it, and it naturally followed that pretty much every thing about the way I manifest in the world changed; not necessarily obviously, but I perceived things differently and so have continued to make different choices.

@EveSix Oooh, interesting. I can't say my behaviour is massively effected initially (though I am a bit less nasty) but I do have more of an awareness of when I can be less selfish/I have more of a conscience and so I'll feel bad afterwards or change a course of action half way through to be more selfless.

To the question in the OP: yes!

@Thegreatestoftheseislove Jealoussssssss

[Thegreatestoftheseislove]

@porridgeisbae Jealousssssssss 🙂

You've made me smile! 😀 You were/are probably a more naturally 'nicer' person than me before conversion. I was so glad, relieved and grateful that the previous anger, the unforgiveness and grudge-holding just lifted from me ... I was able to let it all go and give it to God.

[porridgeisbae]

@Thegreatestoftheseislove

@porridgeisbae Jealousssssssss 🙂

You've made me smile! 😀 You were/are probably a more naturally 'nicer' person than me before conversion. I was so glad, relieved and grateful that the previous anger, the unforgiveness and grudge-holding just lifted from me ... I was able to let it all go and give it to God.

I was pretty nasty. Yes I suppose I don't hold a grudge so much anymore and am not as vociferous.

[ZenNudist]

@porridgeisbae no I didn't. I'm not born again but I am a revert to Catholicism after 25 years of atheism/agnosticism.

Christianity gives me a useful framework to be more caring about others, reminds to be charitable and makes me think harder about how I behave or what I do in life.

I think people claiming to be "good" all the time can't be looking deeply and should be careful pride doesn't come before a fall.

I think similarly to@DogandMog about faith being a journey.

As Catholics we remain vigilant for the effects of sin in our hearts. I understand sin as "knowing what God wants and doing something different."

Our faith teaches us that we live in a broken world and that God created a good world but there is corruption by evil. Brokenness lives in each human heart and the devil lies in wait to help us towards little actions that distance us from God. Every day we repent and turn back to the Lord. We take up our cross and we follow Jesus. There are worse ways to live.

[considerationplease]

Yes although I was a young teenager at the time. Born and raised as the kid of missionaries so church was all I knew but it wasn't until I went to a youth conference and had this moment after someone prayed for me. Suddenly I just knew I'd done wrong and I needed to put it right so I did - I floated round on a cloud for weeks after! But I never really looked back from that point. Been plenty of lows but I know I had a distinct moment where everything became 'real'.

[porridgeisbae]

@ZenNudist I found it helpful with Catholicism that I was constantly having to keep track of what I was doing because I would have Confession on Sundays and it kept me accountable. I know a lot of 'Catholics' don't bother with Confession but I needed to, IDK about you.

I used to try and make more of an effort not to swear and stuff like that, slightly more effort not to gossip etc. I think I might seek out an Anglican priest for confession because for myself, I still think it woud be useful if only to have an accountability buddy.

I would always've had to be 'born again' because I didn't grow up Christian.

[ZenNudist]

I don't go to confession as much as I should but now it's lent I need to go. Thanks for reminding me.

Confession isn't really about accountability but a sacrament of healing and reconciliation. Over time I have shifted my behaviour but often revert to shouty mum taking the Lords name in vain again. I think I am better than I was before I took faith seriously. I definitely struggle with some demons less.

I've heard it said that just like you don't go to hospital expecting to find all well people, don't go to church expecting everyone to be perfect. I think Christians mainly realise we all need God's help.