Quote:
Originally Posted by considerforamoment
Is "Jesus as a friend" any different than kids who have imaginary friends?
If so, how?
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In my observation, you don't often see Christians imagining Jesus' side of the conversation. To the point that when they occasionally do, it is jarring and seems sacrilegious. I remember a pentecostal radio preacher or TV evangelist -- might or might not have been Oral Roberts -- who would sometimes pretend to be interrupted in the middle of an oration, tilted his head quizzically, and then ask, "what was that, Jesus? ... oh, Jesus just reminded me to tell you ..."
For the most part, Christians seem to admit only to God "impressing something on them", or "sensing something" spiritually, but they leave a lot of weasel room as they don't want to be seen to be so ridiculous as to actually be conversing with God, or make some claim for something god said that turns out to be totally wrong or not to come to pass, etc.
I heard the following joke told by a charismatic Christian once: A guy was giving a prophecy, which began: "Behold, when Elijah led the children of Israel through the Red Sea ..." The guy sits down after giving the word from God, his wife whispers in his ear, and he stands back up: "Behold, I the Lord your God hath made a mistake..."