The Biblical Doctrine of Regeneration has suffered at the hands of its enemies as well as its friends. His enemies commercialized the doctrine in the 1970s, after a Southern Baptist layman running for president of the United States announced that he was a "born-again Christian." Not long after, many products on the market were described as "born again." The love songs spoke of feelings similar to "being reborn". Actors and athletes were considered "born again" in their respective careers when they made a comeback of one kind or another. Say no to plagiarism. Get a tailor-made essay on "Why Violent Video Games Shouldn't Be Banned"? Get an Original Essay More tragic than this, perhaps, is the treatment that the biblical doctrine of regeneration has received from its self-styled “friends.” , it seems that differences in theology or even theological systems depend on the different ways in which key words are interpreted. Regeneration is an example of such terms used in many different ways. Some groups want it to serve as an umbrella over the entire Christian experience. Others limit it to a two-tiered approach: presumed or promised regeneration at infant water baptism, and complete regeneration sometime later in life. Still others narrow their understanding to an instantaneous act of new birth that occurs in the moment of faith. The common understanding of regeneration means to be reborn. That is, the moment an individual believes in Jesus Christ, God the Holy Spirit places a human spirit within the individual, which is his or her potential storage place for doctrine and the ability to have temporal fellowship with God. The Holman Bible Dictionary defines regeneration as the radical spiritual change in which God brings an individual from a condition of spiritual defeat and death to a renewed condition of holiness and life. The biblical doctrine of regeneration emphasizes God's role in making this spiritual change possible. Another word for regeneration is rebirth, from which the phrase born again comes.
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