The Dutch language, like all other languages, falls short in some terms, ie there are too few words to express something. In the case of the word "conversion", there are two words in English : To repent and to convert. The first word means to repent and to show, while the second word means to take an active step to do everything from now on differently. Well, it is clear that without repentance there will be no incentive to change anything. Repentance and showing is a matter of the heart, and can not be enforced. One can make someone aware of certain mistakes in life, but the person himself must put his hand into his own bosom, in order to gain insight and repentance about certain mistakes (sins) in his or her life. Once there is repentance, the next step is: Turn around, away from sin, towards God.
Until about the mid-sixties it was customary in the Netherlands that shortly after the birth of a child, the parents had the baby "baptized" in the church of which they were members. This could be the Dutch Reformed Church, the Reformed Church or the Roman Catholic Church. It was then thought that the child belonged to God forever and could never enter "hell". But nothing is less true! These ecclesiastical traditions are in fact very un-biblical, and have ultimately led to a secularization (secularization) that has not been known. What is left of the once flourishing church life in 2011?
People do not think they need God anymore because they have everything they can wish for. Either they think that God can not do anything about all the misery and poverty in the world. And so man has been further and further removed from God.
