Pastor AIO:

many christians are of the opinion that verbally claiming christ as their lord is all that is required to be saved. This is not entirely their fault. They have been misled by certain demagogues who have twisted and misrepresented christianity. If you can give an overview of christianity in a few words I believe that nothing does this better than the 3rd chapter of John's Gospel. And it is this passage of the bible that has been most played upon by these demagogues.
Jesus states it explicitly that unless a man be born again he cannot see the kingdom of God. These demagogues then seized on this phrase and went around shouting 'you must be born again'. They open born again church and whatnot. Ask them what is the process, how does one get to be born again. They will say that when you have to come to the front of their church at the end of the service and they will pray for you and that's it you've been born again. That is how today we have all these born again christians running around.
But nothing has happened for them. All they have done is accepted a doctrine. Either they were bullied into accepting this doctrine or they were persuaded with some Yoruba Yoruba arguments. Being born again is more than accepting a doctrine. It is something that actually happens.

It is stated explicitly that there are two aspects to the human being. The Flesh and the Spirit. In most of us the spirit is lying dormant. Our bodies have been born and have even matured to adulthood but yet our spirit is still in foetus stage. It must come into realisation. it must be born. Just like the body has organs of perception so does the spirit. It is with the spirit that we SEE the kingdom of God. The sensual faculties cannot see this. What are the qualities of Spirit? Spontaneity is one.

The wind bloweth where it listeth, and thou hearest the sound thereof, but canst not tell whence it cometh, and whither it goeth: so is every one that is born of the Spirit. It cannot be predicted where it will go or what it will do next, neither can you ascertain where it has come from. All you know is that it is in operation in the here and now. It is not Formulaic. It is totally free of the causal chain of events that determine our fleshly behaviour. You don't see a christian coming. A christian pastor does not go up to the pulpit to regurgitate all the indoctrination and formulas that he learned in bible school. Rather he does not prepare any sermon but allows the spirit to speak through him spontaneously at the moment when it is time for him to talk.

It is so easy to open your mouth and claim a doctrine but it is an altogether different proposition to awaken the spirit and submit to it and let it be your guide in life. Christianity is a practical affair, it is not theory or doctrine. Many will cling to their doctrines and formulas but alas this will help them none.

donnie:

The blind leading the blind. , both shall fall into the pit.

KunleOshob:
... The question i now put forward is this are they truly born again? Most people assume a show/pretence of Godliness and being religious = being born again. How sadly faulty this delusion is

Being born again ,comprises of two things
1 being born of water-baptism
2 being born of the spirit-Receiving the holy spirit
These were the two areas hammered by Jesus in the gospel of John

jagunlabi:
■ Going to your question, in my opinion,"born again" means shedding the old egoic consciousness that has caused so much pain,suffering,conflicts and unhappiness(and still does) for millenia,and making a total shift to a new consciousness of oneness with the all,which is egoless. One can never love without attaining this egoless state of being which is free of judgements and labeling.
■ But i believe that this is the state that we(the entire mankind) are evolving into gradually. This born again thingy is not merely a christian thing,but universal to all mankind.It is a natural process that will inevitably happen in all of us, sooner or later.