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>>That passage means men must come to Jesus in the same way little children believe what you tell them -- they just accept it on faith.
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>I do think you believe what you have been told, just as a little child does. That is sad. A little child will continue to grow and experience, not blinded by thinking the know everything.
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>The passage actually means that a childlike sense of wonder and discovery is a state of grace. A certainty that no longer discovers and ceases to question is the fall from grace.
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>You have ceased to wonder and ceased to question and are convinced that the customs of your tribe are the laws of nature. Before being born again your education must have been very limited and your world very small or you could not find this comforting.
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>Do not confuse your pride and ego with the voice of god.

What Rick refers to 'Little child' here is one of major points/arguments for teaching and accepting religion in the first place;
In order to be true believer one have to be;
A) 'Reborn' as in do away with your old ways of (sinful) life. Become pure like a child. (before toddler stage {g})
B) Accept presence of God without questioning

He was merely pointing it out, I don't understand why you turned it into personal poke at him.

* * *

I remember having few hours long discussion as 16 year old with one Catholic Priest who I hitchhiked back then. Obviously he was just doing his job
trying to bring yet another lost soul (mind you in back then communist country!) into a safety of God (and his own Church).
So we got into a very long and at the points almost heated conversation where he was trying to 'Help me see the God'
(Who exist despite what they teach us in school!) whereas I was arguing that simply 'There is no God' and they taught HIM wrong
(in the Catholic school). Se we went back and fourth, with him telling me that there is God and that I must start believing in it, and
me stubbornly demanding evidence to what he is saying. (to prove existence of God).
OTOH I was offering (more or less valid) reasons why I believe that all he is saying is just plain false and that there is no such thing as God. (Earth is round and so for... )
Since more or less anyone even half serious about the school can debate usual religion arguments quiet hard, this 'debate' took on almost forever. When everything else failed to produce any impression on me, above argument is exactly what I heard.
Existence of God is not something you can question. You just have to take it as is. (Hence 'Like a little child...' )

(Poke@You: Somewhat like we have to accept these modern political/security*1000/W.O.T mantras !!! {g} )

From today's prospective, funny part of this story is that he actually had to debate it in order to get his points across
(to admittedly older child {g}). So uncommon with modern day preachers! ...Without default upper hand given to them by the altar, grandiose buildings, arches, icons, common family upbringing (early mental preconditioning) and when using just their usual soundbites/arguments, regular preacher does not stand a chance of converting anybody older then a toddler. :))
Imagine if they had to 'convert' every believer one by one, Vatican&Co would soon go out of business.

However, I have no problem not so ever when people truly accept religion on their own at some later stage in life as a result of some intellectual / spiritual discovery process (as Rick presumably did). I find it much more natural, then teaching your own toddler that he is Christian/Jewish/Muslim before you teach him how to tie it's own shoes. We all know how much good this brought upon our world.

Peace :)