Backslide

Engraving of the Prodigal Son as a swineherd by Hans Sebald Beham, 1538.

This article is about the theological phenomenon. For the dance, see Moonwalk (dance).

Backsliding, also known as falling away, is a term used within Christianity to describe a process by which an individual who has converted to Christianity reverts to pre-conversion habits and/or lapses or falls into sin, when a person turns from God to pursue their own desire. In Christianity, within denominations which teach Arminianism, such as the Methodist Church and Pentecostal Holiness Church, as well as in the Roman Catholic Church, backsliding is a state in which any free willed believer is capable of adopting. This belief is rejected by Calvinists endorsing the perseverance of the saints doctrine. In these denominations, it is taught that the backslidden individual is in danger of eventually going to Hell if he does not repent (see Conditional security). Historically, backsliding was considered a trait of the Biblical Israel which would turn from the Abrahamic God to follow idols. In the New Testament church (see Acts of the Apostles and Christianity in the 1st century), the story of the Prodigal Son has become a representation of a backslider that repented.

See also

• Antinomianism
• Apostasy in Christianity
• Conditional preservation of the saints
• Lapsi (Christianity)
• Lists of former Christians

External links

• Christian article about backsliding
• Article on Christian unfaithfulness and restoration
• Backsliding can lead to apostasy
• A Call to Backsliders (Sermon 86), by the Rt. Rev. John Wesley
• How to Avoid Backsliding, by Mary Fairchild