Chuck, I think I have an answer to the situation you describe in this excellent article. The central idea of the teachings of Christ, the thing that makes these different from every other religion, is the concept of being "Born Again." Fallen humanity can't be saved or fixed by belief or by membership or by agreement. These are the hallmarks of ordinary religion. Christ taught that a human must be transformed in order to be saved. The "soul" most Christians want God to save is, in fact, the "self" one must be willing to "die to" in order to be reborn in Christ. This is the principle paradox of the Christian faith.

If you have ever had the experience called being "born again," you will know that it is NOT belief in stories in a book, not even belief in a Savior. It's not membership in a group, even if that group teaches the Gospel. It's not a change of mind or a change of heart and it's not a religious conversion. It's a miracle. It's like having one's Being rebooted and it can't happen until and unless the person is willing to let God shut off the operating system and restart it. This takes real faith, not just sincere belief. I have known only a few other people in my life who have had this experience and very few of them had it in church, while every one was seeking God's truth wherever they could find it. Gracian said it very well, centuries ago:  "To prevent a thing from happening, nothing is needed but to think it already done."