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I think that becoming a Chrsitian without repentance is like the Word falling on fallow ground. There may be enough nourishment in the first moments of faith to carry one for a short while. Our nourishment is from the relationship that we have with the Father- the rain and food for the seed. No repentance means that we begin that relationship without the honest self-assessment that is the basis for acceptance. If one doesn't acknowledge the sin, one can't know the forgiveness, and can't be nourished. That seed won't root. Repentance is a hard, hard thing- it is so difficult to admit that one isn't perfect, or that one needs something so desperately. i think our culture is one of making oneself appear as shiny as possible, despite the reality. If one has to peel back the layers and look at the reality, can one really live with the pain of that? I know that God makes those painful steps into an act of love, but it is frightening.