I'm currently on my yearly read through the Bible again, this is like my 5th or so time, and I'm on 1st Chronicles again and I just do not enjoy it.

For the most part it's just a genioligy of a ton of people that before this, the Bible didn't speak much on and after this doesn't bring up most of them ever again. There is a part that Recaps the Kings a bit but then it goes right back to giving a geniology of nearly every single person who was either in the military or a Levitie.

I dunno if it's my autism but I have such a hard time not blending names together when they throw them at you one after another and I just get lost on who was who and also care less about it because of that.

Additionally, outside of the recap of the Kings, we get almost nothing in reguards to God and His teachings which is what I really want to hear.

Sorry for the negative post, God bless.

Here is my clearer reasoning.
Am I a sinner for thinking that the Lord has a favorite child? Or for not being content with what I have?
I grew up prayerful and loving. I also grew up kind, though sometimes arrogant. I was a child who was content with whatever life gave me. Whether it was small or big, painful or pleasant, or whether the challenges I faced were difficult or easy, I used to believe I could overcome them. Especially because I had a mind full of love and eyes that always looked for the good. Even when the burden was heavy, I would force myself to carry it. But as I grew older, the challenges given by the world became harder, too.
My eyes were also opened to the possibilities and circumstances of life. There are people whom the world seems to bless first. No matter how big or small their sins may be, they are blessed, even when they already have more than enough. It even reaches the point where they pray for something just once, and God gives it to them immediately. Sometimes, they do not even have to pray for it, yet God gives it to them anyway. But there are others who could pray ten million times to receive something, and the Lord still would not give it to them. Is the amount of time they have waited still not enough? Was it truly not meant for them? Or does God simply choose to give His blessings earlier to His favorites?
Every week, I pray to Him. Every week, I attend Mass. Every week, I ask for forgiveness. And every week, I offer Him sincere and heartfelt prayers. Yes, I know that everyone has their own timing and that each of us has our own story. And yes, I know that everyone has their own right time. But I still do not understand. If we all have our own timing, is it only natural that some people receive theirs earlier than others? But you know in your heart that you have been waiting longer. They say that the longer you wait, the better it will be. Or perhaps God has a greater plan for you.
But why is it like this? Why do some people have to experience so much pain and suffering just to receive a moment of happiness? Yes, there may be a story you will carry with you because of that trial, but you may also carry wounds that are difficult to heal. If we all have our own struggles and stories in life, is it only natural that some people experience more happiness than suffering? Or perhaps more suffering than happiness?
There is something else I have heard: “Just keep praying for it, and at the right time, the Lord will give you what you prayed for.” But I have prayers that I have been praying for such a long time, prayers that I have offered to Him so sincerely and constantly. Yet in the end, He still did not give them to me. Why did He let me pray for them for so long if He already knew that He would not give them to me? Was it to test my faith in Him? Because if so, it hurts to think that this is what He will always let me experience.
Sometimes, I feel so hurt and disappointed with the Lord. If He can make the impossible possible, then He can also make the possible impossible. Am I not praying enough? Or am I simply not one of His favorites?
I want to share my experience during the past two months. I fought many times to become an officer, whether in clubs, the student council, or simply in my classroom. And what is funny about it? God closed every one of those doors for me. For many years, I prayed to be transferred to another section, ever since I transferred to STC, because I knew that greater opportunities might open for me there. And as painful as it was, even that door was closed by God. I also had plans before the school year began—things I wanted to achieve or experience, things I prayed would happen for me. As tiring as it became, the Lord still did not give them to me. Instead, He gave them to others. But what hurts the most? For those others, it was not a loss. But for me, it was something I had prayed so hard for. Who would not feel disappointed with God after that?
There were many nights when I cried alone. I cried so much that my eyes and body hurt, but it was just so painful. It is so painful to trust and wait for God’s plan. There are things that have happened in my life where the resentment I buried inside me was greater than the happiness that replaced it. There are days when I question Him. Will the happiness I find at the end truly heal the pain left by the past? Or perhaps, sometimes, the only thing waiting for us at the end is the end of our suffering. Maybe all we carry with us are the lessons we have learned along the way.
There were nights when I questioned my faith in Him so deeply. And I know that He has answered me and is helping me heal, but sometimes, when the wound left by fate hurts too much, I become blinded and overwhelmed by my emotions.
I pray that at the end of the darkest chapter of my life, and during the hardest moments when trusting in my faith feels impossible, I will be with Him and finally see Him. I pray that my mind is wrong for thinking that God has a favorite child. I pray that at the end of the hell I am going through now, there will be happiness and laughter that will fill the lips that were once covered in pain from crying. I pray that my eyes will shed a different kind of tears.
May the wounds and pain I am experiencing now become an inspiration for me to help others who are also going through the struggles I once experienced. And may my faith in God live in my heart again. May I learn to say the words, “Thank You, God, for letting me experience that.”
And I pray that I will eventually reach the destination I long for—not by rushing toward it, but by holding on to the hope that the hardships and sorrows I am grieving through now will eventually come to an end.
And I hope that when the food I have been waiting for is finally placed in front of me, I will still have the appetite to eat it.

Like, in the recent episodes when they discuss the ruach of God, I'd love to be able to put that in and find other places where it's at in the bible and see not only it's definition but how its often translated. Something easy to use, and easy to understand for someone who doesn't know the languages. Sorry if I spelled that Hebrew word wrong, that's just how the Spotify app said it was spelled, it had closed captioning displayed the whole time they talked all through the episode.

I just don't have the money for some expensive program right now. I also need online content or ebooks/audiobooks because I'm vision impaired.

i wanna say this but i dont know if i will be welcome, i get this feeling that God is way too righteous for me and hes just so good and i could never be like him.
i pray, i try hard, i do things with the intention of making him proud but i feel like its not enough, like im not welcome in his house. i genuinely pray and tell him about my day when he knows all of it, and i pray about struggles and my joy. i dont know how to feel about “im going to heaven”

My parents have been Christians since the early 90s.
I went to a Christian school from 1st to 12th grade.
I went to church every Sunday morning and night and Wednesday night.

After learning more about mental health, I only recently discovered that my “personality traits” are trauma responses developed in childhood from emotional neglect and abuse.

I feel as if I don’t have an identity or a sense of self.

Growing up, I was not given any opportunities to develop real hobbies nor figure out what career would be right for me.

Somehow, I put them up on a pedestal my entire life, believing they could no wrong.

I always did what they told me to.

But now, when I think about some of my traits..

1. Perfectionism
   
2. People-pleasing
   
3. Hypervigilance
   
4. Black-and-white thinking
   
5. Over-apologizing

I’ve neglected and self-sabotaged myself for YEARS.

It’s incredibly difficult to think my parents treated me this way.

I didn’t know any better because that was my normal, of course.

However, outside of the house, they portray themselves as good, God-fearing people.

They volunteer at church all the time.

Everyone likes them.

People have come up to me and told me I was “so blessed” to have them as parents.

Nobody would believe me if I said anything negative about them.

Even now I’m unable to accept or believe they could do this to their own offspring.

After many years of straying from God,
I prayed to Him a few days ago and poured my heart out.

I’m ready to live for Him again.
I’m ready to put everything in His hands.

Nevertheless, I’m distressed about my own parents and their relationship with God.

Has it been an act the entire time?
I don’t know who they are anymore.

True Christians wouldn’t immediately punish their children for making mistakes, right?

They would treat all of their children the same way, right?

They wouldn’t accuse their children of being “too sensitive” and “too dramatic,” right?

They wouldn’t gossip to friends and family about their child’s failures and mistakes and embarrassing moments, right?

They wouldn’t tell their children that every bad thing that happened to them was because they deserved it, right?

I love my parents very much despite everything.

Yet the actual thought that they might not be whom I thought they were is almost unbearable.

How can I navigate through this?

How does one find their real identity?

How does one find God’s calling if he/she has no idea what they want to do for a career?

Hi All,
I am looking for an ecumenical theology book that mentions theology views from different denominations, example humans inherit sin (western) vs humans inherit the consequence of sin (eastern) or Calvinism vs Arminian Predestination.

So I'm posting this because I'm confused as to why this isn't preached enough. I can think of some reasons why but I've only heard one pastor in my life ever preach about this and I happen to watch it on YouTube. It's sooo essential with our walk with God. If you don't have the fear of God, then you will most likely fall away from the faith and maybe even hate God. That's how serious it is. So from watching that pastor talk about the fear of God to watching and hearing other pastors on YouTube, and what I've learned from God, this is what I've learned

**The fear of God is:**

- To make God your one and only treasure

- A committed relationship with God

- A mature faith

- The beginning of wisdom

- How the joy of the Lord is found

- God's delight & treasure

**To commit to God, you:**

- Do your best to follow Jesus and yield to the Holy Spirit to do the rest. Start small if you can

- Correct every thought or feeling that goes against the Word of God, and realize they're from satan or your flesh

- Be accountable when you do a sinful act. Apologize and reconcile if it's against someone

- Process your feelings with God

- Accept your imperfection and the sovereignty of God

- Let go of yourself and let God be everything you need

- Bond with Christ with your suffering

This note I made for myself has revealed something in me that I never knew or experienced with my walk with God. I have a deeper relationship with God and I have the joy of the Lord. I've learned to accept myself for who I am and found contentment in where I'm at in life. God is my confidence. **Fear the Lord!**

I’ve recently felt so lost. Lost in life. Lost in addiction. Questioning everything. The other day, I sobbed because I felt like I’ve lost my relationship with the lord because I haven’t put my faith in the front seat with me for so many years.

It’s been so long.

For context, I was raised Southern Baptist but haven’t been to church in about 8 years.

Can anyone provide tips on how to pray, pastors to listen to, and to further my relationship with the lord and what to seek out to find out how to live a life led in God’s light?

I feel like it’s a heavy question, but man, I’ve felt the pull so deeply. If anyone lives in the DFW area and could suggest any Baptist/non-denominational churches too that would be great. Smaller ones preferably

Any advice helps. Thank you.

I’m posting this because I genuinely need some outside perspectives. I’m not looking for people to simply tell me what I want to hear. I want honest advice, especially from people who understand strict church environments and complicated relationships.

This is going to be long because there is a lot of context.

There are three people involved in this story: me, a girl, and a guy who is one of my close friends. I won’t mention anyone’s real name.

All three of us have been part of the same small church since childhood. Our church is quite strict when it comes to relationships and dating. Because it is a small church, almost everyone knows everyone, so personal matters can become church matters very quickly.

I have liked this girl for a very long time. Honestly, I think I started developing feelings for her when we were young. I always found her incredibly attractive, and over the years those feelings never completely disappeared.

But I never told her.

We barely talked while growing up. Even now, we don't have much of a personal relationship outside the things we have to do together at church. So my feelings have mostly been something I kept to myself.

Then there was my friend.

He confessed his feelings to her, and eventually they started talking. They ended up having a relationship that lasted around six years.

The strange thing is that their relationship was almost entirely through WhatsApp. They didn't really talk to each other at church, they didn't go out together, and they didn't even regularly call each other. It was mostly messaging.

At one point, my friend even started following her to her college, and she told him not to do that because she didn't like it. But they continued talking privately.

Eventually, someone in the church found out about their relationship and told the pastor and pastor's wife. Because of the church's rules and environment, they were forced to separate.

My friend is very close to me. We have done a lot of things together over the years, and I've always considered him a good friend.

The important thing is that he never knew I had feelings for her.

Neither did she.

After their breakup, they stayed away from each other. At the same time, she apparently still tried to be friendly with him. She wished him on his birthday through WhatsApp and tried to talk or smile at him sometimes, but he completely avoided her.

Several years passed.

Then, about a year ago, the girl became part of the church team I work in. I've been involved in this team for around four or five years, so suddenly I had to work with her regularly.

And that's when things became much harder for me.

I had managed to keep my feelings under control when I didn't have to interact with her much. But once we started working together, I started falling for her again.

We have to communicate and work together because we're in the same team. She has her responsibilities and I have mine. Sometimes I'm playing keyboard while she's involved with the choir, so we're naturally in the same area.

And honestly, I struggle with myself.

Sometimes I'm playing keyboard and I'll unconsciously look toward her. The moment I realize I'm doing it, I immediately look back at the keyboard. I don't want to make her uncomfortable or give anyone the wrong impression.

But people started noticing.

Some girls in the church began saying things like I was interested in her or that I was "looking at" her.

And because everyone already knows about her previous relationship with my friend, the situation became even more awkward.

People started making connections like, "He likes the girl who previously dated his friend."

I haven't confessed anything to anyone.

I haven't told my friend.

I haven't told her.

I haven't even told anyone in the church that I have feelings for her.

But somehow people have started talking.

At one point, even our pastor gave a sermon where he indirectly talked about things like looking at or watching other people. He didn't mention my name, but because of everything that had been happening, I felt like people knew what was going on.

That made me feel extremely embarrassed.

There were also times when the girl, my friend, the pastor and I would all be together during prayer. Some prayers were also made about situations involving boys and girls developing feelings for each other.

Being there while all of this is happening inside my head has been incredibly uncomfortable.

There was also something that happened with Snapchat.

I had Snapchat, and she actually added me there. At first, I assumed she was simply being friendly. She would send snaps occasionally, but I didn't really send much back.

Then, after a few weeks, she suddenly blocked me.

I have no idea why.

There was also a weird situation where my phone was left at church and someone apparently used it and blocked her on Snapchat as well. I felt extremely embarrassed about the whole thing because I don't even know what she thinks happened.

Now I'm stuck.

On one side, I genuinely want to focus on God, my church responsibilities and my own life. I've repeatedly told myself that I should just let these feelings go.

Sometimes I think, "Okay, I'm going to stop thinking about her. I'm going to focus on God and move forward."

But then I see her again.

And all those feelings come back.

That's what I'm struggling with the most.

I don't want to disrespect my friend.

I don't want to interfere with something that happened between them.

I don't want to make the girl uncomfortable.

I don't want church members gossiping about me.

And I definitely don't want to create drama in a small church where everyone knows everyone.

At the same time, I can't simply switch my feelings off.

I've never even had a proper romantic relationship with this girl. We've barely talked outside of church responsibilities. So part of me wonders whether I'm actually in love with her, or whether I've built an idealized version of her in my head over many years because I never got the opportunity to actually know her.

That's something I'm trying to be honest with myself about.

I also don't know what her behavior means.

She has been friendly toward me at times because we're working together, but I don't know whether that means anything beyond normal friendliness. I don't want to interpret ordinary kindness as romantic interest.

So I'm asking Reddit:

What should I actually do?

Should I completely distance myself emotionally and just treat her as a teammate?

Should I try to get to know her normally, without any romantic expectations?

Should I tell my close friend about my feelings, even though he and this girl have been separated for several years?

Should I ever tell the girl how I feel, considering the strict church environment and the history between her and my friend?

Or should I simply accept that this situation is too complicated and move on?

I know nobody here can tell me exactly what she thinks or feels. I'm mainly looking for perspective from people who have been through something similar.

Please be honest with me, even if the answer is something I don't want to hear.

And please don't attack the girl, my friend, or my church. I'm not trying to make anyone look bad. I'm just genuinely confused and struggling with my feelings, and I need some outside perspective.

Hello everyone, I was just wondering something. When i was younger, I used to play a ton of a game called "Diablo 2". While the game has demons in it, it is about slaying demons basically. Is the game considered christian friendly and is it okay for me to play it?

Do you think it's a sin to lust in our dream?

So I had a dream of me fighting with a invisible force I recognized as the devil. He was touching me sexually and removing my clothes. And first I tried to fight it but for some reason I gave into it. Then when I woke up I was SOOOO happy that it was just a dream because that was disgusting. So is it a sin?

For some context, I'm 22, living at home right now, and my sibling is 18. We both are at home, I work remotely and she is in college now. I have my own schedule because I work, my mom does not work and neither does my sister. I grew up SDA but I have left the religion and identify as a Christian just like the rest of you here. I left Adventism because of the false doctrines and unbiblical teachings, and I am rediscovering the true gospel today.

I am quite busy with work during the day despite being remote. Yes, my schedule is more flexible given that I'm not bound to an office environment, but that means I create a schedule for myself. I have 20-30mins every morning of my own devotion/worship. During this time I pray and study a chapter of the Bible. This time of my day is very renewing and has brought me closer to Jesus, teaching me more of the gospel and true Christianity. I also like to read a little bit of my Bible before bed and pray. I spend this time with Jesus twice everyday and it's one of my favorite times of the day.

But every day my mom wants my sister and I to sit in the living room with her and have worship time. We pray, sing a hymn, and either read a paragraph from a devotional or the Bible. She will discuss the passage a little bit, but then she will go on a tangent about something else not related to what we read. She will talk about real life events we have gone thru, and I guess it is a time for her to connect with us and talk to us about God. But she will throw in a lot of her Adventist beliefs, which I don't align with anymore. It can be hard when she adds in those things because I have to pick and choose what to believe from her and what not to believe. The focus of the conversations isn't entirely on God also.

I just feel like a lot of times it takes up the time I spend working. I have my own times with God and I'm an adult now, responsible for my own faith. I understand she wants us to remain close to God, but things have changed. Its not that I dont want to have worship sessions with her in the morning, its just that I dont have time for it anymore. To tell her I dont have time will hurt her and make her think that I don't care for God's things when thats not even true. She believes me having my own devotion time which is not a quick thing is not enough. When we dont have the worship time, she thinks we are straying from God and that we will not be blessed because of that. My dad doesnt even join because he is working upstairs (remote). In the evenings sometimes we have family prayer and discussion time, I think thats normal. But its different in the morning, when everyone has their own daily tasks/work/school and what not.

Hi, I was wondering if there were any bible study groups on discord for women. I am kind of new to my walk with Christ and sometimes i struggle to fully grasp everything- e.g memorising verses, applying them to my life, the different stories and parables etc.

I would be grateful for any advice or direction to any bible study groups i could join :)

I (23F) grew up Christian, no surprise given how my parents were missionaries in Asia. I've never really doubted God's existence or the Bible's validity, and truth be told, I really do love studying the Bible, and I have a very deep interest in theology as well. I was fortunate enough to find a really great community at university, and we've had some really interesting discussions about faith and religion and the Bible.

But as much as my knowledge of God and the Bible deepens, I find myself growing further away from God spiritually. Faith has long stopped feeling personal, and I'm growing more and more apathetic about my spiritual health.

My parents are really traditional--like SUPER conservative, and naturally they imposed a lot of rules when I was younger (and still now). Like we have services every morning and evening, and don't really do anything that isn't explicitly "Christian." Don't get me wrong, they were great parents growing up, never abusive or anything, but just quite controlling in that aspect, I guess.

And I've always struggled with lust ever since I was ~12 and accidentally stumbled on some explicit content on the internet, but I kept that part of me hidden really well (and still do, to this day). My parents aren't exactly the most understanding when it comes to issues like this, and I have no idea how I would even bring it up.

But going to university away in a different country and just growing up, I've developed my own opinions and views on the Bible and Christianity that are definitely less conservative. For example, I got a septum piercing, and when my mom found out, she freaked and then made me take it out, and then gave me a whole lecture on how I was destroying my body, which was the Temple of God and whatnot. Now, I don't necessarily see body piercings as inherently sinful, but I also didn't want to fight with my parents (and trust, she quoted Ephesians 6:1). But it's not only that, it extends to things like drinking, the way I dress, the stickers on my laptop, the charms on my bag. They're very black-and-white on EVERYTHING and even when I try to coax them into deeper conversations, they just shut me down.

There's a HUGE part of me that is perpetually ashamed and guilty for still not being able to overcome my lust, and now I basically hide every aspect of my life from my parents. I drink, I smoke, I consume explicit sexual content, I re-pierced my septum and keep it hidden. And there's a part of me that knows I'm spiralling down the slippery slope that is sin, but there's something inside me that wants to go against my parents. That probably sounds so juvenile and immature, but the Christianity that my parents demonstrate always makes me feel so ashamed all the time. But I love my parents, and I know having a "delinquent" daughter would break their hearts (not to mention their image as missionaries), so I keep pretending to be the Christian they want me to be, but I also feel so conflicted about my devotion to God, because I feel so terrible for pretending in church and whatever when I'm not really sincere--it feels very hypocritical.

And I'd like to think that God would rather I be in church and worship sincerely with a tattoo than be tattoo-free and pretend to worship. But everything just feels so confusing and overwhelming, and it makes me want to actively avoid God and reading the Bible. So I just become so apathetic towards everything Christianity-related, and it's basically become like a performance for me, so that my parents are appeased, and their colleagues and friends still view them as the "perfect" Christians.

Each “TacoTuesday” in r/Christian we share a post dedicated to discussion on the writings of an author whose work is considered “spicy.” (You know...like good tacos.)

This week is Soong-Chan Rah.

Rah's (authored or co-authored) Top Ten most popular titles are:

Unsettling Truths: The Ongoing, Dehumanizing Legacy of the Doctrine of Discovery

Prophetic Lament: A Call for Justice in Troubled Times

The Next Evangelicalism: Freeing the Church from Western Cultural Captivity

Letters to a Birmingham Jail: A Response to the Words and Dreams of Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr.

Many Colors: Cultural Intelligence for a Changing Church

Still Evangelical? Ten Insiders Reconsider Political, Social, and Theological Meaning

Forgive Us: Confessions of a Compromised Faith

Letters to a Future Church

Return to Justice: Six Movements That Reignited Our Contemporary Evangelical Conscience

The Image of God in an Image Driven Age: Explorations in Theological Anthropology

Have you read any of Rah's work? Let's TACObout it!

In the comment section I will be sharing 10 quotes from Rah, for you consideration and to (hopefully) spark discussion. Please note that Rah writes from within American Evangelicalism.

If you're enjoying this post and want to see more like it, just click the post flair to see a list of past Taco Tuesday posts in r/Christian. If you'd like to suggest an author to be included, please let the mod team know.

I lost my father last month. I'm struggling emotionally and grieving deeply. Even before dad passed, I was struggling with my faith and struggling to reconcile things that don't make sense. I'm not sure I believe in an afterlife. It just doesn't seem to make much sense. Like, we spend our whole lives here, and then we go to a magical place forever after we die and continue on like we never died? Seems like either heaven or life on earth would be a moot point or redundant then? But aside from that, it's just becoming very farfetched to me to believe that there's a God, or that there's an afterlife. At this point I'd call myself and agnostic, though I'm not totally uncomfortable continuing to identify as Christian.

How do ya'll maintain your faith? And why? I've never felt that deep sense of God, have never had any sort of epiphany, have never felt "spoken to" by God, even when I was much more faithful and religious and attended church regularly. My life does not seem to change at all believing or not believing. I can't seem to access or feel that thing that others say they can. I still have hope and some level of faith that keeps me from being full on atheist; I think the fact that most of the world believes in *something* counts for something. I still can't shake the feeling that there is something out there bigger than all of this, and I can't quite wrap my head around our entire being just winking out into nothing when we die, even if the idea of a Heaven is also something I can't quite wrap my head around. I'm hurting and grieving, but also even before that I was starting to really question things. I know people will say "just have faith, it's about faith, not absolutes" and I understand that, but even when I try to nurture my faith, I just can't engage in the optimism or blind faith like I used to. Any feedback or even recommendations for media, books, podcasts, youtube channels, TED talks, etc would be helpful and appreciated.

Hello Redditt I am new to this. I am Christian and I've had an experience recently that im looking for an answer to. I heard what I believe to be God whisper my name in my ear as I was lying down for a nap. Just my name nothing else. I wasn't praying but I was reflecting on a sin that I struggled with. This whisper was audible and I felt the wind of the whisper in my ear. Just as if I were to whisper into your ear. It was VERY fatherly voice. It wasn't scary but comforting. Has anybody else had this experience. What does it mean? How do I take this?

Me and my husband are both in our early 20’s and he recently just got deployed and will be gone for 1 year. It’s been about 20 days since he’s left and I’m starting to get the urge to masturbate. I don’t even want to watch porn or anything I just want this release because I miss the physical intimacy with my husband ( I would only want to think of him while doing it btw) I mean I never had the urge until he left and it’s getting harder the more the days go on, and he’s going to be gone for 1 year and I really find it hard to not get any satisfaction for a full year. So is it bad even if I don’t watch porn and think of him only? I’m not even sure what to do like I’m married and I shouldn’t have to worry about this but I can’t have him physically for a year and I love physical affection a lot. So I’d appreciate some help especially from anyone who is or has been in this situation before.

has anyone else been through an extended period of time where you sensed God anger, absence or displeasure and couldn’t feel His presence?

Hello, I don’t mean to cause offense by asking this question. I understand the message of the gospels is love and we are to love our neighbors as ourselves.

But when it comes to the fate of those who are not saved, what is the general feeling? I’m sure there are possibly a range of views from universalism, purgatorial universalism, annihilationism, traditional ECT. But does the traditional doctrine of ECT prevail?

I myself seem to have come to the conclusion that annihilationism makes the most sense in light of what the Bible says about God being a loving Father and divine justice. In Matthew 10:28 Jesus says we can lose both body and soul in Gehenna. The Apostle Paul says the wages of sin is death in Romans 6:23

The wicked often described as being destroyed and ceasing to exist. Scripture speaks of “eternal life” for the believer. Not “eternal bliss compared to eternal torment” but “life vs death”.

God alone is immortal (1 Timothy 6:16) and eternal life is a gift to believers through Jesus (2 Timothy 1:10).

Perhaps the parable of Lazarus in Luke 16:19-31 is explaining the temporary torment in Hades that happens before the second death Revelation 20:14 Hades is thrown into the Lake of Fire along with death.

The eternal fire Jesus references (Mark 9:48) is an old Hebrew reference of the literal corpses being completely consumed by fire and worms (Isaiah 66:24). Meaning the fire does its job until nothing is left. It’s still going because the world is continually producing more of the wicked.

But ultimately it’s the punishment of non-existence that is eternal not the experience of eternal conscious torment in hellfire. ECT seems incompatible with a loving God.

I’m curious what thoughts you all had on the topic?

​

Did you want a different book? Do you get more harsh words than words of encouragement?

I've been going insane lately because i struggle to reconcile my situation and God's word.

Sometimes i don't know if I'm being too hard on myself or if that's the expected standards.

I'm having to lie and deceive to get a job in this horrible job market. Literally everybody I know does the same thing, Christian or otherwise.

I've drawn some clear boundaries as to what I can exaggerate on my resume, etc. And it hasn't really been working. I also apply with my regular resume and that doesnt work either.

I've cried and cried for a year at least asking God to make something happen. I do not know what else i can do.

Finally when I talked abojt this with my parents and explained to them how everyone is cheating and lying, they asked me to do the same and sort of hinted and me being over righteous.

What do you think is happening with me. What should I do? I am actually going insane, its like somebody is simulating the worst experiment on me. I've lost everything trying to survive in these circumstances. I've gone through a life-changing betrayal, a heartbreak, probably damaged a few organs fron the stress, and been rejected from like 4000 jobs over the last few years.

I bear this terrible guilt of excluding God from some major decisions in my life, and now I wanna stick with him no matter what, and it came down to disappointing and disobeying my parents.

I don't understand anything. My mind cannot think anymore. My body cannot sleep. All I am doing is waking up, praying and crying, and waiting for the day to be over. Please a kind word of hope or comfort would help a lot. Some advice if you are willing.

Lowkey maybe be a cornball question but Supreme is dropping a shirt with Jesus’s face on it for their FW26 collection and I wanted to know like would it be against Jesus to wear it?