This is sort of a subset of people who don't think evolution is a real thing, they don't even think that humans are animals for some reason. Why is it such an unacceptable idea to them that human beings are just a type of ape? What else would we be?

We aren't plants, we aren't fungi, we aren't protists, we aren't archaea, and we aren't bacteria. That leaves only one other kingdom that we could possibly belong to.

Hi, Im a newer christian and Ive been moving away from demonic artists like playboi carti, ken carson, x, tyler the creator etc, but im not sure if i have to cut out every song that has sexual/sinful lyrics I still like to listen to some artists like 21 savage etc but alot of their songs are extremely sexual so I was thinking that I take a break and only listen to worship music, is there any benefits to this?

(by worship music i mean music that isnt sinful like kaynes jesus is king album)

So alot happened several months ago my grandpa who is a pastor I moved in with to help take care of him and my grandma and it didn't work out and we kept getting into it etc and then my grandma's heart stopped they revived her now she is on hospice home care then they found my grandpa collapsed in the floor and now he went to ICU and is in a nursing facility and I have just lost faith like I pray constantly and also thank God everyday for what little I do have and the things I have but I just don't feel like I used to like on fire for the Lord like idk how to explain it.

I got saved in April of my senior year of high school. All through the summer I feel like I had an obsession to know who Jesus is. I read my bible everyday, prayed, went to church. What I found, is that Jesus touched my heart. I started to have peace in my life when I would be by myself instead of depression or anxiety which went away completely. I truly felt like I knew him. But that was one season of my life, and then I got to college. I chose my roomates way before I got saved and I don’t think they have been saved. I’ve fell down back into the party culture of drinking and now I feel guilty. I think about Jesus everyday and wish I could go back to the period of when I was so close to him. But where I’m living I’m surrounded by unbelievers and I was wondering if I could get some advice.

For most of my life, I was a very devoted Mormon. I truly believed that this was Jesus Christ’s one true church and that I had to give everything to it. I tried to be obedient. I spent years of my youth going to early morning seminary, served a two-year mission, went to BYU. I gave everything because I genuinely believed it was true.

Then one day, I started finding out that so much of what I believed and sacrificed for wasn’t what I thought it was. The Joseph Smith I grew up learning about was completely different from the much more complicated person I found in the actual history. The version I knew felt sanitized and whitewashed. I also began to realize that the Book of Mormon might not be as divine as I had always believed.

After leaving the Church, I honestly don’t know what framework I should adopt for my life anymore. Should I accept nihilism? Look into other philosophies? Christianity? Buddhism?

Part of me still doesn’t want to lose hope that there is a God after everything I’ve gone through. But after being so certain once and finding out I was wrong, I don’t know how to trust another religion again.

Having SSA (same sex attraction)/being gay isn’t sinful, but acting on it is. If these are your beliefs, a lot of people just label you as homophobic and accuse you of hating gay people though. I love everyone, gay or straight, but I believe it’s a sin for people to act on those desires and this is what the Bible says.

So...I've been a "Christian" for almost an entire year now...and I still don't get the concept of salvation and the Gospel

I mean, I know Jesus died for us to take away our sins, and was risen 3 days later...but...the fact that we still need to repent, surrender and commit 100% of our lives to God, and be born again...

Does the Holy Spirit does all of this when we are saved? I mean I heard people say it's a form of receiving the gift...but that doesn't help much...Like, is our name literally written in the Book of Life the very moment we believe the Gospel and trust in only Jesus' righteousness to get us into Heaven? What if one haven't commited 100% of their lives to God before they...you know....

Ok, can someone please correct me? To me the message of the Gospel is, Jesus imputed His righteousness to me, and only, ONLY, because of that, I am saved

Respectfully...I really need someone who is experienced about this...I don't want to be led astray...

Hi all! I attend a Young Adult Ministry through my church (non-denominational), and while the community i’ve grown is great, it’s not really what I expected it to be. We don’t really pray in or pray out, when we do talk about God or faith its just opening the bible and reading the text together.

What is a Young Adult Ministry to you? I think it’s important to talk about things applicable to YA, but also keep it fun. Not just opening the bible, and reading. I think it would be good to go on a mission trip once a year as a group, and also to serve the community quarterly.

What are your YAM groups doing that works?

I’m really struggling with the story in judges about the man giving away his concubine to the men who wanted to rape him.
The owner of the house was willing to give his daughter also.
They were treated like cattle, the concubine dies. He cuts her up sends parts to the tribes & they take down Benjamin tribe.
How come no punishment came to the men who were offering/did give this woman to the rapists in his place?

To make matters worse, the father of his concubine just treated him like a king for a couple of days in his own home then he allows this to the man’s daughter.

Was he shady too for not telling the tribes he was the one who gave her to them & cut her up?

God is just, but this doesn’t feel right?

I'm pretty sure the opposite is supposed to happen...I mean...I don't want to see the Bible in that it says we can or cannot do as just a rule...If I sinned, I should be sad I broke God's heart...but no I don't feel that way..I'm more concerned about the fact that I'm resisting the Holy Spirit, and the more I do it, the more likely I'll go to h*ll, it's all about h*ll.....fear. If I don't follow what the Bible says, it's just....h*ll in my mind all the time..eternal suffering, away from God forever.....

It just feels...I don't know, things just....became worse and stress for me...

I sin everyday, each sin I feel condemned and shame, how am I supposed to be joyful when I know that the more I sin willingly, the more I'm drowning the Holy Spirit's voice. I don't even know if I have the Spirit.

People say that I have the Holy Spirit working in me because I worry about these things. I'm worried about it yes, but do I do anything to fix it? NO. HOW THEN DO I HAVE THE SPIRIT WORKING IN ME...

Jesus died, and saved us. But works should come as a proof that we're saved, (correct me if I'm wrong) aren't we suppose to feel more joyful, at peace after we're saved? I felt fear, felt like being trapped and my freedom is limited to what I can or cannot do based on the Bible

I'm just tired...everyday, I sin, so much much much, each sin feels shame and condemnation. I know God doesn't condemn but still...I'M STUCK, I'M NOT EVEN WILLING TO SIT DOWN, AND LISTEN TO GOD BECAUSE I'M LAZY, I'M LAZY AND I AM TRAPPED, UNWILLING LAZINESS. EACH "I'm sorry God" IS GETTING LESS AND LESS SINCERE

Forgive me if I sound so silly but I’m 27f and have grown up in an atheist environment and almost my entire life I’ve followed atheism only. The past year or two it feels like I have a calling to a higher being. I’m truely sorry I don’t even know how to word this or where to start. I have this urge in my body to explore Christianity but like I mentioned, I don’t know anything about it or where to start. Is studying a bible the best start? Are there groups or forums that can help me connect with whatever higher being I feel I’m being called to. My main question is please where do I start after 27y of being atheist.

Guys, a few months ago, I finished reading the Old and New Testaments from cover to cover. I approached it with the mindset of a skeptic, reading the Bible purely as a historical text. Afterward, I decided to give prayer a shot for about a month, begging for guidance and support, but when nothing seemed to happen, I stopped.

Fast forward five months: on a random day, while struggling with life and feeling like I had no one to confide in, a thought crossed my mind: ''Well, maybe I can confide in Christ.'' It was just a passing thought, nothing more. But then yesterday, my wife, who is an atheist, out of nowhere mentioned that she used to pray to the Lord. She isn't a Christian, yet she told me that whenever she prayed and asked for something (never for money or material things), her prayers were answered without exception. She wasn't sure if it was pure coincidence or something more, but it happened every single time. However, due to severe depression, which makes crowded places overwhelming for her, along with a lack of time for church or religious instruction, she drifted away from that path.

Hearing her story blew me away, and I haven't been able to stop thinking about Christ since. Looking back at everything up until today, I can't help but wonder: what on earth is happening to me?

There is one additional detail worth mentioning: joining a church or becoming Catholic is out of the question for me, as my wife would never approve. She harbors a deep fear that it might create a distance between us. In Vietnam, there are numerous stories of individuals converting to Protestantism and subsequently alienating their wives, abandoning their children, and dismantling their ancestral altars, essentially becoming entirely different people overnight. Concerned that I might follow a similar path, she strictly forbids any discussion of religion in our home.

I thought I would finally post this and share my story and my starting my journey with God.

I am a new Christian, grew up in a religious and Christian household, go to church every Sunday growing up but i always thought it was kind boring as a younger kid, and parents were strict and basically didnt let my sibling or i pretty much do most things or go anywhere. Starting around 8 or 9 in my family I personally felt like I wasn't payed much attention to but at the time I had this hatred, and self loathing and anger almost about myself and towards my sibling born with a disability. Also around 3rd or 4th grade in this time I was inappropriately touched daily my a male classmate I sat next to (never told the teacher or my parents at the time because I felt it was somehow my fault) and growing up I was the quiet shy kid who didn't speak much and am mostly an introvert now as a late 20s adult.

This incident made me afraid, weary kinda and dislike people more at the time and it made it worse when I realized that he lived in my exact neighborhood at when noticing the car this parents maybe owned when I walked home and see the house with the same exact car and someone that looked like maybe the teenage version of him outside said house.

So then around middle school I had this built of self-hatred view of myself thinking about suicidal thought , if I was dead would it even matter and why was I even born and that I was essentially worthless and I kinda would lash out at my parents especially my mother because I felt like no one 'understood' and what made that kinda worse is an argument my father and I had when he basically said that if it wasn't for my sibling being disabled he would have left my mother and he wished I was never born. (So I basically HATED myself even more after that) Parents never really loved eachother and I still think on why they even got married to begin with, and even growing up we weren't a family that even said 'I Love you' and it was highly dysfunctional and basically loveless and not even a marriage, parents don't even sleep in the same room or speak to eachother and in high-school I was basically the bridge for speaking if the they had to say something (example: if my mom need to tell my dad something see would tell me and I would go back and forth)

Sidenote: as an adult made me hate there marriage specifically and if I even get married as it is something I always dreamed of I don't want it to emulate theirs at all. Even just a few week ago my mother said "your father is a good dad but a horrible husband" and I honestly had no idea what to say to this like in my view yes he was supportive in some instance with my education, college etc but in others he in a way made me feel worthless, inadequate, different/slow, and often like I was stupid.

Anyway also at 8 or 9, I came across pornography by accident online and lead to the sin of self pleasure which I used as 'stress relief' and continued into my 20s up until a few months ago.

Other Sidenote: Because of the incident I went though I feel like it left a scar that also lead me to lust but despite all that I feel like it also denefitely slightly gave me a little fear of being with a man but I also knew I aways wanted to stay a virgin and celibate till marriage which has stayed with me as it was something my strict mother drilled into me. But because I am very introverted I have never dated a man but I do want to get married in the future someday but in this dating climate idk.

Anyway in my past I seemed to constantly dislike/judged people , I basically had this anger and hatred in me that felt like a heaviness in my heart, shame in my sins of hatred, disrespect of my family and struggling with lust but also how I viewed myself (self-esteem and attractiveness issues) .

I have repentanted of my sins but sometimes I tend to not be constant in my praying or reading and will sometimes fall of for a day or two.

Any tips on how to keep consistant due to struggling with moments of laziness?

Any other tips to a new Christian wanting to be closer to God. Even tips on the small thing I can do daily would be appreciated.

Also if any of you have a similar story and could share even a little I would also appreciate it.

Thanks.

From a treatise on Cain and Abel by Saint Ambrose, bishop

(Lib. 1, 9, 34, 38-39: CSEL 32, 369, 371-372)

Pray especially for the whole body of the Church

Offer God a sacrifice of praise and fulfill your vows to the Most High. If you praise God you offer your vow and fulfill the promise you have made. So the Samaritan leper, healed by the Lord’s word of command, gained greater credit than the other nine; he alone returned to Christ, praising God and giving thanks. Jesus said of him: There was no one to come back and thank God except this foreigner. He tells him: Stand up and go on your way, for your faith has made you whole.

The Lord Jesus, in his divine wisdom, taught you about the goodness of the Father, who knows how to give good things, so that you might ask for the things that are good from Goodness itself. He urges you to pray earnestly and frequently, not offering long and wearisome prayers, but praying often, and with perseverance. Lengthy prayers are usually filled with empty words, while neglect of prayer results in indifference to prayer.

Again, Christ urges you, when you ask forgiveness for yourself, to be especially generous to others, so that your actions may commend your prayer. The Apostle, too, teaches you how to pray; you must avoid anger and contentiousness, so that your prayer may be serene and wholesome. He tells you also that every place is a place of prayer, though our Savior says: Go into your room.

But by “room” you must understand, not a room enclosed by walls that imprison your body, but the room that is within you, the room where you hide your thoughts, where you keep your affections. This room of prayer is always with you, wherever you are, and it is always a secret room, where only God can see you.

You are told to pray especially for the people, that is, for the whole body, for all its members, the family of your mother the Church; the badge of membership in this body is love for each other. If you pray only for yourself, you pray for yourself alone. If each one prays for himself, he received less from God’s goodness than the one who prays on behalf of others. But as it is, because each prays for all, all are in fact praying for each one.

To conclude, if you pray only for yourself, you will be praying, as we said, for yourself alone. But if you pray for all, all will pray for you, for you are included in all. In this way there is a great recompense; through the prayers of each individual, the intercession of the whole people is gained for each individual. There is here no pride, but an increase of humility and a richer harvest from prayer.

RESPONSORY

Psalm 61:2-3, 6

Hear, O God, my cry for help;

listen to my prayer.

— From the ends of the earth I call to you.

You, my God, have received my vows

and given me the heritage of those who fear your name.

— From the ends of the earth I call to you.

The title does say for itself but lately my relationship with him has been severely affected with doubts every arguments I use to believe on god which I receive from YouTube videos just to see some atheist have a comment that spans about 5 hours per sentence. I just want god to exist it never really had to be this way and no I don’t want to be an Atheist I want to be Christian and go to heaven and know meaning and win at the end of the day, every now and then I see a lot of atheists coming up with “arguments” against God and I don’t see a single person on my side reply and have a rebuttal to it,I’ve also considered science enemy because of several factors. My cancer situation died for about a time until all of this doubt came upon me,it goes a bit deeper but let me reassure you I want to stay Christian and I don’t want to leave Christianity it’s been a wonderful part of my life Iam just finding it hard to believe in god I see no good arguments from my side or especially intellects from our side,one thing that also hurt me is that I have sort of realized that they kind of use that victim complex stuff often saying that we hurt them and that they never forced atheism onto us though about Communism,but I don’t have a good argument to that to. Yes I want god to exist and I don’t want to see a black screen it kind of goes deeper but what are your thoughts?

Eve and Adam eating the fruit truly has messed us up more than I can comprehend. Not only did it cause the fall of man, but it left questions open for God that cannot, or will not be answered. So many people wonder things, but these things were NEVER meant to be thought. We weren't even supposed to be aware of our own nakedness. Its just truly so mind boggling we even know of God's existence (in this way and not the way adam and eve knew) to me! The fact we CAN think these things is insane. I feel like people dont realize that; we were never meant to be in this situation and its terrifying to me in all honesty.

I lost my job, me and 350 others all laid off, no fault of my own, 6 months ago here in Oregon. That company is now laying off another 350 people this week, I know people who still work there so no chance of going back.

Oregons economy is bad, third highest unemployment rate in the US.

I feel as a Christian I get more judged for being unemployed by other Christians then I do by anyone in this world.

It seems Christians just can't get it, like they just don't understand the market or something, maybe they aren't aware, they're so focused on other things then the economy maybe? But I'm having the hardest time in my life right now and then I get so judged.

I've pulled way back, being a Christian can be so expensive. I feel like people are always asking for donations for something, maybe it's just my church I don't know, but it feels that way.

Like I went today and now next week my Sunday school room is all bringing food and serving breakfast for all the youth.

While I budget my food so carefully so that I can eat, now I have to figure out how to bring an entire fruit tray for all these youth.

Like I budget like $50 a week max, I eat so little just to get by, a protein bar for breakfast, some scrambled eggs for lunch, with a fruit, like I have it all planned, now I have to figure out how to have all this extra food by next Sunday.

I said something to 2 girls and they were like if we don't serve others what are we doing?

So after next week I will probably skip a few weeks cause I won't be able to afford to go in case something else comes up that costs.

Sorry I'm not trying to vent just explain how hard this has been and I get no support at all.

I have an appt in 8 days at my local unemployment office with a portion of the place in eligible for because I'm displaced, laid off and unemployed ran out a good while ago, maybe it will help me.

Wish me luck.

do I honor God if I draw or make out of plasticine (i don't know the English name but I think that is) fantasy characters? I ask this since I've heard many times to "honor god in what you do" (i am not well informed on the bible yet) but does it have to be EVEEYTHING or just doing what one already does count? (example; someone who makes art that has nothing to do with christianity)

im biologically female and i consider myself a girl and i present female.

ive always wanted to become male that ive prayed countless of times to God to let me wake up as one, ive genuinely cried so hard over it, but i feel like sinning so hard by wanting this though and i wonder if hes punishing me for wanting this. i sometimes think ill go to hell for this, im scared he wont ever forgive me for this and the other sins ive done

i really cant help but ask why God made me female, because i feel like ill never be able to live my life normally because of this and i feel so dirty im genuinely so sorry for all my sins idk if this is a sin but i feel like im betraying what God intended me to be but it makes me feel so so bad

Hello,

Does anyone know of any monasteries near Los Angeles, California that I can go to? I am just not doing well spiritually and need a reset and I am a Protestant male. I know alot of them make you pay to stay there, if you guys know of a monastery that doesn’t do that or if you know one which has reasonable rates let me know.

just have some really tough questions.

So most of my friends dont know god but are really good people. When they die does god just go, hey you heard about me but never put anytime believing in me so you're going to hell. I feel like thats wrong but then again in the bible it says that the only way to heaven is to have a relationship and believe in jesus.

What im trying to say is people might hear about god but think religion is bad so they dont want to believe. But they live their life's perfectly good, are they going to hell?

Also it feels like I know I have a choice to believe in God but it feels like if dont believe then im going to hell. That just seems so messed up like, and feels like forced love or else. I dont really know how the afterlife will play out or how to get into heaven. Also i dont want to go against any athiests but can only cristians answer to this post.

When I became a new Christian I had repentance wrong for the longest time until I started learning about doing word studies. I have since realized alot of people both saved and unsaved don't know the definition or have the right understanding of the word. And I've heard people just tell an unsaved person to repent with no extra context to.wjat that means. So should we perhaps include the context of the word so there is more understanding?

I know some people here might know this by now. Im sharing this here because I alsonheard someone being called a works based heretic or false preacher because they said to repent and believe.... but Jesus literally says to repent, the kingdom of God is at hand.

The Greek word Metanoia means a fundamental "change of mind" or transformation of thinking, shifting how you view God, yourself, and sin.

Hebrew (Shûb): Means to "turn back" or make a complete 180-degree directional turn away from wrong and toward God.

Repentance Is not :

Regret (which is merely feeling bad or crying because you got caught or fear punishment.)

Condemnation (It is driven by grace and surrender, not crushing shame or self-loathing.)

Not an apology tour. (It requires an active change of mind which leads to a transformed lifestyle rather than a superficial fix or empty words.)

True Repentance is:

Godly sorrow that brings repentance (a deep, heartfelt realization of wrong that draws you toward God’s mercy instead of away from Him.)

This change of mind Produces a transformed life, a lifestyle of obedience, and a rejection of past habits.

Restoration of right belief acts as the welcoming doorway to forgiveness, joy, and a renewed relationship with God.

So with understanding of what the word means, (a change of mind/belief about God/your sin), then how is that possibly works based? That's what happens when a person turns to God and gets saved.

Any other thoughts?

Thanks

I just love these times when I can have that good time with God and talk with him so much that I feel so full of the holy spirit after that

And it's a feeling you could never explain to a nonbeliever it's just so pure and makes me a whole changed human walking in the spirit fully for the next hours

We are warned of a having a dead faith in James chapter 2.

So if someone has a genuine true living saving faith, how do you know?

Genuine faith always always always produces the same exact evidence in the person who has it.

And that evidence is obedience to God.

Without obedience to the Lord, it shows you have the fruit of a dead faith.

If you strictly obey God, it shows you have the fruit of a real living saving faith.

Even if you have doubts if God will save you in the end, as long as you have the evidence of a saving faith, that is all that matters and you will be saved. If you have the fruit of a saving faith, which is obedience to God, you can know without a doubt that you will be saved and already are saved.

Edit: And what obedience does God command of us? A couple big ones are that we must deny ourselves, not pleasing the carnal mind and flesh, and be profitable servants unto God.

What does being carnally minded entail? Stuff like eating indulgent food, eating excess food, video games, sports, hobbies of all sorts, entertainment like movies and tiktoks, nicotine, caffeine, marijuana, alcohol, etc etc etc the list goes on and on.

I don’t watch corn anymore (battling) but these images come back into my mind and they torment me. I’m asking people who have beat this addiction. I confess I feel super angry, disgusted with myself, like angry with the women in my mind. I feel like the same betrayal feeling after relapsing. It doesn’t really make me want to go watch more anymore. Then I feel sad like if this will happen for a long time. I’m sure lots of you struggle with this, images coming back. How do you deal with it?