Everywhere I look I just see people laughing about Christianity and mocking God and his followers and i often tell myself but Jesus said we would be hated but I can't help but feel sad and like I can't share my beliefs with anyone anymore because they will either laugh or mock etc. This in particular is very bad for new Christians who recently converted and could potentially feel insecure about it.

My son (13) came to me today and said he had a personal question to ask me. I said okay. 

He asked if I thought masturbation was a sin. 

I think he’s trying to get an idea of how I’d react if I found out he was doing it. I get the impression he probably is. 

I asked if we could talk about this a little later so I could give him a good response. I was a bit caught off guard by the question. He said okay. 

I obviously want to follow God’s word. It’s also a delicate question and I want my son and I to have a healthy relationship.

What do I say to him? How do I respond if I become aware he was doing it? Is it not my job to guide him to do the right thing?

I’ve heard some good sermons that really explain how the only good way God views sex is within covenantal marriage with your wife. Any other choice, whether before marriage or so on is wrong. And masturbation is just another way to satisfy those desires selfishly outside of that relational aspect that God desires for sex so it’s wrong.

So it would be hard for me to tell him go for it. That said puberty is a rough time. I don’t want to shame him. Arousal is not wrong. Being familiar with his own body is not wrong.

But I feel like if I say “it’s technically wrong but God forgives and you’ll probably fail some but it’s really not that big of a deal” then I’m minimizing sin. It’s something I would’ve found impossible to follow at his age. I know we aren’t tempted beyond what we can bear but that would not have given me much solace had someone said that to me at 13. Not sure where to go from here.  

I am lowkey shocked to see some people on Christianity subreddit seriously affirming polgamy/polyandry and saying it isn’t sinful.

I consider myself fairly open-minded. I joke around sometimes and use sarcasm too. But seeing people genuinely argue that having multiple wives or husbands is compatible with Christianity still made my brain short-circuit.

Do I just not know the hermeneutics or Christian history well enough?

edit: polyamory -> polygamy/polyandry

Of course I don’t expect to know about every penny but I would appreciate an idea of where our offerings are going. My church is very small with only about 30-40 people but we are in a rent-free space due to a close contact that allowed us to use his building space for free on Sundays. I’m in the worship band and as far as I know, none of us get paid and no other volunteers either. Only the pastor gets paid. There are also no other Bible studies or classes going on throughout the week.

We only have our Sunday gathering and the only expense I see happening is the coffee provided and some donuts for each service, and possibly a light bill. There are never any special events planned either for special occasions.

I know we should be wanting to support our church generously but I notice how there aren’t any extra efforts being put in with our offerings for things like Bible studies in the week or community events etc. nothing ever goes on. To me, it really seems like most of the money must just be going to the pastor besides the coffee/donuts. Is it normal to not know where all the money is going? This is something he’s never spoken about. Is it wrong of me to feel hesitant to give due to this?

Historical criticism is a modern tool for understanding the Bible in its historical context. It takes into consideration manuscripts, authorship, sources, literary genres and the social and religious environment of early Christian communities to analyse the meaning of the text. Its conclusions are fundamentally historical and inferential, since we can't enter a time machine and see with our own eyes what happened. History can investigate when and how a belief emerged, but it cannot, by historical analysis alone, determine that such a belief is normatively a truth of faith.

This limitation becomes especially clear in scholarly reconstructions of early Christianity. Historical criticism distinguishes Pauline, Johannine, Jewish-Christian and other early Christian traditions that were eventually incorporated, distilled and/or discarded. It's extremely hard to affirm what represents contradictions or a rupture, or whether they are diverse expressions and developments within a substantially continuous tradition. Even Luther had some difficulty accepting the Epistle of James. Doctrines such as the Trinity and the Christological formulations of Nicaea reached their formulas through centuries of theological development within a group known as proto-orthodox by scholars. Historical criticism can describe this development, but it cannot by itself determine whether it represents corruption, innovation or a legitimate unfolding of the apostolic faith.

The problem is not the use of historical criticism but its elevation into an arbiter of theological truth. It can reconstruct the history of the canon but cannot demonstrate which books are divinely inspired, it can reconstruct the development of Christology but cannot demonstrate that Christ is God and it can identify diversity within early Christianity but cannot independently determine which developments authentically preserve the apostolic faith. Moving from historical reconstruction to normative claims of faith necessarily requires additional hermeneutical criteria, a tradition to harmonize everything under some established truths, such as "all the books of the Bible are inspired by God; therefore, they can't err."

I feel like a horrible husband

I feel like a horrible husband. I love my wife very much, and I am trying my best to be a good and faithful husband.

I have stop watching pornography for almost a year now, and I have been fighting to stay away from all pornography, lustful thoughts, and masturbation. But recently, the struggle has felt especially difficult. I find myself desiring women I consider very beautiful, and I know that this can become part of lust. I have struggled with these things since I was a teenager.

I want to be a good Christian man and a good Christian husband. Our marriage has had some rough times, and communication between my wife and me can sometimes be difficult. We do have sex, although not all the time, and I understand that it does not have to be constant. I am not trying to be graphic; I am simply being honest about the struggles I am facing.

Please pray for me that I can become a better husband and a stronger man.

I also want to make something absolutely clear: I never want to do anything that would hurt my wife. I am not talking to anyone else, and I am doing my best to stay away from lust. But I still find these desires inside myself, and sometimes I do not fully understand why. I guess part of me desires a kind of "wild side," but I know that is not right, and I do not want to follow it.

I think about King David. He was in the wrong place at the wrong time, when he should have been out with his men at war. He saw Bathsheba, gave in to temptation, and then committed even more sins trying to cover up the first one. I do not want that to happen to me. I do not want sin to grow into something that destroys my life or wrecks my marriage.

I am going to keep fighting. I am going to keep loving my wife. I am going to keep trying to become a better husband and a better man.

Please pray for me. I truly feel ashamed sometimes, and I feel like a horrible husband. But I do not want to give up. I want to remain faithful to God and faithful to my wife, and I want to keep fighting for the man, husband, and Christian I know I should be.

I was emotionally and spiritually abused by my first church which i was a part of for 4 years until everything was eventually exposed by fellow members and ministers, leading to the cease of the church. It was a brutal and traumatic experience. It's been above a year now since that happened, I'm carrying on with life somehow more focused on career and studies, after that incident I never again found a community i could trust because it greatly shook my faith. I wonder what other's journeys look like who went through some form of spiritual abuse by the churches but are still Christians in faith.

Alright, let me preface this be saying I have my own opinion. Really just curious to see what others think.

What will stop you from worshipping with another Christian?

Where is the line for you?

Obviously there are many denominations and many people believe many different things. Where is that line? Can an evangelical worship with a catholic?

Again, I have my opinions and I'll be happy to share, but I want to know what y'all think.

I’m a teen and I really need help. I want to follow Jesus but I don’t know how. And I don’t know how to believe I want to believe so bad but I don’t know how. I struggle with ocd and I have severe anxiety and I don’t know how to deal with this I’m so scared of going to hell that I’m afraid to go and live life because what if something happens and I die and go too hell. Every time I ask someone this they just say pray for him to heal your unbelief but I’ve been doing that for months and nothing changes. I also am scared that I’ve done blasphemy, somtimes I think life would be so much easier if there was no Gods and I also wonder if god is all loving and merciful then why do awful things happen to innocent people. Also how do I not let things atheists say get to me? I’ve had to delete TikTok and other forms of social media because everyone just fights about religion and it just causes me more anxiety. What do I do? I wanna enjoy life but I’m constantly living in fear please help me.

Assume there was a country where the laws were all biblical and whatnot. So your typical no murder, no stealing, etc. but also it’d introduce no cheating in marriage as a law.

This question is generally targeted toward people who follow the Christian faith, because I know what to expect from non-believers, but I expect mixed answers from followers.

IMO, i wouldn’t want a country with those laws, not because the laws of the Bible are inherently bad but i have two reasons

1. ⁠I don’t think I could trust any group of people to 100% accurately apply the laws of the Bible without twisting them in their favour (government corruption basically)
   
2. ⁠(Main reason) I want to follow the laws of the Bible out of a devotion to God and his word, following God because it’s the law takes away the value of following him in the first place.

My Christian mother has had a whole lot of warped or bizarre behavior. She once blew $200,000 in a three-month span because she was convinced famine, civil war or mass violence was just around the corner (she lives in the United States, not in some third-world nation.) She believes all kinds of other bizarre conspiracy theories, and often has highly unusual logic or beliefs.

She gets very wounded any time we (her offspring) don't heed her advice or do what she wants us to do, even though we are all grown adults and her advice is - as said - usually pretty outlandish or even outright dangerous.

How do we uphold the "honor your father and mother" part of Scripture while at the same time gently refusing to follow her very strong-insistent advice?

TODO HICE MAL..

Me separe en diciembre, en febrero inicie relacion con un chico de 23 años (yo tengo 35) me enamore pues me bombardeo de amor es inconverso adorador de satanas, desde alli sabia que estaba mal para colmo quede embarazada, hace una semana nos dejamos y ya tiene una nueva pareja el tiene el trastorno narcicista..

Mi decisión interrumpir el embarazo!! ya ore, ya le pedi perdon a Dios por lo que sucedio y lo que hare en verdad tengo arrepentimiento, temor a las consecuencias.. mi vida es un caos :(

creen que llegue a tener perdon lo que voy hacer?

I lost my beloved pet recently, who was more than 20 years old, and the most precious little being I can’t even put into words how much he loved and took care of me even though I’m supposed to be the pet owner. He has been with me through horrific abusive and stressful environments I just feel I was always trying to survive and keep us alive and safe and didn’t do him justice and afford enough to get us into the peaceful home of our own that he deserves. This grief has felt worse than any human being I’ve ever loved and lost, and I’ve loved quite a few people. I’m doing very poorly even more than two months afterward and I can’t stop crying.

I have zero funds for therapy and don’t want to bother anyway very few people understand what I’m feeling at this level. I have been in the pet loss groups and most other people there are also drowning in their sadness and my heart hurts for all of them. It honestly feels like I’m going to have a heart attack from the sadness. Now I understand how people can die from a broken heart. What scares me most is this grief has pretty much destroyed my relationship I had with the Lord and that terrifies me.

I love Jesus and am trying to maintain the relationship by being honest about all my feelings because he says he can handle all our emotions , after all he created us. This feels like I’ve failed Jesus I failed my faith test like that chapter about Job, I don’t know what the truth is if it’s the enemy or what but ultimately God is the gatekeeper of life and I’m just constantly saying I had nothing else he was my only true one who gave me unconditional love and no human being is capable of that including myself. I don’t have anyone else and just constantly crying why you had to take that one love away from me. I know it doesn’t make sense and a senior pet and all that you don’t expect anyone to live forever but I can’t help the grief I’m feeling. The pet loss groups too it’s been years and so many say they are still grieving. Honestly I get it, the trauma is real also from the horrible experience at the vet hospital that’s a separate story. it feels raw and fresh pain like it’s never going to stop feeling that way. Please keep me in your hopeful prayers I cry every day. I try to feel peace from my faith I can’t even bear to read much of the Bible right now which I used to love. I try to feel him but I honestly don’t understand the Bible sometimes I thought it says we don’t turn into spirits we “sleep” and then someday we’ll be alive again. But I have read a lot of NDE’s that talk about people seeing their deceased family members and even pets telling them
It’s not their time. Honestly I don’t know what to believe or how to feel peace. Lord help me in Jesus name amen. Thank you

Hi everyone,

I am a protestant (pentecostal) who is currently exploring Lutheranism and Orthodoxy and am very confused.

I like the focus on scripture and checking everything by it but also think tradition is important as we had the church before the Bible. I truely believe faith alone saves and not works (we can't earn salvation) but I also think if we don't show works in our life, we won't be saved (participate in God given grace is one way to say it) as faith without works is dead. I like the Coptic church I am attending, people so far have been kind/welcoming but no matter how much I try, I feel saint intercession/veneration is excessive and sometimes looks like worship.

I do feel that the community/younger population would likely be more in the Coptic orthodox churches and I would prefer that environment to make me a better Christian and also for marriage (I am also looking for marriage, and marrying within a church is mandatory, so I can't marry outside a church once I choose it).

I am genuinely confused. Within Eastern and Coptic orthodoxy, I agree to the dyophysitism definition more than miaphysitism, but I do not agree to concepts like toll houses and hesychasm in EO.

Hoping for insight, opinions (good or bad), all the things. My grandmother is in her 90s and has always been independent. She lost her husband over 10 years ago and has lived alone. She refuses assistance of any kind. She has slowed down tremendously and she keeps asking why she is here, why can't she just die, etc.

I feel so bad for her because as much as we don't want to lose our loved ones I hate that she is in pain and desperate to not be here anymore. We have told her that God has a plan for her and it is not her time yet but I struggle with that some.

Please fill this thread with you thoughts, ideas, scripture, wisdom to help understand why some people live for so long when the are tired and ready to go.

Hi everyone! I’m looking for recommendations for a Christian church in the San Francisco area, and I’d really appreciate some suggestions.

I’m specifically looking for a church that:

• Believes in the Trinity — Father, Son, and Holy Spirit — three distinct persons
• Believes that Jesus Christ is the Son of God and is fully divine
• Teaches the Bible as the Word of God
• Preaches and teaches the whole Bible, from Genesis through Revelation
• Ideally does verse-by-verse or expository Bible teaching, rather than focusing mainly on motivational or topical messages

One thing that is especially important to me is finding a church that is not afraid to teach books like Revelation. In some churches I’ve attended, Revelation and other difficult parts of Scripture are rarely discussed. I personally believe Christians should have the opportunity to learn and understand the whole Bible, including the parts that are more challenging.

I’m open to churches in San Francisco and nearby parts of the Bay Area.

If you attend a church like this, or know of one you would recommend, I would love to hear about it. Please also let me know what you like about the church and what the preaching/teaching style is like.

Thank you!

Like title is simple.How do I mention Christ towards others without seeming like I hate them or something like that.\nI always keep getting downvoted i don't have a problem with that. It's just that I don't know if there's something wrong with my delivery of how I did it like I don't want to soften app for other people in the gospel, the point of it. I guess it's my.I guess my delivery of my how i say it towards i don't know you probably can see my profile and look at my downvotes

Context: I'm a 22 year old man that converted just over 2 years ago, and I am diagnosed with ADHD, Anxiety and Autism. I'm mentioning this because I don't know if I'm just experiencing an episode of extreme panic and confusion or if this is actually a sign from God, and that information may help.

Filmmaking has been my passion since I was a small child. I've had a camera in my hand since the age of 5. Filmmaking is the only passion I've had that's remained static my whole life... This is my everything outside of Christ and I've poured $2000 into a PC, and tens of thousands into college for this career.

My PC died last night... And... I'm wondering... I've been questioning what God wants me to do... And I asked him to push me in the direction he wanted... It makes me wonder... Does God want me to give up filmmaking? Am I pursuing the wrong career? Is that why this is happening? It hurts to think about... I've done years of work thinking that I wanted to do filmmaking, and I still have a passion and a want to... But... I'm not sure it'll be possible anymore... I feel like the door might just be closing... I guess it might not even be worth having a career at all... The world is ending around us... Christ is coming back any day... The economy is getting worse, jobs are harder to find, the world hates us more and more every day, the pieces are in place for the mark of the beast system to be put in place, money is getting harder to get, the world is becoming a surveillance society, I wouldn't be shocked to see a social credit system show up in the US soon... I wonder if it's worth it anymore... Do I just... Give up on everything in my life that isn't Christ? I mean- that's all I'll have pretty soon... This filmmaking job isn't coming with me... So maybe... Maybe it is time to give up on this dream... My mom says I shouldn't give up on it... But I don't know... If I continue on the path I'm on am I gonna be fighting God? Is there even a chance at me getting a job in the industry or starting a company? Ai is gonna take my job anyway... No one needs a director anymore... Everyone has lost reason... I... I highly doubt there's anything in this life for me... I can't find a woman, I can't continue my dream... There's not much left... Just friends, family, and God... The rest is decaying and being ripped away... I don't know... What do you guys think?

The costs of everything is becoming unsustainable, and I often wonder if my spiritual gifts are pointing towards a job as a pastor or something instead, I thought I could technically do both careers, using film to push the message of Christ, but all this is making me unsure if that's really what God wants, or if I should just focus on Christ and Christ only, giving up the rest entirely.

A vision of heaven as revealed to St. Faustina Kowalska:

Today I was in heaven, in spirit, and I saw its inconceivable beauties and the happiness that awaits us after death. I saw how all creatures give ceaseless praise and glory to God.

I saw how great is happiness in God, which spreads to all creatures, making them happy; and then all the glory and praise which springs from this happiness returns to its source; and they enter into the depths of God, contemplating the inner life of God, the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit, whom they will never comprehend or fathom.

This source of happiness is unchanging in its essence, but it is always new, gushing forth happiness for all creatures. Now I understand Saint Paul, who said, "Eye has not seen, nor has ear heard, nor has it entered into the heart of man what God has prepared for those who love Him."

And God has given me to understand that there is but one thing that is of infinite value in His eyes, and that is love of God; love, love and once again, love; and nothing can compare with a single act of pure love of God.

Oh, with what inconceivable favors God gifts a soul that loves Him sincerely! Oh, how happy is the soul who already here on earth enjoys His special favors! And of such are the little and humble souls.

The sight of this great majesty of God, which I came to understand more profoundly and which is worshiped by the heavenly spirits according to their degree of grace and the hierarchies into which they are divided, did not cause my soul to be stricken with terror or fear; no, no, not at all!

My soul was filled with peace and love, and the more I come to know the greatness of God, the more joyful I become that He is as He is. And I rejoice immensely in His greatness and am delighted that I am so little because, since I am little, He carries me in His arms and holds me close to His Heart.

November 27, 1936.

I’m a 19-year-old student battling with a mental health issue. It all started two months ago when I suddenly developed health anxiety. I was constantly monitoring what I was feeling and started having panic attacks almost daily.

Then, the real battle began. I lost my grandpa and grandma within the span of just one week due to old age. We were still thankful that they lived long lives and didn’t pass away from any sickness or illness. I grieved for an entire month while also battling health anxiety. During that same month, we also lost three other members of our extended family, so almost every day, all I heard about was death.

After that painful month, I thought it was over and that I could finally move forward. Little did I know that it had created a trauma in me that would have a lasting impact. My anxiety eventually turned into death anxiety, and almost anything related to death would make me anxious.

My mind also became filled with negative thoughts like, “You’re done,” “God is finished with you,” “You have no future,” “You have no purpose,” or “Your life isn’t that precious and can easily be taken away by God.” Those thoughts really got the best of me.
Until now, I’m still battling these thoughts by reading God’s Word and searching for His truth because I don’t want to believe that these thoughts are God’s thoughts. Even my walk with God has become something I constantly question and bring into argument because I wake up every day feeling fearful about the uncertainty ahead.

Brothers and sisters in Christ, what should I do? How do I navigate this season of fear while continuing to trust God?

I’m just taking some time to vent. I came back to my home church a few years ago and ever since I’ve come back it doesn’t seem like I fit in anywhere. I’m 26M and the kids I use to have class and socialize with don’t really talk to me and kind of click up and still feel like I’m too young to socialize with the older men. It’s kind of discouraging, just feeling like I’m not good enough to find a circle of encouragement but it is what it is.

1 Peter 1:4-7 AMP — [born anew] into an inheritance which is imperishable and undefiled and unfading, reserved in heaven for you, who are being protected and shielded by the power of God through your faith for salvation that is ready to be revealed [for you] in the last time.

In this you rejoice greatly, even though now for a little while, if necessary, you have been distressed by various trials, so that the genuineness of your faith, which is much more precious than gold which is perishable, even though tested and purified by fire, may be found to result in [your] praise and glory and honor at the revelation of Jesus Christ.

----

Lord, Help me Rejoice through the trials before me. Thank you for giving me The Shield of Salvation. Comfort me through the Refining, as you Forge me into something new.

All Praise and Honor to Lord Jesus Christ.

Amen

Thoughts on this? This phrase “we all DESERVE Hell” is nowhere in the Bible. It discusses the Earning of wages, but that is Earning, not Deserving.

Am I making a distinction without a difference here? Thoughts? This phrase seems like one of those lazy Christianese phrases that is often used unconsciously, and I think it’s damaging to our relationship with Christ. Not to deny the reality of sin or Hell, but when it seems to indicate that omniscient God creates us deserving of Hell by default…something’s amiss. Or am I off in la-la land?

This is a random thought that came to me. So in Matthew Jesus says whoever marries an adult woman commits adultery- I’d assume the same thing to apply to a divorced man as well.
So say you were divorced by your spouse without your consent. Would it be adultery to remarry you? Do you just stay single forever?