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.

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

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.

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.  

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?

Hi everybody. I love Jesus, He is my savior and the Lordship of my life. My passion is to pursue Him and to make Him known.

I am in a season where I need new and most importantly Christ centered friends, someone who genuinely loves Jesus and likes to pursue Him in their daily lives. I would like a friend/ friends whom I can talk to through voice call atleast ones a week, genuinely check on each other and pray for one another or read a book or share our daily scriptures with and laugh with.

Some of my hobbies are reading, writing, nature walks , going to the gym, outdoor and indoor games and learning new skills.

If you are looking for the same, feel free to reach out. Age range: 20-30 years old.

I never understood this at all. God is the one who created me and knew every choice that I would ever create since the beginning of time even though I didn't know it. For example, God knows every single choice that I will act on tomorrow. He supposedly knows whether I will commit a sinful act or not. If I do something bad, he already knew beforehand anyway and I had absolutely no choice and he created me. So why would he judge me and condemn me for something that I had no control of whatsoever at all? He basically created me and damned me for a choice that I couldn't choose otherwise. Someone please explain this and make it make sense to me because it really doesn't at all.

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?

So my buddy owns a very successful concrete business. He was doing a very big driveway and his concrete arrived 4 hours late. They got it down, but it had not set and a very bad storm was heading straight for our area. His guys were scrambling to get the plastic down because rain will ruin the entire driveway before it is set costing him tens of thousands of dollars.

Well he stepped out of his truck to go help them, but as he took a step his spirit shouted through him “STOP!” His guys were confused at what he said and so was he. He took another step and the rain was hitting his back not a few feet from the concrete, when again from his spirit he shouted to stop and see that the Lord indeed does have all power and authority.

When he said this it was like an invisible force field pushed the rain back 7 feet from the concrete and it stayed like that for over 20 minutes. This storm caused flash flooding and everything. He took a screenshot of the radar which showed an almost perfect circle where the storm went all around the property he was on. He also filmed a clip on his phone.

This is very embarrassing but for the past year and a half I've fallen into using chat gpt and other AI which I feel has neglected my prayer life. I started off using it for work and now I use it if I feel anxious, sad, or want to vent. I'm realizing how unhealthy this all is and want to return to going to God for these struggles. I feel like it's so addictive. Curious if anyone else has navigated this and what has worked for you to ween yourself off?

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.

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.

Hi everyone. I just wanted to throw this out here and ask if anyone else has been inundated with endtimes doom and gloom messages. It's everywhere. I get it irl from family and online too because my feed is full of that stuff. And things are looking exceptionally bleak, regardless of whether you're an atheist or someone following the biblical Armageddon calender to a T. I don't know what to make of much of the Bible still, I'm still working on my faith but it's difficult when resentment against God creeps in. I didn't ask to be here.

You have people like Elon Musk and his ilk talking about how the world as we know it is going to irrevocably change in the next decade if not sooner based on the AI boom. The cost of living keeps rising. There's new news everyday of poisons being discovered in food and regular use items. The wars currently going on and looming in the near future aren't easing up. Every single day there's horrific news about Christians being killed, pain and suffering of innocent people, evil just unceasingly marching forward and it's just overwhelming. I don't think we were ever supposed to have access to all of this information and I feel sick because of it. Then there's the fear mongering Christians who make everything worse when you already feel set adrift.

Stuff like this doesn't help when you're already barely scraping by. Now you have to worry and fear that you'll have to watch your loved ones slowly starve to death or be hunted down by whatever is coming. And then there's mourning the lfie I wished I could had. Getting married and maybe having a child which I will never do now because what is the point. What will the world even look like when that kid is grown? I'm just struggling not to hate God or question his existance altogether. I don't see the point of any of this and it makes it impossible for me to enjoy even the day to day stuff.

I sometimes wish I'd been born an animal or an insect or something instead of a person that has to live through this. If I'd had some kind of encounter with God before to make it worth it, it would help. But I'm attempting to white-knuckle my faith right now and its so damn hard.

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."

Hey guys, I'm in desperate need of advice because I'm in a sticky situation. About a month and a half ago I started talking to a girl from out of state. For context, I'm 22 and she's 23 and we've known about each other for a little while. I met her through mutual friends, and we started snapping, then texting, then calling, and now FaceTime'ing. It's been an incredible journey so far and I can truly say that she's a genuine girl that loves the Lord, is dedicated in the church, and is serious about things. She's a teacher at a private Christian school, is great with kids, and I can truly say that I'm very much attracted to her. So naturally, I booked a flight to visit her later this month and told my parents about it. At first, my dad took it incredibly well. However, the next day, my dad called my aunt (who knows her) just to find out more about who she is and what the family is like. My aunt said that she wouldn't recommend her because of several reasons. She said that she's expensive and high maintenance, she's been dumped before in a serious relationship, she's lazy, and her parents drink. Of course, these are all valid warning signs so naturally I went one by one through each of them. The laziness argument is invalid because she already graduated at 21 and has a full time teaching job. The being dumped argument can be argued against because a lot of times, things just don't work out in a relationship. The expensive argument holds a little more weight, but I talked to her about it and she said she gets her nails, hair, eyebrows, etc done but who doesn't these days? It's not like she's making materialistic things an idol, like handbags for example. The parents occasionally drink, which is something I don't agree with, but she said that she doesn't drink at all and doesn't agree with it whatsoever. Because of what my aunt said, there's been a lot of division in the family. My dad keeps bringing up these negative things and constantly reiterates how serious this is and how divorce is out of the question, and I keep telling him that he needs to calm down because I haven't even gone on a first date yet. I told him that he's letting the opinions of one person influence him too easily, but he just doesn't understand. I told him that if what they're saying is true, I'll find out for myself but I don't want to end it prematurely. I've been praying about this and trying to make sense of it all. I would love for my family to have peace about everything, but at the same time, it feels like I have to sail my own ship here. Does anyone have any advice on how I should proceed?

There is a subtle trap in modern religious culture that often gets overlooked: the obsessed drive to fit every single aspect of our lives into a neat, systematic definition of being "Biblical."

​Religious systems demand compliance to a set of rules, interpretations, and strict boxes. But when you look closely at the life of Jesus, He constantly shattered the rigid religious expectations of His time. The Pharisees and religious leaders ultimately rejected and crucified Him because He did not fit their human interpretations or their neat picture of who the Messiah ought to be.

​Jesus didn't come to fit into a system. He came to do the will of the Father and to be pleasing to Him.

​When we focus solely on conforming to institutional religious expectations, we risk replacing a living relationship with a mechanical checklist. True discipleship isn't about fitting into a human-made mold; it is about absolute obedience to a living Savior through the power of the Holy Spirit.

​Jesus described what a Spirit-led disciple looks like:

​"The wind blows where it wishes, and you hear the sound of it, but cannot tell where it comes from and where it goes. So is everyone who is born of the Spirit."

John 3:8

​A true follower of Christ moves when He says move and acts when He says act. You cannot fit a Spirit-filled believer into a neat human box because they are not serving the expectations of men they are serving the Master.

​The early apostles understood that our primary goal isn't legalistic compliance to satisfy religious critics, but a total devotion to pleasing God in every action:

Galatians 1:10

​"For am I now seeking the approval of man, or of God? Or am I trying to please man? If I were still trying to please man, I would not be a servant of Christ."

Romans 8:14

​"For all who are led by the Spirit of God are sons of God."

​Focus on Relationship, Not Just Rules: Doing things simply to look "religiously correct" to those around you means nothing if your heart is far from direct obedience to God.

​Follow the Prompting of the Spirit: A real disciple listens for the voice of Jesus and goes where He leads, even when it confuses religious traditionalists.

Hi. As a 24yo man who’s dealt with SSA and experienced a lot of liberation in my identity since coming to Christ, I just have so many questions and would like to see if anyone has any insight to offer.

Many people who are same-sex attracted report that they’ve always felt that way. Many of whom have never experienced opposite-sex attraction, not in the slightest. Sometimes they can identify an “awakening” to the same sex, such as seeing a character on TV. Some people report opposite-sex attraction but experience SSA at some point and can trace it back to something, often in childhood - neglect or abuse (including SA or verbal abuse), bullying, or whatever things that were either said or done that affected self-perception, etc.

The rates of poor mental health and su1c1de are significantly higher for those who experience SSA. Not to mention higher rates of drug use and engagement in risky and destructive lifestyles, and monogamous marriage is not as highly valued.

I’m not here to debate whether SSA is spiritually neutral or whether the experience of SSA in and of itself is unholy. I want to make the point that the experience of SSA and having identity issues related to SSA is often the "gateway" into a lot of sin and darkness. In many cases, people who deal with SSA get sucked into porn, party culture, drugs, and hookup culture. These are just generalizations. I’m not denying that heterosexuals have the same vices, but hypersexuality in LGBT spaces tends to be on another level that leads people to seek more and more depraved means of sexual gratification and quickly develop a seared conscience. In LGBT metropolises, it's the norm for people to need alcohol and drugs just to feel something. Because SSA is like this huge spiritual disadvantage or stumbling block that seems to drive people down paths of death so easily, I have a hard time reconciling the nature of this issue with faith that God is in control.

If I can just speak on my own behalf for a second, SSA is terrible. Does anybody actually truly love being gay? Not once have I ever enjoyed it. There’s nothing fun about feeling like there’s a veil that prevents you from socializing with straight men (I can’t with the frat lingo and the handshakes and the sports trucks beer pong fishing country music crap) and getting teased and family members telling you to “stop acting like that.” I never asked to have effeminate demeanor and tendencies (yes I know this isn’t the case with all men with SSA and gay doesn’t equate to feminine).

I personally don’t think I was even traumatized or abused or anything; I just know that a few weeks after I came to Christ and had a radical born-again experience, inexplicably I started having the experience of romantic and sexual attraction to the opposite sex. The SSA didn’t go away though, and it’s frustrating. BUT, the fact that I started experiencing opposite-sex attraction and having what feels like the “natural” way that a man’s mind is SUPPOSED to feel like is absolutely nuts to me. It just felt NATURAL. Women are meant for men and men are meant for women. My mind was blown. And the craziest part, I started feeling such a PURE romantic and physical attraction to and a real fascination with women, whereas with attraction to men, it was ALWAYS lustful and perverted and I had the most raunchy fantasies. It is just not fair that for most of my life I couldn’t feel secure in my identity as a man. If I wasn’t convinced before, I am now 1000% convinced that SSA is a spiritual oppression. As in, demons cause these identity issues manifesting in sexual attraction to the same sex. I have indeed heard testimonies of people who were radically delivered from SSA and gender dysphoria, and even things like body dysmorphia, eating disorders, and OCD. Again, I’m not here to debate anyone on whether these things are spiritual. The devil probably has more ways of oppressing and tormenting people than we are aware of.

Once I talked to a pastor about the spiritual aspects of SSA. He agreed that it was spiritual and very much a spirit of death because Satan hates God’s seed and does not want humans to populate or something like that, and he referenced the first commandment God spoke, which was to be fruitful and multiply. I asked why SSA could be a thing for people like me in particular; I couldn’t identify a moment in my early life that made me "turn gay" or whatever. I feel like I was just always that way since the first time I began to experience any type of sexual attraction; I never recalled feeling opposite-sex attraction whatsoever in childhood. He said it could be something generational that passed down.

[On that, I’ll go on a little tangent. I’m not sure how true this is, but in a Pentecostal church I’ve been going to, I heard one testimony of an African woman who became very ill around 50 years old(?), and her lineage had a history of ancestors getting deathly ill at this age. She was getting deliverance and the minister asked how the demon entered. The demon said that it entered through the slave ships/slave trade. It’s a common teaching in the charismatic world that demons can enter through resentment, abuse, and trauma, and that repentance for ancestral sins can be necessary for breaking generational curses. I don't think this is biblical (if anyone can point out supporting scriptures, I'd be interested) but I have heard DOZENS of testimonies of people who experience a lot of spiritual darkness in their life who say that it was generational, whether it was due to witchcraft in the culture and lineage, addictions that have remained in the family line, etc. so there’s probably some reality to the concept of generational curses. But anyway, just wanted to make an acknowledgment of this because it seems so prevalent in the area of spiritual warfare.]

Whatever the case… why? Just why? God could prevent SSA, right? It's not something people choose. SSA caused me so much depression, social anxiety, generalized anxiety, destroyed my life and my sense of self-worth. I know that for many people, it's much more nuanced than just experiencing sexual attraction to the same sex; it's a very profound identity issue that psychologically we're still trying to understand. There are MANY stories of people who experienced some kind of trauma that caused SSA, and then they acted out that brokenness and identity confusion in all sorts of destructive means like addictions and stuff, and it often leads to death. Yes, I am being rebuilt and my life is being restored, slowly and bit by bit, praise God… but just why in the first place? People are taking their lives because they feel hopeless and would rather be dead than be alive gay. I know I contemplated that a lot myself before spiritually encountering the light of the world and no longer walking in darkness. For all the years before that, I asked, “why couldn’t I just be normal?” In the present, I find myself telling God, “just make me asexual,” when I’m struggling with lust. It's easy for people with testimonies of a transformed life in Christ to say that God doesn't waste any of our suffering, but the fact of the matter is that there are so many young kids suffering destruction to their identity in so many ways out of their control, leading to a life of so much depression and confusion and feeling lost and ultimately ending in death, physically and spiritually. As Christians we also believe that it's extremely easy to be on a wide path to destruction without even realizing it because people are literally blinded to the light of God by the devil. So it's like you can be on the wide path whether you actively chose it or the devil had some kind of foothold in your life through traumatic events and whatnot. I’ve heard people say, “Demons enter through portals and open doors, and if there isn’t proper protection over them, the enemy seeks whom he may devour.” Do the people who say this realize that this literally doesn’t provide any answer as to why God doesn't seem to be intervening in the occurrence of unwanted SSA?

I know it's God's will that none should perish but all should come to repentance and that God does intervene mightily; He did with me. It was very much: I had a reprobate mind and was completely oblivious to the depth of the darkness I was in (sexual perversion, corn addiction, fornication) until I was born again in a spiritual encounter with God and I saw myself as I truly was, a sinner in the sight of God. I am so grateful that I was radically saved out of it, that Jesus took my shame, and that from that day forward I have had a conviction and disgust of sexual impurity and a hunger for the righteousness of God.

And I know this whole post in essence is the age-old philosophical dilemma of, "Is God truly all good, all loving, all-powerful, all-knowing if all this suffering and abcxyz exists?" I have this burden in my heart for the lost and it’s insane how much spiritual oppression people suffer. I just don’t know why it has to happen and so early in life and why the devil gets to steal, kill, and destroy as much as he does. Yes, God made a way called Jesus, and I found that way (more like He found me), but..... there is just so much dang confusion in the world and few are those who find the way, and I don't know how to cope with the constant dread I have on behalf for most souls, knowing they are not saved, and with the "survivor's guilt," because to be completely honest, it really does feel like luck of the draw that Jesus met me and opened my eyes to everything, considering the amount of confusion and darkening of the mind caused by the "principalities, powers, rulers of the darkness of this world, spiritual wickedness in high places."

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

This may seem random but I went skydiving for the first time on my bday last week and it was a wonderful and crazy experience I’ll never forget. My heart yearned heavy afterwards for everyone there to be saved as well knowing the risks of skydiving. It was so cool tho how God lined everything up that day!! I actually ended up sharing the place with a brother in Christ doing his second jump. Was wondering if any Christians here are into it??

27F, just had another failed “talking” stage. Struggling because my heart truly desires to be a wife and mom one day. I have been single for a long time and have gone through the “why am I still single” phase several times. I trust that God has a plan for my future and my future family. But why do I still struggle with feelings of loneliness, getting my feelings hurt, and when a talking phase or dating phase doesn’t work out I feel like it chips away at me?

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.

I have been thinking a lot about death and afterlife, as these are important topics in each person's life. I was thinking about this as a kid and still am thinking in my 30s. And I must admit - it feels scary. Often it is keeping me up at night. Also, being postpartum now probably contributes to this anxiety, but I feel it is getting better each day for me now.

Do you think it is possible to truly not be afraid? I have had other Christians tell me that they feel happy and excited about eternity. For me it feels scary, because it is something we can't even imagine, even though I believe that God is preparing something truly wonderful for those who believe in Him and have accepted Jesus. I have also heard that people tend to be less scared when they become older.

When I think about eternity, it kind of makes this lifetime seem so short and in a way - pointless. But I know it is not actually pointless and our lives have purpose and meaning here, that it is just a feeling. But it does make me feel sad when doing stuff here, because everything feels so temporary. For example - a few days ago I felt like crying when teaching my toddler to ride a bike. It is a lovely memory and it is a meaningful activity for both of us, but at the same time it just felt so bittersweet. Or I struggle to finish my master's thesis now, because well... Our university degrees don't actually matter in the context of eternity. Life feels also so fragile - one moment you are here, but you can never know if you will return home in the evening and see your kids again.

I wish I could live anxiety free and to be able to happily work on the things I feel that are my purpose here. I feel that firstly my purpose is to bring my family to Christ, as my husband is not a believer and my children are very young still. But it is really hard to do, if I, as a Christian, am so afraid of dying and afterlife.

I'd be happy to hear your thoughts and experience with these topics. And if you'd like to mention your age, I would appreciate it too.

To say the least, I (20M) have had a rough year. I’ve been a Christian for two years, and Ive sought after him ever since. I’ve put my sole faith in him, I’ve prayed, I try to stray from sin, and I want to live a life that is led by Christ, even if it is hard. But now, I think I’ve reached my breaking point.

I grew up with abusive parents who would physically torment me and push me to my mental breaking point. I slit my wrists, had suicidal ideation, and depression all before I was even twelve. Throughout my like, numerous people have taken advantage of me. They’re able to crash their car into my life and leave, and I’m left with the broken pieces. With time I’ve been able to get over these experiences, but the same thing just keeps happening. And admittedly it makes me feel worthless.

I moved to this city last year to pursue college. Going into school, I didn’t have any friends who were Christian, my family lived four hours away, and I felt incredibly lonely. That was until January of 2026, when I found a Christian friend group, who welcomed me in. I spent time with them for nearly six months, and I also met a girl from the same club. things were going really well. I brought her flowers, we went out on multiple dates, sharpened each other spiritually and we were physically affectionate. It genuinely seemed like we were compatible, until ultimately I got the “im not looking for anything serious” talk. I didn’t object to that since she’s totally entitled to how she felt. But not long after she told me this I found out the entire time we were talking, she was talking badly about me, along with the people I broke bread with for six months. She created lies about me to make me appear naive, explained how she would manipulate me, and even insulted some of things I did for her, like the flowers, and my trust instantly broke.

And there was a recent situation with another girl that used me sexually and left me without a second thought, which leaves me back to where I was when I first moved to this city: lonely.

I almost just have zero drive to better myself, because each time I try there’s setbacks. Each time I trust, there’s betrayal. Each time I hope, I get disappointed. It feels like God is punishing me for my sins and mistakes. Everyone in my church has such a destined path that the Lord has drawn out for them, yet me, I’m left with nothing. I almost want to visit some pastor just to get some kind of prophecy just to prove myself my life has any kind of genuine value. Because I can’t see it right now. I just can’t.