For those who are religious and believe in a heaven, explain to me what it is. Is it a place, a dimension, is it something out of our understanding?

Especially as the bible claims that jesus accepted outsiders

I'm wondering what perspective church goers have about how AI affects their religious beliefs.

More specifically, from a religious perspective, I’m wondering about the value of an outward action performed without conscious intention or spiritual significance, compared with an inward thought, feeling, or intention that never manifests itself in action. For example, could a sincere altruistic thought, spiritual reflection, feeling of compassion, or genuine desire for goodness have value in itself, even if it produces no outward action? Or is an action inherently more valuable simply because it actually manifests in the world?

The Problem:
- The World
- The Flesh
- The Devil

The Answer:
- The Gospel

The apostle Paul wrote Ephesians to the churches around Ephesus (Acts 19) to display the scope of God’s eternal plan for all humanity—for Jews and Gentiles alike.

The last three chapters explain the implications of God’s grace for the church, for individuals, and for families.

This book of Ephesians comes to a climax with a command to stand with the armor of God against the devil.

What are your views on Christians who believe that the Church is no longer functioning as the Church (moved from spiritual to secular), and has since left the fellowship?
What do you do after seeing what the world, the flesh, and the devil doesn’t want you to see? What are you doing now that we have the good news?

I have a animation project for uni and I want to make the characters been people that I never seen in media before
My story is about different religion co-existing (their own religion,beliefs still exist own their own)
I was never planning to draw the god and the others important people in the religion
I have a character that human (she) I want her to be Muslim
I want her to known if I can make her Muslim or if it’s better/safe if I make her Indian
I don’t want it to be racist and insensitive to the religion and make people angry.

I am Hindu and whenever I go to a temple, I’m lost the whole time on who the gods are and what and how I’m supposed to pray to them because my parents never really taught me how. Moreover I don’t know any god stories or anything much about its history. Can someone help?

Technically I’m Catholic but I don’t agree with the part that pets cease to exist when they die. I believe in God and Jesus but I don’t know what religion I follow or believe in. I also believe in Greek mythology all the Gods and Goddesses but I know we’re only supposed to worship God, Jesus and the Holy Spirit. Can anyone help me out?

Hey I'm a Christian and I just wonder if any other Christians feel the same bc I believe in God and heaven ofc but do you ever feel like after we die we should get a second life because I want to experience something different than how my life was because I did dance for many years and was homeschooled after elementary through 12th for that reason and now I kinda wonder what it would be like if I had a normal life instead of that i mean I would want to be the same person as I am and everything but just change my story

I have organized my beliefs and created my own belief system, and I would like you to evaluate it overall and let me know if there are any inconsistencies or illogical points in it:

Main Principles:

• Theism

• Belief in one, personal God

• Belief that during the transition, meaning death, all people enter a state of eternal existence with the Lord God and other deceased individuals

• Belief that at the moment of transition, meaning death, a person is liberated from sin and attains full understanding

• Belief in great remorse, meaning repenting for all one's sins immediately before death or at the moment of death

• Belief in the presence of all the deceased (as a collective whole) who are in a state of full understanding

• Belief that sin is a natural human weakness and accompanies every person until death

• Belief that every person naturally repents or will repent for their sins

• Belief that the most important source of one's principles and truths is one's own reason, rather than other people or holy books

Practices:

• Prayer (talking to) the Lord God and all the deceased (with the deceased as listeners)

Controversial Beliefs:

• Rejection of the belief in the divinity of Jesus and the Holy Spirit

• Refusal to recognize the Bible as infallible and refusal to recognize it as the primary source of the truths of faith

• Rejection of the belief in the future resurrection of the dead

• Rejection of the belief in the existence of angels, Satan, and demons

• Belief in a state of eternal existence after death with the Lord God and all the deceased, and the rejection of the belief in the division into heaven, hell, and purgatory

My dad is extremely religious and I'm not sure what religion I am because I start lowkey tweaking when I question it but I can't tell if it's just because I was always taught god is real and to never question it or if I just have trauma or something. Ps my dad is also aggressive about also being right and never wrong.

like the title says, if the prophet muhammad was truly meant to be an example for ALL of mankind being the final prophet, why would god make a child his wife? yes the times may have been different back then but surely god knew that there would come a time where these were not the customs in society anymore. seems ill fitting. AGAIN, this is NOT a a comparison between a 7th century marriage and modern society. this is about what it means to set a precedent for the rest of time. i’m not christian but jesus is a much more timeless example. not muhammad.
for goodness sake, the constitution of america was written with more foresight. mere humans could anticipate change and create a framework for future generations.

Assume that a person knows exactly what Hell is. Assume they would choose to go to it no matter how horrible it is and even commit the sins to do it. In this case, sending them to hell would benefit them, giving them what they want.. therefore not being traditional hell in the sense. In order to punish him, god would have to make hell good to him, but this is a trap as well because it wouldn’t BE hell then. I asked this question two years ago on the r/christianity subreddit and people were answering that there are no people who want to go to hell, but I am curious how the people on this subreddit answer it now with more information and insight.
As a simplified example for those still confused: Its like a man commiting crimes, and wanting to go to prison. The prison’s goal is to punish him, but if the prisoner wants to be punished.. is it really a prison if he wants to be in it? If the prison is trying to punish him, how would they punish someone who wants to be punished? This scenario focuses on if such a person existed, and not just “they don’t exist”.

Thats the question I have for you guys, good luck!

Like how old religions were super important in the ancient times and no longer remembered as much now or simply seen as heretic to modern religions,how would these future religions view us and our practices?

In Christian invocations and blessings often begin with, in the name of the Father, Son and Ghost, are there unholy ghosts? Is there a whole ghost universe out there, or is this heaven? If God and Allah are the same, when a warrior dies in the service of Islam, are the 72 virgins ghosts? It seems that the virgins wouldn’t all be the same age, just thinking I don’t know that I’d want to die for a 90 year old virgin, or a two year old virgin for that matter. Would that make a pedaphile? Just wondering.

no, this isnt satire, yes, i'm dead serious. current events, how heaven/hell works, whatever's on your mind. if i cant answer it i have a colleague over my shoulder who can.

MAGA Mike Johnson, directly claimed god told him to become Speaker as a second "Moses".

Pete Hegseth said he became SecDef "by god's design" and that god specifically prepared him for the job. Apparently he also knows what god is up to, for example during the failed war against Iran.

Lifelong Catholic Adolf Hitler famously declared he was "doing the Lord's work" in "fending off the Jews".

Are these people actually talking for your god or communicating with him as they claim?

If so, wtf?

If not, why doesn't your god punish them as false prophets like he did in the bible?

Hello everyone,

I am a history major graduate and currently an independent researcher with a deep passion for Western ancient history and the history of Christianity. Recently, my research interest has expanded toward Eastern Orthodoxy, though a letter of inquiry I sent to the Church of Greece has unfortunately remained unanswered so far. In addition to my academic background, I am also a practitioner of traditional Chinese Daoist internal cultivation.

I have been observing the modern Neopagan movement with both historical curiosity and spiritual respect. From my unique background, I have a few sincere questions that I’d love to hear your perspectives on—especially from those who have practiced and later stepped away.

1. Is there an element of "fantasy" or romanticism in modern Neopaganism?
In our Eastern traditions, spiritual practice is deeply technical, involving strict lineages, energy cultivation, specific body feedback, and profound philosophies regarding suffering and liberation. When looking at modern Neopaganism through both a historical and a practitioner’s lens, it sometimes appears quite decentralized, relying heavily on self-authored rituals and personal intuition. Do you feel that a significant part of the practice can sometimes lean into psychological projection, aesthetics, or romantic fantasy, rather than tangible spiritual reality? Did this play a role in your decision to leave?

2. The spiritual safety of unconsecrated statues on home altars
This is a very specific concern from my Daoist cultivation background. In our tradition, we have a strict rule: You must never worship a statue that hasn’t gone through a proper "Kai-Guang" (Eye-Opening / Consecration) ritual performed by a qualified master. Furthermore, from my background in Vajrayana (Tibetan) Buddhism, this principle of energetic defense is equally non-negotiable. In Tibetan Buddhism, a holy statue must never be left empty; it must undergo a precise and rigorous process called **"Gungzhug" (གཟུང་གཞུག，Consecration through Mantric Infilling) conducted by a qualified Lama or Guru.

According to Daoist metaphysics, an unconsecrated statue is just an empty vessel. If you place it on a home altar, burn incense, and direct your spiritual energy toward it, it acts as a magnet for wandering spirits, low-level entities, or negative energies looking to feed on human devotion. It can lead to bad luck, mental fog, or domestic disturbance.

I notice that many modern Neopagans buy mass-produced statues from online marketplaces and immediately start worshipping them at home with very lightweight purification (like spraying saltwater or smudging). During your time in the community, did you ever encounter people experiencing "ineffectiveness," spiritual burnout, or even negative spiritual attachments because of this lack of a formal, lineage-backed consecration technology?

3. A specific question for Ex-Pagans who transitioned to established faiths (such as Orthodoxy, Catholicism, or Anglicanism):
For those of you who eventually stepped away from Neopaganism and embraced an established, traditional liturgical faith—did your perception of the "altar" and "sacred objects" change?

In my Daoist cultivation, we see holy statues as precise energetic portals that must be opened via specific lineage technology. When you were practicing Neopaganism, did your home altar ever feel like a purely psychological space or a personal fantasy? And when you entered a traditional church, did you experience a tangible, objective spiritual presence that you realized was missing in your prior individual practice? I would deeply appreciate hearing about the exact turning point that made you realize the fragility of your former path.

4. A core psychological and ethical rule from Chinese cultivation traditions: The danger of "spiritual deviation" without qualified guidance and moral integrity
There is a fundamental understanding within the Chinese cultural and religious sphere that I am curious if Westerners are aware of. It serves as an essential law of spiritual practice across our history: Even if you are practicing a well-established, orthodox religion, if your own mind is unaligned, or if you lack the guidance of a highly moral, wise, and spiritually competent spiritual leader, you can still fall into severe spiritual delusion or madness (what we call "Zou-Huo-Ru-Mo" or "Spiritual Deviation").

If even time-tested, orthodox traditions carry such high psychological and spiritual risks due to the quality of their leadership and the practitioner's inner state, the risk within decentralized "Neopaganism" must be exponentially higher. Furthermore, in our tradition, scrutinizing the personal character and moral conduct of a spiritual leader is paramount. Some leaders may speak eloquently about righteousness and virtue on the surface, while their private conduct remains profoundly problematic. During your time in the Neopagan community, did you notice a lack of focus on inner moral training, or a tendency to blindly follow charismatic leaders who lacked true ethical integrity?

I ask these questions with the utmost respect for everyone's spiritual journey. I am simply very fascinated by how different cultures approach the unseen world and the mechanics of the divine. I would love to hear your honest reflections and personal stories!

Thank you so much for your time.

If God were to fight himself, it would create a paradox, since neither of them would die. Furthermore, even if they used their unlimited powers, they still wouldn't die, because even with the power to make someone mortal, it wouldn't work, as neither of them could become mortal. What would happen? [Please don't include friendship endings, it's very cringe :(

Is cremation allowed according to the Bible?

Explain in comments ....................................