Hi, my faith is being tested for months now and I’m strugling 🥹 Can you share your story on how God showed up in your life and made you realize that God is real 🥹

Text me needing advice

 For Black American Christians particularly Black American Christian women who are single ( all christians are welcomed to respond though). How do you find a church or space where you feel you belong. I have not been to church since I was 18 or 19 years old. I am in my early 30s now single mother and unmarried.

What I would like out of a church is a community that supports me. An older woman I can receive guidance and counsel from. A church that is grounded in what the bible says but is not religious example women must wear head coverings. I also want to be told when I am wrong and corrected with grace and love.

I have this fear of exposing myself to new people just to be disliked or shunned. I know not everyone will like me and I'm learning to stop having fear of man. The churches around me seem to all be quite segregated they are either mostly/ all white people or mostly/ all black people. I'm wondering has anyone else like me felt this way? I really desire a relationship with God's people no matter skin color, or nationality. I just feel too often as a Black woman who is a single mom I get placed in a box and quickly dismissed. I'm not looking for a step dad for my son. Sure, that would be nice if it ever happens but it's not my focus. 

  I really want community and good godly relationships with people who can counsel, guide, correct and love me as their sister in christ. I want my son to see great examples of Godly men in the church and be able to make friends with other believers. I don't want a female dominated church. Good godly masculine men are important and needed along with good godly feminine women. 

 The church I grew up in was female dominated and there was lots of sass. The men in that church were more like staff and you hardly saw them take any leadership positions. My parents marriage was mostly dominated by mom. My dad always had final say but my mother was still very loud, proud and demanding. While my father was a meek man, provided and was no doubt head of house in our eyes. Just saying all this to give some of my background. 

  This is a very long post. Thank you if you got to the end. If my question got lost, I'm looking for a church home and how to go about doing that pretty much. All thoughts and advice are welcomed.

"What I am saying, brothers, is that the time is short. From now on those who have wives should live as if they had none; those who weep, as if they did not; those who are joyful, as if they were not; those who make a purchase, as if they had nothing; and those who use the things of this world, as if not dependent on them. For this world in its present form is passing away."

St Paul issued a bunch of guidance in Corinthians believing the end of world was about to come. If St Paul had known it wasn't, do you think he would have offered different opinions? St Paul gives quite a conservative view of certain things i.e. a women continuing to cover their heads (which was the norm for pagan Corinthians, and since Paul is having to comment on the matter, we can maybe guess some women Christians in Corinth were not covering their heads?) But if Paul knew that God wasn't about to come back and fix everything, maybe he would have offered different advice? In the Gospels (written after Paul's epistles) there's much more information about how Jesus wants us to treat other people, with Luke talking about the Kingdom of God being within us, suggesting we can make the Kingdom of God on Earth, we don't just have to wait for God to fix things. By the time the Gospel of Luke was written Christians may have started to lose faith that the end of the world was coming very soon, you see this in Peter's epistles too.

Lately I've been researching the Bible in secret from my atheist parents and I'm trying to do as much as I can for Christ, any tips?

I was told daily I have demons, and my spouse continually drilled that into my mind trying to brainwash me. He wouldn’t let me work or let me drive. He accused me of leeching off of him. I went into a psych ward twice because of him, and to beat it all this man goes around pastoring.

But you know what, when he told me to leave which he did many times to see me breakdown and beg him to stay. I chose to leave & a little while later he said he was sorry and wanted me to return. He said as my head, I am required to return to him.

You know what I did? I said NO, and I didn’t go back to him. I got me a job working 40 hours a week and I haven’t been to the psych ward once away from my abuser.

But I want to tell all of this who may be in the same situation of being spiritually abused. God is LOVE, and he doesn’t want you in a situation where you’re miserable, unhappy, and treated badly. I don’t know what god my husband serves, but it is not Jesus Christ.

Why does it always feel like pastors mock trans people? I understand that some may not agree with being trans, but why does it have to lead to jokes or mocking? It doesn’t seem like something Jesus would have done. He treated everyone with compassion, like the woman at the well. Shouldn’t we as Christian’s love others like Jesus did instead of just making jokes at a minorities expense shouldn’t we fully love someone even if we disagree with them ? :(

^(Matthew 5:17) “Do not think that I have come to abolish the law or the prophets; I have come not to abolish but to fulfill. ^(18) For truly I tell you, until heaven and earth pass away, not one letter, not one stroke of a letter, will pass from the law until all is accomplished.

From what I understand, the law is unchanging, and it holds true for all ages. Why don't we follow the laws in the Old Testament, like:

Leviticus:

• Don’t eat animals with split hooves (11:4–7).
• Don’t eat animals that don’t have fins and scales (11:9–10).
• Don’t mate two different kinds of animals (19:19).
• Don’t plant two different kinds of seed in your field (19:19).
• Don’t wear clothing made from two different types of fabric (19:19).
• Don’t trim off hair at your temples (19:27).
• Don’t trim your beard (19:27).

Also:

• Kill Burglars at Night Only
  • If a thief is killed during the night, there is no guilt. But killing them during the day is murder.
  • Exodus 22:1-3
• Don’t Boil a Baby Goat in its Mother’s Milk
  • A prohibition, possibly against cruelty or pagan practices.
  • Exodus 23:19; Exodus 34:26; Deuteronomy 14:21
• Don’t Eat Certain Types of Fat
  • Fat around internal organs (e.g., kidney fat) is for God and shouldn’t be eaten.
  • Leviticus 3:17
• Don’t Sit Where Someone on Their Period Has Sat
  • A menstruating woman is considered unclean, and anything she sits on also becomes unclean.
  • Leviticus 15:19-21
• Leave Dropped Grapes for the Poor
  • Grapes that fall during harvest should be left for the poor and foreigners.
  • Leviticus 19:9-10
• Don’t Mix Fabrics
  • Clothes made from mixed fibers (like wool and linen) are prohibited.
  • Leviticus 19:19
• Don’t Trim Your Temples or Beard
  • Avoid cutting the hair around your temples or trimming your beard edges.
  • Leviticus 19:27
• Disabled Priests Can’t Approach the Altar
  • Priests with physical impairments are barred from performing offerings.
  • Leviticus 21:16-23
• Drink Bitter Water to Test for Adultery
  • A suspected adulteress could be subjected to a trial involving drinking holy water mixed with dust.
  • Numbers 5:11-31
• Destroy Entire Cities for Idol Worship
  • Cities worshiping other gods must be entirely destroyed, including inhabitants and animals.
  • Deuteronomy 13:12-18
• Don’t Grab a Man’s Genitals in a Fight

  • A woman defending her husband by grabbing an opponent’s genitals should have her hand cut off.

  • Deuteronomy 25:11-12

If we ditch the Old Testament entirely, why should we follow any good law that the book has?

• The Ten Commandments (Exodus 20:1–17, Deuteronomy 5:6–21):
  • Worship only God (Exodus 20:3).
  • Do not worship idols (Exodus 20:4-6).
  • Do not misuse God’s name (Exodus 20:7).
  • Keep the Sabbath holy (Exodus 20:8-11).
  • Honor your parents (Exodus 20:12).
  • Do not murder (Exodus 20:13).
  • Do not commit adultery (Exodus 20:14).
  • Do not steal (Exodus 20:15).
  • Do not bear false witness (Exodus 20:16).
  • Do not covet (Exodus 20:17).
• Laws of Justice and Mercy:
  • Do not spread false reports or side with the wicked (Exodus 23:1–2).
  • Return a lost animal to your enemy (Exodus 23:4).
  • Do not take bribes (Exodus 23:8).
• Rules About Love and Compassion:
  • Love your neighbor as yourself (Leviticus 19:18).
  • Treat foreigners as your own and love them (Leviticus 19:34).
  • Help the poor by leaving part of your harvest for them (Leviticus 19:9–10).
• Honesty and Fairness:
  • Do not use dishonest weights and measures (Leviticus 19:35–36).
  • Pay workers on time (Leviticus 19:13; Deuteronomy 24:14–15).
  • Do not oppress the weak or disadvantaged (Exodus 22:22–24).
• Sexual Morality:
  • Do not commit incest, bestiality, or other sexual sins (Leviticus 18:6–23).
  • Avoid impurity and immorality, including adultery and fornication (Leviticus 20:10–21).
• Respect for Life and Property:
  • Do not murder or harm others intentionally (Exodus 21:12–14).
  • Respect others’ property (Exodus 22:1–15).
  • Return stolen goods and make restitution (Exodus 22:1-4).
• Family and Marital Conduct:
  • Honor your father and mother (Exodus 20:12).
  • Keep vows made to God or others (Numbers 30:2).
  • Protect the sanctity of marriage (Exodus 20:14; Deuteronomy 22:13–30).
• Prohibitions Against Oppression and Injustice:
  • Do not mistreat or oppress foreigners, widows, or orphans (Exodus 22:21–22).
  • Do not pervert justice or show favoritism (Deuteronomy 16:19).
• Dietary and Purity Laws Related to Holiness:
  • Do not eat blood or certain unclean animals (Leviticus 11:1–47; Leviticus 3:17).
  • Avoid unclean practices (Leviticus 19:19).
• Commands of Restitution:
  • Repay what is stolen or damaged (Exodus 22:1–15).
  • Care for borrowed or entrusted property (Exodus 22:10–13).
• Other Moral Precepts:
  • Avoid vengeance and grudges (Leviticus 19:18).
  • Act with kindness, mercy, and humility (Micah 6:8).

I’m an atheist and I do a podcast with my Catholic cohost. Each month I try to do a list episode and this month it’s 10 stupid question for Christianity. I was just curious to see how other Christians would answer these questions?

1. If Grendel and his mother are said to be descendants of Cain doesn’t that mean you believe in Beowulf? (This is meant to be a backwards version of an atheist counterpoint regarding the historicity of the Bible, New York and some marvel characters, usually Spider-Man)
2. If the devil really makes monkey paw deals with Americans why hasn’t notary ever confirmed his existence? We Americans have been known for being a litigious people since this nation’s founding. (I’m aware this is concerning Christian folklore not actual Theology. Though there really are people that believe celebrities and politicians make deals with the devil.)
3. Does Yahweh bleed ichor? (I just thought it was a ridiculous sounding question. Pretty sure 99.999% of Christians would say no.)
4. Have you ever seen two wolves give birth to a Chihuahua? Because that’s basically what rapid speciation implies. (My cohost isn’t a Young Earth Creationist but when else am I ever going to have a chance to ask this question?)
5. What if Catholicism is the correct religion BUT we’re soulless bits of data running on a computer simulation created by some sweaty dude in his mom’s basement? (Two things can be true.)
6. If there was a draft, shouldn’t people who believe in heaven have a moral obligation to serve before people who don’t believe in any afterlife? (More stupid or more disgusting. You be the judge.)
7. I know the whole Thomistic case for an uncaused creator but what is the problem with an infinite chain of ever more powerful creators gods? We’d still be the subjects of Yahweh regardless of whether or not he’s got his own, more powerful creator god and wouldn’t that be all that really matters?
8. Imagine a man born Robert Roberts. In his early years, his family calls him Bobby, all the friends he knows through his life know him as Bobby and his tombstone reads Bobby Roberts. I think it would be fair to say that real name was Bobby, not Robert. In that sense, at what point does Yahweh stop being a substitute name and slips into the true name of God? (I’ve read a lot of old and modern mysticism about the power of names. I don’t believe it but the internal logic of such beliefs seem to dictate that being known without being named can be extremely powerful. From that POV this is a stupid question.)
9. To a Christian, shouldn’t death only be a tragedy if you believe the deceased are going to hell? (A basic understanding of human nature is all the reason you need to explain why this is a stupid question.)
10. What kind of all powerful god needs a nap? (God was setting a symbolic example for humanity, God’s decisions are beyond our comprehension, ect. I’ve heard all the answers I just wanted to ask a cheeky question.)

So I'm a gay atheist and I was just wondering. Are Christians for or against LGBTQ. (Don't be mad I'm an atheist)

I’ve always believed in God ever since I was a child. But as I grow up I’m starting to grow farther and farther away from God.

Ever since I was a kid I didn’t really stand out much. All my friends are good at something, one is an artist, one is an athlete, and one is about to finish med school. Then there’s me I really don’t have any special talents, even tho I work hard to be good at something I’m sort of just average. Not really good at sports, arts or academics. I’m basically a failure at everything I do.

My dad always tells me that God has plans for everyone. But I’m starting to give up on the idea. These past couple months I’ve been thinking how nothing in my life ever goes right, even though I pray to God everyday, waiting and trusting in Him that one day I will be happy and successful at something.

What hurts the most is my friends don’t believe in God. I’m the only religious one in the group but their lives are way better than me. It’s not fair how I’m here trusting in Him, being faithful, and putting all my love for Him, while other people who don’t believe him at all have better lives than me.

I don’t wanna give up on God. I don’t like having these thoughts on how God is never there for me so why should I keep doing it?

I need to rekindle and restart my faith. I am asking for some recommendations on the best devotional plans in the You Version Bible app. I have felt lost spiritually for a long time now.

Thanking you all in advance.

I'm deformed; I have a pretty big mole that offsets my other features. I tried the church before but only had one friend that I "bought". I feel like everyone else outcasts me just because I'm ugly. Would you recommend a church to someone who's ugly?

Okay so my family are atheists and I'm Christian and I'm interested in getting a Bible somehow but my parents can't know about it they are very against Christianity I don't have money or a car so I can't go anywhere and I can't walk I live in a place that's like far away from the city. If there's like an app that's free that anyone knows of please help me out. :)

Ok, so the Muslims have the Quran, Christian’s with the Bible, etc… but can somebody please tell me where to a buy an atheist handbook? I see people pointing out the same questions over and over after many Christians explain it either in public with them being present, on video based media, even in forums or places like Reddit. How can they all ask the same questions without already having the answer right in front of them?

A person who wants to convert to Christianity from Hindu has to go through a lot of trouble due to the anti-conversion laws in many states. Please, if you can pray for us here in India, it will be so helpful!

Hi. Few days ago I had a problem with creating an Apple ID account. And I had to chat with the apple support to fix the problem , so they asked me twice to provide them with My full name and lied both times, Of course At that time I didn't care lol but now I feel like ahhh I shouldn't have lied. And I'm literally decided to not using that account. What is your thought? Is it a sin?

Thanks in advance.

Hi all, curious non-christian here. I'm sure this is a very commonly asked question so feel free to redirect me to another post.

What's the biblical reason provided for god's lack of interference since the old testament?

Is it that God created Jesus to spread his word and then relied on that going forward, allowing humans to keep their agency etc?

It seems strange that he'd order the destruction of evil cities for their incest and beastiality and so on, when places like the U.S exist that were founded by Christians, but started by slaughtering lots of the natives, then kidnapped thousands of Africans - providing them with redacted bibles - bastardising the word of god - to get them to conform with the slavery, and now many countries of different faiths have nuclear weapons - for which the purpose is mass murder of civilians, and have already been used. I'd also be quite certain that the evil things like incest and beastiality also occur more than I'd like to think around the world and specifically in largely Christian countries like America. Our species has also hunted many of God's other species to extinction, whilst deforesting acres per day destroying habitats and nature.

What's the reason given that God doesn't intervene now when he did before? It seems a bit odd to me.

I woke up at 1am and expected myself to go back to sleep but I just kept overthinking and overthinking about the same situation. It got to a point where I just started praying because I know God wakes us up as a warning.

I just started praying about my siblings wedding that is Approaching. There is allot of red flags about this wedding. I soon started to imagine myself casting out the demon of the person they are getting married to. I then asked the demon (the person my sibling is getting married to) what their name was. And IMMEDIATELY a name popped up in my head. A name I have never heard of thought of or know any one of that name.

I tried over and over to go to sleep but there was just a nudge to keep praying and calling that name to cast it out. And all I can do is imagine praying over my sibling and there significant other also my 5yr old Nephew that is showing signs that there is something spiritual going on In the household. I felt my spirit man in me praying and tried to hold in my cry. I felt so many emotions spiritually. It felt real and I was not sleep/dreaming.

I come from a very religious family both my parents are ministers BUT I am an over thinker BUT I am also anointed by God and there are plenty of times God has given my signs to do something. So I don’t know if my mind was just playing tricks on me and overthinking or if this is a warning of some sort?

Should I talk to my mom about it? I just don’t want to seem silly when I say it out loud. Do you think this is just a fake senecio I made up in my head?

Thank you guys Sorry if I’m just being dramatic or delusional.

I cant really understand what my boyfriend feels because I grew up in a church but my bf keeps bringing this one point that even if he does everything right, he even tries to talk to Jesus but in the end, growing up non-believer how do you start believing truly in your heart since he believes in science and worldly things? I really would like to have input especially from people who were once non-believers.

My partner and I had children out of wedlock before I found Jesus. We have been together for 10 years, but I have found myself very unhappy. I am far from my family and expected to spend a lot of time with his, but they have caused a riff in our relationship. His mother is very rude to me and my partner doesn’t stand up to her about it. I feel alone in the relationship and anytime I try to discuss my feelings he gets upset and guilts me. I don’t know what to do but I don’t want to go against God by leaving.

Hi to you all, I have for all my life had the problem with pride, I recently went to the discovery that failing God and falling for numerous sins is because of pride, and now I want to find a way to beat it and be more humble. Does someone have any insight or ideas on how the battle is fought and won? Thanks, and may God be with you all ☦️🙌

My girlfriend isn’t a christian, I sort of am, I’m not a good person but I wanna work on it.

Anyways, she says she’s felt judged in church and I want to explain that it’s not like that at other churches, which she went to church with me and didn’t feel judged.

I’m really tryna explain to her about how God is good and loving. Could use some help with talking about this sorta stuff.

I am 14 and I became Christian by choice and no one in my family is religious in any way whatsoever but i am so scared that im doing everything wrong and i have no one to talk to about any fear or doubts so i am here. Also i am so scared of the end coming and i feel like i am not close enough with God and im scared i’m going to go to hell. Im scared of my mother and family going to hell too because i love them so much but they wont listen to me and won’t turn to God. Someone help me please.

Hello everyone! I'm a Christian who lives in Illinois and I just need a second to rant and ask some questions.

It is honestly disappointing the amount of distrust and hostility many Christians have towards science. It Is incredibly sad to see people dedicate their lives toward work (ie: Charles Darwin) and get dismissed as a lie/untruth when they have evidence.

I have always had an incredibly vast and large affinity and interest for science. Personally, my largest interests have been biology and astronomy.

First off, I do believe in the theory of evolution and that the universe is billions of years old. Not only is there irrefutable evidence that it is incredibly old, not just the universe but the Earth we walk on, but the statement that God created the universe and Earth in 6 days at the beginning of Genesis is incredibly subjective.

First off, the Bible is full of metaphors and different interpretations of texts. One thing that is usually unchanging, however, is that God is is an unchanging, powerful being. The definition of a day to him could be millions or billions of years to us.

Two, Genesis mentions Humans (Thats us!) were created last in the order of things. The order in which God creates Plants and Fish and Animals all aligns in the order in which they would have evolved and has been observed within the fossil record.

On the mention of fossil records, you can literally see that organisms are changing over time. Hell, you even see it within humans for goodness sake.

Example being the people in the Caribbean(correct me if I'm wrong) haveing significantly larger spleens as a result of diving frequently. It makes me so inexplicably mad whenever I see someone just blatantly deny evolution when evidence is right in front of their face.

Finally, Id like to talk about the vaccine debate.

First off, there shouldn't even BE a debate on if vaccines are effective or not, considering they save millions of lives every year.

When I go to church or talk to fellow Christians just around, I frequently see them mention government conspiracies and how vaccines cause autism (both of which are very obviously false)

What I have come to ask here, is, what is your stance. I am genuinely curious what you believe surrounding these matters and the reasons why. If you wouldn't mind, please respond to this post. I promise that my responses will be respectful and well mannered.

Thank you for reading. May God bless us all.

I haven't posted here much, but reading some posts I would just like to say this. I've seen several different posts of people being upset that some Christians have certain views, and feeling like they are losing their faith because of it. My best friend is having something similar, where he actually told me last night that people were calling him a heretic for his opinions and that he flat out doesn't want to go to heaven with the people that disagree with him (because they were treating him badly, I assume at least, not just that they disagreed.)

So I want to say this to all of you:

The world is a struggle. We all have our own thoughts and ideas. One of the replies to one of the comments said it best: "Read your bible, grow close to God, and let him guide you in the right direction." I would like to expand on that. There's also Proverbs 3:5: Trust in the Lord with all thine heart; and lean not unto thine own understanding. - And this is hard for people like my best friend who is very smart. It's got to be so frustrating to have a belief that you for your reasons believe something in your whole heart, and then find out it is/may be against God. - Note: I did not say that line to say that my friend is wrong or that any of the posts I was talking about is wrong. I'm just trying to reiterate what the poster said. Read your bible, grow close, and let him guide you. And do not lean on your own understanding.

I wasn't going to go here, but now I'm being moved to vent all this.

I am gay. I was in a 13 year serious relationship. I always struggled with what God thought about me. Sometimes in that relationship I felt I was doing something wrong, and others I felt completely happy and at peace. I knew a lot a lot of the bible but I never sat and read it until 2020. I knew what the bible said about Homosexuals, but I also knew the arguments, "Well the bible never said 'Homosexual until the 1950s' and 'Well this Greek word really means____"

But when he broke up with me in 2022, I just decided to stay celibate. I'm gonna be 1000% real and raw about this right now. Most days I'm at peace with that decision. But some days... I feel so lonely, and more than anything, I just miss cuddling. (And I have a disability that makes life hard too that I'm just adding for context.) sometimes I have moments of "Why God?? Why would you, the God of love, make me this way and then not let me love anyone?? What does it hurt if I'm in a loving committed relationship?"

"Trust in the Lord with all thine heart; and lean not unto thine own understanding."

It's not always easy. But we must always keep our mind open to what GOD is telling us, no matter if it goes against what we think is right or wrong. Should we condemn others, absolutely not. But we, for ourselves, just need to focus on God, and make sure we are doing what's right.

The other point I wanted to make is in these two verses:

Colossians 3:2-17: "Focus your mind on things above, not on things on the earth"

Proverbs 4:25: "Keep your eyes straight ahead; ignore all sideshow distractions"

Sadly, people suck. People do bad things in God's name all the time. But no one's behavior should keep you away from God's love.

We're going to disagree on things, but don't be distracted by arguing or what other people are saying. Read your bible, stay close to God, and let him guide you.

One last thing. This has been a very serious topic, but I'm suddenly lead to share one last thing. There is a Christian singer (Used to be known as a comedian but I don't think he does much Comedy anymore.) But this song... while he was trying to be funny about it... has a very fitting message for this topic. Very well said, and very true.

"It's not my church or brand name, not what I serve but who. But my heart belongs to Jesus that's why I belong with you."

https://youtu.be/qg_vN1m1kzQ?si=85oq76wSGLw8P5Ra&t=11

What precisely was so important, special, unique or difficult about the Trinity that Jesus when on earth did not reveal it to his disciples or apostles. Have a long speech about it like the sermon on the mount, or have any of the bible authors write it out such as it was done around 300 years later by the people at Nicene?

Did Jesus think his very close and dear apostles could not handle the information? Or did he not want anyone for the 300 years after his death to know about it so he forbade them from writing anything about it?

Also why did God not instruct any of the nation of israel's priests or rulers to know about it? or have Moses write it down at all? Why did he not reveal it at the burning bush?