Here's a quick idea I had. In the Old Testament, there appear to be two messiahs: the suffering servant and the conquering king. The Christians believe Jesus Christ is both. Since Jesus Christ is God and God is love, we might ask: how is love both a suffering servant and conquering king?

I think the answer lays in the following. One maxim that distills part of love's essence is "Should I lose, let my loss be my own. Should I win, let my victory be everyone's." So love plays the role of both the suffering servant (or sacrificial lamb) and the conquering king.

Just a thought I had!

my partner has a bachelors with a minor in theology and the study of the bible. he studied under the professors who authored "learning biblical hebrew" and he completed their courses to be able to read biblical hebrew and greek.

he also studied under many other theology professors and obviously studied the history and diversity of the church. He was also awarded the faculty award for his graduating class.

I was raised christian, but I don't follow anymore. I have 8 siblings. Christian brother number #1 recently expressed a difference in opinion and christian brother #5 rebuttals that "Jesus being the perfect sacrifice for our sins is not up for debate "

Noticing that brother #1s beliefs were being invalidated, my partner shares the atonement theories, and that many different christian's have historically believed many different things about Jesus' sacrifice.

Brother #5 says "You can disagree with me but you haven't shown me anything to disprove what l've said."

Obviously the intention was to help my brothers see that they believe a majority of the same things. The conversation was collectively ended when christian brother #4 and #5 made the comments "stop dragging me and my religion through the dust." and "you have no respect for what I believe and my God" and other things along the lines of: "if you don't think Jesus was penal substitutional atonement you're not an actual christian."

Brother #1 and my partners beliefs are seen as illegitimate. My partner specifically went to school after working as a pastor because he wanted to receive the fullest understanding and picture of christianity. Thankfully my partner is levelheaded enough that he doesn't take it personally and he's humble enough that he hasn't brought it up again.

I however feel frustrated that his education is being completely ignored and invalidated, and I'm upset with my brothers for disrespecting my partners intelligence/ education and invalidating both his and my oldest brother's journeys. Is there a non inflammatory way to re-explain the legitimacy of my partner's points?

I was often around people who said to trust God with your life, and with things in general growing up. A lot of this came from "all things work for the good of those who love Him" and Matthew 6:26-30 type of stuff. And sure I can recognize that at this point a lot of times those versus were over extrapolated and taken out of context, but I'm curious howany people generally live at peace from these sorts of things?

Where I struggle isn't for myself, I can recognize the end game and the "dying is gain" aspect of life. Where my stress, depression, and fear has come lately is for children, who don't know God, who all things won't necessarily work for their good according to scripture, and who are currently in unsafe situations (foster kids/former foster kids I love dearly).

I'm curious, have you adapted to just accept it all as the brutality of a sinful world? Does clinging to hope suffice for you? How do you cope with things like this?

I won't be able to reply for most of the day, but I will later. Thanks for your inputs.

have been studying Corinthians and several passages stump me, for context I am Baptist but have been thinking about going to a different church for several pretty valid reasons of issues within church doctrine wise lol

but what applies specifically to all believers and what is historically only for Corinthians? such as head coverings in 1 Cor 11, or the one verse on women staying silent in church that I have heard and was told by my pastor only applied to Corinthians at the time because of their culture and the issues within that church. but how do we know that? I have tried finding sources on it outside of the Bible, and from reading the book at an overview it seems those passages are to all believers especially when in 1 Cor 1:1 Paul introduces himself and says he is writing to (paraphrase) "the church of corinth, to the believers" which I take as all believers. so why do we seem to pick and choose oh majority of this book applies to us now but some of the stuff that has changed with culture can be considered no longer applicable. where's that come from lol

am just confused because I have been considering going to an Apostolic church which they do happen to do head coverings, skirts, etc and am wondering which way to feel on this topic.

I beleive the Christian God is powerful in ability but not necessarily the most intelligent being to exist. I would love to know what other people think about this. Yahweh's actions suggest alot of things about him but intelligence didn't seem to be a defining characteristic for me. Also if Yahweh is all knowing he doesn't need intelligence to figure things out he lives by doing what suits him best. If you had his powers, what would you do?

Using concepts that go beyond what Jesus says is assuming that Jesus is just a mere man who needed some theologians for help. No, I reject that and I believe he did not use philosophical/theological arguments on purpose. God is where human concepts are all bankrupt.

The doctrine of trinity uses Greek philosophical philosophy to explain the being of God. It says God is one in essence and 3 in persons. Greek philosophy was the spirit of the time, and Christians felt the need to defend their religion by engaging in it.

I believe Jesus explicitly avoided using such language because saying he is "the son of God" is deeper in meaning than any theological term.

Is anyone aware of a belief system in which they view the gods of all religions to be the same entity? I was raised Christian. I started questioning things in the Bible at an early age and pretty much became agnostic. Even as a semi-agnostic, I have always been fascinated by religion. From an agnostic point of view, I began to find interest in stories that are similar in most religious texts, such as the great flood, and found myself looking for links between the various texts, as evidence of lost human history. I began reading other religious texts, such as the Talmud, the Quran, the Ramayana & Mahabarata, the Satanic Bible, and the Tibetan Book of the Dead, amongst others. Due to some tragic events in my life, I have begun to believe that there has to be some kind of higher power, but it's hard for me to pick a single God to put my faith in, as I believe there could be legitimacy to any one of them. One day while doing some research on the hindu ultimate God head, it dawned on me that it could be possible that the God entity from all religions could be the same entity, with many different forms. The Supreme beings of all religions basically bring the same message "have faith in me and you will find eternal life". They also all seem to have the same basic view of good vs evil, and the same basic standards to live by.

Is it possible that in order to reach all of mankind, a single entity revealed himself to different parts of the world and different cultures as different beings, with different names, as this was the only way to reach all of mankind for a being that is far beyond our mental capacity to comprehend?

In most religions, the Supreme being states that their forms are infinite, and their true form is beyond human understanding.

It seems highly likely to me that an ultimate Supreme being or entity would understand the turmoil of human nature, and forsee conflict and disagreement if there was only one forum of true religion. Therefore, if the Supreme being revealed himself to many different cultures, in different forms, if one man disagreed with one form of religion and looked elsewhere he could find a different path to the same Supreme being. Like there being many different roads to choose from, but they all lead to the same location (but maybe with a different name for the same location).

Is this something that already exists? I cannot believe that I am the only person to ever think of Supreme beings or religion this way, but I cannot find any info on such a believe system, if one does exist...

I have a decent understanding of scripture but am by no means a scholar in any sense. Someone referred me to him one day when I had questions about the Nephilim. Since then it has felt like I've bitten off more than I can chew and am concerned that some of his claims may not line up as perfectly as he tries to make them. But Im uneducated, and have no way to articulate why I feel that way and may be wrong.

Id like to know if I can feel good about continuing to get into his work. Really looking forward to one in particular "The World Turned Upside Down", but need to get through Unseen Realm first.

And just in case no one here has heard of him, here is a [video] covering the main points made in Unseen Realm. I would think that some really educated person with a Phd / Thd would be able to tell right off the bat if this is doctrinal or not. I have been sitting on this stuff for years and dont know who to ask about it

Hi,

This is a long and painful story so I'll try to just be as quick as possible and sgare my (32 f) story

I was a Christian for life but not really a Bible believing one. Grew up Catholic but mixed with the occult etc. In 2014, age 21, I knew about hell and didn't mind Jesus was the only way and loved him

But something changed, I got depression and felt like I lost feelings of love in general so stopped praying. Kinda just moved towards a new age view gradually

My sibling became a legalist Christian and I thought the Gospel was "worship or burn" and that God's love was conditional

She got more intense over the years with fear based teaching I didn't understand why hell was the default and it made me so anxious and angry

What I did then, this was the very end of 2015, was run from God by trying to be an atheist. Trying being the operative word. I felt deep down He was real and I would lash out angrily at Him and others by mocking Him online. I hated Him.

That fear turned to anger and I was researching atheist videos to try to not believe. They obviously paint God in a bad light and I got to the stage where I thought He was real but evil and that the devil was a good guy (?!) I was desperate to not believe in anything so I stupidly said something bad about the Holy Spirit because a few weeks ago my sibling rang me up to tell me never to do that as that's a one way ticket to hell and not to tell the rest of the family.

I said it to try to commit spiritual suicide. I thought that this God was bad and egotistical and I figured I'd rather go to hell than go to heaven while others burned forever

What ensued was a deep anxiety and fear of God and I tried to be a Christian and would believe but was afraid I was too far gone and I remember feeling like I didn't liked the person of Jesus anyway and that try as I might I just felt the Bible was evil even after apologetics and reasoning

I would turn back to hating God and wanting Him not to be real inhad a massive phobia of YHWH and the Bible and Jesus and would hate Christians and want to hurt them. All while worried about the unforgivable sin.

I remember constantly asking everyone if they thought God was real for reassurance not to believe but I think I was trying to get others to hell at one point as in "we're all in this together" kinda thing and I'm so disgusted and frightened at how I was

Around the time before I tried to cut myself off forever I was listening to a Christian song my sister sent me and I felt unafraid like He helped me and free. But because of the cognitive dissonance I chose to willfully blaspheme in a way I thought was unforgivable and I thought I meant it at the time

Anyway after a year of phobia and hatred I bought upon myself I softened a bit and came to Jesus for healing of my emotional issues selfishly

I tried to believe in Him but felt like He was too good to be true and had the opposite problem

Was a terrible Christian didn't feel convicted except a few times and I did turn away from my sin but I'm thinking it was for selfish reasons

Read the Bible and wondered and worried if it was all made up by the apostles as Jesus seemed too good to be true

Wondered most days if there qas a good even up to a few months ago

Thinking I went too far. Way too far. Feeling my numbness and lack of belief despite wanting to is a sign I'm unsaved

TL;DR: used to hate God over anger about hell, was an ongoing rejection as I couldn't reconcile loving God with hell, ended up thinking He was real and evil, aid something terrible and specific thinking I meant it wirh full knowledge, ended up wirh a phobia of Him, tried tried believe, struggled. 8 years. Thinking I can't repent like Esau. Feel hopeless despair and regretful to say the least

Is the Bible merely a collection of metaphors, constructed by human hands? Take the story of Jonah, for instance—it seems implausible that he was literally swallowed by a fish. Could it instead be a metaphorical representation? This prompts the question: which aspects of the Bible, if any, are to be taken literally, and is Christianity itself, as a belief system, ultimately the truth? Consider the story of Adam and Eve: Was it truly an apple that led Adam to sin, or could the apple symbolize the introduction of sin itself, with Eve's actions representing the recurring cycle of temptation? Did the devil literally speak to Adam, or was it the internal dialogue—the subtle persuasion of his own thoughts—that led him astray? Was Adam truly excluded from paradise by God, or did his own sin lead him to distance himself from faith? And when Adam and Eve were removed from paradise, was life genuinely harder for them, or did the absence of God's guidance simply deprive them of a central source of purpose and direction?

Hypothetically you suddenly discover that not only can you see someone's guilt in God's eye's, but you could actually do something about it? Dunno maybe a bird shits in your eye or something but suddenly you can not only see through the eyes of God, but also affect what he has judged.

Like, what if you could look at those God has condemned to eternal torture for their life choices for things that you really don't think are sins. And what if you could just decide that for that person that "Nah, that's not a sin. You're getting into Heaven, I don't give a fudge what the Father thinks, that's not a sin." and you bind the declaration in the Heavens as you bind it on Earth. Person's sins aren't sins anymore, nor will they ever be sins. It's almost as if they could go and sin no more.

Would you do it? Would you wash their sin away?

What if the Father wouldn't exactly be happy with you? Over-ruling him and allowing the unworthy into his kingdom would no doubt be the worst. It would surely no doubt lead to you being cast into Hell for all eternity.

Would you do it for that one person? How about if you could sneak five in? Ten? How many would you save if it meant eternal damnation?

I mean me personally if saving one meant eternal damnation I'd forgive the whole human race. In for a penny in for a pound, right? And if I'm going down in flames I might as well arrive at the gates a champion. Like everyone would be pardoned. I'd be all Oprah handing out eternity in Paradise. Heck I'd even ensure their wealth was built WAY UP in the Kingdom of Heaven so all the unwed mothers would have a new car too. Not sure what the Hindi's will do up there but I'm sure they'll manage being in literally the best place ever.

Imagine God being surrounded by hundreds of purple haired liberals driving around in their Teslatrucks on their cell phones doing circles while mariachi music played in the background with people celebrating their lives as a people together. It'd be funny as hell.

And yeah, I'm sure God would be just a little bit teensy ticked off at me, but I mean he has to forgive me, right?

And if he doesn't jokes on him. Send me down to Hell, I don't care. Just more people down there I can forgive. All of their sins causing them eternal agony washed away, allowing them to enter the Kingdom of Heaven and party up there in His Kingdom.

If you could do this, if you could spit in God's eye and laugh and tell him who is and who isn't worthy of the Kingdom, would you?

Would you ever be able to forgive yourself?

What are your thoughts and why does this sound so familiar?

I am new to theology but I am doing my high school senior thesis on justice. I am not done with it but I am nearing the end. I am trying to figure out how to bridge the gap between a country/city that is faith based and ran according to God (whatever that means… I am struggling), and the concepts of justice, according to Aristotle, and punishment that will allow a society to flourish. I am also trying to better understand the real role of politics when God exists. If God gave us free will and also is in charge of justice, then what is the purpose of the government. How can the government then administer its own justice if it is a “Holy” government, and how can they create laws and rules, when we have free-will. Is the answer just that the laws must have to do with interactions between two people?

I can attach my current thesis if you all would like, and any help, be it your thoughts or sources, would be much appreciated. Thank you!

I’m posting this discussion thread because of a little known remark in a controversial study bible known as the Dake Annotated Study Bible. According to this study bible, which is supposedly well known in charismatic, Pentecostal biblical circles there is a note about John 6:70 which pointed to this verse suggesting Judas Iscariot was a seved believer in Christ which meant his subsequent betrayal and suicide is proof he lost his salvation thereby nullifying the belief in "once saved, always saved" or as it’s commonly known OSAS.

I wsa curious about how the author came to this conclusion so i decided to see his note comment for the text and seeing his reasoning. I became confused after reading it because his note didn’t specify ANYTHING out of the ordinary about the verse at all. There was no explicit mention of his reasoning to make this assertion that Judas was saved and lost his salvation. So I went back to the actual text of John 6:70 and then after reading it again it finally dawned on me what the author was implying. He doesn’t say it explicitly about the verse but I’m seeing what he might have been alluding to.

To see the problem Dake may have been alluding to we have to look at two things in John 6:70 - the conjunctive verb ‘and’ and the punctuation question mark. Before I go any further into this I haven’t seen any discussion about the textual analysis of this verse based on the grammatical use of specific word usage. So the following theoretical analysis of biblical meaning behind punctuation usage may look mildly surprising to some of you but I assure you the implications of what I’m about to discuss in this post could be quite significant.

The first issue comes when we focus on the conjunctive verb ‘and’ in the text itself. This verb was used to join two halves of the sentence to imply two statements are being discussed. The first half mentions the Twelve being chosen by Christ and after the ‘and’ word the revelation about one being a devil. Now one problem with this reading is that there are two possible reasons for Jesus Christ saying this sentence the way he phrased it. One possible reason would be that Christ was setting up a contrast between the Twelve and the devil. This reading implies Christ was trying to make a theological point. The second possible reason Christ chose to phrase this sentence in this manner is that he was simply making a narrative point with no theological significance behind it. That meant the mentioning of the devil in the sentence wasn’t meant to be taken at face value and that was that.

However in terms of why Christ chose to use the ‘and’ word becomes troubling because he could have chosen to phrase the sentence using the alternative conjunctive verb ‘but’ instead. In that case the sentence with ‘but’ illustrates Christ could have made a much stronger contrast between the Twelve and the devil. This would have stressed the importance of the usage of ‘but‘ to imply a religious meaning behind the contrast. But he chose not to use that word but chose ‘and’ instead. So why is this important? For one thing, by using ‘and’ in this sentence it’s not clear Christ is meaning to make a distinction between the Twelve and the devil. It can be argued Christ is actually suggesting the devil in this reading wasn’t separate from the Twelve at all in terms of importance to the mission of salvation. In other words Christ may have used the ‘and’ conjunctive verb to stress that his love was so profound and boundless that he gave a devil a chance to prove his worth and be saved.

The other issue surrounding John 6:70 is the usage of the question mark. If Christ wanted to make the statement without drawing attention to itself the usage of the question mark was puzzling. Why use a question mark in this verse unless you’re trying to make a point? If we consider the question mark was meant to suggest a reason for its use then there had to be an object the question was directed to. Christ was apparently directing the question mark to someone in the audience to hear it and pay particular attention to its meaning. Seen in this light….the question mark was stressed by Christ to be directed at Judas Iscariot. Jesus Christ may have been attempting to give Judas a hint that he knew what was going to happen in the future and he was subtly hinting to Judas to knock it off and change course. In other words Christ knew Judas was damned but he was still offering him a chance to change his fate.

The implication for this reading of the question mark is huge because it directly suggests although one’s fate is already known by God that doesn’t mean the person can’t change it.

So this reading of the textual usage of grammer in John 6:70 opens up a whole new can of worms for analysis. I think it’s a valid way to look at old issues of salvation, free choice and grace in an entirely new way.

The Incarnation is the most significant and amazing event of history bar none. God—the Absolute, infinite, transcendent, the source of Being itself—Himself became man, suffered, and died for our salvation. And yet He tells us "thou shalt see greater things than these." What could possibly be greater?! Let's dare to speculate.

There’s this old adage, almost a parable: “Strong men create good times, good times create weak men, weak men create hard times, and hard times create strong men.” It’s this cyclical view of history—of humanity, really—and it feels like we’re somewhere near the hinge point in that cycle.

We’re stepping into what looks like the beginning of hard times. You can feel it. The American Dream gospel—the one where you graduate college, get a decent job, buy a home, and retire comfortably—has all but collapsed for most people. Inflation is sky-high. Mortgage rates have made homeownership a pipe dream for an entire generation. Our culture is awash in debt—economic, social, and even spiritual. And all of this is the fruit of decades of complacency during “good times.”

Here’s what happens in those good times: comfort becomes an idol. Softness, indulgence, and ease seep into the fabric of our lives. We lose our hunger for growth, for character, for resilience. And the result? The rise of what some would call “soft men,” leaders and individuals who lack the inner strength, conviction, and discipline to steward the good times well.

But here’s the thing: hard times aren’t the end of the story. In fact, for those of us following Jesus, they might just be the beginning of something new and beautiful. Because historically, hard times have a way of calling people back to what’s real, what’s true.

Take a look at the current generation. Yes, they’re inheriting a broken world, but they’re responding in surprising ways. There’s this quiet but growing movement of young people who are done with the emptiness of secularism, who are waking up to the reality that materialism and self-help can’t satisfy the deep ache in their souls. They’re coming back to the church—not as a cultural institution, but as a spiritual refuge, a place to meet God, to find meaning, and to belong.

This is where I see hope. These hard times? They’re refining. They’re shaking us loose from the distractions and idols that have numbed us. They’re producing a new generation of strong men and women—rooted in the way of Jesus, shaped by the ancient paths of prayer, Scripture, community, and mission.

The church has always thrived in hard times. This is nothing new. When things get dark, the light of the gospel shines all the brighter. And maybe, just maybe, this moment we’re in isn’t the end of something, but the beginning. The strong men and women who will lead us into the next chapter are being formed right now—in the midst of the struggle, through their faithfulness in the small things, by their decision to follow the narrow way of Jesus in a culture of compromise.

So take heart. Hard times are here, but they’re not here to stay. And they just might be the grace we need.

I do not understand why there are people (maybe including you) who has the desire to worship. I realized that some people in history, Bible,, cult, etc. express their desire to worship.

I lack this desire myself and I want to develop this. Maybe in order to do so, I want to understand this desire. Thank you in advance for sharing.

What have we been lied to about? For those that know me in person I’m opinionated and often labeled a conspiracy theorist by social norms. I get things wrong and when I do I try and make an effort to acknowledge my wrong.

I think many are coming to the realization that we’ve been lied to about health care, financial systems, food supply, election integrity, JFK assisination, reasons for wars, and many more. Most of the time the goal is to make it complicated on purpose so you can be told “trust the experts”. Perfect example is the fiat financial system that is the main control mechanism along with mainstream propaganda, Hollywood, music, and TV/movies.

Then there’s religion. Many agree with me on the corruption listed above, then we disagree when it comes to spirituality.

First and foremost I follow Jesus’/Yeshua’s teachings, and I don’t think you will be condemned to hell for disagreeing with my beliefs.

Yaweh or the Old Testament self proclaimed god was the god of fear, hatred, blood sacrifice, and deception.

The Bible is not meant to be read as a book of truth about one God of love, because a God of love would not command killing, especially of women and children. I Samuel 15:3

A God of love would not give you free will but demand obedience or be condemned to hell for eternity. That’s control be fear.

An all powerful God of love does not need blood sacrifices for anything including sin. Only evil self proclaimed “gods” need blood sacrifices.

The Bible is a book of lessons of discernment, not of absolute truth.

I’ve debated several elders of various denominations about this and the results always end up being similar that I am told. “We are not meant to understand god.” “We can’t see the bigger picture of gods plan and reason.”

Interestingly very similar answers from those in positions of power structures when asked difficult questions.

We are coming into an era of enlightenment. The old guard is falling, and revelations are happening as light is shed in dark corners of our societies controlling institutions. Those that try to hang onto the old way with struggle with this new realization and reality.

Just as an example of some of the programming we have been subjected to take the meaning of Apocalypse.

Apocalypse modern culture meaning= destruction of the earth

Apocalypse Ancient Greek meaning= “revelation” or “unveiling”.

It’s the unveiling of lies and revelation of truth as the old world built to control and deceive crumbles. It’s not the destruction of love and light, it is the destruction of the world full of darkness and hate.

The world is a stage, and many will be here to see the curtains raise and the lights turn on.

Years ago, I listened to a sermon on Luke 23:18-25 about Barabbas, and a passing remark by the preacher stuck with me ever since. He pointed out that Barabbas’ name—the insurrectionist, murderer, and robber—translates from the Greek as “Son of the Father” (Bar-Abbas).

This detail is mentioned in all four gospel accounts, which is significant. Why would this part of the narrative be so emphasized? As I meditated on it, I realized it reveals something profound about God’s wisdom: Barabbas, the guilty one, is set free, while Jesus, the innocent Son of the Father, takes his place.

Theologically, this is what we call The Great Exchange: the sinless Christ takes the penalty we deserve, and we are set free in Him. As Paul says in 2 Corinthians 5:21: “For our sake he made him to be sin who knew no sin, so that in him we might become the righteousness of God.”

Barabbas stands as a vivid illustration of this exchange. The parallels are striking: one son of the father for the other Son of the Father. One guilty, one innocent. One deserving death, the other dying in his place.

The wisdom of God runs so deep, yet His truths are often hidden in plain sight. Have you noticed any other moments in Scripture where God reveals His mysteries or illustrations of the gospel in unexpected ways?

Pretty simple, I would love help in identifing contemporary voices dealing with the idea of Enchantment (I am inspired in my study by Von Balthasar and Charles Taylor). Bonus points here if they talk on the role of beauty, the Holy Spirit as facilitating and guiding, or the Incarnation.

Please let me know if anything jumps to mind, I am assembling a course of study so any ideas are welcome.

What do you think of these findings?

(Haven't pulled the full article so will leave links to them below)

Teenagers and those in their early twenties are half as likely to identify as atheists than their parents, a new poll has shown.

Those aged 18-24 - who are all Gen Z - are the most spiritual age group in the UK, with just 13 percent identifying as atheists.

Another 62 percent describe themselves as 'very' or 'fairly' spiritual, the research by OnePoll found.

And when asked what the biggest factors in declining Christianity rates in the UK, Gen Z cited the 'inability to grapple with scandals involving abuse' as well as generational change. 

In contrast middle-aged member of Gen X aged 45-60  are the most likely to be atheists, with 25 percent saying they do not believe in a god or spirituality.

For Baby Boomers over the age of 65 and Millenials aged 25-44, one in five are atheists at 20 percent.

The poll of a total of 10,000 people was commissioned by Christopher Gasson to mark the publication of his latest book about religion (The Devils' Gospels: Finding God in Four Great Atheist Books)

The survey questioned 1,039 respondents aged under 25, 1,696 aged 25 to 34, 1,637 aged 35 to 44, 1,667 aged 45 to 54, 1,605 aged 55 to 64. and 2,356 aged over 65. 

The Times full article: https://www.thetimes.com/uk/religion/article/gen-z-half-as-likely-as-their-parents-to-identify-as-atheists-wp2vl0l29?fbclid=IwY2xjawIEQJxleHRuA2FlbQIxMAABHcLFM7eaV51oRXBLWEE_OQmJEfGi-ZEvmuPsV_qDBcw8bxd9DMa2Mb3lvw_aem_gTEPOqeVAxupkSQ6_xCr6A

Daily Mail full article: https://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-14324463/God-comeback-Gen-Z-atheists-parents.html?fbclid=IwY2xjawIEQJ9leHRuA2FlbQIxMAABHcLFM7eaV51oRXBLWEE_OQmJEfGi-ZEvmuPsV_qDBcw8bxd9DMa2Mb3lvw_aem_gTEPOqeVAxupkSQ6_xCr6A

The Devils' Gospels link: https://thedevilsgospels.com

Im a new Christian who has been taught my whole life that the soul sleep doctrine is true and biblical, and the arguments I’ve seen it against it thus far have been really unconvincing. I am trying hard to learn about Catholicism and why they would pray to dead people dead saints who can’t hear them. I have some verses that support that soul sleep is biblical.

The title of this excerpt in the Bible is titled “the time of the end” Hebrews 12:2 “Many of those bodies lie dead and are buried will rise up, some to everlasting life and some to shame and everlasting disgrace.” 1 Thessalonians 4:13-14 “And now brothers and sisters, we want you to know what will happen to the believers who have died .. so you will not grieve like people who have no hope. For we believe that Jesus died and was raised to life, we also believe that when Jesus returns, God will bring back with him the believers who have died.” 1 Corinthians 15:51- 52 “But let me reveal to you a wonderful secret. We will not die, but we will be transformed! It will happen in a moment, in the blink of an eye. When the last trumpet sounds, those who have died will be raised to live forever, and we who are living will also be transformed.” And last but not least John 3:13 “No one has ascended into heaven except he who descended from heaven, the Son of Man.”

I didnt use the typical Lazarus verse or any verses that explicitly talk about sleeping. These verses literally say we will be bought to heaven when Jesus returns. If you don’t believe in the soul sleep doctrine, could you please explain how you could interpret these verses differently ? Thank you.

I am not asking for new verses. I know to be absent from the body is to be present with the lord and I know that Jesus told the thief he’d go to paradise. I am asking for interpretations on the verses I provided.

I am an ex Catholic, newly interested again Christian and bought a new Bible and I have read it from front to back and have found a new obsession with faith and the Bible. But I have questions. While reading the Old Testament I often found myself angry. At first I found myself angry with God and then I found myself angry with the Israelites. Examples are rewarding not so great people. Abraham was telling people his wife was his sister (twice) then God asked him to sacrifice Isaac which bothers me horribly, Abraham almost did it which I’m not sure which bothers me more, God “hardened” Pharaoh’s heart through the entire Moses story which I find awful all the way through for so many reasons, David was constantly proving he was not a great person yet God rewarded him over and over. It seems like 2 people could do the same thing throughout a lot of the Bible and depending on who you were and who your descendants were you were either rewarded by God or not. He ordered a lot of killing, punished children for parents’ mistakes and seemed for a lot of the Old Testament that he was just so angry and rebellious and ready to fight. I could go on and on but I won’t so don’t linger on my examples. Now, I understand especially through exodus and until the end of the OT that the people tested him WAY more than they should have and were forgiven by God more times than they should have as well. I know that as much as I don’t understand God, I found myself often understanding him as well. However, we reach the end of the OT And get to the new and I find myself in awe of Jesus, his own son. The Beatitudes are beautiful, Jesus’ sermon on the mount is beautiful almost like he took everything he his own Father said and tossed it and made it better. His life, his journey, the crucifixion, the resurrection, all of it is just mind blowing. So my question is, I believe in God, I believe in Jesus, I have faith but what do you do if you don’t like God. How do I make myself like God AND Jesus. I can’t force myself to understand Him even though I want to. What do you do if you want to go to heaven but you can’t get past your issues with God?

Hi all,

I’ve become very interested in comparative religious studies between Judaism and Christianity. Specifically, I’ve wanted to research more about how Judaism seems to have a completely different idea of the afterlife and reincarnation, than does Christianity.

Can anyone recommend any books, podcast, online classes (etc.) that further explore this topic?

Thank you in advance!

I don’t know for what reason I believe which makes me question why I believe at all. Can someone help

Hey all,

I'm curious if you guys could stead me in the right direction. I am pretty sure that "contextual studies" would suit me best as I really want to learn what the ANE was like as best as I can and then read the Bible from a more informed vantage point. But sometimes I see people recommending surveys and commentaries etc. Honestly, commentaries never did much for me. I never found them to be all that fascinating or insightful but maybe I am reading the wrong ones.

On the other hand, books that delve deeply into the context of the ANE (Heiser/ Walton/ Copan) are books that I really love.

Thanks to anyone for any guidance. Please let me know if there are any surveys/ commentaries / Biblical theologies that have really stood out to you and helped you to understand the O.T. better.

One book that I'm reading through before every major/ minor prophetic book in my studies is "the hebrew prophets and their social world" by Matthews. I think one would consider it a "contextual study." It's worth its weight in gold. Looking for more like it.

God bless.