10 Not only that, but Rebekah’s children were conceived at the same time by our father Isaac. 11 Yet, before the twins were born or had done anything good or bad—in order that God’s purpose in election might stand: 12 not by works but by him who calls—she was told, “The older will serve the younger.”[d] 13 Just as it is written: “Jacob I loved, but Esau I hated.”[e]

14 What then shall we say? Is God unjust? Not at all! 15 For he says to Moses,

“I will have mercy on whom I have mercy, and I will have compassion on whom I have compassion.”[f] 16 It does not, therefore, depend on human desire or effort, but on God’s mercy. 17 For Scripture says to Pharaoh: “I raised you up for this very purpose, that I might display my power in you and that my name might be proclaimed in all the earth.”[g] 18 Therefore God has mercy on whom he wants to have mercy, and he hardens whom he wants to harden.

19 One of you will say to me: “Then why does God still blame us? For who is able to resist his will?” 20 But who are you, a human being, to talk back to God? “Shall what is formed say to the one who formed it, ‘Why did you make me like this?’”[h] 21 Does not the potter have the right to make out of the same lump of clay some pottery for special purposes and some for common use?

22 What if God, although choosing to show his wrath and make his power known, bore with great patience the objects of his wrath—prepared for destruction? 23 What if he did this to make the riches of his glory known to the objects of his mercy, whom he prepared in advance for glory— 24 even us, whom he also called, not only from the Jews but also from the Gentiles?

This passage gives me so much stress and anger, I understand what Paul is saying, God is sovereign and he can design anything, for any purpose, and he is correct, who are we, the creation, to question the creator? But, I cannot hide my dissatisfaction with that answer because it turns everything I understood about the Bible and God on its head.

Why would God ever design someone to be wicked? Paul seems to be stating it demonstrates God’s patience with the wicked, but it just seems fake if they were designed that way. Why does it even matter to demonstrate this patience to the objects of mercy, if that’s what they will receive?

Say to them, ‘As surely as I live, declares the Sovereign Lord, I take no pleasure in the death of the wicked, but rather that they turn from their ways and live. Turn! Turn from your evil ways! Why will you die, people of Israel?’

How could this ever make sense with the entirety of Pharoh and the LORD stating “I will harden whom I will harden.” Yes, Paul is right, this is the LORD’S right to do this but just why? Why create vessels to display wrath when you’ve stated you don’t like where they will end up?

What about the entirety of Jesus Christ, why does he say that the will of the Father is that WHOEVER looks on the Son of God and believes the in him, shall have everlasting life?

I can understand and get behind the LORD having foreknowledge, knowing someone’s entire life before they live it, but Romans 9 seems to suggest that God designs some people for the sole purpose of displaying his wrath, once again, I can understand the reason, to show his justice to the objects of mercy, but then that’s my question if he has no pleasure in the death of the wicked, why not design everyone as objects who understand and accepts Christ’s mercy?

What is the extent of our free will, works can not save us, only Christ can, but with what Paul states, it suggests that God will predesign us to either accept or reject Christ with no desire of our own. This just makes everything feel artificial, like some humans are prewired to just be puppets to make the other puppets understand how good they have it.

I know Jesus Christ is the truth, but this entire chapter honestly makes me afraid of that truth.

James 1: 13 Let no one say when he is tempted, “I am being tempted by God,” for God cannot be tempted with evil, and he himself tempts no one. 14 But each person is tempted when he is lured and enticed by his own desire. 15 Then desire when it has conceived gives birth to sin, and sin when it is fully grown brings forth death.
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Even in the experience of our own evil nature taking precedence in our actions, still in our self righteousness we will want to try and blame someone, like God, for how we are.  "He must have made us like this!"  He didn't though.  He made us to be perfect, and to trust in Him, experiencing His love and majesty in an extremely real and personal way, but then Adam and Eve turned against Him.  Now we have that nature of sin that keeps us separated from God, even while we continue to experience His grace and mercy abundantly.

God has been shaping me, molding me, and refining me for some time now, training me to get out of looking at porn and masturbation, even to cleaning up my social media so it's G-rated now, don't even see any females being provocative on there anymore, me and the algorithm have an understanding now, you just need to say 'not interested' for a bit and have the grace of God working for you.  Satan still tries to attack me with thoughts, but I have come to think of it as it's not really a temptation unless I want it.  So I have been praying to God to change my affections, that those thoughts wouldn't even register as being something that appeals to my sin nature, in this weird brain injured mind of mine, and I have received so much blessing in response to my humble prayers.  God has been transforming me, even bringing me to the place where I am so in tune with the Holy Spirit that He's deflecting thoughts before they can even materialize, and I get the impression of what they were going to be before forgetting, because again, I have a brain injury.  It can be used to my advantage by God, keeping me in humility.  God is encouraging me with this reality of how He has been working, and giving me the words to encourage you, that we can't blame Him for our sin nature, and we can't do anything about it, but we can experience Him show His glory in response to it, in our lives, if we trust in Him.
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Lord God in Heaven, thank you for what you do in me, and what you have been doing, to protect me from the enemy.  I would not have got through this last year if it weren't for your divine intervention.  I would surely have killed myself.  That is definitely what the evil one was going for here.  Somehow, in the way that only you can, you carried me through this.  You protected me from those who sought to do me harm and corrupt me.  You protected me from those who were working for the sake of their perverted desire.  You kept me in your purity, refining me, and bringing me into greater reliance on you than ever before.  Thank you for this work you have been doing, for no matter what, this has served to be for my blessing and your glory, even though I don't have anything more on this earth to show for it.  All my treasure is eternal.  Thank you Lord, and I pray that you will bless the needy with this revelation of your presence working to renew us in you.  I pray this in your precious name, Jesus Christ, amen.  Glory be to the Lord Most High forevermore.

Someone mentioned that the Jews have been kicked out of over 100 countries throughout history. We can see even in recent history how they are treated all we need to do is look back at World War II. My question is why? The Jewish people seem to be overly represented in government and media and business throughout the world, what would cause people to always hate on them? They've also played a key role in most communist and socialist movements as well as Progressive ideologies such as transgenderism, LGBT and social activism like black lives matter as well as pushing for open borders. Much of that has people with Jewish last names at the heads of these organizations. A lot of questions like this are seen as anti-semitic which they're not but typically when people start asking questions they get shut down or their posts get deleted. I'm not trying to cause an argument or a division here I just have no one to ask. My circle is small and that's why I'm reaching out to you all.

You are not preaching the gospel if you dont talk about sin.

We need a savior because we are sinners and sin leads to destruction. But if you dont know you are a sinner you wouldnt know you need a savior. If you didnt know you were sinning you wouldnt know you are a sinner. So you wouldnt think you need a savior or saving.

The ten commandments lets us know what sin is. Also Jesus commands us as well. If we disobey Gods commands that is sin.

Whosoever committeth sin transgresseth also the law: for sin is the transgression of the law. 1 John 3:4

A bunch of people got killed, and Christians online are talking about how horribly we're all handling the situation. About how "bigoted" people are. (Haven't seen the bigotry myself, I've only seen criticism of a belief system)

A non-Christian kills 15 people, the next day you check out reddit....what do you see? A bunch of posts about how we're the problem.

Now reverse the roles for a second. A self-proclaimed "Christian" drives a Tesla into a crowd. You think you're going to see everyone posting the next day about how awful it is that some people are criticizing Christianity? No, you'd be hearing the most bigoted crap on the planet.

I don't see a single Islamic post giving their religion or anyone within it a hard time. Meanwhile, like always, Christians are trying to get another gold medal in the self hatred Olympics.

Edit: comments sure are glitchy. Reddit might be about to go offline lol

do i leave my wife who cheated on me

The Modern Christianity Problem

(this is just what I have noticed, your opinions are greatly appreciated)

Over the past 2000 years, Christianity has witnessed significant cultural, political, and social shifts that have influenced its core teachings and practices. This essay titled 'The Modern Christianity Problem' examines the current impacts of these changes on the faith's core teachings and the lives of its believers, highlighting the challenges they face in an evolving society.

Now having set the stage, my first point is a lot of Christians were just born into a Christian household and don't have a relationship with God. Most of these Christians haven’t taken the time even to open the Bible, let alone understand its teachings. Their knowledge of Jesus often doesn’t extend beyond the idea that "he died on the cross for our sins 2,000 years ago." This is not entirely their problem; a lot of them were forced into this religion, and as a kid, I wouldn't want to wake up early on a Sunday morning to celebrate a man who lived 2000 years ago. Society's views on Christianity don't make it better, as societal views often cast Christianity in a skeptical light, deterring young believers from engaging deeply. Not only that but as technology grew, culture changed, and time passed by, eyewitness testimonies from people who lived at the time were not enough evidence that Jesus Christ died on the cross and rose from the dead.

This lack of understanding leads to a fragile foundation for their faith, which often becomes more of a cultural label than a guiding force in their lives. Consequently, this may also lead Christians to cherry-pick Bible verses out of context to justify their actions, such as misapplying “an eye for an eye” from Exodus 21:24 to defend retaliatory or aggressive behaviour, despite New Testament teachings on forgiveness and peace. This can lead others to develop a negative perception of Christianity.

The next reason is a lot of young Christians today sin without repentance or seeking forgiveness. This is supported by a lenten research in 2018 that shows only 2/3 or 66% of Americans even consider themselves sinners. A lot of them will party until they blackout, engage in unholy behaviours, or give in to lust and greed without a second thought, let alone ask for forgiveness. For some, God is viewed as a magical genie who exists to help them through life and grant them entry into heaven after death, regardless of how they live. They often rarely confront their sins with meaning or attempt to fight temptations, instead repeating these actions with indifference or joy.

We all sin but also acknowledge and seek forgiveness and change. The Christian life is not just about recognizing our sinful nature; it's about actively pursuing a life of righteousness through the grace and the power provided by the Holy Spirit. It involves a sincere and ongoing repentance that reflects a genuine change of heart and mind, rather than merely going through the motions or using faith as a safety net without real commitment. The Scripture is clear that repentance is crucial. Acts 3:19 NLT says, "Repent, then, and turn to God, so that your sins may be wiped out, that times of refreshing may come from the Lord" This call to repentance is not just about avoiding punishment but about creating a alive and continuing relationship with God.

My last and final reason is that modern Christianity is evolving in ways that may conflict with our scriptural teachings and knowledge. The acceptance of homosexuality, multiple gender identities, and same-gender marriages by the LGBTQ+ movement presents a challenge to conventional biblical interpretations. While some Christian denominations oppose these changes, others have begun to reinterpret scriptures to embrace this inclusivity to match societal norms. For instance, 1 Corinthians 6:9 NLT, states, “Don’t you realize that those who do wrong will not inherit the Kingdom of God? Don’t fool yourselves. Those who indulge in sexual sin, or who worship idols, or commit adultery, or are male prostitutes, or practice homosexuality." This contradicts the idea that practicing homosexuality is ok since it plainly states that if you practice homosexuality, you will not enter the kingdom of God.

While it is fundamental to the Christian faith to love and accept all individuals even as sinners, including myself, it's important to differentiate between embracing sin as a normal part of society and recognizing it as defiant to the teachings of the Bible. A true commitment to faith involves acknowledging sins and striving for repentance rather than accepting them as a new norm. This involves a conscious effort to turn away from sinful behaviours, seeking forgiveness and help through prayer.

In conclusion, there is a noticeable drift from the foundational teachings of the Bible due to the profound impact of cultural, social, and political shifts over the centuries. Many believers, born into the faith, lack a deep understanding of Christ's life and teachings, often reducing Christianity to a cultural label rather than a way of life. This shallow engagement with the faith can lead to misinterpretations of scriptures and an uninterested mindset towards sin and repentance. Furthermore, modern societal changes compete with our scriptural understandings, particularly regarding issues like sexuality, but we can't keep changing the scripture's interpretations to match society's standards. For Christianity to effectively guide us, we must love each other but also challenge new cultural and societal norms to help bring each other closer to God and away from sin.

Note: this is just what I have noticed and I would like your opinions on this. I am a non-denominational Christian and want to know other people's opinions on this matter. I do not mean this to offend anyone and if you are I'm truly sorry.

Christian universalism is a school of Christian theology focused around the doctrine of universal reconciliation – the view that all human beings will ultimately be saved and restored to a right relationship with God. "Christian universalism" and "the belief or hope in the universal reconciliation through Christ" can be understood as synonyms.[1] Opponents of this school hold that eternal damnation is the ultimate fate of some or most people.

Why do we need God, if we are all going to be saved anyway?

Christian Unversealism does not make any sense to me at all.

This person was a very hard atheist. When his son was 2 he became very sick and ended up dying in his father's arms at the hospital. In that moment the father had a share death experience with his son. To sum things up; he felt God's love, he was floating with his son it was very beautiful blue scene, he knew many things but would not be able to take the knowledge back with him, things are difficult to explain. Even though his son was 2 he described him as very accomplished. There was no pain, suffering, or time. Just God's very intense Love, he knew How much God loves his son and him. It was more then he could ever Love anyone. He was a changed man after the experience. He did have a mini life review and as he was someone who ran his own business (he had recently fired an employee) he no longer saw his employees "useful" to him but as people God was bringing into his life to take care of. I'm wondering if people can have similar experiences with meditation, when meditating on God in Jesus name. Are experiences this profound?

I'm a Christian whose looking to make some friends who truly edify, preach, and seek the word and divinity of Christ.

I don't have much friends that do so, which is the reason I came here and made this post. To find true diehard believers in The Lord.

I love to Read and speak the gospel, and even debate sometimes so if you're like minded, I think we'd be great friends.

(If you're interested drop your Instagram unfortunately it's the only social media I use)

There was a post to discuss Islam. The hate and venom against Islam and Muslims that I saw shocked me. The most hateful comments were upvoted big, and the kind and gentle comments were downvoted.

At one point a Muslim came by wanting to learn about Christianity and was mistreated terribly. I did make one comment speaking kindly to him, and he DMed me, crying.

He asked me if there were really Christians that wanted to expel him and his family from the country, put them in camps, or kill them.

I had to be honest and say that some do.

I invited him to follow Jesus Christ, but I recommended that he not convert to Christianity. Why would he want to convert to a religion where a huge number of them hate him?

We have been talking by DM.

I am a Nicene affirming Christian, but if what I saw yesterday is representative of True Christians, I want no part of it

Hey guys. A guy at my church asked me to get coffee and we did last week. When he asked me to get coffee he said he wanted to hear my testimony.

Anyways i feel like our outing went well! It’s been a week and he hasn’t asked me out again. I should mention i did reach out to him a couple days ago to ask him something, even then, he didn’t say anything about going out again.

I guess i got so excited about him asking me to get coffee that i never considered asking him what his intentions were (to gauge compatibility or just causal) Is it reasonable to ask him? I not expecting some huge commitment, but is it too much to see what his thoughts are?

I had been interested in him for a while, but my goal of a coffee outing is to gauge compatibility,

I have had many pursuits in life; marriage, education, and jobs but they all bottomed out leaving me confused. I always heard about not taking the reins from God, but allowing Him to lead your life. Right now, I have given up on trying to make plans for my life and hand over the reins. Jeremiah 29:11

My question is, how will I know where He is leading me. I know now that I should wait on Him, but I don’t know what to look for.

There’s several for me.

It seems he tells me to do things nearly impossibly.

An example for me is fasting. I think I’ve been led to a three day fast with has not been successful after 3 months of trying.

It leads me feeling like I’m not really a Christian. And my relationship with him doesn’t seem to get better because of it.

A few weeks ago, I posted on R/Anglicanism about making a vow (here is the post https://www.reddit.com/r/Anglicanism/s/pqM3vWDx3s and https://www.reddit.com/r/Anglicanism/s/hr54rN7uE9 ) And yes, I am aware I have severe symptoms of ocd but getting a therapist/psychologist is not an option for me right now, as my mum thinks it would be wasting money. I have been told overwhelmingly that God has forgiven me and released me from my vows, but I’m still not sure if the Bible says anything about this. As far as I am aware, the only way to get released from a vow is if your dad objected your vow on the day that he hears of it. (This only applies if you are a young women living under your dad’s house) so I’m not sure if this applies to me (I’m 13 and I live under my mum’s house) or if you’re married and your husband objects the vow on the day that he hears of it. Many people has told me I am spiralling into legalism, but I don’t really know the complete idea of what that is.

I have always had bad anxiety and depression at times. It seems since I’ve become saved it’s even worse.. and I’m so confused because i thought this horrible feeling would leave me and I’d be filled with a peace like no other. But fear consumes me, I wake up and terror grips my heart. Terror that I’m actually not saved. Terror that I’m failing my children. Terrified of going to hell. Ugh I’m so tired of this

I really thought it was possible my name was in the book of life. But it’s been made all too clear that I’m a fool for thinking so. I’m glad I realized it now than on judgement day. I hope you all enjoy your time in the kingdom. Hurts to know I’m not welcomed there, but at least you all are. Peace and love.

Essentially, what do you think of when you hear that you are "Christ's bride?" How do you relate to that imagery and the relationship between a bride and her husband? This can also tie into the many OT verses that describe God as a husband with his people (Israel) as his bride.

For example:

"For your Maker is your husband—the Lord Almighty is his name—the Holy One of Israel is your Redeemer; he is called the God of all the earth. The Lord will call you back as if you were a wife deserted and distressed in spirit—a wife who married young, only to be rejected," says your God. (Isaiah 54:5-6)

"Therefore I am now going to allure her; I will lead her into the wilderness and speak tenderly to her... In that day," declares the Lord, "you will call me ‘my husband’; you will no longer call me ‘my master.’" (Hosea 2:14-16)

"The bride belongs to the bridegroom. The friend who attends the bridegroom waits and listens for him, and is full of joy when he hears the bridegroom’s voice. That joy is mine, and it is now complete." (John 3:29)

I am jealous for you with a godly jealousy. I promised you to one husband, to Christ, so that I might present you as a pure virgin to him. (II Corinthians 11:2)

. I wanted to know if backsliding, if that is the correct term, means you can’t return to Christ? I put my faith in Jesus December of 2021 and I was so passionate about God. But a little under a year later, I began to smoke weed and stray from God. At first I felt conviction when I would smoke it wouldn’t even be enjoyable really. But little by little that started to grow quieter and I slipped into my old ways. Anyways, I haven’t taken God seriously since then. I’ll pray from time to time but not like before. I don’t know if I’m too far gone as I’ll have moments like these of self reflection and I’ll want to for a moment, but I end up staying in my ways and not pursuing God anyways. I want to come back but I honestly think I’m a reprobate. My mom passed the 5th of last month to leukemia and she had given her life to Christ a couple years ago. It’s a little puzzling that she was the only one who was for sure saved in my family and she was the first one God took. But it’s making me question my decision to have abandoned God.

If you want to know why they are importing criminals, read this story from the Bible. Doeg the Edomite was willing to murder for the tyrant saul when his own people would not.

1 Samuel 22:17–19 (ESV): And the king said to the guard who stood about him, “Turn and kill the priests of the Lord, because their hand also is with David, and they knew that he fled and did not disclose it to me.” But the servants of the king would not put out their hand to strike the priests of the Lord. 18 Then the king said to Doeg, “You turn and strike the priests.” And Doeg the Edomite turned and struck down the priests, and he killed on that day eighty-five persons who wore the linen ephod. 19 And Nob, the city of the priests, he put to the sword; both man and woman, child and infant, ox, donkey and sheep, he put to the sword.

https://docs.google.com/document/d/1fLeGwOuwumocyxMcXOtwYKFkROSQwaFv/edit?usp=drive_link&ouid=109151652321134854035&rtpof=true&sd=true

I want to know if having even a simple faith or belief in Jesus makes you saved. And also should we try to aspire to be perfect to have faith?

I was raised Southern Baptist but felt and still feel kind of disconnected with it, I attended a methodist church a few times but was too young to really understand the difference, and I'm not feeling catholicism (no shade tho, I briefly thought about it and I respect my catholic brothers and sisters). I've been watching Redeemed Zoomer's videos and have been thinking about trying a presbyterian church, but idk how I feel about the whole Calvinist predestination thing. Any advice?

Just so you know, If the Bible calls it a sin,

your opinion really doesn't matter.

Do I have to be in the same church as my family I am 46 years old and I think I need to get away from my family because of family dysfunction but maybe it's so wrong. I don't trust them.please respond back. I'm desperate.

I got some blood work done last month and I have a vitamin D deficiency and my testosterone is a little low for my age as I’m 26. I’ve been taking supplements for my vitamin D and I feel better. I have an appointment today for my testosterone. Honestly, I’m kinda scared of what they’ll do. Has anyone gone through this before and know what will happen? I pray for some relief.

In Matthew 7, we as people are trees:

Matthew 7:18-20

18 A good tree cannot bear bad fruit, nor can a bad tree bear good fruit.

19 Every tree that does not bear good fruit is cut down and thrown into the fire.

20 Therefore by their fruits you will know them.

In John 15, we as people are the branches, producing fruits:

John 15:1-2

1 "I am the true vine, and My Father is the vinedresser.

2 Every branch in Me that does not bear fruit He takes away; and every branch that bears fruit He prunes, that it may bear more fruit.

A few verses later:

John 15:5-6

5 "I am the vine, you are the branches. He who abides in Me, and I in him, bears much fruit; for without Me you can do nothing.

6 If anyone does not abide in Me, he is cast out as a branch and is withered; and they gather them and throw them into the fire, and they are burned.

The parable of the sower mentions fruits as well.

Matthew 13:18-23

18 "Therefore hear the parable of the sower:

19 When anyone hears the word of the kingdom, and does not understand it, then the wicked one comes and snatches away what was sown in his heart. This is he who received seed by the wayside.

20 But he who received the seed on stony places, this is he who hears the word and immediately receives it with joy;

21 yet he has no root in himself, but endures only for a while. For when tribulation or persecution arises because of the word, immediately he stumbles.

22 Now he who received seed among the thorns is he who hears the word, and the cares of this world and the deceitfulness of riches choke the word, and he becomes unfruitful.

23 But he who received seed on the good ground is he who hears the word and understands it, who indeed bears fruit and produces: some a hundredfold, some sixty, some thirty."

In Luke, Jesus spoke a parable teaching us that we have some time to produce fruits, but if we don't, we will be cut down.

Luke 13:6-9

6 He also spoke this parable: "A certain man had a fig tree planted in his vineyard, and he came seeking fruit on it and found none.

7 Then he said to the keeper of his vineyard, 'Look, for three years I have come seeking fruit on this fig tree and find none. Cut it down; why does it use up the ground?'

8 But he answered and said to him, 'Sir, let it alone this year also, until I dig around it and fertilize it.

9 And if it bears fruit, well. But if not, after that you can cut it down.' "

Let us not be unfruitful!

Titus 3:14

14 And let our people also learn to maintain good works, to meet urgent needs, that they may not be unfruitful.

If you read my last post, I went over how I cannot have assurance of my salvation, mostly due to my Scrupulousity OCD, well, I read more posts and comments on this page, relating to my situation, and I have a lot more follow up questions.

The most common response I get when I express my worry for salvation is the verse "If you confess with your mouth 'Jesus is Lord' and believe in your heart that God raised him on the third day, you will be saved" Ok then, how do you know if you are lying to yourself, rather than truly believing? How do you know if your faith is genuine or not, how do you know your profession wasnt feelings based?

"There is no condemnation for those in Christ Jesus" yeah, that's the thing, it's not the fear of losing the Holy Spirit. It's the fear of NOT HAVING HIM IN THE FIRST PLACE, I'll give you a example

I've watched countless testimonies, from testimonies of how one got saved to testimonies on how they lost their porn addiction, you know how many helped? ZERO. It's all the same "Well one day I had a urge to start reading my Bible, then I read it more and more and lost my addiction!" What am I supposed to get from that? What part of that do I put in my life? Each time I read it, I find myself getting super bored super fast "well just read it anyway" what's the point of reading if I don't take anything from it? I don't know if this is a matter of hardness of heart, and even if it was, it appears in every other situation, I am SCREWED. Hard heart? Welp, look at what happened to Pharaoh, screwed. Not feeling joyful? Almost every other saved born again Christian looks at life joyfully and with a smile and a positive attitude, you're screwed, not producing enough spiritual fruits? Screwed. Porn addiction? Oh? What's that? There's apparently a demon behind that? Screwed! How can I NOT be a perfectionist when anything outside of it means being screwed and unsaved, "God doesn't expect you to be perfect" there is still a high expectancy in that, what is the measurement in that "you aren't expected to be perfect"?

No, it's not just "doubting your salvation" yeah, of COURSE people do that, every single DAY Idont just "doubt", that is putting it LIGHTLY, I literally PANIC, every single DAY I literally weep over the harrowing and terrifying thought of not being saved, of rapture happening and Jesus rejecting me, and I search out answers but get told the same unhelpful phrases, it's not just doubt, it is TORTURE. Blasphemous uncontrollable thoughts everyday, the kind that want me to bang my head against the wall just in hopes of It to shut up. And throughout all of this I'm supposed to have "peace beyond all understanding". Oh, lovely! More condemnation, peace that I'm SUPPOSED to have but don't feel. Once again, SCREWED, in all situations I seem to be completely screwed in.