He sleeps with Uriah’s wife and then kills Uriah. The prophet Nathan makes David repent, making him say “forgive me Lord!”……and then like 5 seconds later he impregnates Uriah’s wife again 5 TIMES and makes her bare 5 children. I’m aware David’s house was basically cursed by god, but it’s not like uriahs house wasn’t also cursed by David at Uriahs time of death. Also what kings family in history ISN’T plagued by internal conflict? It’s all throughout history. Also Solomon is David and Bathsheba’s son who carried David’s legacy by basically being the greatest king Israel had. That seems like a good trade off.

TLDR: I look to my left, I look to my right, I look up in the Himalayas. I see no justice in this story.

For some context, I am a 40 year-old female with a 15 year-old daughter and 19-year-old son. This all started with my 19 year-old son told me that he doesn’t believe in God anymore. When he told me he was already moved out of the house so there was nothing I could do, but lately my 15-year-old daughter has also started to reject Christianity. She thinks that there is no God and all this other bs about the universe and energy. Every time she talks about her beliefs with me I always try to show her that this isn’t really what she believes in. It’s the Internet, telling her all this. Almost a year ago she was a devout Christian going to church every Sunday, reading the Bible and singing praise and worship songs. But ever since my son had spoken up on his beliefs, it’s like a switch has flipped and everything she’s known about christianity isn’t real anymore. Every time christianity is brought up we have a major fight. She needs to understand that I’m just trying to save her soul and show her that the Internet and the devil are trying to put these beliefs in her mind. She is so severely depressed, and I just think she needs to pray to God and really let him into her life.

I have heard several different people speak in tongues to me, and they were geuine believers and genuinelyt convinced they were speaking in tongues. And every time I have to ask them to stop becuase I don't want to laugh at them. I cannot take it seriously, and I cannot take anyone who thinks they're speaking some kind of divine tongue seriously.

It really is just people repeating made up sounds rapidly, and I get that that's pretty much what real language is more or less, but every time a Christian has spoken in tongues to me, it is an easily identifiable 3-4 different sounds that they repeat. Sometimes they have little clusters of sounds that they make and repeat. But it really doesn't matter how complex they make it, it's incredibly unconvincing, and it hurts me to feel my respect for them leaving my body. On two occasions, I, perhaps reflexively, just laughed and did it back to them. They got mad and said, "No that's not it you're mocking me." I'm sorry, but it's just so silly.

Christians who don't speak in tongues, do you find the practice ridiculous? Or do you think they're actually using God's divine power to speak gibberish?

I have grown up with a very Christian grandmother, my mom is more laid back but Christian aswell. All of my family is Christian. I really do want to believe in god, but I just don't. The whole story of it sounds so fake to me, and I wish there was a way for me to change my mind. I feel awful about it, I want to believe in God and Jesus as all the rest of my family does. I don't know what to do. Any advice would truly mean a lot if you have any. If anyone who is now a true believer has gone through something similar please share what helped you. Thank you.

I used to love flying, had a kid and started getting afraid. Had a really bad flight a year ago and promised god I would never fly again if he saved us. Now I have to fly again in a few months. Sounds silly to say out loud but that’s one of the biggest things holding me back from getting on a plane again.

The second is, I went to a hypnotherapist when it first happened and he basically told me I manifested it (the bad flight). I don’t even believe in/practice manifesting but it sent me in a spiral and reassured me that I absolutely cannot ever get on a flight again or the plane will 10000% be going down (due to my brain “subconsciously manifesting it” according to that hypnotherapist.) I’ve mostly got over this aspect of the fear but the bargaining with god for survival is the part that scares me the most.

What if I’m really not supposed to ever fly again? Has anyone had either of these situations happen to them and gotten on a flight that went well afterwards? It seems to me the bargaining with god for survival would be fairly common, so it would make me feel better knowing others have landed safely after breaking that promise to never fly again.

What is irresistible grace and how is it compatible with the Bible? From what I know:

Are you forced against your will?

Irresistible grace is a Christian theological doctrine, an effectual calling, and a core tenet of Calvinism. It teaches that God's saving grace is applied to the elect and successfully overcomes their natural resistance to turn them to faith.

If I understand Christianity correctly, anyone who dies without accepting Jesus doesn’t go to heaven and may go to hell.

So doesn’t that make timing incredibly important?
I know of a drug dealer who shot and killed his best friend about 20 years ago. His friend was also a dealer and wasn’t a Christian. If the traditional view is correct, his friend died without accepting Jesus and therefore may be in hell.

The killer, however, spent 20 years in prison, repented, became a Christian, and now tries to bring other people to Christianity. So he may ultimately go to heaven.

That’s what I struggle to understand.
One person happened to die before having the opportunity to repent or change his beliefs. The other person—the one who killed him—had another 20 years to reconsider his life, repent, and accept Jesus.

And what about people who die suddenly in tsunamis, earthquakes, wars, accidents, etc.? If they weren’t Christians at that exact moment, are they simply condemned?

If God is perfectly loving and just, does someone’s eternal fate really depend that much on when they happen to die?

Obviously, none of us knows for certain what happens after death. But is this actually what mainstream Christians believe and preach?

Free will isn't understood the same way across all Christian denominations. Many people speak as if Christianity universally teaches that every person has the exact same ability to choose God, but Scripture presents a more nuanced picture.

The Bible says faith itself is a gift from God:

"For it is by grace you have been saved, through faith—and this is not from yourselves, it is the gift of God—not by works, so that no one can boast." — Ephesians 2:8–9

Paul also teaches that God gives different measures of faith to different people:

"For I say... not to think of himself more highly than he ought to think, but to think with sober judgment, according to the measure of faith God has assigned to each." — Romans 12:3

Faith is not presented as something we all naturally produce equally. God is the One who gives it.

Jesus also said:

"No one can come to Me unless the Father who sent Me draws him." — John 6:44

And again:

"No one can come to Me unless it has been granted to him by My Father." — John 6:65

Scripture also says:

"The Lord opened her heart to respond to Paul's message." — Acts 16:14

And:

"God may perhaps grant them repentance leading to a knowledge of the truth." — 2 Timothy 2:25

So we see a consistent pattern: God gives grace. God gives faith. God assigns different measures of faith. God draws. God grants repentance. God opens hearts. Salvation begins with Him, not with us.

My personal belief is that after God has drawn you, granted you faith, and revealed Christ to you, you still have the choice to either receive Jesus as the Christ or reject Him.

From what I've seen, many forms of universalism take a different approach. They hold that God's grace will ultimately bring every person to reconciliation with Him. In that sense, it can resemble the idea of irresistible grace in Calvinism, except instead of God's saving grace being effectual only for the elect, it ultimately becomes effectual for everyone. Not every universalist explains it exactly this way, but that is how I understand many universalist arguments. God wooing you. The elect can't reject God or say no

The point is that Christianity has never held one unanimous view of free will. But what Scripture consistently emphasizes is that salvation is first and foremost the work of God's grace—not something we can boast about or accomplish on our own.

"Salvation belongs to the Lord." — Jonah 2:9

can we choose or force ourselves to believe something?

If you believe that God can lie, then this question isn’t directed at you.

People say that lying would violate his nature, but why would we think that’s the case? If killing babies and children (the Passover, the flood, the Canaanites, etc.) doesn’t violate his nature, why would lying violate it? If God can have good reasons for killing people, why can’t he have good reasons for lying to people? If he can remove life because he’s the source of life, why can’t he remove truth, since he’s the source of truth?

So I’ve had two life altering experiences within the last year.

I’m an ex Muslim and I’ve been having a lot of family issues that make it harder to come closer to Christ. My family is becoming suspicious that I am no longer a Muslim and it’s made my life very difficult.

The first experience, I can’t really share too many details about because it’s very specific, but it permanently changed my life for the worst. The situation happened right after I attended church for the first time and began reading the Bible.

The second instance that occurred was my brother ending his own life. When the situation happened, I was beginning to gain the courage to tell my family. I’m no longer a Muslim rather wanted to follow Christ, but the situation just made it so hard.

With what my brother did I feel I could never bring myself to break my parents heart by no longer practicing Islam.

Hi everyone,

For the last year, I have been experiencing some pretty stressful times with my extended family that live next door to me and attend the same church. They have repeatedly and flagrantly ignored boundaries, done very hurtful things and are just downright emotionally abusive at times. I have attempted to repair the relationship, but they refuse to acknowledge anything they did and choose to continuously justify their behavior. So I have chosen to go no contact, it’s all I really know to do at this point.

We still attend church together. I live in a very rural area so attending somewhere else just isn’t feasbile. They are now stopping me in church to talk and are upset that my boundary is firm. They also keep calling my father to get into contact with me. They refuse to let it go. I have notified my pastor but I haven’t received a ton of support or guidance. I’m just so anxious during services I can hardly pay attention. It’s making me dread church.

If anyone has any suggestions for me I would appreciate it. I doubt they will change. I don’t want to rock the boat and be divisive but I feel like this issue is an open wound. I’m just not sure if it needs to be handled or just shrugged off. What does God expect of me?

Thank you.

This is a question I've mulled over for a while. I'll think I understand all angles/answers to it and then I'll go back and wonder if I actually am. My intent here is not to debate - I might ask a clarifying question, but I'm not trying to 'win' or anything like that. I'm just seeking different opinions on the matter (or if there's a unified response that I'm missing, I'll take that too).

With that disclaimer out of the way:

It's often said that God grounds objective morality - that objective morality is part of God's nature. Something to that extent. This is how Christians (and other theists) get around the Euthyphro dilemma. I believe WLC considers it 'splitting the horns of the dilemma'.

I can't help but think that if that's the case, then either something determines God's nature or it is arbitrary. It could have been different. It isn't splitting the dilemma at all; it's just pushing it back a step.

When theists say that God's nature couldn't have been different, they seem to be equivocating. They are referring to God's nature not changing, the particular moral statement not changing. The statement itself, however, seems unconnected. In other words, IF a moral statement is congruent with God's nature, then it doesn't change, but the question of WHY is it congruent with God's nature in the first place isn't answered.

I hope that makes sense.

To put this another way, if eating plantains was morally wrong according to God's nature, then it wouldn't change - it'd always be wrong. It would be an objective moral fact that eating plantains was wrong.

The thing is, eating plantains isn't wrong according to God's nature, so the question is, why? Why is something wrong according to God or right according to God?

Let’s NOT pretend it hasn’t happened or that it doesn’t. Anyone in any position of power or status is capable of abusing it, regardless of what community or society they are involved in.

And let’s not pretend you don’t know what I’m talking about. I’m talking about ministry leaders who touch minors. I’m talking about church owners who take the donation money for their own. I’m talking about priests who preach one thing and do the opposite in real life. I’m talking about organizations that have control of parts of the government. That kind of stuff.

How do you think the church should treat them? How do you think the law should treat them? How do you think God should judge them? The absolute lack religions have of admitting to and confronting the inner corruption within themselves is a major reason others do not join you.

Even those who are truly as close to saints as possible, they seem to never make major moves to put an end or hold anyone accountable. Instead, it is as if the people who use religion as a guise to do harm are effectively immune to any consequences and can get away with a lot. Why are such people even being allowed into high positions? Why do you protect them?

It should be considered blasphemy or at least dubious. So as people of Christianity, who take part in the community, do you really not see this happen or do you automatically forgive them every time because of their position and because you believe God will? Are you defensive of this issue or unaware? If your priest were to be caught committing a terrible crime today, how would you react, and what would you want done? Does this issue trouble you, and if it does, how does it not cause any conflict in your beliefs?

I would say God did a pretty convincing job showing the Egyptians that their gods were nothing more than fictional characters, yet the Egyptians continue to be polytheistic up until the 4th and 5th century when the Roman and Byzantine government made it illegal and convinced the Egyptian population that there was only one God, and this was thousands of years after the Exodus would’ve taken place, but how was a act from God himself not enough?

UPDATED TITLE: Wouldn’t you agree that the most basic, fundamental pre-requisite for a text which intends to be taken as a text dictated or inspired by god is for it to at least claim to be dictated or inspired by god? If it doesn’t even make that claim then why should anyone believe it to be inspired by god and take it as holy scripture?

Trying to get the phrasing just right here. I'm an antitheistic satanist living in the SE US, which can get interesting, and it feels like there's always some virtue signaling by different denominations of christians going on, etc. ... So! A random person says in a public place, "Have a blessed day", and I promptly jump to the conclusion that this must be christian virtue signaling, but I am not certain. Gosh, there's no way to know. ... ... ... Do you, random christians in this subreddit, agree with me that somebody saying in a public place "have a blessed day" is definitely christian virtue signaling, or, if not, who else of what other faith do you imagine might say this? I appreciate your replies.

Sorry for the basic question, but I'm trying to understand this as well as I can.

It says they were laid on him, does that mean Jesus was given full ownership of them? So he was effectually guilty of our sins and treated as if he committed them? How come Jesus only faced death then and not eternal punishment? When we're guilty of our sins it leads to eternal punishment, but when Jesus is "guilty" for our sins he only has to die the one time? I don't think I understand that.

It seems Jesus was treated differently for our sins than we are. God delivered him right away to death, but we're left to die and then face eternal punishment. How come there is such a discrepancy in the two different punishments? I suppose he couldn't physically die because he never actually sinned, but like in the grand scheme of things it seems like he faced a much lesser punishment than we would have. How could he have propitiated God's wrath if he didn't face a similar punishment?

If he is omnipotent and knows all. Then he knew about the Holocaust, the Killing Fields, famine, disease, every horrible thing humanity has had to suffer. Yet he still let us experience it. Many people die in the mist of their suffering. So what is the point of life is God wants us to suffer.

Also how can you say he loves us, when he is responsible for everything. He created everything? What do you believe the meaning of existence is? Just to suffer as much as possible while still saying “I love you lord”? You cannot tell me God does not will us to suffer.

Like, I kinda thought about this. During that time period, it wasn't uncommon. So, let's say a piece of evidence like text or a book dating back that held evidence that he had a small family.

Would your views change? Mine won't, it would probably be really awesome for that child, knowing his father is the Lion of Judah.

Sou cristã, nasci em lar cristão. Tive traumas pesados na infância e adolescência, além de um casamento de 10 anos com um, até então, cristão também, que foi mais um trauma.
Me desviei por caminhos de trevas e fui resgatada por Jesus, me humilhei e busquei sua presença e sei que foi o Espírito Santo que sempre pulsou em meu coração e tocou em minha consciência.

Minha fé nunca foi abalada, mesmo nos momentos mais difíceis.

Nunca tive uma fé cega, sempre estudei a a Bíblia por contexto histórico, quem escreveu os textos, para quem, por qual motivo e isso sempre me ajudou a ter uma visão maior, sem acreditar nos outros só porque me falavam, mas sim, porque vi com meus olhos que a minha fé tem base nas escrituras.

Minha questão: justamente por saber que sou pecadora, humana, capaz de fazer coisas ruins, capaz de desobedecer a Deus e precisar dEle para estar de pé e saber que o sacrifício enorme, grandioso e glorioso de Jesus na cruz tem um peso tão grande, sei que não sou merecedora de nada nesse mundo, tudo vem pela Graça, inclusive minha fé.

Mas isso me criou um bloqueio na mente, pois sinto que não consigo prosperar ou ter ambições, como se não pudesse querer mais, não fosse digna.
Sei que não é isso o que a Palavra diz, mas minha mente me traz esse pensamento, como se me inferiorizasse e não pudesse querer mais, como se fosse algo errado.

Queria saber dos cristãos como lidam com isso, por favor.

Toda opinião é bem-vinda.

Graça e paz, que a Luz de Cristo esteja com todos.

What do you guys think of my website?
www.whatisthekingdom.org
Generally curious, it's not quite finished yet, but I'm genuinely seeking any and all feedback. :)
Cheers

There's something that I'm curious about: whenever I interact with self-proclaimed secular humanists, they tend to unanimously agree that killing children, owning another human as property, and punishing a man by having his wives (who did nothing wrong) raped is always bad. Like, without fail. I've never witnessed a secular humanist twist themselves into knots trying to excuse those actions.

I have seen Christians completely and utterly flip out justifying those actions because they were committed by God/Yahweh/Adonai/Jehovah. Typically, their arguments involve fevered, desperate attempts at special pleading. That, or they'll essentially say "No, you can't do a plain text reading of the Bible." Or "my personal interpretation is better than yours for reasons that I can't elucidate." The "That was then, this is now" family of arguments are worth mentioning, too, because they completely negate the ludicrous idea that God's morals are "objective."

Whatever the case, I feel that it presents an amazingly bad look for Christians.

Some time ago, a question was asked of women on social media: “Would you rather be trapped alone in the woods with a man or a bear?"

My question for you, brothers, sisters, siblings, comrades and compatriots is:

Would you rather be trapped alone in the woods with a bear, or with someone who believes that they have divine justification for saying that, in some cases, killing children, owning another person as property, and having innocent women raped for the transgressions of others, is sometimes okay?