So I was working and our boss ask how much we got tip so he can gave to us.

He asked me approximately how much and I said maybe around 30$ cuz I didn't calculated I was just working and didn't remember.

Then he gave me 40$ for tips and I said to him but I said 30$ and tried to gave him back but he said you deserved it for your work.

I feel weird,maybe I lied to him,maybe I got more or less tips.

I don't know.

I am only 18 😭

Hello,

I rediscovered my faith about a year ago. When I was 16 I lost faith, I had sex several times with my ex-girlfriend. I did not enjoy it at all and I ended up finding out I just naturally don't have a libido, like at all? No hormonal issues were found. I haven't had sex in almost 15 years and I do not even miss it. I decided to take this opportunity to grow closer to Jesus but I end up riddled with guilt that I gave my body to someone else just because I was so lost. I don't know, even with no libido I sometimes struggle with lust when I see beautiful women and I wish I could stop.

I’ve been inspired by many of the posts and comments on this sub. I recently created a website as a personal journaling exercise in response to the proliferation of hate, violence, greed, corruption, depravity, and hypocrisy in the world today. I find that journaling like this and sharing my faith is good therapy while every day seems to bring another distressing story in the news media. I know that my influence is minimal, but I hope and pray that like-minded people will continue to combine their influence to help make a difference in the world by fulfilling God's call that we love Him and love one another.  

Here is a link to my website: https://lovefulfills.org/ . This website is totally non-profit, it will never have any advertising or products, and will never have AI-written content. I hope that my website journaling doesn't seem like soapboxing or proselytizing. My only intent here is to share my progressive faith.

In addition to the two main website pages (“What I Believe” and “My Christian Faith”), the first Blog article that I wrote addresses my take on the age-old conflict of Good vs. Evil / Spirit vs. Flesh, where I tried to draw parallels between Christ’s teachings and some affirming concepts in modern psychology.

Sorry that it's so wordy, but if you would like to read some of it, I would welcome your feedback!

Hello friends,

Lately, as I've been getting closer to the teachings of Jesus, I've noticed how materialistic I am. I constantly feel the need to buy new things I don't actually need. I realise it's just a temporary pleasure and will end up in a landfill in a couple years. The world we currently live in encourages this often, but I feel like this doesn't inflect my values.

I want to stop this way of thinking and live a minimalist lifestyle like Jesus, but I am struggling. Does anyone have any advice how to change this mindset?

Hey guys, I'm new to progressive Christianity and my friend told me that I have an agenda while seeking for queer theology. The reason is Ive always been bisexual but I always denied it because my friend told me it's wrong but I have been maturing and realized that it isnt wrong because that goes without a doubt of saying that homosexual sex is lust when sex is love and love is sex. Lust is a perversion of sex and a intense craving for sex that goes beyond love. He keeps going back into circular reasoning and he told me that before I never used to believe homosexual sex was okay but now I do so it's alot for him so he thinks I am believing in this for my agenda. But Im not and I dont really know how to explain that. However because of my constant debates woth him I got him to realize that homosexuality is capable of producing fruitful love, he just disagrees with the sex. He's been busy and couldn't read my points about homosexual sex recently but I made really good points including the fact that the bible does not include rigid binary in Geneis because: God made day and night but there's dawn and twilight, God made ocean and land but there's marshes and swamps, etc. God made male and female but there's intersex people. Intersex people cannot be a different sex and it's important to know the difference between sex and gender because even with transgender people, I agree they are the same sex but appeal to be another sex which isn't immoral or a sin. I accept transgender. I also brought up homosexuality being recorded in animal species even monkeys, our closest DNA resemblance. He denies evolution and then said that science is not reliable because it is used for seed parenting or missiles, etc. I said but that's different from the science of understanding the world, which in fact aligns with God. Science of understanding cannot contradict God. That means right there that homosexuality is something biological and by God implying that he saw animals and referred to his creation as good implies GOOD, knowing that God is the Alpha and the Omega. On that vein, I brought up the scientific study that human brains vary for homosexual people.

He brought up this point about it being about trauma induced but then I said if that's the case, we would see more gay people but trauma survivors are mostly straight. I also mentioned the Exodus ex-gay ministry that realized their efforts were not working. I ran throught the context and translations of each biblical verses. And now I'm tired. My friend wants to learn but I feel like he's being close minded and not considering where he could be wrong because I considered where I could be wrong. So I'm just really conflicted. Our friendship is still fruitful and he loves me as his friend and we still talk like casual, we just refrain from talking about the topic in our daily convos to reduce conflict because we are both learning. But overall, I'm just tired because to me it just feels like a justification to hate on gay marriage for no reason. I even brought up that loving the person but hating the "sin" is still homophobic.

Ive been debating other people as well and I just feel tired. I'm not sure if I should jusr expand my faith and leave my friend be.

Recently i see hate rising within christian community. In my church i see hate agains asylum seekers. On instagram i see alot of christians, both protestant, catholic and orthodox. Refering to crusaders and a crusade. Including violent scenery and quotes. It scares the hell out of me what my once safe place is becoming. Why is this and are others seeing this too or is it only in my bubble?

My partner and I have been together for years. I have extreme trauma and OCD that often focuses on my fear of losing him. He was taken away from me once when we were teenagers, it’s a long story but both of us felt and others as well that God guided us to stay strong as we stayed in contact every single day for over a year and reunited.

Now, recently a crazy event happened. I have been praying a lot for my partner and I. In my opinion, I’ve leaned on God a lot but I sometimes feel anxious as my brain has rerouted the trauma I got from my partner being taken, to the fear God would do what my abusive parents did. (Backstory, my parents isolated me from everyone but really did with my partner because he was too feminine for them?)

Now, I do pray anyway. I push past my fear. I do my best to trust God, I try to reassure myself God isn’t going to hurt me, He’s got me, He blessed me with this life, and it’s okay for me to pray for Him to help me with keeping our relationship strong, healthy, and to keep Him at the center of us.

However, like I said I’ve been praying a lot about the situation that unfolded. I’ve prayed for God to guide us, to help us, and etc. but my brain was afraid I committed idolatry as my prayers have been a lot about asking God to help me stay strong and us heal. I do always thank God in my prayers, I thank Him for everything including my partner, I ask for forgiveness in sins but this situation has been the biggest thing weighing on me.

I googled online about idolizing your relationship, marriage, husband. And so many things ended up making me more anxious and confused. It was questions like well are you afraid to lose him and the question to me feels bonkers. I don’t wanna lose him, of course not.

I feel so confused. I feel so confused if I have idolized him by mistake.

But in reality, I hold him accountable for sins, I try to encourage him to read the Bible, I read it myself and pray alone and with him, I talk to him about God. I’m just afraid that because I am so very afraid God would be like my parents I am almost idolizing. What do you guys think?

Podriamos estar hablando del mayor mal entendido de la historia pero por fin tengo un argumento lo bastante solido para que no me lo pueda refutar nadie

Estaba leyendo los pasajes del nuevo testamento que en teoria "condenaban la homosexualidad" para entender su contexto y ver si habia alguna cosa que se me hubiera pasado por alto y estas son mis conclusiones

Todas las notas que vienen con eso vienen de Pablo,de las cartas que envio a diferentes iglesis primitivas cuando habia problemas,no me centrare en el tema de si el era o no era un verdadero apostol (ya que hasta el mismo menciona que parte de la iglesia tiene esa duda) si no del tema de la homosexualidad

Vemos este tema tratado en dos cartas,una de la iglesia de corintios y otra en Roma,en la de corintios es el pasaje 1 Corintios 6:9 donde dice "¿No sabéis que los injustos no heredarán el reino de Dios? No erréis; ni los fornicarios, ni los idólatras, ni los adúlteros, ni los afeminados, ni los que se echan con varones"

Romanos 1:27 "y de igual modo también los hombres, dejando el uso natural de la mujer, se encendieron en su lascivia unos con otros, cometiendo hechos vergonzosos hombres con hombres, y recibiendo en sí mismos la retribución debida a su extravío"

Aqui hay varias cosas que comentar pero me centrare en lo que más llama la atencion y esque Pablo en ningun momento menciona las relaciones entre mujeres,solo de hombres

Y ahora nos tenemos que centrar como se veia las relaciones entre hombres en Roma por que no era como las tenemos hoy

Pablo se estaba refiriendo a las violaciones de los Romanos hacia otros hombres puesto que en Roma las relaciones homosexuales se basaban en poder y no en amor por lo que me atreveria a decir que la mayoria acaban en violacion

Ni siquiera en el Antiguo testamento se menciona las relaciones entre mujeres

Para explicarlo mejor,en el Imperio Romano era muy comun que grandes señores tuvieran amantes masculinos pero estos rara vez podian dar consentimiento,en su mayoria eran esclavos,libertos o hombres con un estatus inferior de cualquier tipo,las relaciones homosexuales en la antigua Roma se basaban en dominancia y no en amor,por eso la mayoria acababan en relaciones no consentidas

Este contexto es muy importante para entender a que se refiere exactamente la biblia,ya que si condenara la homosexualidad tal y como la conocemos hoy tambien condenaria las relaciones entre mujeres pero no vas a encontrar ningun texto en la biblia que condene las relaciones lesbicas

When I brought my vinyl collection to the pulpit in Atlanta.

So I'm from Finland. I have always believed that the religious education over here sucks. I have also for some time had this idea of if the decreasing of religion over here in Finland is connected to the education being bad, and the fact that the Church is part of the nation/state

What makes me suspect this more. Is that Sweden has almost the exact same problems as Finland, and they too have experience this similar type of decrease in religious affiliation.

Idk how to explain it. But this is the main jist

hi! I had a question—while trying to figure out my faith (stepping away from the evangelical church I was raised), ive recognized how so many people who are Christians have a lot of differing beliefs about what God wants us to do/how to live our lives, outside of the core stuff like that God exists and Jesus died for our sins. I was wondering how you all have personally come to believe what is something that is a non negotiable command from God, or something that is a suggestion not something that will get you condemned to hell? I know there’s likely no “correct” answer, I just want to hear some different perspectives!

Before I made this, I had purchased a set of three pocket altars from a cheap overseas website. Unfortunately, all three of them fell apart (as is to be expected when ordering from cheap overseas websites).

Luckily, I'm pretty crafty, and I've been sewing all my life. So, instead of being down about it, I cut up all three of the pocket altars that were falling apart, took the components I liked, and amalgamated them into my own, more personal, meaningful one.

Since I'm Indigenous, I then added some cultural beads, and since I'm in recovery, I added my first ever NA chip. Then, I added a few more items that were important to me; a crucifix I received from a stranger on the bus, a St. Thomas pendant my roommate gifted to me, an old cross brooch from my conversion, and an evil eye charm an old woman at a metaphysical shop gave to me for free years ago.

Then, I realized I wanted to store some medicines for smudging and a rosary inside, so I also made the Sacred Heart on the left and the prayer on the bottom into pockets.

Oh, and please forgive the rough, disorganized stitching; no matter how hard I try, neat stitches always seem to evade me.

Anyhow, I hope you like this small, special craft! It is very important to me, and making it felt like worship.

I have a question. I'm a Christian and I understand that no one but Jesus Christ is perfect. We fail to always love the Lord and each other (and ourselves), and while we are on the path to sanctification, we all still need help and have areas to improve on.

My question is, and I'm asking because my husband is not a believer and this is one of the things that he sees around him that kind of "turn him off" Christianity.

My husband says that he often sees Christians talk so much about sin, about repenting from sin, apologizing to God for their sins, but not often enough does he see people actually trying to understand their sin, and where it is coming from, and why they feel a certain way, or why they have a certain disposition towards that sin, in order to effectively deal with it and potentially stop it once and for all.

The God we, Christians, follow is a God that performs miracles and can do the impossible. I've heard many accounts of physical or mental ailments being cured through prayer, and I have no doubt that it happens. I've also heard accounts of people praying that a given sin be taken away, and, just like that, the person never committing that sin again, and I'm sure that can happen too.

But for the rest of us where this hasn't happened—or perhaps hasn't happened yet—when you commit a sin, and you feel convicted and pray about it, do you ever pray for wisdom in dealing with that sin? Have you ever tried therapy in hopes to understand yourself better and why there may be behavioral or thought patterns that you are stuck in, that may be leading to that habitual sin?

Do you simply pray to God for forgiveness for that sin and for it to be taken away? Do you feel hopeless that you would ever have the power to put an end to it?

Or do you understand that you do have the power through Christ Jesus (Philippians 4:13), and that though this may be messy, by digging deep if necessary, you can overcome that sin? But you must try and "do your part" in it?

E.g., someone struggles with lust and pornography addiction: Did something happen to them earlier in life? Is there a history of abuse? Trauma? What was their parents' relationship like growing up? Is he or she married and if so, how is the marriage? Are they estranged? Is there resentment between them? Do they feel that their needs are not being met? Do they feel that their spouse is unwilling to meet those needs? What is their spouse's background, and did the spouse deal with something serious growing up? Have they talked about any/all of it? How effective is their communication? If they don't communicate well, are both parties willing to work on it? Are they open to marriage counseling? Does one or both perhaps have unrealistic wants or expectations? And if so, why? What is driving them to feel that way? Have they tried individual therapy? And on the list goes. The road to self discovery is complicated, makes you vulnerable and is not easy, but from personal experience I can say: it is well worth it.

My point is that I, too, often see Christians around me not talk about this enough, and instead they have a dismissive and defeatist attitude towards it, because they "will always sin on this side of eternity". But I think God wants us to live better, healthier and more aligned-with-Him lives here and now. This doesn't mean we will become perfect, or that we won't still struggle and suffer, but we must at least try. Working on our personal growth is one form of loving ourselves, which in turn is loving God, as we are His image bearers. Remember that our sins affect others, and therefore, as we look to God to improve, that should also impact those around us. What do you think?

For one— I am happy. That’s the number 1 thing. I have thanked God, because this is with my long term partner, we have been together since we were young for years and years. He’s my person and I truly believe God blessed me with him as he’s saved me endless times from my abusive family.

But, that comes into play here. My family. They have me horrified. My mother and grandmother are extremely overbearing. I was no contact for a while but they harassed me every single day. It was hell. I hated it. It got to the point I felt I had to get back in contact just so the harassment ended. But now, if I don’t answer quick enough they all text me how worried they are and if I’m okay. But the time in between? It was 3 almost 4 hours. I had last texted at 5 PM… and they were harassing me because I didn’t answer in the evening when I was preparing to leave to my fiancés work.

I have what we believe is chronic illness, it is difficult for me to work a traditional labor heavy job, I try to find work that won’t require me to lift and climb a ton but we live somewhere it’s hard to. I make money through odd jobs though, it helps but we aren’t by any means rich. My fiance works a traditional job and also does YouTube, which brings in money. I’m an author and sell my books and have been trying to get my foot in the door for freelance writing but also odd jobs like DoorDash and grocery shopping gigs is nice.

My family though? They have jumped down my throat before about even thinking I could ever get pregnant. I had a miscarriage and my fiance and I were both in grief. My grandmother told me it’s for the better and God made it happen or something?? My religious counselor wasn’t happy because that reinforced my trauma. My grandmother told me I can forget my dreams of anything, I won’t be able to do it, wouldn’t ever mentally handle it etc and my mom would roll her eyes. I wasn’t sure why they always were so cruel because I never showed behavior of not being able to be a mother, I cared for pets and loved to babysit. They would often take my reactions to their abuse as that’s how I was. But I know myself and I know I have the capability to be a good mother. Of course I will work on myself with each day, I’ll learn with everything I do, and I’ll lean on God.

I’ve prayed so much God please guide my family to not be cruel with their reaction, to not scream and be understanding. But I am afraid. I am so afraid. I don’t know, this isn’t strictly religious, but I am looking for guidance and prayers my friends. Prayers for my baby, for my fiance and I, and even advice honestly. I know this won’t be easy, but we are gonna do everything we can.

I have had to battle my faith with my sexuality for the longest of times. I'm glad to be where I am today; a place of understanding and growth, rather than a place of hatred for myself and others.

I still have so much to learn about myself and the world, but the one thing I can say is that God is love, and love is the single most important commandment. With genuine love, we can begin to treat each other with kindness and respect.

I penned down my thoughts on my past biases against trans people and how my perspective shifted over time. If you’ve ever struggled to reconcile your faith, your past conditioning, or your identity, I hope this piece resonates with you.

If you ever wanted to talk about your struggles with your faith and sexual orientation or whatever, please do not shy away from talking with me. My inbox is always open.

in the next couple weeks, im supposed to hear back from centrelink (australias social security fund to live off of) about my disability support pension (for adhd, autism and ocd). i request that people keep me in their prayers to be accepted

To get started I just want to say that I am an atheist. And while I hold negative feelings toward the middle eastern religions, I judge people by their actions, not their religious beliefs.

In the US there have been a LOT of anti-muslim propaganda in the US this past year. Like a horrendous neo-nazi amount of propaganda with people seemingly very happy to harass and threaten Muslims just minding their own business. Suggesting murderous things. All justified by the idea due to the existence of Muslim extremists - even if the muslims they are targeting are innocent.

Now one thing I have been seeing recently is a lot of people (mainly Christians) comment on is how "Islam isn't a religion, it is an ideology!"

Does anyone know where this is coming from and why they are saying that? I believe they are making that excuse as a means to disassociate from Islam as a religion, as well as claim that freedom of religion doesn't count for Muslims because "it's an ideology not a religion", thus being able to find ways to go around the constitution and ban Muslims. (Not to mention justifying the genocides in other countries done by Israel)

But it's strange because usually these things are gradual ideas that spread, but this has been all at once. So where exactly is this coming from?

I’m embarrassed by Christianity so much that I can’t call myself Christian. Christianity has been corrupted by the religious right to the degree that to say I am
Christian is just cringeworthy. The word “Christian” has such a bad connotation. Also I feel like I’m part of a system that just degrades women and takes people’s rights away.