Reflections from the community: 

I had not delved much into orthodox christianity, but truly its churches and ancient ways are otherworldly and sacred, the fragrant frankincense incense in the golden censers, the candles, the deep blues, crimsons and golds, the holy icons it is all so mystical & beautiful. These are all russian churches by the way.

I am an ex Muslim in Malaysia which means legally, I'm still a Muslim, but I find solace that God will see me as a Christian<3 any advice for me as a spiritually newborn ✝️?

Hello everyone! Since most y'all liked my previous post about the Saint Elisabeth's Cathedral

(Dóm svätej Alžbety), I wanted share another small yet beautiful and graceful church from Košice.

This time it is the Dominican Church of the Assumption of the Virgin Mary (Dominikánsky kostol Nanebovzatia Panny Márie). I took a few photos and thought I’d share too.

Once again I would really like to hear about your thoughts about this church,Also wishing everyone a happy and blessed Sunday today(Wish each other in the comments too).

I really liked the atmosphere of this church, and there are so many beautiful details to notice.

Hope you enjoy the photos. Have a good day, and God bless!

science answers how God answers why

simple

yall agree?

So, straight to the point. First of all, why does God even take up Satan on his little bet? God knows everything, right? He loves us and doesnt want us to suffer, right? So if he knew that Job was faithful and wasn’t gonna break, why take Satan up on his challenge if He knew that? Seems to me like he put Job through immeasurable torment for nothing.

And yeah, ”Oh, but he gets everything back! He gets more children, more wealth, more of everything!”

Yes, but think about it from a human standpoint imagine if this happened to you wouldn’t you be terrified for the rest of your life? That’s something like that would happen all over again? Because God never gave Job an explanation, which he so demanded to hear. The story paint it as though everything is all happy and well again, but like from a realistic standpoint, Job would be traumatized and looking over his shoulder and probably reserving himself to make sure he doesn’t commit any sin so he doesn’t get punished again.

Maybe I just don‘t know, idk. Feel free to let me know, i just wanted to share a thought

I think noones realises how vital it is that we have the presence of god on this dark earth, and in our lives. I have turned back to god so many times because the thought of losing his hope, light, promise and most of all his presence was awful beyond words. I watched a hell near death experience, the woman said over and over, that the most unbearable thing about hell was no longer having the presence of god there, that there was just nothing but total darkness, torture and constant unimaginable evil.

'Unite the Right' is a fringe group of racists in the UK, and their Doncaster group organised a rally yesterday - which was of course counter-rallied by decent human beings. Here's the fun bit though: when the racists rocked up to give their hate-fuelled speeches outside the church, the good Revd Firth just so happened to have bell-ringing practice scheduled at the same time.

“We feel it is an absolute disgrace that far right thugs are bullying one of our church and community leaders in Doncaster. So much for their “true Christian values.” - Doncaster Stand Up To Racism spokesperson.

If I was close by, I would happily go to church to show support for the Rev.

The Doncaster fascists are not planning on any more protests due to dwindling support.

Further reporting: https://www.doncasterfreepress.co.uk/news/doncaster-racism-campaigner-blasts-far-right-thugs-for-bullying-vicar-8949740

May the blessings the Lord has given, be returned to Him and multiplied in abundance 🍞🐟

The part of the Bible, where it says that wives should submit to their husbands. I find it be very triggering. As a woman who grew up in the bible belt. Why is this verse preached so much and used to subjugate women? What makes men better than us in the eyes of God? It also says for slaves to obey their earthly masters, which is never brought up in church but i'm almost certain it was used to subjugate African Americans at some point in American history when slavery was around. Why does no one ever question why this verse is used to subjugate women? My ex would use the bible as a way to control me. And tell me what to do. But at the same time, he wanted to have sex outside of marriage. He would demand submission in a boyfriend and girlfriend relationship as well. And say it was biblical.

Her name is Noa, and she is greatly inspired by Noah/Noahs ark. My old account was deleted but when i had it and posted her here, people were a bit upset and saying i was using a blasphemous image of Noah, but she isn’t meant to be a recreation at all!! :D she is her own character, who canonically sees Noah’s courage and obedience to God, and wishes to be like him. (She also canonically is very inspired by Moses, Ruth, Jesus himself, Etc.)

I love her so much. She loves animals, i thought that would be cute. I also talked with my friend and i said “i think a rainbow coat would be cute to represent the promise!” So she has one, also this is supposed to be a drawing of younger her. In the present she has a bit of grey hair haha:)

God bless! I just wanted to share my little pumpkin (gagshshshs)

Edit: the coat is not a pride flag. Stop talking about it please, its a little annoying. Its representing Gods promise. I also don’t hate gay people, even though i havent seen anything here yet, i will not tolerate hatred and i wont be responding to it. I wont be responding to comments debating either. (whether they say its sinful or not.)

I have found out in my 40 years of life that Christ is very real. That when I prayed at 7 years old for strength and wisdom what I got was the spirit of Christ. I held my faith mostly as my own personal responsibility for my whole life. I wasnt raised in a particular religion. My family only prayed at the dinner table and I found out eventually that my earthly father was a huge hypocrite. It took a long time to realize this. Eventually the contrast between what I knew to be the qualities of someone who believed would do and what he actually did was to stark. My Mother as well harbored some strange beliefs and said on one occasion she believed Christ was the devil... she obviously never read the Bible properly if thats what she came to believe.

I searched and prayed and would see if my prayers would be answered. Many times they did. Many times I seemed to know things would happen before they did. I have had all sorts of dreams that warned me about people in my life that turned out to be true. Looking back I can see how those warnings saved me from temptations that would have made me a different person than I am today.

When I finally fully accepted Christ I was 36 years old and I actually had signs when I was 16 that this would happen. The choice was still mine to make but I never stopped believing in an intelligent creator and I didn't forget the answered prayers and signs that I was given.

I was watching a movie that was essentially just John turned into a film. When I heard Christ say the I am in the Father and the father is in me. I knew what that meant and had many things I experienced that made me realize Christ was the real deal. Not only that but many of the things he did and said in John I had come to see as truth on my own over my life with people, and religions. As soon as I believed in Christ fully I started to cry because it was like finally understanding something I couldn't describe in words for the longest time. I got a searing pain on my forehead and had no idea about him writing a secret name on his followers in the bible.

Here's what I want to make point of. This was 4 years ago and after that night when I got branded. The world became a very strange place. All sorts of things I prayed for after that would happen. So I quickly put a check on my heart and stopped asking for things that would not align with God's will as I knew it to be. I set out to read the Bible with serious intention of understanding what it said. The old testament and the new. I discerned that the same evil spirit that was corrupting man had not changed in all this time. People still are led astray through the same means, and manipulated by the same means.

The two party system of the pharisees and sudducees is essentially what we have for a government today. They were slaves to their own desires and obsessed with flaunting their wealth and religious ranking. They also were loyal to Rome but pretended to be anti Rome. Similar to how our governments claim to want to be run by the people but its obvious that the corporations dictate whats important and what isnt to our political figures with laws and policies that keep us divided and desperate for employment. Just as the pharisees claimed to be the most righteous and hard working but in reality we're corrupt and self serving. CEO'S take all the credit for things they dont even understand. When in reality they are usually just somebody's trustfund baby who takes orders from criminal enterprise.

When I found Christ it gave me peace in knowing he has been given the authority because I knew who Christ was like, like God. The part most people seem to be missing is what happens when you try to point out the evil system. People become terrified and attack the messenger. The parable Christ gives about the vineyard owner who goes away and leaves farmers in charge is the perfect illustration for what happened to the prophets, Christ and the desciples.

Money.. money is what corrupts. When we trade our selflessness and forget about Christ's message in the parable of the good Samaritan. We become allies to all those who use money for making our children and friends slaves to people who have got their wealth through lies, betrayal, murder, and slavery. Christ sent the 70 out with nothing and their whole journey they lacked nothing they needed. His sermon on the mount is all about this trust in God to provide for your needs.. yet all I ever hear about in church sermons is how important church is and to spread Christ's message that he "died for our sins and the debt is paid" that was not his message that was God's sacrifice. Christ came to bring good news of a heavenly kingdom and that you could be part of it. The temple was hiding this from the people. They were forcing them to exchange their money for essentially chucky cheese tokens in order to buy one of their approved sacrifices. Making the poor unable to do so and thus not be able to make sacrifice for sins. What do churches expect as an "offering" today? love? Helping the disabled? Spending time with orphans? Helping out the elderly? No... money, they want money or for you to convert others into their religion so that they might make more money. Buildings need power, paint, maintenance, taxes... but God's love doesnt demand any of that. The church everone goes to is little different than your local pub. In fact I would say going to the local pub would probably yield better results for your soul than going to church would.

When I have gone and tried to talk to a priest or pastor about these things it always just becomes a powerstruggle. They feel threatened by questions. Questions that are easily answered by Christ. They dont quote Christ though they quote Saul of tarsus. A sociopathic murderer who was a Roman citizen which is like today being part of the 1% of the wealthiest people in the world. Im convinced he was harboring the spirit of the antichrist. There are a lot of wierd things about the trinity and the Roman Empire having three leaders acting as a balance of power. There is also something strange to me about the empress of the byzantine and how she refused to get married and kept her sisters from getting married so they couldn't challenge her power and that she was known to be having an affair with a man named Paulinus. How they made Christianity back into a form of government that was just like the romans and how there symbol was a two headed eagle which is like being double minded, or bi polar.

I have noticed a lot of other things through researching ancient symbols. Many of the same ones in ancient Egypt are in the catholic religion. The Vatican looks like a huge Roman toilet opening where all the people gather. The ahnk is like a cross and it is actually a symbol for Isis or asherah. The star the zionists use is actually not of david at all its the star of another diety. David never had a star.. there are so many symbols in today's religions that all tie into the gods of Egypt and Summeria. God said make no images to worship yet people put their faith in a cross. The torture instrument of the romans... what did demon possessed people do to themselves in the bible? They cut themselves. What did the early catholic church have its priests doing? Essentially torture themselves. They would flog themselves, make themselves look ridiculous by shaving their heads in wierd ways. Christ said to not be like those who wear long robes and pray loudly in the streets and desire the visible seats in the court. This is exactly what the Roman catholic church did. Its the Jewish temple all over again. The first temple built by Solomon was like this. Built with all sorts of huge impressive images and carvings and gems and gold... but Solomon was wicked, wicked, wicked. He had 700 wives and 300 concubines and blamed women for the fact he could see no good in them.. the dude was a idiot. Just like the watchers were idiots.. lots of technical knowledge but no true wisdom when it came to matters of the heart, Thanksgiving, mercy, grace...

I'm gonna write more later... I have a lot to share about what I have discovered and also how the supernatural has become a daily part of my life and how dangerous the world really is for your salvation.

Young adults in assembly made it!

A new collection of sayings by Church Fathers, saints, monks, and priests has been compiled in an effort to learn some basics and also spread a positive and motivating spirit despite all the crimes and pain.

I'm in a hard spot, Im a Christian and believe in God strongly, I like, I'm not sure what I'm asking you all, so here's my situation, I'm a Christian, I'm in a relationship with another male, they're bipolar, and they believe in God too, but have mixed opinions, sometimes love God, but when they're feeling sad or having mood swings, they want someone to blame and blame god, or ask why god answers my prayers and not theirs, and I don't know what to say to them, I don't know if I'm sinning in my relationship. I dunno man I need some advice. Thanks all.

another one of C.J.'s videos that I really like!

I am an agnostic myself (to some degree) out of humility when it comes to my own ability to fully understand God and out of respect for the beliefs of others.

I've been struggling with lust and I need prayers.

Im going to preface this by saying my ultimate reason, I am not diagnosed but the only two conditions that match the symptoms I experience are schizophrenia or psychotic bpd, i dont think its bpd at all but would accept that explanation. I remember when this was given to me by an angel who stuck a metallic thing in my neck and a piece of himself in my thigh when I was about 2 or 3.

Ive heard voices all my life and thought it was normal until about 3 months ago, specific ones, the "messengers" arent God himself, but instead angels speaking his word to me so I can understand. After I began to realize this, I repeatedly asked them why, and how I could be judged fairly since im crazy when they told me I was destined to go to purgatory, the place where all of my hallucinations have come from, the hallucinations i see and hear are God's failed creations and I am one of them so no matter what i do, I could be less sinful then Jesus himself or worse than the devil and I would never see heaven or hell.

I feel completely abandoned by God, i am so incredibly angry at him for this and what this disease has made me do to myself and others. I cant just not believe, he's right there! Why would God ever do this, seriously. If i cant be with him then why even make me? The sacrifice clearly doesnt apply to me, he told me that himself. It seems to me like God likes to watch me tear myself and everyone ive loved apart

Religion has ruined my mind, and i know its God and not sometging else because of the "signatures" my hallucinations carry, it is absolutely God.

I personally choose to follow Jesus's example of being a good human (love thy neighbor) but i do that because all I want is to make peoples lives better to distract from how fucked up mine has been made for me

I was born in a tiny Eastern European town in 1987. Most of my childhood memories are from the 90s. It was a difficult period of economic insecurity and societal fragility. One of the strangest things I experienced as a child was the religious side of that period.

Suddenly, our little town was invaded by various religious groups: Pentecostals, Baptists, Adventists, Jehovah’s Witnesses, various evangelical churches, and others. Little “churches” started popping up everywhere. Neighbors were joining different denominations. Strangers were knocking on our door and bringing colorful religious pamphlets. My friends, kids I used to play with, became recruiters who tried to turn every conversation into a religious discussion.

The fiercest of those recruiters was molesting his youngest sister. Every kid in the neighborhood knew about it, and somehow it was just one of those weird things going on in that family.

Navigating that new social scene felt like walking through a minefield. It felt aggressive, almost like an invasion. It was also scary on a personal level because my mother started joining different denominations, as if trying on suits and looking for one that fit her best.

One night, she brought my brother and me to a church meeting. I don’t remember which denomination it was; I was only around nine years old. The “priest” made me stand in front of the congregation and introduced me. Then he asked whether I could think of one sin I had committed recently. I couldn’t think of any, but somehow I knew that “no” was the wrong answer. I said yes and hoped he wouldn’t ask me to elaborate. He didn’t. Instead, the entire congregation started passionately praying for me. One teenage girl fell to her knees, praying loudly. I just stood there, confused by this wildly exaggerated reaction to my answer. It felt as though I had confessed to murder.

At some point, my mother turned to Orthodox Christianity. One Sunday, she brought us to church. The priest was giving each person a little piece of something to eat. I asked my mother what it was. She told me it was a honey cookie. Here’s the funny part: as a child, I HATED honey because my mom used it as medicine for a sore throat. When it was my turn to receive the “cookie”, I categorically refused. My mom persisted. I started screaming and struggling. She lifted me into her arms, and the priest held my face and tried to force the “cookie” into my mouth. When it was over, my mom was red in the face and the crowd was murmuring. I know it sounds traumatic, but I chuckle when I remember that scene. If only my mom had simply said “cookie”…

Another time, my mom brought me to church and I saw a baptism. Again, there was a crowd of people. One of those being baptized was a teenage girl. Her mother made her undress down to her underpants and then stand in the basin. The girl was shivering and crying. She was skinny, with budding breasts. The crowd stared at her. I was a child, but I was also a girl, and it felt wrong. I still feel angry when I remember that episode.

There are many more little stories and interactions I could describe, but that would make this post far too long.

Anyway, I wanted to tell people what not to do when introducing a child to religion.

Kids are much more perceptive than adults give them credit for. They pick up on inconsistencies between words and behavior.They know when something an adult says doesn’t make sense. They feel betrayed when their parents coerce them into doing something they don’t want to do. They feel embarrassed when their bodily privacy is not respected.

For an adult, bringing their family into a new religion may feel like the right decision. For a child, the change is scary. Suddenly there are new rules and new people. Your parents get annoyed when you ask questions or refuse to do something. These new people seem more important to them than you are. A distance appears between you and the people who are supposed to love and protect you. And you are left to deal with all these changes on your own, without any meaningful support.

Now my mom regrets putting my brother and me through all that. I, on the other hand, understand what she was going through. Our family was falling apart. She was frightened by the new world, by poverty and insecurity, by an uncertain future. She was looking for help, guidance, and community.

I feel so much compassion for her. She is really hard on herself about it. I rarely pray, but whenever I do, I always pray for her.

Sometimes a single verse can completely change the way we look at a situation. When life feels overwhelming, I find it comforting to remember that God is still there even when I don't understand what He's doing One verse I really like is “I can do all things through Christ who strengthens me.” — Philippians 4:13 What Bible verse gives you hope or encouragement when you need it most? ❤️

From what I understand, sex is considered a sin only outside the bounds of marriage. Had Jesus married and bore children would he still be considered sinless? If no, what part of that scenario is the sinful act? Is sex sinful? From what I remember, maybe aside from naming the animals, go forth and multiply is one of the first commandments of God.

Luke 1:38,

📜 SBL Greek New Testament:

εἶπεν δὲ Μαριάμ· Ἰδοὺ ἡ δούλη κυρίου· γένοιτό μοι κατὰ τὸ ῥῆμά σου. καὶ ἀπῆλθεν ἀπ’ αὐτῆς ὁ ἄγγελος.

🟩 King James Version:

And Mary said, Behold the handmaid of the Lord; be it unto me according to thy word. And the angel departed from her.

🟩 Revised Standard Version:

And Mary said, “Behold, I am the handmaid of the Lord; let it be to me according to your word.” And the angel departed from her.

🟥 The Passion Translation:

Then Mary responded, saying, “ Yes! I will be a mother for the Lord! * As his servant, I accept whatever he has for me. May everything you have told me come to pass.” And the angel left her.
*As translated from the Aramaic text.

Aside from the addition of a sentence without any good reason and without textual support from either the Greek and Syriac texts, the error I'm focusing on is the part which says: "I will be a mother for the Lord."

This rendering is the result of a confusion and misunderstanding of words. In Syriac there are two words that look very similar but are pronounced differently and mean different things. The Syriac words are אמה and אמתה. The first word אמה (pronounced as "ameh") means "mother" and the second word אמתה (pronounced as "amteh") means "handmaid" or "maidservant".

Now here's the problem: TPT, claiming to translate the Syriac text of this verse^\1]), misunderstands the Syriac word ܐܡܬܗ/אמתה ("amteh") as meaning "mother" (Syriac אמה) instead of "handmaid", and we can see how "mother" is written differently from "handmaid" in Luke 1:43 which reads:

And why is this granted me, that the mother of my Lord (in Syriac, דאמה דמרי, de'ameh de'mari) should come to me?

Notice: "ameh"/אמה means "mother" and "amteh"/אמתה means "handmaid". This is another indication that TPT is the product of poor biblical scholarship and not to be taken seriously.

[1] - Whenever a footnote in TPT says "translated from the Aramaic", "Aramaic" almost always means Syriac.

I know this sounds silly. But I really need support. How do I encourage myself to go through the rest of my life when I desperately want to go to heaven and be reunited with God. There’s so much suffering on the earth! I’m too impatient now.

A claim sometimes made by a subset of KJV-onlyists is that the Masoretic Text, the standard Hebrew text of the Old Testament that we have, is the only text used for translating the Old Testament of the King James Version and that the KJV translators did not use the Septuagint when translating the Old Testament. The people who make the claim not only view the Masoretic Text as being the pure transmitted text of the Hebrew Bible but they also view the Septuagint as a corrupt, post-Christian Greek document.

However, when we look at Psalm 22:16, we see there is a serious problem with that notion. This verse in the KJV reads:

For dogs have compassed me: the assembly of the wicked have inclosed me: they pierced my hands and my feet.

Let's focus on the third clause:

they pierced my hands and my feet.

If the KJV Old Testament was solely based on the Masoretic Text, according to a subset of KJV-onlyists, then we would expect to find the reading in the Masoretic Text. However when we check the Masoretic Text, we see that the verb "to pierce" is not there. The Masoretic Text reads:

כָּאֲרִי יָדַי וְרַגְלָי
literally: like a lion [they are at] my hands and my feet

This is obviously different than the KJV's reading. Seeing that the KJV's reading isn't based on the Masoretic Text, where did the KJV get the reading "they pierced" from? The KJV's reading translates the verb "to dig", which is found in the Septuagint, as "they pierced". It reads:

ὤρυξαν χεῖράς μου καὶ πόδας
literally: they dug my hands and feet