Reflections from the community: 

Hi guys, i’ve decided to turn my life around from now (i’ve always been a christian) but have been going through some challenging stuff so one of my friends go me a bible a couple weeks ago but till now i haven’t read a single verse. So from now on I’m willing to devote my life to Christ.

So i reaching out because come to think about it, i really haven’t know how to read a bible all my life and i would want to know what you guys do or practices you’ve adopted.

Any advice would be appreciated.

If you do not believe Jesus is God, you are not a Christian.

I find it shocking that some people that claim to be Christian find this hard to agree with.

I’ve always felt that if your faith isn’t fragile, something as harmless as dressing up in costumes, carving pumpkins, or enjoying spooky decorations shouldn’t feel like a threat to it. I respect everyone’s right to practice their religion however they choose, but I find it strange when people treat Halloween as though simply participating in it could compromise their relationship with God. To me, a strong belief system shouldn’t be so easily shaken by a holiday. There’s a difference between having strong convictions and being so fearful of the world around you that you can’t separate harmless fun from an actual threat to your faith.

I want to know if, according to Catholic teaching, it is considered a sin to report an abuser (a guy I dated for almost a year) to the police for sexual and physical violence.

I am afraid that Jesus would rebuke me if he is sent to prison, because the Lord is the one who will exact vengeance, not me. Although, to be honest, I wouldn't view prison as vengeance, but rather as a punishment. But who am I to punish him? On the other hand, I don’t want him to do this to anyone else, and I am genuinely worried that he has a problem...

God bless. :)

it’s called “He Who Paints The Butterflies“ and the artist is Paige Payne 

Related further reads:

https://lexkhoj.wordpress.com/2015/12/16/supreme-court-people-cant-be-forced-to-do-yoga/

https://persecution.org/2016/11/09/supreme-court-says-yoga-will-not-be-forced-on-christian-schools/

So I actually didn't know this was the shortest verse in the bible until recently and even then I always felt kinda strange just at the thought the God in the flesh would weep, idk just always thought there was more depth to just those words"Jesus wept" and that it wasn't just about Jesus weeping. So this morning I was reading John 11 again and noticed the Greek uses a different word for Jesus crying than for everyone else around Him. When Mary and the Jews are weeping in verse 33 the word is klaio, which is loud mourning, like the wailing people did at funerals back then. But in verse 35 when Jesus weeps the word used is actually dakruo, which just means to shed tears, and from what I can tell that's the only time that word shows up in the whole New Testament (I might be wrong). So the image that painted is basically everyone around Him is wailing out loud and He's just quietly crying. What got me even more is that in verse 33 and 38 it says He was "deeply moved" and the word there is embrimaomai, which is more like being indignant or angry, it's used for like a horse snorting. So it's not just sadness, it's almost like He's angry at death itself or at the fact that people have to die or something any one else catch that or am I just reading to deep into it? Anyway, the crazy part is He already knew He was about to raise Lazarus, He literally says so in verse 11, and He still cried anyway. Honestly that changes how I see that verse cause it's not Him being sad without hope, it's Him feeling the weight of it with the people He loves even though He knows how the story ends. I wonder if anyone else has looked into the different words in this chapter or has some insight on the anger part cause that one surprised me a bit?

Hey, [r/Christianity](r/Christianity).
After a lot of consideration, I think I’m converting to agnosticism. This isn’t a post asking for advice on changing my mind or for people to pray for me. This is a thank-you post.

None of you have ever met me, and I’ve certainly never met any of you, but I’ve been Catholic since I was a child, growing up in a very Catholic country. I’ve always been surrounded by Christians and Christian beliefs, and there’s no religious community I’m more grateful to. I’ve learned a lot from the Bible and from the people who preached its teachings, and I’ve become a better person by putting those teachings into practice.

For the past year, I’ve been trying to get closer to God. It took me a long time to realize that I was doing so out of fear. Fear of dying, fear of not going to Heaven, and fear of spending the rest of my life suffering in Hell because I had sinned. I know we’re supposed to fear God, but that’s not the kind of life I want to live. I’m 17. I don’t want to wake up every day in constant fear. I want to be able to live my life. I want to be able to get drunk someday and occasionally feel envy without constantly worrying about whether I’m sinning.

On top of that, I adore martial arts, something I’ve come to understand that some Christians believe is incompatible with their faith. I know these might not be the greatest reasons to leave a religion, but they’re the reasons I feel this is the right decision for me.

SOME Christians’ hatred has definitely contributed to my decision. The way some people hate Muslims, gay people, and anyone who doesn’t want to convert to their religion has been difficult for me to reconcile with my beliefs. I don’t think I can associate myself with a religious community whose faith is based on love when some of its followers seem to have so much hatred for others.

After all of this, I just want to thank you all once again. I hope every one of you has a blessed life. I’ll pray one last time for everyone here.
Thank you for everything. 💌

EDIT: Thank you for all the good luck comments, and for those wondering why martial arts can’t coincide with Christianism, some styles are deeply entwined with Taoism, Buddhism, or Shinto worldview concepts (such as pantheism, where all is divine). This is not my attempt to discourage any Christian who practices martial arts, it’s just one of the reasons why I left the religion, tho that doesn’t mean it should be anyone else’s reason. Thank you once again.

I used to wonder why God would want us to worship Him. We’re so small in the grand scheme of things—like grains of sand—so I asked Him to reveal the reason to me.

One day, while scrolling, I came across someone explaining this very question, and what he said made sense to me:

God knows that we’re made to worship. We often admire singers, actors, and athletes, and sometimes we even put ourselves at the center of our lives. We tend to become like what we admire and focus on. Just look around: we live in a culture that often celebrates self-image and attention.

Our Heavenly Father created us and knows us completely. When we worship Him, we’re drawn to become more like Him. He is holy and without sin—the example we should aspire to follow. To me, this is another way God shows His great love for us. He is amazing.

My boyfriend is a devout Christian, whereas I was raised religious but am now agnostic. He says he wants an obedient and modest wife and believes marriage isn’t a partnership. I’m independent but also attracted to a traditional marriage where my husband leads. I worry about my opinions not mattering if we disagree.

For those in traditional Christian marriages, what does obedience look like in practice, especially when the wife does not share her husband’s faith?

I have intrusive thoughts - it's like this kind of thinking just barges in when I try to do anything bad. But I definitely don't want to do anything bad, yet right now I'm absolutely panicked

I’m 23 years old. My mom and I share everything—we’re kindred spirits. I had never dated anyone before—never even had a boyfriend. A friend from university, who had been in love with me for a while, asked me out. I told my mom and my stepfather—who has helped raise me for over 15 years—that I was going on a date for the first time. They were supportive; they even joked, "It took you long enough to start dating a guy!" They asked if he would be coming over to the house, and I said no.

Last night, I came home in tears. My mom and stepfather—who were having dinner—asked me what happened. I only told my mom: we had been seeing each other for two months, and nothing had ever happened—not even a quick kiss—but yesterday, we were studying as part of a group of seven students. I don’t know if it was planned, but everyone else went out to buy pizza, leaving us alone. He immediately asked, "Can I kiss you?" I said yes. Then he asked, "Can we be intimate?" I agreed, but when I saw him putting on a condom, I felt both disgusted and afraid. Honestly, I didn’t feel anything during the kisses. Miraculously, just as we were about to begin, he ejaculated. I got up immediately and left. There was no sex. When I got home, I called him—we’ve been friends since I was 15—and told him, "I’m sorry, but I don’t feel anything for you. I’m so sorry; I feel terrible about this." He replied, "Thanks for letting me know—good luck!" I only told my mom, but my stepfather overheard us. He stood up and said, in a very stern tone, "What you did is terrible. Get up from the table, pack your bags, and get out of the house." (It’s worth noting that he is a pastor.) I was having a breakdown, but my mom immediately stood up to him.

She said, "She didn't do anything wrong; she’s a young woman with principles. She’s 23, and this is the first time she’s ever kissed anyone—that’s something to be proud of! We all make mistakes. Why don't *you* leave instead?" And just like that, he left the house. He hasn't been in touch with us since. What should I do? Was what I did really that bad? How can I help resolve this problem for my mom? :( I’m desperate!!

Hi. I’m new to Reddit but feel like this is the only place in which I can express my feelings and get unbiased feedback.

I F24 have been married to my husband M25 for 18 months. We met in college at a Christian club as Faith is really important to both of us. We only dated for 6 months before our engagement but it took 16 months before we had our dream wedding. Throughout our dating time and our engagement we didn’t live together and practiced abstinence as we both wanted to save ourselves until marriage.

The night of our wedding we did the deed and although it didn’t last long it was awesome. The issue that I am having now is that we have been married for 18 months and have done the deed a total of 13 times including our wedding night and our honeymoon. Even if I initiate which I try to do often he tells me “not tonight” or “I’m not in the mood for that.” I have gone to lengths that I don’t want to share to try and increase our intimacy life. I don’t feel desired or wanted and it hurts.

Recently I shared my feelings with him and he shared that although he is attracted to me on many levels he just doesn’t enjoy intimacy as much as he thought he would and that can go a long period of not wanting it at all. He said he enjoys when we shower together and that is all he needs but that sucks because there isn’t even any touching most of the time.

I love my husband but I am unsure on how to handle this. I don’t feel desired and wanted.

Any advice would be great, sorry for the novel:)

TL;DR how do I handle our intimacy disconnect?

I'm a recently converted christian and grew up in the bible belt not really attending church. I have been looking into Catholicism and Orthodoxy as they are the oldest denominations and I've got questions.

- Why do both of these seem cult like in the "youre not one of us unless you beleive everything we believe, so no you cannot receive communion"

If i am wrong on this, apologies, this is something that I have heard and seen on some Catholic pages and websites. This seems to be the opposite of what christianity is supposed to be, like creating extra rules for no reason seems like more of a ridiculous way to drive people away, which I thought, and still do think, is the reason Jesus never slammed everyone with a bunch of laws like in the old testament, so the gentiles would come from all around the world to worship him?

As stated in the title, I want to read the bible to better understand other people's beliefs. I was raised completely atheist and i don't know much about Christianity.

I want to read the bible as though it was a scientific/historical text to digest the contents thoroughly. I am looking to find the most historically accurate version of the bible. I did a google search and found so many different versions I don't know which one would be the best for me to understand. I consider myself very scholarly and have good literary skills.

I mean this in no harm whatsoever, I just want to learn more about all religions.

Even within Christianity, there are so many different denominations, and even within each denomination, people disagree with one another. Everyone interprets the Bible differently, so what are we supposed to believe? Is there really one that is right? Everyone seems to claim that their own tradition is the true one, and lately, I’ve been meeting so many Christians from different denominations that I’ve started to feel really confused.
Christians usually marry other Christians, but is it really possible to find someone whose denomination, beliefs, and way of practicing their faith align with mine? Most people are bound to have differences, so what if those differences lead to hurt and resentment? What if I eventually start hating not only my own denomination but other denominations as well? Is there really an answer to all of this, or are there some things that no one can ever truly know?
I don’t want to keep getting hurt. Why can’t we be one? Why do we have different beliefs and different ways of practicing our faith? Why does it have to be this way? I don’t want to keep getting hurt anymore.
People are already difficult enough to understand sometimes, so how do married couples deal with these differences? Did they feel like they were destined to be together, or was it difficult for them, too?
And there are people whose beliefs seem strange or even wrong to me, but they still seem to live perfectly happy lives. I think everyone has probably felt this way at some point, because there will always be people whose beliefs are completely opposite to their own. But when I see them living happily, it sometimes makes me question whether my own beliefs are strange or wrong, too.
I don’t know. I’m still trying to find my way in my faith, and lately, I’ve been asking so many questions about disagreements, complicated issues, and philosophical things. I don’t really have anyone I can talk to about these things.
It’s not that I absolutely need to know all the answers. I just want to understand how I should think about all of this.
Why do we judge one another when we are all Christians? Why? Why can’t we just love one another?

I’ve never asked for anyone to pray for me before. I feel kind of weird about this, like I’m doing something wrong - I wanted to ask for prayers because I’m 24 years of age and been diagnosed with arthritis.

It’s genetic, got it from my pops it’s a long story. I’ve been in pain for 6 years now maybe 7 not sure anymore, it’s been getting worse.

I’ve been thinking this may be my punishment, I always say to people god allows trials and tribulations not to punish but to strengthen us, our faith and bond.

But lately I’ve been thinking that i might be wrong, yea this is all for me to for the reason I mentioned above but because I needed it, I needed to be humbled and punished to become better?.

I don’t know I’m tired, I’ve been in so much pain for so long it’s exhausting but I’m going to keep it pushing.

But if it’s okay with some of you, I’d appreciate some prayers not to get rid of the pain completely - I feel like I need it to stay humble, but just so the pain subsides a little.

It’s all over my body I’m tired, for the first time yesterday I felt it in the middle of my left palm, going all the way through as if someone’s driven something through it. 10/10 pain I’ve just lived with it so long it’s become part of my life, you can’t even tell by my face I’m in pain.

But anyways, the reason ive been thinking I may actually be getting punished is because of the pain I felt in the left of my palm. But I think it’s me just overthinking it, arthritis coincidental pain in a weird place caused me to think that. Despite me knowing Jesus had a nail driven through his wrists not palm.

I don’t know anymore, what to do or say, please just pray for the pain to go down a little if that’s okay. I don’t know if it’s asking for too much and I’m doing something wrong by asking for this right now, I’m sorry but god bless he loves us all.

I’ve been going through stuff lately and each time I get emotional and I start praying and ask God for guidance and help. Tbh I’m not the best at praying and sometimes I’m abit frantic asking Him to take away whatever pain I have in my heart

Usually while sobbing halfway I just suddenly stop… and it’s like my tears never happened and what I asked for help with suddenly became a small issue .. and I’m calm or at peace

Does it usually happen to everyone? What does it mean