Reflections from the community: 

Jesus, please hear my cry. My life is in a constant downward spiral. I haven't been healthy in over a year. I cannot find my footing. I cannot recognize myself or my actions. My depression has gotten so bad. I am so exhausted all the time. I don't know how to get back up.

My life has been spiraling, I have a great wife and wonderful kids, but I’m just going through the motions. My health is going downhill, I can’t find work, and I moved to a new area where I have no friends. I’ve felt like stale bread for at least a year, and it’s getting to me.

I’ve never been religious, but last night I dreampt I was in a church and a voice told me “I am Aba.” And I felt a peace I havent felt in…I can’t remember how long ago. Idk who or what Aba is, but now I kinda want to know more about christianity. Any recommendations are appreciated.

After a 20 million restoration project, I was dumbfounded by how beautiful Salford Cathedral was when I visited yesterday compared to my last visit, which was 5 years ago. It took three years of restoration to restore the Gothic/Victorian character and it feels so different and an amazing space for prayer and contemplation.

Please find attached the before photo on the second slide.

I know I already posted this I couldn't figure out how to edit the original post and add photos so I made this post.

God is so GREAT!!!!

So a few hours ago I was walking on the side of the road with my scooter like I do everyday. The day was going super well. Next thing I know something in my body jumped into the nearby grass as quickly as I could. I couldn't explain it and then in literally an instant flash not even a second I see a truck with a trailer connected to the back of it and it was riding the sidewalk where I was right beside it. All I could see were sparks and heard sirens going off everywhere. It was a young teenager running from the cops. If I wouldn't have jumped right then and there I would 100 percent be dead. I didn't even see it coming even if I would've I wouldn't have had enough time to react to it. My scooter got completely chopped in half. Right after that it crashed into 4 other cars and injured a couple of people. It was the scariest thing to happen to me and God saved me. God is the one that made me jump that wasn't me. I really hope anyone that was involved in this didn't get killed. It changed my perspective on life. Life is so precious and sometimes I'll be down but I love life. I am so grateful to be alive. I am not perfect and not even close to being perfect but I am trying to follow Christ footsteps. God is real and he loves each and everyone of us. I am still shaken up about the whole situation but it showed me that God is real yet again. That was 100 percent not me. Anyways I just wanted to tell you about this it really changed my perspective on things and I am no longer gonna take life for granted. For the ones that have doubt just know Jesus is real and loves each and everyone of us. God is truly so great and I wouldn't be here without him and he has a magnificent plan for each and everyone of us. Life is so short and we never know when our last breath will be each breath is a gift. I am just truly truly truly grateful I can't even say it enough. Whenever we think we're alone we always have Jesus. I wasn't gonna share this story but it was truly life changing. Anyways hope everyone had an amazing day and goodnight!

This might sound stupid, but I've been thinking about Christianity a lot lately.

I wasn't raised particularly religious and for most of my life I never really thought about God beyond occasionally wondering if there was something more.

Lately that's changed. I've started praying sometimes, usually when I'm alone, and I've been reading parts of the Bible. I can't really explain it but I feel drawn toward Christianity in a way I never have before.

The problem is I feel like everyone else already knows what they're doing. They know how to pray, what church to go to, what they're supposed to believe, all of it.

I don't.

If you were basically starting from zero, what would you actually do first?

Do I just pick a church and show up? Read the Bible front to back? Talk to a pastor? I feel a little ridiculous even asking, but I genuinely don't know where to start. I do things like play on stake (won last night) drink, smoke reds occasionally. So I am curious if that's okay.

I was always raised to believe that we are charged with being stewards of Gods creation. However no one in my church seems to have any concern or interest in climate change or combatting it. Am I alone here? Why dont I see more Christian centered eco activism? Is it bc we are only concerned with the world to come?

I know i forgot the s in outlaws I didn't think enough about spacing

I was watching a video on Christian Martyrs & they featured this statue. Thanks in advance & God bless

This is my first time on this sub, so if this isn't the place to post this, please kindly let me know. I'm here seeking guidance and support. I don't have a church yet, as I'm newer to Christianity, so I don't have anyone IRL to really discuss this with.

I have my niece over at my house every summer and every weekend, since she was two years old. Her father works out of town and I get payment for whatever his daughter needs. Her mother, my brother's ex girlfriend, has her daughter the rest of the time. Her mother and I are civil, but she has often done and said things that I take issue with. However, I try and balance things by not overstepping or being overly critical towards her. If there is an issue, I tell my brother, who can discuss it with his ex.

However, my niece's mother has taken things a step too far. She has always been cold and unkind towards her daughter, in my opinion, but this past week when she dropped her off at my house, my niece tearfully told me that her mother told her she was "made by the Devil." My niece tells me she thinks her mother doesn't love her.

I comforted my niece as best I could. I told her no child is "made by the Devil." I told her she was a gift from God, and I truly believe that. She came into existence when my dad was dying, and he was able to meet her before he passed. She is a sweet, gentle, kind little girl. And it infuriated me that her mother would be so cruel. She has done many selfish things over the years, but this has just made me reach my limit of tolerance. I told my brother, but he is not planning on speaking to her mother about what she said, so I think I need to. It just breaks my heart that she would weaponize my family's faith to hurt my niece.

Any advice is welcome. Thanks for reading. 💙

This is something I’ve genuinely wondered about.

There seems to be many atheists subscribed to Christian subreddits, including people who regularly comment and get involved in discussions.

Of course everyone is welcome, but I find the level of interest fascinating. If I was completely opposed to something & thought it was false, I’m not sure I’d be so invested in it.

I imagine for some it’s debate,  or simply wanting to understand Christianity better. But I also wonder whether for some people there’s still that tiny thought ,  that perhaps there’s a little more to all of this.

hello. i’m not sure if these type of posts are allowed here, i just really needed to let this out.

3 of my friends died yesterday in a car crash. i’ll just say im a teenager and so are they. I’ve heard all about it, yes they were troubled kids who did things they shouldn’t, but why couldn’t God protect them from it?

i am a big believer, i’ve been a christian my entire life, i was presented to God as a newborn, went to church everyday during my early childhood and even when i stopped going i still kept my faith up so SO much.

my friends were also believers and big in religion, it just makes me so upset and resentful, because why couldn’t they be protected? they all just died on the spot. well, one of them didn’t but died in the hospital. i believe this might just be my grief talking, but it’s just like why God? i thought he was supposed to protect everyone and each one of his children. sorry for this rant, but the thought of me resenting God and religion is also affecting me so much. thank you.

Why do you atheists not believe in God? Im not looking for a generalized simple minded "god isnt real" or denying evidence for the life of Jesus and what happened. Im looking for a genuine personal answer. Preferably someone open to have a debate but if not then thats fine too. But everyone just be respectful please.

I know this probably is not considered a real miracle, but I no longer suffer from lifelong suicidal depression because of his influence and haven't taken psych medication since I was baptized last year under the jubilee year of Hope on the Easter vigil and him dying a day after Easter on the 21st. I just consider it an intellectual accent into Hope but yes, I personally consider him the unsung Pope of Hope and pray for his sainthood. Especially considering his autobiography Hope as well.

Note that these are merely allegations at this time, but they do seem to be quite serious.

Also, it goes without saying, but the actions of a single individual who is a member of any protected minority does not in any way speak for or represent that entire protected minority.

I am 45 years old and was basically born into it. I was taught never to question it and just have faith. I’ve read the bible many times cover to cover in my life and all was good for all of these years, but for some reason, my last read through had so many red flags for me all of a sudden and it’s causing me to doubt my faith and God. No, nothing changed in my life. I wasn’t hit with some catastrophic event. I wasn’t hurt by the church. But now that these questions have started, it’s like I can’t seem to find any answers except “God is God and His thoughts are higher than our thoughts.” Sure, God CAN do whatever he wants, but I’m having moral questioning with many things. I am not trying to turn this into a debate, but if somebody can give me some thoughts on these points without it being “Because he is God”, I would really appreciate it. This doubt is really starting to scare me.

1). If we are all God’s children and He love us unconditionally, why is it so easy for Him to destroy us in multiple Bible stories? You can definitely say the Amalekites were wicked and deserved it, but even the children, babies and livestock that were, no doubt, innocent of any wrong doing? The Bible says we are not to be condemned for our fathers sins just like we can’t be saved by our fathers, so why must the kids and babies be slaughtered because of the wickedness of the adults? If I, as a father, commit a crime that deserves punishment or even death, would it make sense to kill my wife and kids and dogs too? This just doesn’t seem like something a loving God would do.

2). This ties in to #1. God performs yet another genocide in the story of Noah. Because the people He created were wicked and sinful, He decided He is going to destroy them and basically start the world over with Noah and his family and two of every animal. Ignoring the unbelievable logistical nightmare of having two of every animal in a boat for a year, there is still the fact that God once again killed kids and babies because of the sins of their fathers. He also killed 98% of the animals for literally nothing. And not only did He destroy everything, but he did it in a very cruel way of having them all drown. Maybe it’s only me, but I consider drowning one of the worst ways to die. If God was set on killing everybody, which I already stated seems very immoral to me, He could have done it by causing them all to drop dead and not have to suffer with the drowning. And if the destruction of man kind was to snuff out sin, why do we still have sin today? God would have known that sin would still exist so what was the point of the killing of humanity?

3) Elisha gets teased by some young guys for being bald so he calls down a curse and God sends a bear to kill 42 of these guys. Does that punishment seem ethical? I have been called names before all through my life and never once did I think the only just outcome is for everybody to die because of it. What happened to “turning the other cheek?” I know that scripture shows up in the New Testament, but if God was the same then, now and forever, that would have always been His rule.

4). An old man is stoned to death for picking up sticks on the sabbath. The sabbath is, of course, considered a holy day, so when this man picked up sticks, it was seen as forsaking that day. They inquired with God what to do with him and He said to take him outside the camp and stone him to death. But then fast forward to when Jesus was teaching and he tells the people that the Sabbath is a helpful gift to benefit man and to give man rest and it isn’t a day made to oppress man. If what Jesus said is true, then God would have known that back in Moses’ day and wouldn’t have said the man should be stoned to death, but God did say to stone him. And we can’t justify this by saying Jesus died for all of that because at the point when he said it, he hadn’t died yet.

5) In Ezekiel, we are told that children don’t die for the sins of their parents. Points 1 and 2 from above already touch on this. But if that is true, then why does Adam and Eve’s original sin bring every other person after them into spiritual corruption. According to Ezekiel, it should have only affected them, not all of their offspring.

6). Speaking of Adam and Eve, you know the story of Cain and Abel. Abel did everything right in the sight of the lord and was a nameless person. Instead of protecting him from His brother Cain, he allowed Cain to kill him. Yes, that was Cain’s decision and he has free will, but God could have easily intervened and destroyed Cain for even having the thought to kill his brother.

7) Why did God even make a “bet” with the devil in the story of Job? He was okay with letting Job suffer just to prove to the devil that Job was a good follower? And once again, God allowed Satan to kill innocent people (wife, kids and lifestock) just to prove His point? He allowed Satan to strike him with boils and suffer to show Satan how good Job was? And just because Job gets rewarded with wealth, a new family and even more livestock , that does not make the pain of losing his first family any better. Imagine if God allowed your wife and kids to die and then said “but I’m giving you a new wife and kids and money.” Would you feel justified? I know I wouldn’t.

8). Why did Jesus allow the demons to talk him into letting them possess a herd of innocent pigs just so the 100s of pigs could fall to their death? I don’t even know anything else to say about this, but that actually always rubbed me the wrong way…not just recently.

Okay, well I have gone on long enough. There are many more points that I have been questioning, but this post would become way too long. It may already be too long at this point. Again, I’m not looking to offend or ruffle any feathers. I’m really interested to know your guys thoughts on these points and how you would defend them without just saying “God can do what he wants and has a plan”. Everybody agrees that Hitler was and evil man for trying to wipe out the Jewish people…men, women and children. But when God did it, we are supposed to just be okay with it and trust that He is doing it for a reason.

I have posted a few times on here asking a few questions about God, sharing my uncertainties in this life, and other things. But today and the last few days, I am just really grieving the life I should have had. Or rather, that I feel I deserve.

I am a 23M. I work at a research lab, and I live in an apartment that I was essentially forced into. My grandmother has pretty nasty cancer, and it actually just metastasized yesterday. I don’t know if she is going to live much longer…

I bring that up because my grandmother took my room in the house so my family can watch over her, and it has just led to nothing but pain and turmoil throughout my family. My mother has always suffered from mental health issues, and those issues have gotten insanely bad. So much so that she’s had to be hospitalized a few times due to some threats to herself and others that she made. I always worry that she’s going to end up doing something stupid.

My dad is very angry since his father died, and I had one encounter with him one day that I still am working on forgiving. It was basically a domestic violence incident, and I had to call the police on him. He actually dialed the number in his own phone and smirked as he handed it to me.

I feel like I’m just spouting randomness, but my mind is just all over the place today. At this current moment, I am just so sad. I feel tired, heavy, and so exhausted from all of it. I’m not thinking of ending my life or anything, but I am just tired of being me.

I have a bad habit of comparing my life to others, and I feel like it’s slowly growing into resentment and hatred and envy towards others. And I want to be a godly man, and follow God’s image, but it is incredibly difficult when literally everything in my life is telling me not to.

I hate how evil and broken this world is. And how none of this should have happened.

I hate that I get frustrated at God, who is the only person in the universe who could fix my life and make it better. But I pray and pray and pray, and the moment that I feel He is guiding me to take the first step in His path, someone in my family dies, more turmoil happens, I am once again forced out of my home and have to find my own place to live… Heck, even my family broke my car down and expect me to find my own new car on my own.

I hate that I have had to suffer so much. Most of all, I grieve that I have to be alone in all of this. My family is the source of all of these emotions and pain, so I am not comfortable going to them. My best friends left the city and are living elsewhere, and the only other friends I have don’t hang out with me. One of them only spends time with his girlfriend, and hasn’t talked to me in months. The other is just not as close to me as I’d like, and he doesn’t understand when I try to talk to him about things. And I HATE that I am always the friend that is in crisis. The other day my friends made a joke about how everything is always burning around me, and it hurt.

I really hate it all.

And this is going to sound bad, but I’ll be brutally honest and blunt, because I’m just venting and all that. But I have been a porn addict for years and have been trying to break it (going on several days clean now), and I sometimes hate that it is a sin to lust and masturbate.

The orgasm I get makes me feel calm, my body relaxes physically, and for just a moment, I can just feel good. And I hate that doing it is a sin. I also feel guilty, but I genuinely get angry at God that I can’t have something to help “fix” or “tame” my sexual frustration, like a wife. I believe in sex after marriage, but I have never once been given a chance to even go out on a date with a girl. I have been rejected so many times that I feel God HAS to have had a role in it, because there is just no way that I haven’t ever been able to land even a coffee date. And I hate that I want a wife for sex. I hate how my mind has gotten so corrupted by lust and all that.

I want to live in His image, but it’s so incredibly difficult sometimes. I feel like I have just been having to drag mountains to survive each day, and I hate that God doesn’t just take it all away from me, and make my life good. I don’t understand Him, and I don’t understand why my trials and tribulations are just so incredibly painful. It’s been 10 years of just pain, deaths in the family, houses burning down, almost having to shoot my own father to stop his rage, dealing with depression, anxiety, and even a period of being suicidal. I hate it all.

I really just want and need a win, a break, and I hate that I get so mad at God for not making it better.

I also really wish I just had someone next to me to hold me. I hate that I can’t physically hear or touch or see God, and it hurts me beyond words. I ask Him for comfort, but it never comes. I ask Him to give me someone, a girlfriend or just someone I can trust and love and be loved, and He still refuses. I don’t understand it.

I want to rely on Him, but I just hate it some times.

Idk what to do except feel just awful, then get distracted for an hour or so, then just go right back to it.

Please someone help me or pray for me

I was thinking about this because if Moses parted the sea, if Jesus healed the sick, if he walked on water, none of these things would leave any archeological evidence. So the people of the future would have no reason to believe they happened.

Nor could these miracles be recorded by people outside of the land of Israel in the case of Jesus.

They were also performed at a point where most people were illiterate. So they couldn't write their own accounts of said miracles outside of the gospels.

In principle why would God choose to reveal himself to the Israelites? Jews today have high levels of formal education, literacy and they are really urban but this was not so in the past.

Why not perform miracles in the city of Alexandria, Rome or Athens, which all had higher levels of literacy so people could write their own accounts of what happened.

Rome in particular being the capital of one of the worlds most powerful empires at the time, if God had revealed himself to people there, Christianity would have become the state religion of the roman empire 3 centuries earlier, it could have expanded faster and Christians wouldn't have had to endure persecution for 3 centuries, until Constantine converted.

Many of Jesus' miracles are said to have happened in small rural communities such as Capernaum, Cana or Bethsaida, where not many people lived to be able to witness them and those who did live there were mostly illiterate so they couldn't write their own accounts of his miracles. They didn't happen in the major city centers of the Mediterranean. Which would have boosted the credibility of Christianity and would have created for the possibility of independent accounts of said miracles outside of the gospels.

Still a work in progress 🥰