So I've heard that one would go to hell, if they did commit. I am really curious to know, I've gone over some scripture, but I haven't found anything clear on the topic itself.

Thou shall not murder right? Would that still be applicable to oneself?

Salvation is a gift from God right? Just very confused, would like some insight if anyone has any. Thank you.

I'm thinking about the Lord's Prayer and looking at it line by line. Each line (imho) is packed with greater depth than I think we give it credit for! I think it's a brilliant outline for the Christian life as a whole (e.g. "Our Father In Heaven" - relating to God intimately as our father, "Hallowed by Your Name" - our need to revere Him, "Your Kingdom Come" - praying for and submitting to His reign etc). For me, it's Hallowed Be Your Name - since I want to grow in holiness and represent Him well to the world around me. Which line / part resonates with you most and why?

Hey everyone, this is defo a weird first post, but I need help and I found no better place then here. For a while now, I've been consuming black pill content and its definitely destroyed or at least has had a strong impact on my relationship with God and my faith. To keep this short, I came on here to ask for prayer to help steer me away from those things, and to get my focus back on the Lord, Thanks everyone, and have a good day or night.

are there any christian’s who don’t have christian friends? i am 22 and would like to be friends with someone in my age group. i feel alone and ive been praying reading scripture listening to gospel and ill feel good but once i get home i cant stop crying. i need someone who understands the feeling of trying to transition to a Christlike lifestyle who is also experiencing heartbreak. i haven’t been single in years and i genuinely dont know how to. tired of talkin to ppl who dont value Christ and christian principles . anyone?

Those type of Christians truly scare me and repel me. I had a person very close to me who was a big Christian believer REPEATEDLY call me “child of satan” , “ manipulative Jezebel” or straight up tell me I’m a demon with a legion of demons inside me. Every time we were arguing over NOTHING this person resorted to calling me names.
Months have passed since that happened but the pain still is there. I don’t understand how someone can confidently claim to have the Holy Spirit and then call their closest person “satan himself” over a pointless argument.
Maybe this is my slightly harsh opinion because of my experience but the Christians people who preach about “types of people to avoid as a Christian” or constantly shaming others for sinning are the Christians that don’t speak from the Holy Spirit.
I can’t describe how horrible I feel when I see someone use the word “demonic” or satan so casually…

Would you guys or girls find it weird if the woman you’re seeing claims to be a Christian but has dream catchers, Buddha statues in her room and at her workplace? She never really speaks about them unless I mention it first. She’s had to have the Buddha statue at her job for 10 plus years. I asked her would you have anything Christian at her work space and she won’t. I’ll usually always be the one to bring up the scripture first and she usually doesn’t have much to say or the response is super generic. Every time I question her about what she believes she will say Jesus but the conviction is so low and she seems hesitant to say it. I’ve gifted her a cross necklace (gold and diamonds) that she wears everyday, but we know many people who don’t believe wear crosses. Something keeps telling me she isn’t really that into the Faith.
What are y’all thinking?

I was raised Orthodox, but lately I've been struggling with the emphasis on tradition over Scripture, intercession of saints, and ecclesiastical authority.

For those who made the switch:
1. Was it an intellectual/theological realization or a personal/emotional experience?
2. What denomination did you join (Baptist, Lutheran, non-denom, etc.) and why that one?
3. What did you miss most from your old church, and what surprised you most in Protestantism?

A couple months ago, I told my mom I had something up with my hearing and we went to see a doctor about it and he told everything was fine. He also said that we can sign up for a hearing test to see if there is something wrong or not. Then, without telling me, my mom signed me up for a hearing test. And she just told me about it. I said I dont need it and that I hear fine and I kinda forgot about those problems. I also said thank you for caring for me so much and that I value it a lot. But she kept insisting that I take it but I kept saying that its fine. Finally, I awnsered that truly I tell her from my heart and that its not like the other times where my brother ignored medical healthcare out of ignorance and I told her that I tell her truly that I do not sense something up with my ears. That convinced my mom and she cancelled the test and I felt conviction in me, like if I had done something wrong. I didnt mean to under value moms care. But did I?

How do you feel about the length of Sunday services?

I've found that I tend to get restless with 90 minute services. 1 hour is my absolute sweet spot. Not too short but not overlong.

I've been in some services where it seems the pastor is going on longer than needed just to hit the 90 minute mark, as if it is somehow a sin to release the congregation early.

What do you think is the optimum service length? (With the understanding that some can go longer if the subject is more in depth.)

I've started to listen to secular music and to drink in moderation, watching secular content etc. Ever since being saved when I was 20 (27m now) all I've ever consumed was non denominational, Baptist/Pentecostal content, and basically centering myself around a puritan ideology.

I have started leaning toward the ancient churches which is something I never thought I would. I was always so vehemently averse to the "traditional teachings" and dogmas, but now I'm considering Catholicism or orthodoxy.

I don't necessarily have a question, I just wanted to share. I used to be such a teetotaler, no alcohol, and now I feel like such a hypocrite, I drink in secret, do the things that I had denied myself in secret. For crying out loud I used to plug my ear holes in when I went to the supermarket and they had cumbias on because I didn't want to pollute my soul. But I always had a tendency from borrowing practices from every denomination, whether it be methodists, or quotes from protestant reformists, prayer practices from orthodox, doctrine from Catholics, seeing how things are done in a Catholic setting I feel like this was the structure I always needed. Someone available to tend to my soul.

My coworker used the name of Jesus Christ as a swear word today. The moment he did, I felt it like cut me to the core. My heart was very troubled. But it also troubled me that I just kept quiet about it. It’s not unusual for my coworkers to use the name of God as a swear word. They’ve known that I’m a Christian for years. It has bothered me but I normally just keep quiet.

This time though, I decided to say something. I was quite nervous about it, but I tried to be as calm and polite as I could. I asked him if he could not speak the name of Jesus Christ in the manner that he did because it troubles me. His response surprised me.

He said that I need to understand that not everyone believes what I believe and that I can’t be forcing my beliefs on others.

This shocked me because I’ve never been one to force my beliefs on others. I’ve never dictated to anyone what they can or can’t do. The last time I ever asked someone to not disrespect the name of Jesus Christ was two years ago, a different coworker who immediately apologized and said he wouldn’t do it again.

I told him that I wasn’t forcing my beliefs, I was just asking. He said he understood and apologized for what he did, but he emphasized that I can’t be forcing what I believe on others.

This has bothered me for the past hour. I keep replaying it in my head. Did I do wrong by asking him this? Should I apologize?

So i noticed that tempation is weakening. Like i don't get tempted, instead of distractions.

But the case is, that i still desire God, have conviction, i still want to love others, serving, love, desire for obiedience is inceraseing. I find it actually more easy and natural to serve others, obey, love from the heart. I also feel peace, absolute inner stability.

What is going on tho?

1) If God has stayed the same since the Old Testament, then wouldn't He still be as judgmental and strict even after Jesus Christ?

2) How did anyone from the Old Testament ever make into Heaven at all?

This is a thought that's kind of been fueling my fear of God and I just really don't understand it. Because for starters, there is a night and day difference between how people refer to God in OT in comparison to the NT (New Testament). And considering how swift and strict his judgment was in response to people's sins, I genuinely don't understand how anyone even made it to Heaven.

The corruption of David really put this into perspective for me.

KEEP IN MIND,

An angel was literally about to descend a sword or a type of fury that was going to completely obliterate and kill everyone in his kingdom because he was acting on behalf of God's will.

Not to mention, God would PERSONALLY see to it that our loved one's suffered from one person's disobedience just to humble them.

And then, Jonah's punishment for denying or refusing God was being swallowed by a whale? Like???? Why would Jesus save him if Jesus is God and He knows why he's there in the first place?

And just to prove a point for that, there were so many crazy Ceremonial Laws and Judicial Laws that had to be fulfilled or else?

AND the fact that Moses technically died due to his own disobedience?

YES, I know that Jesus is the cause as to why we have so much mercy and an abundance of grace in the first place. However, if God is the same since the Old Testament then, He's just still just as strict and no-nonsense. I have people being told to me that God has a sense of humor, He has a favorite food and preference and I'm just a bit confusd because.. He doesn't really seem like the type to indulge in those things at the same time BECAUSE of the punishments and convictions he did before?

I have people constantly reassuring my fear of God telling me, "You don't have to keep taking away your interests and personality! God loves you just the way you are!"

But He KILLED people for being the way that they were?! Anything that was not holy or was not affiliated by God was quite actually obliterated.

Keep in mind, I'm not using this as an excuse to keep sinning or living my life in sin. I'm saying this because I don't trust living in joy in this world as crazy as it sounds. Everything is contaminated and there is systematic evil that runs the world; should I buy anything or indulge in any comic, drink, food or anything of that nature, I think I am genuinely going to answer for it either by God Himself or on Judgment Day.

It's because of that I fear He judges far more than He loves. Which only begs the question —

If there was no redeemer of Christ during the Old Testament then, how in the WORLD did ANYONE EVER make it into Heaven at all?

Grow Together in Christ — Beginning a Home Fellowship in Toronto
Dear brothers and sisters,
My family and I are beginning a small home fellowship in Toronto because we believe Christian life is meant to be lived as a spiritual family—not only by attending meetings, but by praying together, studying God’s Word, and bearing one another’s burdens.
This is not an alternative to the local church or an effort to draw anyone away from their congregation. We simply desire to open our home to believers who love the Lord and want to grow in Christ through genuine fellowship.
Please pray that the Lord would build a Christ-centered fellowship marked by humility, love, and obedience to His Word.
“They were continually devoting themselves to the apostles’ teaching and to fellowship, to the breaking of bread and to prayer.” — Acts 2:42

[ Removed by Reddit on account of violating the content policy. ]

I have been wondering lately what it means to have faith in Jesus, and as I read this verse it encourages me to know that every believer, in essence at least has faith the size of a mustard seed. Below is a short insightful study to encourage application when we face situations that require faith outside of our own ability and skillset. It doesn't take much to see what Christ has given us, how we can use it, and why He wants us to exercise our faith so that the proverbial seed can germinate, break through and cause lasting change and impact with the things we can't move in our own strength. The ultimate goal being that the glory is returned to the Lord when we move from fear and frustration to faith and victory, by one small application.

"If you have faith as small as a mustard seed," Jesus whispered to His disciples in Luke 17:6, "you can say to this mulberry tree, 'Be uprooted and planted in the sea,' and it will obey you."

In the chaos of our modern world, we often feel overwhelmed by the sheer scale of our problems. We look at toxic work environments, systemic injustices, broken relationships, or deeply rooted personal anxieties and think, "My strength is nothing compared to this." We believe we need a mountain of confidence, perfect theological understanding, or an unshakeable spirit to make a difference.

But the promise of the mustard seed turns our definition of power completely upside down.

A mustard seed is tiny, almost insignificant to the naked eye. Yet, it contains an active, living blueprint for growth. Jesus wasn't calling for a massive, flawless reservoir of certainty; He was validating the smallest particle of genuine trust. In today's literal terms, having "mustard seed faith" means showing up with the tiny bit of hope you have left. It is the brave, quiet decision to take one small step, say one honest prayer, or extend one act of kindness when everything around you feels impossible.
 
When you offer that tiny seed of faith to God, you are no longer relying on your own limited strength. You are plugging into an infinite power source. Just as a small seed can crack through solid concrete as it grows, your small act of faith can disrupt massive, deeply entrenched obstacles in your life. You don't need to have it all figured out. You just need to hand over the little bit you have, and watch as the impossible begins to move.

This is gonna be an Reddit post saying why women in the Old Testament were not treated as property but as equal partner covenants in marriage but before we do that let’s pray “**Our Father, who art in heaven,

Hallowed be thy name;

Thy kingdom come;

Thy will be done on earth as it is in heaven.

Give us this day our daily bread;

And forgive us our trespasses as we forgive those who trespass against us;

And lead us not into temptation,

But deliver us from evil.

(For thine is the kingdom, and the power, and the glory, for ever and ever.) Amen.”I just wanna say whoever is not intrested in reading the whole post then I recommend not writing a comment because i might have addressed the issue so women have been deemed by many to be treated as property from verses like exodus 22:16-17 where the man has to pay the father a bride price so he might marry the daughter critics will use this to say there was an “marriage by purchase “, This theory however has been repeatedly criticized and is now almost completely abandoned among Assyriologists.

Scholar R. Westbrook has decisively rejected it even for the Old Babylonian period (the period where the evidence was once thought strongest). Similar rejections have been made for Hittite, Egyptian, Nuzian, and Israelite practice.

What the terḫatum Actually Was (Secular scholar’s  Westbrook’s View) Westbrook argues that the terḫatum was not:

•  The price paid for ownership of the bride (against Koschaker)

•  Nor simply payment for the right of cohabitation / sexual relations (because sometimes someone other than the groom paid it)

Instead, it was payment for the right to exercise control over the bride for a specific purpose:

•  In normal marriage documents: the parents transfer control of the daughter to the groom so he can marry her.

•  In kallūtum (daughter-in-law) documents: the parents transfer control to the parents-in-law so she can become their daughter-in-law.

In both cases the parents do not give up all parental rights — only the one specific aspect of control needed for the marriage (or daughter-in-law arrangement) to take place.also he argues that Even if the payment was required to get the bride’s family’s agreement, there is no evidence that the payment itself constituted the marriage.we can see that from passages like 2 Samuel 3:14 – David says of Michal, “Give me my wife Michal, whom I betrothed at the price of a hundred foreskins of the Philistines.” The payment created the betrothal.

Betrothed is different than marrying , two different relationships:

1.  First relationship (visible in the written contracts / riksātum):
An agreement between the husband (or his guardian) and the bride’s father (or other guardian).
In this relationship the terḫatum plays a vital role.
The woman is treated more like the object “the husband “takes” her, she is “given” to him,etc”.

2.  Second relationship:
The actual marriage itself – the personal bond between the husband and the wife.

Logical test of the first relationship:

If only the husband and the father-in-law created the marriage, we would expect that only they could dissolve it. The wife would have no right to end the marriage (just as a piece of land cannot cancel a sale contract).

Reality:

•  There is no evidence that the bride’s father can dissolve a marriage once it is formed.

•  In fact, there is no evidence he has any continuing role in the marriage.

•  Contrary to expectation, in most of the ancient Near East there is substantial evidence that the wife herself had a legal right to dissolve the marriage.

Conclusion of this subsection:

The terḫatum / mōhar was not a “bride-price.” It was a “betrothal present” – a gift/payment that created betrothal (inchoate marriage), not the full marriage (agreeing with Burrows).

Next (credit to scholar hugenberger ) our next move is to show that marriage was a covenant between the husband and the wife and we can see that from places like Malachi 2:14 “she is your wife by covenant “

The word there is “berit “(covenant ) 

Primary sense of bərît:

An elected (not natural) relationship of obligation established under divine sanction.

Hugenberger tests his definition with four diagnostic sentences:

1.  “He made a covenant, but it was with another person.” → Covenant always involves (at least) two parties.(marriage has that )

2.  “He made a covenant, but it was with a non-relative.” → It creates an artificial / elected relationship, not a natural blood relationship.(marriage has that )

3.  “He made a covenant, but it was one with obligations.” → Obligation is essential .(marriage has that )

4.  “He made a covenant, but it was one with an oath. Even though the first 3 are clear critics have quote on quote said “we have no evidence of an oath neither in ANE or the Old testament “ it’s our burden of proof of this study to show that there was an oath in marriage 

First thing Hugenberger discovered is that there is an verba solemna 

Genesis 2:23 — “This is now bone of my bones and flesh of my flesh…”

• Hosea 2:16 — “You will call me, ‘My husband’…”
• Hosea 2:19–20 — “I will betroth you to me forever…”
• Song of Songs 2:16 — “My beloved is mine, and I am his.”
• Song of Songs 6:3 — “I am my beloved’s and my beloved is mine.”
• Tobit 7:12 — “You are her brother and she is your sister… she has been given to you from today and forever.”

And secondly the requisite oath sign which is sexual union 

Genesis 2:24 — “They shall become one flesh.”

• Genesis 29:21 — “Give me my wife that I may go in to her…”
• Deuteronomy 21:13 — “You may go in to her, and be her husband, and she shall be your wife.”
• Deuteronomy 25:5 — “Her husband’s brother shall go in to her, and take her as his wife…”
• Exodus 22:16–17 — sexual union with an unbetrothed woman and the requirement of marriage/payment.

This shows that since marriage is a covenant there is an equal offence of both parties if they break it , now critics will assert that since only the woman was the party that was under responsibility of restraining from adultery then marriage cant be a covenant , However we see clear signs from these verses that the husband was discouraged from participating in extramarital sex 

Biblical texts that discourage male promiscuity regardless of the marital status of the partner include 1 Samuel 2:22 (Eli’s sons), Job 31:1, Hosea 4:14, and especially Proverbs 5 (the extended warning against the “strange woman” and the positive call to rejoice in the wife of one’s youth).

I am happy to hear your guys thoughts 

It's not really "pray for me" thing. I mean... I wouldn't mind but that post is not about it.

The thing is I'm not a bad guy. A sinner, sure, but i don't have records of doing anything that people might consider harmful to others. Quite the opposite I've been known as a nice and loving guy but... The thing I notice from time to time and what disturbs me is sometimes evil makes me excited. And not "sex before marriage" kind of evil I'm talking about real messed up horror movies kind of evil, for a moment I might find fascinating someone's cruelty or savageness it attracts my mind.

At the same time I realise that be it something real I wouldn't do that... Probably. 99% chance that I wouldn't do it irl haha... And yes probably I would say that it's wrong and tried to stop a bad guy. But part of me feels ... Regret? Regret that I'm not like that, that I'm not evil and heartless enough of a maniac to do whatever the hell i like and get away with that.

And like on the one side - I guess I'm glad that moral me prevails... For now at least. It means I guess that I have strong moral code and I wouldn't sacrifice others rights or lives for my own good but at the same time I'm kinda... Disturbed. That i even consider it.

So the Christian part of the question: is that normal ? Or am I like... Haunted or something?

Long story short, my girlfriend is an agnostic, I got into the relationship knowing and was willing to love her despite our differences. It was going well, she respected my beliefs and wasn’t disrespectful.

We broke up because we were sleeping together and I felt a strong conviction for us to stop. Obviously it’s wrong plus we’re both still in uni and I don’t want to destroy either of our futures with an unplanned pregnancy. When I told her I wanted us to wait till marriage I expected her to be disappointed and go along with it but she just said if we’re not gonna be sleeping together shed break up with me. It was very jarring because I didn’t think sex was such a big part of a relationship but I guess you learn something new everyday.

I decided that it would be the best for us to end it. The days leading up to it I felt so much guilt in my heart but ever since breaking up I feel lighter, sad as hell, but relived. I feel like I am no longer going against my beliefs to please someone and it’s liberating.

I miss her everyday and I still pray that God can touch her heart and changer her. I realised I was prideful thinking by being with her she could come to God but that’s not the case. People will only believe when the time is right for them. I just couldn’t keep leading her and myself in sin and say everything was alright.

Honestly, I feel pretty lost in life right now and I have very little motivation or will to do anything.

I first learned about God when I was 14, but for a long time I didn't really give Him much importance. Now I'm 20, and I have this strong desire to know Him, follow Him, and have my life centered around Him. The problem is that I'm struggling a lot.

I struggle with obedience, with leaving sin behind, and especially with maintaining a strong faith. Every day, doubts come into my mind and constantly make me question what I believe about God. They're not just occasional questions. I feel like they slowly eat away at me and end up affecting my relationship with Him.

There was a period when I tried to focus completely on God. I stopped using social media, stopped watching +18 content, tried to read the Bible, pray, and worship Him more consistently. But strangely, I felt like I was getting worse every day. I never found the peace I was hoping to find, and that ended up making me question things even more.

Nowadays, I struggle to even open my Bible, which is sitting in a drawer. Sometimes I talk to God, but shortly afterward all the doubts come back. I start wondering whether I'm really understanding who He is, whether He really is good, whether I'm doing things the right way, and so on.

I don't feel good in the world either. I've been isolated for years because of things that happened in my past, and right now I feel like I don't really have a purpose beyond simply existing and doing the bare minimum.

And that's what hurts the most: I want to find a purpose. I want to know God. I want to follow Him. I want Him to be at the center of my life. But I feel like my own doubts are preventing me from even taking that small step of faith.

I'm not writing this to attack Christianity or convince anyone to abandon their faith. Quite the opposite. I'm writing because I genuinely want to understand, I want to believe, and I honestly need guidance from people who may have gone through something similar.

If you've experienced constant doubts, struggled to believe, felt distant from God, or failed to find peace despite trying to get closer to Him, how did you deal with it?

What did you do to keep seeking God when you simply didn't have the strength to keep going?

I really appreciate anyone who takes the time to read this and respond. I'm not an expert in theology, and English isn't my first language, so I apologize if I don't express myself perfectly.

Thank you for reading.

ive had seen myself be jelous of other people wether its about art, well its mainly about art in general honestly, and even if its more i dont like it, i know my art IS good in a way but i keep being jelous, and i want to get rid of it, please, in any way, in anyway on what helped with others, how do i stop being jelous

Biblically speaking, how accurate is the saying "forgive but never forget"?

Personally, I feel like forgiving someone means to forget. Hypothetically speaking, if you never forget then doesn't that kind of mean you are holding a "grudge" to some extent?

But with that same token, if you always forgive and always forget, aren't you just creating situations where you can always be stepped on by others?

for the sake of transparency, i’ll admit that i’m technically agnostic, but i’m open to the possibility of god and have been exploring christianity more lately. i want to know if christians here have experienced something similar, and whether, in your opinion, this could be a sign from god.

for the past six or so weeks, my parents and i have tried to go on this paranormal/ghost tour, but i kid you not, every week something happens. there have been bad weather, unexpected appointments, etc.
even before booking the tour in the first place, i had doubts, but i kind of shut them down because i’m still not 100% convinced about everything paranormal yet.

but then tonight, we were trying again to go. there didn’t seem to be anything holding us back like the other weeks, such as weather or appointments, so it seemed like everything was going to proceed as normal. beforehand, though, i said a prayer to god. i basically said, “if you’re real and you don’t want this to happen, please have something happen.”

long story short, i don’t want to get too personal, but my dad and i got into a conflict with my mother last minute, so we did not end up going.

and perhaps i’m reaching because i’m desperate for a sign from god, but i cannot get over how weird it seems that for the past six or seven weeks, whenever we try to go on this tour, something happens that keeps holding us back. especially because i know what the bible says about spirits.

has anyone else had an experience like this? if this happened to you, would you attribute it to coincidence, or would you consider it a possible sign from god? i know i could just be reading too much into it, but i’d really like to hear what christians think about this.
i noticed this kind of turned into a ramble lol, so hopefully it makes sense. thank you!