For all Christians out there, what are the hardest questions that you struggle with

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Why are so many Christians racist? I wonder why racists have hijacked Christianity here in America into something ugly and vile. It could be difficult to cope sometimes because so many Christians are bigots and many attend segregated churches. There seems to be no push for unity within Christian circles. Hate has really poisioned many Christians and it makes me want to disassociate myself from that type of evil. Why does a loving God allow his followers to dilute and destroy the teachings of Christ?

This may sound crazy, but I think Christ or the teachings of Christ have left many churches long time ago. Christianity has now become a money making business venture for those who prey on the weak or a political pawn which disrupts society. Sometimes I wonder, "Why God?" I am slowly loosing faith in God because evil has took over the world.

There have always been evil elements in the world. and the teachings of Christ have been corrupted for centuries, as people in power use them for their own selfish ends.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Why are people so cruel to each other?

Because whoever or whatever created us did a really botched job of it.

That's why I can't believe in "intelligent design." No intelligent designer would have created humans with such obvious defects.

If you read the creation account you would understand why we are born with “defects”, i.e. a sin nature.

So God did this to us, his children whom he loves, on purpose? He wants us to live forever with him in heaven, but if we screw up, thanks to the defects we were born with, then he sends us to burn forever in hell.

This kind of love I do not need.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Why are people so cruel to each other?

Because whoever or whatever created us did a really botched job of it.

That's why I can't believe in "intelligent design." No intelligent designer would have created humans with such obvious defects.

If you read the creation account you would understand why we are born with “defects”, i.e. a sin nature.

So God did this to us, his children whom he loves, on purpose? He wants us to live forever with him in heaven, but if we screw up, thanks to the defects we were born with, then he sends us to burn forever in hell.

This kind of love I do not need.

No, he wants us to trust in Him so that we will be saved, even if we continue to sin and screw up. He wants us to accept His payment for our “screw-ups”, he doesn’t want us to never make mistakes because that is impossible.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Why are people so cruel to each other?

Because whoever or whatever created us did a really botched job of it.

That's why I can't believe in "intelligent design." No intelligent designer would have created humans with such obvious defects.

If you read the creation account you would understand why we are born with “defects”, i.e. a sin nature.

So God did this to us, his children whom he loves, on purpose? He wants us to live forever with him in heaven, but if we screw up, thanks to the defects we were born with, then he sends us to burn forever in hell.

This kind of love I do not need.

No, he wants us to trust in Him so that we will be saved, even if we continue to sin and screw up. He wants us to accept His payment for our “screw-ups”, he doesn’t want us to never make mistakes because that is impossible.

Not a very Nice god -- he made it impossible not to screw up and invented a firey pit to send people to for eternity if they screwed up.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Why are people so cruel to each other?

Because whoever or whatever created us did a really botched job of it.

That's why I can't believe in "intelligent design." No intelligent designer would have created humans with such obvious defects.

If you read the creation account you would understand why we are born with “defects”, i.e. a sin nature.

So God did this to us, his children whom he loves, on purpose? He wants us to live forever with him in heaven, but if we screw up, thanks to the defects we were born with, then he sends us to burn forever in hell.

This kind of love I do not need.

No, he wants us to trust in Him so that we will be saved, even if we continue to sin and screw up. He wants us to accept His payment for our “screw-ups”, he doesn’t want us to never make mistakes because that is impossible.

Not a very Nice god -- he made it impossible not to screw up and invented a firey pit to send people to for eternity if they screwed up.

What is your basis for saying Hell is a "fiery pit?" Hell may not be such a thing at all. Hell may simply be an absence of the God you neither like nor respect.

And it's completely possible not to screw up- after all, Jesus lived as a poor human in a very cruel time and place, and he did not sin.

[Anonymous]

I've said this before in other threads. I always had a feeling from a really young age (catholic school k-12), that the church and clergy took meaning too literally. I can't answer any questions more than my fellow man/woman. But, I never prayed to saints. I don't remember how old I was when I was like nah not doing stations of cross, nope no rosary either (but I liked the really pretty ones and use them to decorate Barbie dream house. She was always kissing Ken, but she ne ver went all the way. Anyway, I can't get behind all of it, have given my DS as much knowledge as possible, he was baptized and received communion. I used to read a children's bible to him and he loved it. It was like mythology to him. He's a very spiritual kid. So much so, that he wants to apply to a Jesuit college because of the theology requirement.

I do believe in something greater, I believe in Christ and I believe that I am living a Christian life. I give selflessly and my empathy overflows . I ask for forgiveness when I'm angry and find people unforgivable. I just don't use a middle man. It's between me and God. If God exists, then my heart is known. If not, I would still live life the same way. I have always told DS there is something greater than us. I never wanted him to be afraid. Maybe it's that I've convinced myself of it. I don't care what other people believe, as long as it's in the name of love and not hatred. I think we are in hell. This test, this life, suffering and evil... all of it is hell. Fight against it and continue to love and give selflessly. Harm no living creature. Have an open heart (i believe other life exists, I believe in evolution, I am not against anyone's choices if it's based on love). This is my story. No real question but only a rhetorical one...I struggle with it all, I am open to it all...does this make me a non Christian, am I a fake and not loyal to God and the Holy Trinity?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I've said this before in other threads. I always had a feeling from a really young age (catholic school k-12), that the church and clergy took meaning too literally. I can't answer any questions more than my fellow man/woman. But, I never prayed to saints. I don't remember how old I was when I was like nah not doing stations of cross, nope no rosary either (but I liked the really pretty ones and use them to decorate Barbie dream house. She was always kissing Ken, but she ne ver went all the way. Anyway, I can't get behind all of it, have given my DS as much knowledge as possible, he was baptized and received communion. I used to read a children's bible to him and he loved it. It was like mythology to him. He's a very spiritual kid. So much so, that he wants to apply to a Jesuit college because of the theology requirement.

I do believe in something greater, I believe in Christ and I believe that I am living a Christian life. I give selflessly and my empathy overflows . I ask for forgiveness when I'm angry and find people unforgivable. I just don't use a middle man. It's between me and God. If God exists, then my heart is known. If not, I would still live life the same way. I have always told DS there is something greater than us. I never wanted him to be afraid. Maybe it's that I've convinced myself of it. I don't care what other people believe, as long as it's in the name of love and not hatred. I think we are in hell. This test, this life, suffering and evil... all of it is hell. Fight against it and continue to love and give selflessly. Harm no living creature. Have an open heart (i believe other life exists, I believe in evolution, I am not against anyone's choices if it's based on love). This is my story. No real question but only a rhetorical one...I struggle with it all, I am open to it all...does this make me a non Christian, am I a fake and not loyal to God and the Holy Trinity?

You just sound like one of the millions of people who did not enjoy Catholic school. I am not Catholic but it seems like the absolute worst "Christian" denomination to grow up with and sort of traumatic. I grew up Eastern Orthodox and theologically we are very, very similar, but it all seemed so much more mellow and beautiful and meditative than whatever is going on with the Catholics. The Church was (and is) like my family, not some miserable obligatory thing. Maybe that's just my upbringing.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Why are people so cruel to each other?

Because whoever or whatever created us did a really botched job of it.

That's why I can't believe in "intelligent design." No intelligent designer would have created humans with such obvious defects.

If you read the creation account you would understand why we are born with “defects”, i.e. a sin nature.

So God did this to us, his children whom he loves, on purpose? He wants us to live forever with him in heaven, but if we screw up, thanks to the defects we were born with, then he sends us to burn forever in hell.

This kind of love I do not need.

No, he wants us to trust in Him so that we will be saved, even if we continue to sin and screw up. He wants us to accept His payment for our “screw-ups”, he doesn’t want us to never make mistakes because that is impossible.

Not a very Nice god -- he made it impossible not to screw up and invented a firey pit to send people to for eternity if they screwed up.

What is your basis for saying Hell is a "fiery pit?" Hell may not be such a thing at all. Hell may simply be an absence of the God you neither like nor respect.

And it's completely possible not to screw up- after all, Jesus lived as a poor human in a very cruel time and place, and he did not sin.

Go ahead, make a nice story where hell is not a firey pit and it's possible not to sin and be punished for it. But this is not what many children learn. Maybe Unitarians and Episcopalians teach that kind of stuff but the basis for saying hell is a firey pit is years of being taught that and seeing many artists renditions of it. Maybe the people teaching that hell is not a firey pit are right or maybe the people who say there's no god are right. But kids are still taught to love god and fear hell.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Why are people so cruel to each other?

Because whoever or whatever created us did a really botched job of it.

That's why I can't believe in "intelligent design." No intelligent designer would have created humans with such obvious defects.

If you read the creation account you would understand why we are born with “defects”, i.e. a sin nature.

So God did this to us, his children whom he loves, on purpose? He wants us to live forever with him in heaven, but if we screw up, thanks to the defects we were born with, then he sends us to burn forever in hell.

This kind of love I do not need.

No, he wants us to trust in Him so that we will be saved, even if we continue to sin and screw up. He wants us to accept His payment for our “screw-ups”, he doesn’t want us to never make mistakes because that is impossible.

Not a very Nice god -- he made it impossible not to screw up and invented a firey pit to send people to for eternity if they screwed up.

What is your basis for saying Hell is a "fiery pit?" Hell may not be such a thing at all. Hell may simply be an absence of the God you neither like nor respect.

And it's completely possible not to screw up- after all, Jesus lived as a poor human in a very cruel time and place, and he did not sin.

Go ahead, make a nice story where hell is not a firey pit and it's possible not to sin and be punished for it. But this is not what many children learn. Maybe Unitarians and Episcopalians teach that kind of stuff but the basis for saying hell is a firey pit is years of being taught that and seeing many artists renditions of it. Maybe the people teaching that hell is not a firey pit are right or maybe the people who say there's no god are right. But kids are still taught to love god and fear hell.

Uh, why would I care about “what many children learn?” We are talking about basic theology, which you are obviously not conversant in. The entire point of Christianity is that Jesus died for our sins, and that the old rubric of being punished for everything bad you have ever done no longer applies. Despite having done nothing wrong, Jesus was punished. And unlike what pp above seems to think, there is no “get out of jail free” where you can do everything you want without consequences. Both ideas reflect ignorance about the most basic fundamentals of what Christianity is. If you want to talk about the Bible, I can discuss that. You can make another thread about pictures of Hell.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Why are people so cruel to each other?

Because whoever or whatever created us did a really botched job of it.

That's why I can't believe in "intelligent design." No intelligent designer would have created humans with such obvious defects.

If you read the creation account you would understand why we are born with “defects”, i.e. a sin nature.

So God did this to us, his children whom he loves, on purpose? He wants us to live forever with him in heaven, but if we screw up, thanks to the defects we were born with, then he sends us to burn forever in hell.

This kind of love I do not need.

No, he wants us to trust in Him so that we will be saved, even if we continue to sin and screw up. He wants us to accept His payment for our “screw-ups”, he doesn’t want us to never make mistakes because that is impossible.

Not a very Nice god -- he made it impossible not to screw up and invented a firey pit to send people to for eternity if they screwed up.

What is your basis for saying Hell is a "fiery pit?" Hell may not be such a thing at all. Hell may simply be an absence of the God you neither like nor respect.

And it's completely possible not to screw up- after all, Jesus lived as a poor human in a very cruel time and place, and he did not sin.

Go ahead, make a nice story where hell is not a firey pit and it's possible not to sin and be punished for it. But this is not what many children learn. Maybe Unitarians and Episcopalians teach that kind of stuff but the basis for saying hell is a firey pit is years of being taught that and seeing many artists renditions of it. Maybe the people teaching that hell is not a firey pit are right or maybe the people who say there's no god are right. But kids are still taught to love god and fear hell.

Uh, why would I care about “what many children learn?” We are talking about basic theology, which you are obviously not conversant in. The entire point of Christianity is that Jesus died for our sins, and that the old rubric of being punished for everything bad you have ever done no longer applies. Despite having done nothing wrong, Jesus was punished. And unlike what pp above seems to think, there is no “get out of jail free” where you can do everything you want without consequences. Both ideas reflect ignorance about the most basic fundamentals of what Christianity is. If you want to talk about the Bible, I can discuss that. You can make another thread about pictures of Hell.

Got it. You don't care about what children learn about religion. YOU just want to to talk about the Bible and poor Jesus who was unjustly punished 2,000 years ago

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Why are people so cruel to each other?

Because whoever or whatever created us did a really botched job of it.

That's why I can't believe in "intelligent design." No intelligent designer would have created humans with such obvious defects.

If you read the creation account you would understand why we are born with “defects”, i.e. a sin nature.

So God did this to us, his children whom he loves, on purpose? He wants us to live forever with him in heaven, but if we screw up, thanks to the defects we were born with, then he sends us to burn forever in hell.

This kind of love I do not need.

No, he wants us to trust in Him so that we will be saved, even if we continue to sin and screw up. He wants us to accept His payment for our “screw-ups”, he doesn’t want us to never make mistakes because that is impossible.

Not a very Nice god -- he made it impossible not to screw up and invented a firey pit to send people to for eternity if they screwed up.

What is your basis for saying Hell is a "fiery pit?" Hell may not be such a thing at all. Hell may simply be an absence of the God you neither like nor respect.

And it's completely possible not to screw up- after all, Jesus lived as a poor human in a very cruel time and place, and he did not sin.

Go ahead, make a nice story where hell is not a firey pit and it's possible not to sin and be punished for it. But this is not what many children learn. Maybe Unitarians and Episcopalians teach that kind of stuff but the basis for saying hell is a firey pit is years of being taught that and seeing many artists renditions of it. Maybe the people teaching that hell is not a firey pit are right or maybe the people who say there's no god are right. But kids are still taught to love god and fear hell.

Uh, why would I care about “what many children learn?” We are talking about basic theology, which you are obviously not conversant in. The entire point of Christianity is that Jesus died for our sins, and that the old rubric of being punished for everything bad you have ever done no longer applies. Despite having done nothing wrong, Jesus was punished. And unlike what pp above seems to think, there is no “get out of jail free” where you can do everything you want without consequences. Both ideas reflect ignorance about the most basic fundamentals of what Christianity is. If you want to talk about the Bible, I can discuss that. You can make another thread about pictures of Hell.

Got it. You don't care about what children learn about religion. YOU just want to to talk about the Bible and poor Jesus who was unjustly punished 2,000 years ago

Yeah. Pretty much. Why would “what children learn about religion” be relevant? Obviously the children in your circle are learning nonsense lol.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I just want to hear if anyone has something about Christianity or the Bible that they don’t get or confuses them

I don't . Bible gives me answers to all my questions in life. It is very clear and I don't find it confusing at all.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

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Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:For me, it is the biblical prohibition on homosexual behavior, as well as Paul's writings on women in the church. I am not someone who just pretends the Bible does not say things that I don't like. Anyone who has known a homosexual person knows that it is not some sort of "choice," and yet the bible is very clear. It just seems to me to go so much against Jesus' loving, inclusive message. I also think that Paul's writing on women specifically set women back for thousands of years. Why did these things happen? Even if we assume that Paul's teachings were based more on his opinion, how do we reconcile the last 2,000 years? It's a really difficult topic for me.

There are people who misunderstand what the Bible says, and that does negatively affect women. But if they looked at the parts of the Bible that praised women, they would have a different view. Acts 16:13-16 recounts the story of the first church in Europe. Paul met two women, Priscilla and Aquila. When Paul left Ephesus, (where the church was located), he left the two women to be in charge of the church at Ephesus. So while some passages seem to portray women in a negative light, and I don’t have the answer to all of those passages, the Bible does have examples of women being praised and exalted.

Ok now for the homosexual topic. I believe that people do feel the homosexual urges and that’s fine. But you have to remember that we have a sin nature, which tempts us to do bad things. I believe that homosexuality is a temptation of our flesh, just like other things, such as the temptation to lie or cheat. The Bible says that our spirit is willing to do good, but that our flesh is weak. Ultimately I believe that we have to fight such temptations. It can be really, really hard, and we sometimes fail, but it’s something that we can overcome. Again I don’t have all the answers, but hope this helps.

So do you believe that anyone who isn't straight should remain alone and celibate throughout life. No love, no intimacy, nothing.

No. I believe that you can find someone of the opposite sex that you would want to form a relationship with. Or for some people, remaining single is for them and that’s totally fine too.

Help me understand. A gay man, he doesn't want to be single. He wants to be with someone. Who should he be with?

Or you think everyone who is gay is being fake and they are actually straight and could be happy in heterosexual relationships.

Do you feel you could just as easily fall in love with a woman as with a man?

I believe that a man should be with a woman. I don’t believe that people who are gay are being “fake”. Like I said in my initial response, “I believe that homosexuality is a temptation of our flesh” I don’t believe that a man should be with another man, but I don’t automatically assume that he could easily be in a heterosexual relationship. All I know is that according to the Bible homosexuality is wrong, but what you believe is your prerogative. I don’t know what type of relationship, married or single, is for anyone. That’s something that they have to figure out. But as a Christian who believes in the Bible, homosexuality is sinful and I wouldn’t be a good Chrsitian if I didn’t adhere to my own religion’s teachings

What about people - lets say men who are obviously gay from a young age. They have all the stereotypical mannerisms of being gay and it is obvious to everyone that even as a young child, they will grow up to be a gay man? I know two boys who were teased for being gay when they were only 3 or 4 - they both are now openly gay men and no one at any point their lives have ever thought they were anything but gay. How is that temptation of the flesh? Why would God have boys born gay - just to watch them suffer through life as sinners who can't be redeemed because their sin is not a choice?

We are all born with a sin nature and suffer because of it, but there’s a reason for it. God uses it as a trial for us. Sin is always a choice, you can give in to your desires or not. Young boys from a REALLY early age may feel like their gay. But young boys also feel the desire to lie, cheat, fight other kids, and do other bad things. I would never blame a boy for feeling like he’s gay. Never. I would simply explain when they are old enough about how we are all tempted. No one’s born gay and doesn’t have a choice, but EVERYONE is born with a sin nature that wants to do bad things. It’s always our choice though. And we should never make fun of or shame or tease people who say they are gay wrong. That’s is very wrong.

I am the person you are discussing with. I too am a Christian but this is one area that I really struggle with. The idea that 3-4 year olds are not born gay but are making a personal choice to be gay just doesn't sit with me. That age knows very little about sexual orientation and so to say they made a sinful choice as a young child just doesn't make sense. IT is not at all like lying or cheating. Being gay as a child isn't doing anything - there is no action, there is no conscious choice. it would be like saying a child being shy is sinful and that choosing to be shy is a choice like lying and if they wanted to be outgoing and extroverted they could be but they are a sinful person making a choice as a 3 year old to be shy or introverted.

The other experience I have had is that in the 90s/2000s I worked in an adolescent mental health unit with teens who attempted suicide. There were numerous male teens who appeared to have great lives with no major issues who attempted suicide. It would turn out that they were gay but didn't want to be gay, couldn't change and didn't want anyone to know. These were teen boys who had girlfriends, who had never told anyone they were gay, who absolutely 100% did not want to be gay..but despite all that, knew they were gay and felt that death was a better option than either faking being straight or living as a gay man.

It’s a hard question. I have never felt I was gay at 3 or 4 so I can’t really explain it. But when I was 3 or 4, I wasn’t thinking about if I was gay or straight. At that young age I wasn’t even interested in any form of relationship. I was just focused on playing with my toys or whatever. But there are parents who kinda influence their child from a really early age. Once I saw a video of a parent saying to like a 5 year old girl “You can like girls or boys, you can be a boy or a girl or neither, or whatever you want.” And I think that parents who do this confuse their child.

Preschool teacher here. We have quite a few children with two moms. Children who have gay uncles, family friends, whatever. A couple of years ago, we even had a boy who thought he was a girl. She's now in school, has changed her name to a girl's name and is treated like one.

This is the society we live in.

[Anonymous]

To the poster who worked with suicidal kids: do you know their history? Do you know if they were sexually abused as kids? Do you know what they been exposes as kids? I found out very very often (can't say always, and I afraid we wont have this statistics), children like that have had some unaddressed issues in the past. Just because they come from wealthy, successful families, have girlfriend, etc. is not guarantee that they had a proper upbringing.

And for anyone who says that a child of 3-4 years old knows about his sexuality -- this is so not true. None of them know, unless they were told so. Unless they heard it somewhere (tv, videogames, new books). The child of that age is still exploring.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:To the poster who worked with suicidal kids: do you know their history? Do you know if they were sexually abused as kids? Do you know what they been exposes as kids? I found out very very often (can't say always, and I afraid we wont have this statistics), children like that have had some unaddressed issues in the past. Just because they come from wealthy, successful families, have girlfriend, etc. is not guarantee that they had a proper upbringing.

And for anyone who says that a child of 3-4 years old knows about his sexuality -- this is so not true. None of them know, unless they were told so. Unless they heard it somewhere (tv, videogames, new books). The child of that age is still exploring.

The kind of kids who know at a young age what their sexulaity is , is a kid who looks like one gender and is therefore dressed like and treated like that gender, but who knows in his/her heart that they are the other gender.

Imagine if this happened to you. You have female genitalia, you're dressed in girls clothes and sent to the girls bathroom, but you know in your heart that you are a boy.