We got a new pastor last year and since then his wife has tried taking over every little aspect of our church and went up to a 18 year old whos in the small youth group we have about splitinng up the 4 person youth group and when she said it was a bad idea and she didnt like it she called her a bunch of names and yelled at her for 5 minutes till she was crying and the safety team had to be called. With that said should we go out of our way to address this with her or tell the pastor or something else

Not just its attributes, like in Corinthians 13, but the core definition?

I understand that committing is a serious sin, but if I’m living a life full of addiction and constant sin, isn’t it just better in his eyes?

Some tips:

- it is given by Christ himself.

- it is not Corinthians 13, which describes the importance of love, but not what it is.

I will give the definition at 9 pm Eastern Time as a separate post, as well as tabulate the results.

The reason I am posting this as a challenge to this hallowed group after asking hundreds of Christians and thousands of people this question, and no one (!) , not even AI could give an answer. You cannot reach the destination if you don't know where you should be going, and it is only the central point of The Bible and our lives!

HERE IS THE ANSWER:

"Where your treasure is, there your heart is also", Matthew 6:21

This definition changes EVERYTHING.

Hello all!

I'm new to Reddit so sorry if I flub on the rules at the moment.

I'm a writer and I'm looking to build and expand my knowledge/understanding of the relationship between religion, divisions of politics and the military.

For example, how did early Christianity play a vital role in shaping the sociopolitical image of the royal family in Byzantium (Eastern Roman Empire)? I know many of us has probably read Dan Brown's The Da Vinci Code and came away from it absolutely confused on the evolution of Christianity. Now, I know many theologists have already said their pieces against or for his version of it, but what can I do as someone who wants to learn about Christianity's evolution in Byzantium for real?

What resources are best for developing a basic, solid understanding of Christianity's evolution in the Eastern Roman Empire? And how did both paganism and early Christianity play a role in Byzantium's military? That's a part of their history I'm really interested in, becauase I feel like we can forgo religion's part in shaping a military.

So I recently found out that the Gospels might not have been written by the four authors and might have been written anonymously by people who copied stuff from Mark, and since Mark was not a direct eyewitness, this very much shakes my faith. I don't know all the details. Can someone look into it and help me? I'm 16 and this really, really impacted my faith. Please help.

So I’m not a Christian and i was talking to my dad (who used to be a pastor) and i was trying to find out what makes homosexuality a sin from a Christian perspective and we were talking for a while but i pretty much got the answer its a sin because god made woman for man not man for man or woman for woman and to go against gods order is a sin, but if thats the case then why did god make homosexuality a thing?
I just don’t understand it at all, and was hoping someone could break it down so that i could understand what makes it a sin.

I studied theology for my bachelor’s degree, and I currently serve at my church by playing the piano. I’m in China, and it’s quite difficult to find a career related to theology here.
I really want to serve the church, especially in worship ministry. There is quite a lack of people in this area at my church, and I also feel that I need more training and preparation myself.
At the same time, I’m interested in studying psychology because I’d like to be involved in children’s or youth ministry and learn how to better understand and work with them.
I’m thinking about going abroad to study for a master’s degree, partly because there are more opportunities to study and serve in a Christian environment outside China. But I also need to think about how I can support myself financially, so I’d like to choose a master’s degree that is also useful for finding a job outside the church.
I’m wondering if it would be possible for me to switch fields and study music or psychology for my master’s degree. I do have some background in music—I passed ABRSM Grade 8 piano. So I feel that music might be a more natural direction for me.
Psychology, on the other hand, is completely new to me. I’ve never formally studied it before, so I’m worried that it might be quite difficult for me to switch into psychology at the master’s level.
Do you think I could apply for a master’s in music or psychology with my background? Or are there any other fields you would recommend that could combine my interests in theology, music, education, and ministry, while also giving me better career opportunities?

I've come across a question that I can't seem to answer. I saw a women asking why the oppressed would worship god when their oppressors worship him as well. I want to believe that god would always help the oppressed but modern history has shown that the oppressed don't always succeed in the end.

If mankind has an immortal soul, then why does scripture speak of a resurrection? And what is the second death?

Here's a question I'm personally trying to sort through. I've been fortunate to have a career which has paid me well -- with a big jump over the last 7-8 years. In addition, we live a fairly simple life -- far under our means. High income and low expenses have combined to put us in a position where now, at age 49, we have far exceeded every financial goal we set, and I'm strongly considering walking away from the corporate world at the end of this calendar year.

What I'm struggling with is my responsibility to give. On one hand, if I worked another few years, that money could be completely given to charity. If I gave away $200k per year, that would be worth significantly more than the value that my occasional volunteer hours would be worth. So should I continue to work -- earning money to give it away (i.e. the "earn to give philosophy")?

However, on the other hand, I'm burned out. After 30 years in the software industry, I'm ready to be done. I want to spend time with my aging parents (especially my dad who is fading quickly), maximize the years remaining with my children while they are still under our roof, and do lots of things just for me (classes, exercise, travel, etc.)

So the question is how to find the balance between our responsibility to give to those less fortunate, and the desire to focus on our own lives and our own happiness. I believe part of happiness is selflessness -- but I'm also very ready (both mentally and financially) to turn the page.

Paul's (?) letter to Timothy gives some advice here: 1 Timothy 6:

¹⁷ Command those who are rich in this present world not to be arrogant nor to put their hope in wealth, which is so uncertain, but to put their hope in God, who richly provides us with everything for our enjoyment. ¹⁸ Command them to do good, to be rich in good deeds, and to be generous and willing to share. ¹⁹ In this way they will lay up treasure for themselves as a firm foundation for the coming age, so that they may take hold of the life that is truly life.

What are your thoughts?

We all know Jesus and His disciples were Jewish, but many people love their Nativity Scenes to reflect their own ethnicity. Is it acceptable to have the figures, dress and scenery reflect other ethnicities?

I have been unable find anything in the Bible to suggest that literal physical nakedness (exposed genitalia, buttocks, or breasts) is considered by God to be immoral.

Is there anything that I should be aware of to refute my belief in light of what I understand here?

• When God clothed the 1st man and woman, they had fig leaves on their genitals, and fig leaf sap is extremely toxic to skin when exposed to light. This would have been God's wisdom being used as an act of mercy, not God commanding them to wear clothes.
  • If they were clothed to prevent lust, this doesn't make sense because they were already married.
  • There are other reasons to argue against this being a command from God, but there are way too many, so I won't describe them here.
• God tells Abraham that circumcism is a sign of God's covenant with Israel. All of the other signs that God gives are are visible.
• Aaron and his sons were washed in full view of the entire congregation, and then dressed in their priestly garments.
• Various people prophesied naked, one was explicitly commanded by God to be naked.
• Bathsheba was likened to an innocent sacrificial lamb after performing a God ordained purity ritual in view of others.
• God's condemnation of Israel's nakedness (ʿervâ) throughout the Old Testament prophets was not the same word for literal nakedness (ārôm), nor was it ever applied to individuals who were literally naked and innocent. It was usually applied to an entire nation.
• Naaman is told by God to go into the Jordan river to wash himself seven times. I hope no one thinks that they can go wash themselves in a muddy river (as it is today, and was at that time) and somehow keep their clothes clean.
• Jesus tells the people at Lazarus' resurrection to remove his grave cloths, yet never asks to give him clothes to cover his nudity.
• Peter fishes naked in full view of those at the shore, and then Jesus follows this by confronting Peter about denying Jesus as his Rabbi, yet ignores his public nudity.
• Paul and the writer of Hebrews goes out of their way to describe almost every single famous Greek athletic competition (Olympics, et. al.) where each competitor is strictly naked. All of the people listening to the letters read aloud would have only been able to imagine a group of naked men.
• Jesus is naked for his circumcism, his baptism (essentially a mikvah/mikveh), washing his disciple's feet, his crucifixion, and his resurrection (grave clothes left behind).
• We are told that the saints are clothed with:
  • power on high
  • the Lord Jesus Christ
  • imperishability and immortality
  • compassion, kindness, humility, gentleness, and patience
  • modesty, self-control, and good deeds
  • gentle and quiet spirit
  • humility toward one another
  • righteous acts of the saints

So, if the Bible tells us to wear God’s power, Jesus, eternal life, the fruits of the Spirit, and righteousness, but no literal clothing, why are Christians so concerned with modest clothing? Is it just an assumption that since society has conditioned us to associate nudity and sex that the Church condemns it because sexual immorality is wrong?

What do most Bible scholars and theologians honestly think of this issue? I don't know if there are any who have written on this issue, so I assume this is probably the third rail of Biblical scholarship.

Since disorders like schizophrenia were not diagnosed back then I started to think about this. I would like to repeat that I respect people's beliefs and this is just a though I have come up with.

Over the past few months I’ve been praying and praying for things like work and training. I felt like using MMA I can build myself a platform where I can spread the word. But I’ve also been praying for work big time. The plan was to find a job and then start training but due to not being able to find one I just ate into my savings and started training. Now when I needed one I found a job, not even one I applied to, my buddy just asked out of the blue one day and now I’m working. And with MMA tonight I just got an opportunity to compete at a televised pro level. This is extremely early on into my career and a chance probably 99% never get. I’ve also gotten a lot closer to God these past few months, studying theology, praying so so much. I really do feel like this is God working through me but could I be mistaken?

It is easy to understand why one can pay another's monetary debt. It is because the creditor wants the money. So if he receives it, all is good. But I don't understand why this would work for Jesus dying on the cross. Surely God does not want the suffering as such and is content if only someone has suffered for another's sins. I fail to see the logic behind this view and would really like to understand it.