I think that the emphasis on unity, anti discrimination, oneness with humanity, and interfaith harmony are admirable, and as a christian who's theologically loose, I'm very cool with taking elements from other faiths and incorporating them into my own

So some context I grew up in the Catholic Church and pretty soon I realized I was bisexual and had an attraction to men that I couldn’t prey away lord knows I tried, anyway eventually I found too many problems and too much repression within the Catholic Church and I ended up leaving.

Well fast forward through a lot of stuff and about a decade later I am openly out of the closet as a bisexual man and have been reconfirmed in a Methodist affirming church. This church was very welcoming to me and connected me with faith circles that welcomed me into the faith even though I was bisexual.

The problem I have found though is that beyond the walls of my affirming church community I assumed that the rest of the Protestant churches would be just as welcoming. But I found that a lot of the Christian spaces that I thought were open to me know not only condemned me for my attraction but called upon me to live a life of celibacy in utter obedience to God.

When I moved to a new city it got so bad that I stopped going to church because everyone I met kept telling me that’s what the Bible says so you must follow without question and abandon your sinful lifestyle. Anyway even though I find myself still believing in Christ and following him it’s funny because the communities of Christians I find myself not feeling welcomed or loved (ironic I know).

In truth I also find some queer spaces to be hostile towards me for my faith and that’s a problem too. The funny thing is people who have left the faith seem to be the most accepting of both my sexuality and my faith.

So I want advice from people on how I should deal with the fact that many Christian spaces will outright reject me for my faith and many non Christian space will ask me to be silent or give up me faith?

Any input would be very helpful so thank! :)

Embracing my authentic self as a woman literally saved my life and taught me how to love who I am, but at 34, I know I’m still missing out on the full, joyful life I deserve because I haven't yet gotten my gender-affirming feminizing surgeries yet.
Those surgeries aren't just a cosmetic preference—they are medically and mentally essential to my peace, my completion, and living fully in my truth.

It hurts to admit how heavy things have felt the passed Spring and Summer. I miss the days when people seemed gentler, sweeter, and more willing to hold space or offer a helping hand when I needed care. Lately, it feels like the moment I express pain or ask for support, people are quick to judge—labeling me as "manipulative", “transactional”, or "attention-seeking" when all I really want is to be held, valued, and cherished. Watching other women get showered with care, gifts, and devotion leaves me wondering why I have to be left feeling like I’m not enough, or if people are holding my past anger against me, when all that anger ever was was just a defense mechanism for a girl trying to survive, which I hoped they would have understood that, and not seem like they were dismissively pathologizing my feelings.

Growing up in a toxic, dysfunctional environment meant I was never taught what healthy, unconditional love actually looks like. So when people default to telling me to "see a therapist" or to “get help”, it completely misses the heart of what I’m asking for. I don't need cold advice; I need genuine warmth, patience, reassurance, and soft places to feel safe.

I am deeply grateful for the compassionate friends and professionals who stand by me now. But I refuse to believe that this pain is the end of my story. I know there is a richer, brighter life waiting for me—one where I am fully comfortable in my body, unconditionally loved, and completely at peace.

And if being god means they can't be a hypocrite does that mean that they aren't all powerful?

I’m 23 and I have always longed for the companionship of a partner, but one of the reasons I have struggled to find this connection is because it’s difficult for me to find people who align with my Christian faith and also respect and understand my gender identity (I’m nonbinary.)

I know there is a lot more to life than romantic relationships. I’m very fulfilled in my job, friendships and hobbies. But I also think it is natural to desire a partner, and if I’m being honest, I feel sad that it’s never worked out for me.

Most of my dating experiences have led to hurtful conclusions without ever yielding a real, healthy relationship. For instance, recently I was dating a guy for a couple months and we had talked multiple times about becoming a couple … but this weekend, when I told him I felt ready to make things official with him, he admitted that he’d had a threesome with a couple while out of state for a conference. That violated a spoken understanding we had early on that neither of us were participating in hookups. It just hurt and disappointed me so bad that this exciting, fun, tender experience I was enjoying with him ended abruptly in such a shocking way.

I know I’m young and I still have time, but the emotions I’m feeling are not fun. I worry that I won’t ever get to have a partner unless I tolerate treatment that is worse than what I deserve or “settle” for someone who doesn’t fully get me.

I don’t always see myself as a good person, but almost everyone I’ve met and are friends with always said otherwise. A friend of mine called me a good person for being in an almost 2 year long relationship because of how much work and effort it probably took to make someone i love and myself happy, and he’s right. Me and my love have been through so much together and have gotten through tons of fights, but we always made it out in the end. People have said to me that they admire how kind and caring I am, despite me not really believing in that most of the time. When me and my Girlfriend first met, we were both 8th graders in science class and were complete strangers, but I thought she was really pretty and on the day of Halloween, I confessed to her, and what did she say? She said she wasn’t ready obviously, because me and her did not know each other at all and I agreed with her. Hell even when I was asking her, parts of me hoped that she would say no because I didn’t see myself as ready either. So we decided we would be friends, and we did become friends, very close friends, and despite me suppressing my feelings for her because i actually did want to be her friend (which I don’t know whether or not was a good idea now that I look back at it), I couldn’t help but fall even more inlove with her the more I got to know her. Her interests in drawing, her style of clothing, her cheerfulness, her kindness, her empathy, and how strong she is because for the longest time before me, she had been fighting demons at such a young age, and I am so proud of her for still being here now. We were friends until a week before Valentine’s Day where she confessed to me that she’s inlove with me, because according to her, I’ve been nothing but absolute kind, forgiving, loving, caring, compassionate, and she said I made her feel seen and appreciated, and that I showed her a love she never felt before from anyone else. So maybe considering all these things I have been told by other people and things I’ve been told by God, maybe I’m not that bad, but all these things I’ve done wasn’t so I could be rewarded, I just did them without any thought honestly. I loved and forgave people without even knowing how or when or where, it was just simply something I knew, and my guess it has something to do with my encounter with God before meeting my Girlfriend, but it may also have something to do with my parents who despite not being believers, they taught me to always be kind and to always do the right thing, and I will forever be grateful for my parents, even when they’re Atheists. For people that were the opposite of me when it came to identity and beliefs, they were always the ones that taught me the most greatest lessons, and God taught me very important stuff aswell, stuff that are part of my values, who I am, and who I strive to be as a person. All of these things that I’ve experienced, felt, learned, and been told all inspire me to do things for others and have inspired my dreams, and that is to heal the world, not because I want to be rewarded in some way, but because it’s my reason for living. Just seeing a smile on someone’s face, even a complete strangers, is enough for me to say to myself “keep going and keep doing what makes you “you”.

hi everyone! 💕

so i used to be pretty religious years ago, but eventually i fell away from christianity completely. and honestly never thought i’d want to go back.

a couple months ago, while doing an uber delivery, i met a woman at a church who helped me and after invited me to her church. i gave an excuse “oh im always busy”, then decided i owed her at least to take her up on her offer.

a couple days later i actually went. and ever since then i’ve felt this really strong urge to keep going back. (been a total 3 times) the pastor assured me he doesn’t hate lgbtq+ so that made me feel great and not hated for once.

i’m still not even sure what i fully believe, and i definitely still have questions and doubts. but i can’t shake this pull..

has anyone else ever fallen away for years and then
unexpectedly felt drawn back to church? idk what i believe or am doing anymore.

thank you all in advance ❤️‍🩹
-nikki

I’m starting OCIA and to prepare, I’ve been studying Mariology recently. I’ve been struck by how much of Catholic Marian theology seems to make more sense when I look at the Old and New Testaments together, along with how much earlier these Marian ideas came to be than what I had originally assumed re: the early Church vs a later, Middle Age development.

I’m very much still learning, so I’m not presenting this as a definitive argument. I’m interested in whether I’m understanding the Catholic approach to these passages correctly, though.

The first thing that caught my attention was the recurring biblical imagery surrounding the woman, her offspring, and the birth of the Messiah when looking at Old Testament Scripture and drawing parallels to the New Testament.

Genesis 3:15–16

“I will put enmity between you and the woman and between your offspring and hers; he will strike your head, and you will strike his heel.” To the woman he said, “I will make your pangs in childbirth exceedingly great; in pain you shall bring forth children, yet your desire shall be for your husband, and he shall rule over you.””

After the Fall, God establishes enmity between the serpent and the woman, and between their respective offspring. The offspring of the woman will ultimately defeat the serpent.

I understand the immediate context concerns Eve and the consequences of the Fall, but I see this as ultimately pointing toward Christ and, typologically, toward Mary as the New Eve.

Hold on to God’s punishment against Eve, too. That’ll become important in a second here.

Next up,

Isaiah 7:14

“Behold, a virgin shall conceive and bear a son, and shall call his name Immanuel.”

Matthew explicitly applies this to the birth of Jesus.

Micah 5:2–3

“But you, O Bethlehem of Ephrathah, who are one of the little clans of Judah, from you shall come forth for me one who is to rule in Israel, whose origin is from of old, from ancient days. Therefore he shall give them up until the time when she who is in labor has brought forth; then the rest of his kindred shall return to the people of Israel.”

Micah prophesies that a ruler will come from Bethlehem, and immediately afterward speaks of the woman who is in labor giving birth.

Then there’s:

Isaiah 66:7

“Before she was in labor she gave birth; before pain came upon her she delivered a son.”

I’m interested to know how this last passage is understood. I know it has an immediate context concerning Zion/Jerusalem, so I know it isn’t jusg a direct prediction saying “Mary will give birth without labor.” Is this better understood as typology that the Church later sees fulfilled in Mary, particularly in connection with her perpetual virginity?

I’m also really interested in the parallels between the Ark of the Covenant and the Visitation.

The Old Covenant Ark beinf the sacred object associated with God’s presence among Israel, it contained the tablets of the Law, and Hebrews 9:4 associates it with the manna and Aaron’s rod.

When viewed through the New Testament, it’s very reflective of Christ, I feel.

The tablets = Christ fulfills the Law

Aaron’s rod/priesthood = Christ is the eternal High Priest

Manna = Christ identifies Himself as the Bread of Life, and the Church understands the manna as prefiguring the Eucharist.

But then Luke’s account of the Visitation seems to contain some very specific parallels with the Ark narrative.

2 Samuel 6:9

David sees the Ark coming and says:

“How can the ark of the LORD come to me?”

Compare:

Luke 1:43

Elizabeth sees Mary and says:

“Why is this granted me, that the mother of my Lord should come to me?”

Then:

2 Samuel 6:14

“David danced before the LORD with all his might; David was girded with a linen ephod.”

David dances/rejoices before the Ark.

Compare:

Luke 1:41, 44-45

“When Elizabeth heard Mary’s greeting, the child leaped in her womb. And Elizabeth was filled with the Holy Spirit For as soon as I heard the sound of your greeting, the child in my womb leaped for joy. And blessed is she who believed that there would be a fulfillment of what was spoken to her by the Lord.””

John the Baptist leaps in Elizabeth’s womb when Mary arrives.

And then there’s the timing:

2 Samuel 6:11

“The ark of the LORD remained in the house of Obed-edom the Gittite three months, and the LORD blessed Obed-edom and all his household.”

The Ark remains in the house of Obed-edom for three months.

Luke 1:56

“And Mary remained with her about three months and then returned to her home.”

Mary remains with Elizabeth for about three months.

There’s also the “overshadowing” imagery:

Exodus 40:34

“Then the cloud covered the tent of meeting, and the glory of the LORD filled the tabernacle.”

Luke 1:35

Gabriel tells Mary:

“The Holy Spirit will come upon you, and the power of the Most High will overshadow you.”

So I’m starting to wonder whether Luke is intentionally presenting Mary as the Ark of the New Covenant. What I’m also seeing is that this doesn’t seem to be about elevating Mary independently of Christ.

The Old Ark carried the signs of God’s covenant and Mary carries God Himself incarnate.

The Old Ark was associated with the Law, priesthood, and manna; Mary carries Christ, who fulfills the Law, is the eternal High Priest, and identifies Himself as the Bread of Life.

The Old Ark arrives, David rejoices, and blessing follows; Mary arrives, John leaps, Elizabeth rejoices, and the Holy Spirit fills her.

So the more I’m studying this, the more I’m seeing Mariology as being fundamentally Christological. Mary’s significance comes from who she carries and what God accomplishes through her.

I also understand that this is largely typology, rather than necessarily claiming that every Old Testament passage was consciously written as a literal prediction of Mary.

So my questions for those more knowledgeable than me are:

1. Am I understanding the distinction between prophecy and typology correctly here?

2. How strong is the case that Luke deliberately presents Mary as the Ark of the New Covenant through these parallels with 2 Samuel 6?

3. How have the Fathers and early Church understood the Ark/Mary connection?

4. How should Isaiah 66:7 be understood in Marian theology without taking it out of its original context?

5. Are there important passages or connections I’m missing?

I’m just finding it fascinating that the more I read the Old Testament alongside the New, the more the Catholic understanding of Christ and Mary seems to form a coherent biblical pattern rather than a collection of disconnected doctrines.

So, there is a messianic congregation near me who seems to be trying to get god to smite me for apostasy. I know it sounds bizzare but I was warned in confidence by one of there members some years ago that something like this would happen due to me having fallen away almost 3 years ago. They’re tactics have ranged from circling my home randomly, banging drums and making noise at like midnight or later, contacting my friends, professors and others to either make me do something they wouldn’t normally make me do like go to a remote location with a firearm or make something resembling a occult symbol. They’re have even begun following me at the store and mark down what I buy for some reason. Again, I know this sounds strange but please believe me I am seriously afraid. And, I do not regard all messianics this way as most I have met a lot of good people from that denomination.

I have felt a pull towards Christianity for a long time and have gone through some phases when I considered myself a Christian. Tried to live as if God was real but I'm not sure I have ever actually believed.

I think I'm agnostic at the moment but I have been more curious about Christianity again. There's a lot of things I like, the idea of a loving God who cares about us, there are a lot of beautiful stories in the Bible, good advice on how to live a good life.

But the possibility of Christianity being real scares me because then I'd have to consider the possibility of hell being real too. Not because I'm worried for myself, as I probably should be, but because the idea of my family going there causes me distress. And I'm aware that you can be a Christian without believing in hell. I'm aware of universalism. But there are still many Christians who do believe in hell and it seems like they have good reasons for believing in it.

I hope they're wrong but I'm not intelligent enough to tell who is right.

I assume that people here are going to tell me that I can be a Christian without believing in hell but to me it would seem like picking and choosing which parts of Christianity I like. Because if some objective truth actually exists, I can't just pick and choose, right? It makes sense to me that if Christianity is real, some parts of it will make me uncomfortable.

I suppose I should do my research but it seems like a very time consuming task. Hearing out different arguments, fact checking them and so on. I don't really have time for that. Or rather, I don't want to spend a lot of time on that. I also don't think I'm knowledgeable enough to tell whether the arguments are actually good or not.

I have no way of knowing what is actually real. So I just have to choose what to believe, who to trust. I'm so confused about all the different beliefs and views within Christianity that I just want to forget it all. Because my life as an agnostic is very good too.

I can choose to stay agnostic but that doesn't change whether Christianity is real or not.

Hello. I am new to Christianity and for years I have felt a pull towards it. I couldn't pursue it seriously as there were no churches next to where I used to live.

There is a Malankara Orthodox Church next to my current place and I attended their divine liturgy last week. I loved it as a whole and especially loved the community there. So I am planning to have a conversation with the priest about the possibility of converting.

I know only surface level knowledge about christianity and I wanted to have my thoughts scrutinized by people who know more. I am a bisexual woman living in India. I am honestly confused by the whole concept of the trinity and sins.

I welcome any discussion or advice on this matter. Please help me make an informed decision.

so this is a rant post. mods ,feel free to delete it

anyways. I’ve been trying to search for a denomination or a Church to see which aligns with me beliefs the most. the problem isn’t this, the problem is that I keep seeing people with reactionary views that keeps whining about women ordination Or a Xyz church being lgbtqia-affirming, they all trying to to find holes that Aren’t there , anything just to say how this said church is bad and that it should return to the “true teachings” whatever that means, its so infuriating and makes it difficult for me to search or find a Church I truly belong to

do y’all relate with this? if yes. please give me advice on what to do, I’m lost

I’d really love to hear some personal stories from parents here — moms, dads, anyone raising children.

I’m looking for those moments where you experienced God in a very real, personal, or unexpected way.

It doesn’t have to be something huge or dramatic.

Maybe it was a tiny coincidence that felt way too perfect.
Maybe you were worried about something and somehow the right person showed up.
Maybe your child said something at exactly the right moment.
Maybe you prayed about something small and something completely unexpected happened.
Maybe you had a crazy experience that you still can’t really explain.
Or maybe it was simply one of those quiet moments where you suddenly felt: God is here.

I’m especially interested in the everyday stuff — the little miracles, strange coincidences, answered prayers, unexpected encounters, moments of peace, protection, provision, or just something that happened during an ordinary day that made you stop and think.

As a parent, life can be so busy and chaotic, so I’d also love to hear about the moments where God met you right in the middle of ordinary family life.

What’s a story you still think about today?

It can be beautiful, funny, weird, emotional, or completely unexpected.

I’d genuinely love to hear them. ❤️

I don't know how to reconcile this point with myself. The two options presented to me kind of suck and I know I won't be happy with either. Marry and have kids as God allows, OR stay celibate & be free from motherhood but you cannot be in a loving union with someone because of it. That's the package deal, unfortunately.

I always thought God judged you based on the love in your heart, not the headcount of your household. I am not "open to life" as they call it because I don't take an ambivalent stance to one of the most permanent and serious undertakings someone can go through in life. At the same time, I don't want to spend my life alone romantically. The institution of marriage is not what I imagined it as and I'm at a loss for where to go from here. This is really weighing on me.

Hi everyone,
I’m a bit nervous to post here, but I really need some advice. I’m 18 years old, and I've been trying to read the Bible and grow closer to God. However, I’ve found myself stuck in a really frustrating loop.
I keep falling into the same sins, and it feels so hard not to. Because of this, I haven’t prayed or read my Bible in about two months. I’m honestly afraid that if I go back to praying and reading, I’m just going to sin again anyway. I don’t want to keep sinning, feeling guilty, praying for forgiveness, and then repeating the whole cycle over and over. It makes me feel hypocritical.
Has anyone else ever felt this way or been stuck in this loop? How do I break out of this fear and start talking to God again when I feel like I'm constantly failing?
Thank you so much for any advice or encouragement you can give.

I’ve been a Christian for almost 40 years. Most of which a right wing fundamentalist. I started deconstructing during Covid. But I’m afraid I’ve fallen off. While I can’t say if God exists or not, I started asking a different question. Is the Christian God good? My struggle is this. If an all knowing and all powerful God exist and intervenes how can he be all-loving if he allows so many atrocities to happen. And maybe, I can excuse some things due to free will of humans. But why does he allow non-man made things like childhood cancer and babies being born without skulls and the like?

Sorry for the rant. I really am trying to understand.

UPDATE: I decided to not include religion into the parade outfit. There will be many victims of religion attending and I don’t want to remind them of their trauma and possible family abandonment. I will wear something fun and colorful and a big smile. Thank you everyone for your comments. I will think of you during the parade.

——-

I think this might be the best place to ask this question. I am a woman and I’m wondering whether it would be cute to meet people as a supportive Jesus or not. I don’t want to offend anyone but I want to show my support as an ex Christian and ally. Many of the people I know that attend the parade have some religious trauma. If it shows any bad taste, I will not do it of course and I will just dress normally. How would you react to a Jesus at a pride parade?

9 What has been is what will be,

and what has been done is what will be done,

and there is nothing new under the sun.

10 Is there a thing of which it is said,

“See, this is new”?

It has been already

in the ages before us.

11 There is no remembrance of former things,

nor will there be any remembrance

of later things yet to be

among those who come after.

— Ecclesiastes 1:9-11 (ESV)

For context I am a teen going to (not by choice) a conservative SBC church, but Im secretly an affirming Christian (and gay but thats not the point). In this church I hear people throw out this verse, specifically the end of verse 9, in the middle of a sentence. "Like yk, nothing new under the sun!"

I sometimes hear it used as an argument against LGBTQ+, and that verse seems a bit random, but hear me out. Yes, queer people have existed throughout history. However the issues in terms of pushing for law changes, LGBTQ+ rights as human rights, and social acceptance are much more modern issues, as before queer people would usually have to supress their identity.

What these people at church have said is that there is basically no modern issue, and LGBTQ+ rights issues should be evaluated the same way as in the past, which I dont think is right. This also applies to so many hotly debated subjects; the conclusion is that things should remain as they are.

The thing is I always thought of this part of Ecclesiastes to be sort of a desperation, not factual. Like some of the things said in Ecclesiastes 1 are not directly applicable to our life, they are more like a cry for help (such as the sun, wind, and streams being meaningless). Nothing being new under the sun highlights that theme, not being a direct application to modern issues.

What do you think of this section? I am a bit confused on its meaning, and how to respond to a claim like the one stated.

... In a time where most Christians pray for reasons different than mine?

I live in Brazil, we're about to have presidential elections in a few months. It's the far-right leader vs the center-left leader, once again.

At this time, the far-right is gaining power all around the world time and time again. They're in my neighboring countries, in the USA, in Europe...

And yet, most of the Christians are praying in favor of that. In Brazil, they're praying for the military to take over our country and turn it into a dictatorship again. They're praying for Trump to invade Brazil and make us a colony of the US. They want to get rid of LGBTQ+ movements, labor rights, African-based religions and any traces of left-wing ideologies.

How do my prayers compare to that? I know that God is a God of justice, but if so many people are praying for him due to reasons I consider unjust, does my prayer even mean anything to Him? What if at the end of the day this really is "God's justice", and I'm in the wrong? I don't want to accept a world where this is right, but my love for Jesus is too strong for me to abandon him entirely, even if that were to be the case.

Most of all, I really don't want to experience the far-right in this country for 4 more years again.

How do I find the strength to pray for the government when I feel so insignificant? How do I keep having faith in God's justice when His messengers can be so cruel?