Christian tropers, join together!

The church is helping me work towards a driver's license right now, and I don't have any other actual support system right now, so as much as my morals are telling me to withdraw my membership as soon as possible, I'm probably going to end up sticking around until it's feasible for me to leave for good.

RIP Tim Keller

I know I haven't really done much in this Coven in a while. Been wanting to post something, but not really sure what to say. But God bless you all. Hope Jesus is shining brightly among you all!

Thank you, and God Bless you too.

As AI has helped in translating languages, let's not forget the Holy Spirit is giving us the gift of tongues to spread His Word.

Blessed Pentecost, everyone.

Thanks for reminding me that I need to wear red.

Luckily red is my favourite colour so I had plenty to choose from.

A question: I'm kind of... ecclesiophobic(afraid of churches). I can't help but associate churches with evil(gratuitous persecution, homophobia, witch hunts, pedophile priests, etc). I know churches/priests/pastors aren't inherently evil, but I have a very negative view on churches. How can I stop associating the church with bad things?

Edited by CosmosAndChaos on Jun 19th 2023 at 11:05:09 AM

Consume media that depicts Christianity as good? And not horrible, crappy media, no, the good stuff.

Maybe meet some Christians?

1. Watch a service online of a liberal/lgbt-friendly church (I can recommend one if you’re interested)
2. Check out a church event that’s open to non-members such as as a dinner or sale
3. Call a church and ask if someone’s available to talk (in my experience pastors love getting calls from the community)
4. Ge to know someone associated with a church who isn’t evil and talk to them about it

Edited by Walkinshadows on Jun 19th 2023 at 10:13:09 AM

I guess the best way to get over that fear is to actually find and get involved with a church community that actually practice what they preach, if you haven't already?

Because as much as we know that churches aren't supposed to engage in petty persecutions, hypocrisy, fraud, spiritual abuse, etc., the unfortunate fact is that there are many who do.

Simply "knowing" that "churches/pastors/Christians aren't inherently bad people" isn't going to be enough when a lot of news and social media frequently present Christianity and the church as hateful, backwards, evil, etc.

If that's the perspective we're more frequently exposed to, it will feel more "true" than the alternative, unless we are actually a part of a church that would prove those perspectives wrong. Sometimes, we need to experience the truth to be convicted of it.

Edited by Adept on Aug 3rd 2023 at 1:49:48 AM

this is probably the most serious im gonna be on this forum but

i believe that god was the father of jesus, and that jesus rose from the dead, but i don't actually know if i'm actually christian.

Believing in Him, that he rose from the dead for your salvation, and having a relationship with Him is more important. This Sunday's sermon also taught me that you also need the Holy Spirit of God for guidance.

Yes, faith is more about trusting in the person of Jesus rather than the acknowledgement of basic facts. Like, there's a difference between believing a person exist and knowing their qualifications, and trusting them enough to give them the keys to your house. Faith is more like the latter.

You know, maybe if there was a passage in the Bible where Jesus explained to His followers about germs, more people would wash their hands.

(Of course, Jesus said a lot of things people ignore, so maybe not...)

Edited by Walkinshadows on Jul 7th 2023 at 10:49:26 AM

How would that have worked out in the Roman-era Near East?

Probably not a good idea. Why would they believe Him?

That’s one of the many problems with Bible skeptics: a tendency towards temporal bias, namely the notion that the further back in history you go, the stupider people get. It’s in the same ballpark as the claim that Christ’s mustard seed parable was a botany lecture:

https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=IDx4TrjnQrs

(Certain people in these parts will shriek if they watched any of comrade Jones’ content.)

This may be an odd question, but I dont exactly know how to "witness" to people. Could someone help me in this regard?

Hmm.

Well, I'm a former Christian turned atheist, but am going to answer your question like a Christian would do, since it's a question that I happened to contemplate as well:

I'm assuming that by "witness", you mean individual witness to the faith. In that note, as a witness you should realize a presence within yourself, the call of Jesus himself. You show that you're a committed Christian, who found Jesus hold it authentically and meaningful to your life by living the Christian message.

I hope this helped, if you haven't figured out already by now!

Witnessing to others is basically sharing your faith and where you see God working in your life. Basically sharing your testimony.

I was in a very dark place today. Been thinking about suicide for months, and today was especially difficult. But a few minutes ago I googled some Christian websites about praying efficiently ("with power") and now I feel a lot better. At least right now, I have hope that God is working to pull me out of my rut.

I'm sorry I don't post much anymore. I hope you're all doing well.

Do you know the site prayerforanxiety.com? I've found it really helpful, and I bought the author's book too. It's a great resource.

I'll give it a look right now. Thanks.

But I say to you, Love your enemies and pray for those who persecute you
Matthew 5:44