AnOrangeCat

I find that particular song very relevant to today. I grew up attending a lot of churches that were primarily operated and populated by older people, and I'm getting older myself. Heresies and false doctrines are almost as old as religion itself, but some of the things I've seen being called Christianity today are equal parts baffling and horrifying. I'd take an old traditional church over some of the things being taught today any day.

I'd reverse the way you're looking at it. When someone makes claims about a matter of spirituality the burden of proof is on them. Catholics claim Purgatory exists so therefore it's the school's job to prove it to you. IMO as a student in a school you're not going to get a lot of headway in trying to persuade teachers, but you're certainly welcome to try. The important thing is that you sit tight through it all and hang on tightly to scripturally sound doctrine. With that out of the way...! Look at some of the parables of Jesus. Springing to mind offhand are the parable of the wheat and the tares (Matthew 13:24-30), the parable of the sheep and the goats (Matthew 25:31–46). The language of both parables indicates that people will be in one of two conditions, saved or unsaved. Nothing indicates that there could be a third condition (purgatory). Additionally the parable of the sheep and the goats uses a very important word in describing those two states: eternal.

I've heard these statistics before as well. It's very encouraging to hear of, but remember that they're also facing a lot of persecution.

I honestly just interpret it as a humorous quote that has a grain of truth to it. Einstein was a pretty smart guy in a lot of respects. I'm pretty sure he understood that actual insanity is a complicated thing that can manifest in many different ways, thus the likelihood that he never meant for it to be taken seriously.

What type of computer and operating system are you using? Are all of the mice new?

You're right that there's no prohibition against eating meat, but the Bible does speak about the treatment of animals. Proverbs 12:10 is very relevant. "Whoever is righteous has regard for the life of his beast, but the mercy of the wicked is cruel." The sort of thing you read about in articles about bad practices going on in slaughterhouses is evidence that there's a lot of wickedness in the world, especially in our big business. Go back further in the Old Testament and you'll find some very specific instructions for animal slaughter. It's designed to be quick, and even the quality of the knife is important. If the blade wasn't perfect it couldn't be used. I imagine that was to prevent the animal from suffering more than it had to as much as it was for our physical and mental health. The Bible makes it a point to tell us that the things that go on in our hearts and occupy our thoughts matter. The things we're exposed to contribute to what's on our minds. Frequent, large scale exposure to any sort of death isn't going to do anyone's health any favors.

You've recognized that the explore feed brings it to the forefront, so cutting that out seems in order. It's in the spirit of what Jesus said in Matthew 5:29: "If your right eye causes you to stumble, gouge it out and throw it away. It is better for you to lose one part of your body than for your whole body to be thrown into hell." If you stop looking at a feed that stirs up those feelings you're doing just what Jesus said to do. Aside from that it could be beneficial to analyze why you have those thoughts. Is it lust? Is it because of the money they make doing commissions? Something more? Just being rhetorical here. There's no need to answer that here. It's just that if you can identify and address the underlying source of the feelings it can be a useful tool in dealing with the problem along with prayer. Finally there's Romans 12:2 to keep in mind. "Do not conform to the pattern of this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind. Then you will be able to test and approve what God’s will is—his good, pleasing and perfect will." What we see and experience affects us, sometimes quickly and profoundly, but often it's a more slow and gradual event. We can't always control what we experience, but what we can control, we should. Take in the things that help us focus on Christ and cut out the things that entice us to sin.

I live about an hour away from where that happened. Tackling your first question, no. I don't believe it would be sinful to do that. Churches are for believers to worship God, give and receive spiritual instruction, support each other, and act as a place of outreach to the local community. You can get that without walking into an actual church building. Home churches were fine back in the days of the early church. I was pretty shocked when I was first exposed to it, but there are some notions of Christianity being practiced today that are really, really off in the name of being politically correct. As that trend grows I think we'll see more and more actual Christians forsaking church buildings in favor of house and online churches. I'm a little undecided on the rest of it.

I find it to be a good idea to practice being thankful as often as you can, even for little things like finding those keys you misplaced. In retrospect a lot of my trying times and disappointments were better for me in the long run. Keeping that in mind can help take the edge off of future hardships.

I've heard temperature can play a factor as well. IIRC somewhere around 64f is regarded as the easiest temperature to sleep in. That out of the way insomnia is often a complicated mess of potential factors and contributing causes.

You've hit the nail on the head. We can't look at Matthew 24:34 on its own. We have to look at what comes before and after it for context. The verses preceding it are clearly prophetic, and at times apocalyptic in a way that mirrors things said in Revelation.

It's not an unusual experience. Coming to God and feeling His presence can be a very emotional event that includes the very things you've mentioned.

To touch on some earthly elements of this there could be some generation gap issues coming into play, and certainly some modern world issues. Degree inflation is definitely a thing, as are other factors like automation and what seems like an increasingly cut throat and big city focused job market. In several ways it's not the same job market your parents grew up with and a college degree isn't quite what it used to be either. Honestly it's probably natural to feel some depression with things being as they are, and as many here on the forum can attest mental illness and depression are hardly unique to non-believers. Based on what you've said it sounds like your depression is grounded in some very legit reasons.

Interesting to me is that despite the fact that some of these things seem crazy or impossible at first glance, they're actually not. There's a story about the scientist Michael Faraday. One of his students was mocking the possibility of resurrection, so Faraday dissolved a silver cup in acid and coaxed it to form into a lump. Then he retrieved the lump, took it to a silversmith, and when the smith was done he brought it back to class again as a silver cup again. Finally he pointed out that if a mere human could destroy and recreate, how much more could our Creator do? No idea if the story is true or not, but the underlying principles behind it certainly are.

The context helps understand it better. At the time Israel was in a spiritually corrupt state. There was a lot going on with false religions, idolatry, and the priests falling away from what they should have been doing. Jeremiah was spreading the message that Israel's ways were leading to destruction and captivity. There were false prophets who contradicted that and told people everything was fine and nothing bad was going to happen.

I'd have to say no, just on the basis that God wants us to have faith and things aren't going to continue as they are now forever. Humanity doesn't have infinite time. But with that said I do entertain the notion that science might let us glimpse at spiritual concepts and our scientists just don't recognize them as such. A big example of this is the study of consciousness. IMO that field of science comes close to spiritual ideas since it touches on the notion of a soul. The thing is that even if something is found that suggests or proves the existence of a soul most scientists aren't going to call it that. They'll call it anything but a soul.

Fellow social anxiety sufferer here, hoping I'm not too late. We'll keep you and your family in prayers, but if your family loves you at all they're going to feel pain and guilt over the loss. If you get the chance to read this be aware that HS and college can be particularly challenging times where isolation, social issues, and the feelings surrounding those things are often magnified. For most of us that time period is when we start to get our first glimpses of independence and adulthood and heartbreak. It can be pretty overwhelming and our behaviors at that age are colored by hormonal changes that calm down later in life. Just like a skill we have to learn it takes multiple attempts before we can even get the basics down, and life skills and self management are a lot more complicated than things like riding a bike or learning to sew. Please do call a suicide hotline and try to find it within yourself to give God another chance.

I have to echo this. I'm not getting hit by age much yet except in some very specific respects, but in ways the acceptance of these things can be very liberating. Appearance is something that colors a lot of our interactions for good and for ill. I think that when age gives us a greater degree of freedom from the games people play with each other because of appearance and hormones it really opens the door for better, more honest relations with other people.

I think it's fine so long as you're spiritually grounded. If you plan on debating religious beliefs or witnessing to people of other faiths it can be pretty useful to know a little of what they believe in and the history of their religion. In my own case researching these things reinforced my belief in Jesus, though I realize that's not the case with everyone.

From what you've described it seems like the sin in question is a habit or an addiction of some sort at this point. If you don't want to say what it is I think that's okay but it may limit our ability to advise you. Prayer is important, but if I'm right about it being a habit or an addiction then treat it as that. Support groups are helpful for those things because their members become accountable to each other and share their successes and failures. Here are some other potentially helpful ideas. Don't make it easy to go back to. If you can do anything to hinder your ability to partake of this sin, even if it's just slowing down your path to it, do so. Before you partake of your particular sin make it a point to read a chapter or two from the Bible or pray. Not necessarily about the sin, but just thanking God. Make a habit of it. If you associate with others who partake of this and aren't struggling to quit themselves it's best to cease associating with them or limit your contact with them if at all possible.

Adding to all of this, it's easier to stay grounded when you have plenty of exposure to God and fellow believers. Philippians 4:8 gives us something very helpful to keep in mind. "Finally, brethren, whatsoever things are true, whatsoever things are honest, whatsoever things are just, whatsoever things are pure, whatsoever things are lovely, whatsoever things are of good report; if there be any virtue, and if there be any praise, think on these things."

Sometimes that intellectual agreement is a seed that grows into more. As we trust in God and defy the flesh to do His will we become more sensitive to these things. The Bible does state pretty plainly that the flesh is sinful by nature.

Congratulations on the move. Keep in mind that a certain level of fear is healthy. It hopefully gets us to look at things with a critical eye and consider the potential consequences of our actions. If you're worried about the location you're moving to definitely research it beforehand to see what the crime rate is like. And definitely keep a legal means of self defense at hand as often as you can. For less overtly dangerous situations experience can help. I tend to have a lot of anxiety issues, especially about any kind of confrontation. I've had to really push myself to stick up for myself at times but it's for the better. Just practicing being assertive can help a little. And of course pray!

Psalm 91:11 is a good verse. Psalm 34:7 is another one that puts them in a protective light. Revelation has a great many references to angels and describes them in ways that are a far cry from how they're typically depicted in art.

OneLight has it. None of us deserve salvation, and that's part of the beauty of it. God loves us enough that He gives us the offer anyway. Something I'll point out is that bad and even horrible things still happen to people who aren't Christians. Avoiding Christianity doesn't guarantee an easy life, and neither does accepting Christ guarantee that your life will mirror Job's. The world is full of sin and sinful people, so hardships are going to arise as a consequence of that regardless of what we do with Jesus. In my own walk I've found that God quite often delivers us from these hardships.