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Paper mache

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  1. I know the Bible tells us to obey our parents, but are there some scenarios where it would be better/acceptable to disobey your parents? For example, you and your parents are walking down the sidewalk in a busy city. There's someone sitting off to the side, begging for money/food. You ask your parents if you could walk over and give him/her $20 (out of your own money, you wouldn't be taking any from your parents). Your parents say no, because they think he's/she's homeless because he/she chooses to be, and that he/she doesn't deserve help because of this. Would it be acceptable to defy your parents and walk over to give the person $20, or should you still obey them? Thanks!
  2. Thank you all for your answers! They do make me think.
  3. The first step to getting saved is to feel guilty about your sin. All have sinned. Including the sweet old grandma down the road that always donates to charity. Christianity is so focused on sin because sin is what damns us all (before we get saved). Because of sin, everyone deserves death. Sin is a serious issue. That's why it seems to be a major point of focus. I do see your point, though. In a Christian's life, worship and love are very important. God did create us for His glory, after all. But, the reason we focus so much on sin and why it's bad is because without repentance (turning away from and therefore feeling guilt for) from our sins is necessary for salvation.
  4. To start off, I want to make it clear that I know that doing rituals and being religious doesn't save us. I believe we are saved by the grace of God, and only by the grace of God. It is the relationship with God that saves, not the religion (the rituals we do, going to church, etc.), although a healthy relationship with God will most of the time cause us to be religious towards Him. Now that that's out of the way, let's get to the point of this topic. I wanted to ask, is it alright to want to be more religious? As in, wanting to do more rituals? For some time, I was drawn to the Roman Catholic Church. Not because of their doctrine, but because of their rituals and religious practices. Something about the way they did their rituals was attracting me, and I still feel a pull even today. I disagree with a lot of Catholic doctrine, but I am still drawn to their rituals. I'm drawn to their Rosary beads even though I don't believe in praying to Mary/the Saints (I pray directly to God for everything that I need). I'm drawn to their Sacrament of Confession/Penance even though I believe we can go directly to God to get forgiveness. Lots of things like that. If it's okay to want to be more religious, then how can I become more religious, without necessarily adopting Roman Catholic rituals such as praying the Rosary or going to Confession? I read my Bible and pray, although I admit that I don't do either as much as I should. I go to church twice on Sundays and once on Wednesdays, most weeks (we seem to be missing more frequently due to illness these last couple months). If it's not okay to want to be more religious, then why do I feel this way? I know that rituals don't save. But I feel the urge to do them.
  5. There are a couple of reasons why new denominations are formed. 1. Somebody thought their denomination was corrupt and that it didn't follow what the Bible really said, so they broke off and formed a new denomination that they thought would follow the Bible closer and more accurately. 2. Somebody wanted to hold a position of importance and decided that the best way to gain power was to create another denomination. In other words, new denominations are either created because 1) someone genuinely thought their denomination was corrupt and tried to fix it, or 2) somebody was greedy and didn't really care for true Christianity, they only wanted power.
  6. What do you do when you go to a church that teaches a lot of what you think is false doctrine, even though that false doctrine is held by almost all churches? I don't believe in eternal torment, or that a person goes directly to heaven/hell right after dying, or that the soul is separate from the body, or the rapture (Christians being taken up before the second coming of Christ). And by the way, none of these are up for debate here. I continually research these subjects, and if I find sufficient biblical evidence to change my views, I do just that. Anyways, the church I currently go to teaches all these things and I'm not sure what to do. Should I keep going to that church? If you think I should look for another church, what if there are no churches that teach what I believe in? Just a side note, I know the church is the body of Christians. But, you know what I mean.
  7. Do not keep your faith from others. The Bible tells us to tell others about the Gospel. But also do it in a loving manner.
  8. Then we'll just have to agree to disagree. I do believe that we should give God our time, and make Him first in our lives. But can you give me a single Bible verse that supports that people who do not read daily will go to hell?
  9. Universalism is the belief that every man will be reconciled with God eventually - that people don't go to hell (permanently, at least). I myself am not a universalist, though with reading the Bible, I am finding more support for it (or possible something that just seems to support the doctrine). So, I'm not making this thread so that I can debate others, but so others can give me their reasoning for being universalist or for not being universalist. So, do you believe in universalism? Why/why not? This thread is to help me understand more about universalism. I personally will not be debating, though others are free to debate, and I may ask a few questions from time to time. God bless!
  10. There's no set time you have to read the Bible, or how much you have to read it. As a Christian, it is strongly recommended that you make time to read as often as possible, since the Bible is basically our roadmap to a good relationship with God. But, if for some reason you can't read on a certain day because you're very busy, you're not going to be damned to hell for that. Now, if you have time but you choose to do other things instead, that might imply that you are putting other things above God, and that'd be a problem. I don't think reading the Bible is considered a work like helping the poor or helping a lady cross the street. It is very beneficial to our souls to read out of God's refreshing word daily, but it's not the same kind of work as mentioned.
  11. Hi, Person17. First off, I wanna tell you that you're not alone in this. I have very few friends, and the friends I do have are atheists, aside from one Catholic and my boyfriend, who is a Christian as well. I don't talk to people usually, and although I used to enjoy it, there have been times when I've felt extremely lonely. I've considered suicide at one point in my life as well, and let me tell you, that was not a fun time. I went about 4 years being totally depressed, to the point where I actually became numb to everything for quite some time. I'm out of all this now, thanks be to God. But, I know what you're going through. I'm 16, I'm really bad at math, and I never talk to people. So, the whole point-of-our-existence thing. To begin with, we (and everything else that exists) were created for God's glory, as we see in Isaiah 43:7 and 1 Corinthians 10:31. That's why God made everything; for His glory. Well, then Adam and Eve went and screwed it up. That's why there's suffering in the world. That's why we have to work for what we need. That's why there's sin. That's why not all of God's children are always rejoicing. Because sin brought pain and suffering. Now, aside from glorifying God, we have another job as well - to try to point others towards the spring of living water who is Jesus Christ, God's only Son. One thing I've learned during my time in high school is that, if you wanna talk to people, you usually have to initiate the conversation. You have to be willing to let people know that you are okay with talking. Because if you always sit in the corner all by yourself and you never make an attempt to socialize, people might think that that's how you prefer it, thus not wanting to bother you. That was the case with me. I actually found out that I seemed to others that I'd rather not talk. A lot of people thought I disliked them because of how closed off I was, even though I didn't mean to come across that way. So, step out of your comfort zone! YES, it will be uncomfortable. YES, you will feel weird at first. But that's how you get comfortable, by stretching your boundaries a little bit! If you feel that your prayers are going unanswered, here are some possible reasons from the Bible why this may be happening: 1. Maybe you're just not being patient enough. Maybe God plans on answering "yes" to your prayer, but He has a certain time for it, and that time just hasn't come yet. We need to trust in God's timing, because it's perfect. The first verses of Ecclesiastes chapter 3 says that there is a time for everything. 2. Maybe you have some sin in your life that you just keep hanging on to and refuse to let go of, or maybe you're disobedient to God. These things may cause God not to listen to your prayer. Read Psalm 66:18 and 1 Samuel 8:18. 3. Perhaps you don't have faith that God will take care of you. James 1:6 talks about how a man's prayer without faith is like an ocean wave, tossed around by the wind. Another good verse to read is Matthew 21:22. 4. You may also be asking for the wrong reasons. If you're asking for selfish reasons, you won't get it. An example would be a million bucks or a fancy car, or maybe even good looks and fancy clothes. Read James 4:3 and 1 Timothy 2:1-2. 5. You could also be asking for something that's not in God's will. Something that's not in God's will won't happen, and if it's not in God's will, THERE'S A GOOD REASON! Even if we don't see that reason at first, there's a good reason. Read 1 John 5:14. Have you been reading your Bible? If yes, keep on reading, and praying that God will help you to understand what you're reading. If not, START! There is a LOT in the Bible that actually encouraged me when I was in the same place you are now. There is something in the Bible that will help you. Also, the Bible tells us that we are going to be hated for Christ's name. If you go around talking about how certain things are sinful and how unsaved people aren't gonna make it to heaven, it's natural to get some backlash since people are going to get offended. Though, if you're doing it hatefully, that's a problem. If you're doing it with love, however, then keep on doing that! Since the Bible tells us that we are going to be hated for Christ's sake, there would be a problem if everyone in your school liked you, unless you went to a strict Christian school. I'm not usually good with giving advice, so I'm sorry if this doesn't help you much. But, I'll pray for you, and I encourage you to read your Bible and keep on praying and trusting in the Lord! We won't always understand why He does things the way He does or why He sometimes seems to wait so long to do those things, but there is a good reason behind it all, and if you endure until the end, you will reap the rewards and be given a crown of life. Hang in there. God loves you.
  12. James chapter 2 talks about how our works perfect our faith... I'm having a little bit of trouble understanding exactly what that means.. could someone who understands please explain in a way that a kindergartner could understand it? I've already seen the Abraham + Isaac and the Rahab the harlot examples, but I still don't really understand.... do our works make our faith bigger, or fuller, so to speak? Or do they just prove that we have saving faith?
  13. I've seen quite a few atheists do good works though...? thank you both for your replies!
  14. Hebrews 12:2 says Jesus is the perfecter of our faith. James 2:22 says good works are the perfecter of our faith. I'm just really confused... which is it? or am I misunderstanding the meanings of these verses?
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