Christianity Thread

[PixelPest]

There is no scientific way to explain The Resurrection. Part of Christianity is faith in God and truth, even when we may not be able to fully understand it with our bounded knowledge

[Kyo Saito]

There is no scientific way to explain The Resurrection. Part of Christianity is faith in God and truth, even when we may not be able to fully understand it with our bounded knowledge

I never said the word "science" once in my post. I just want to know how you believe it happened. If Jesus came back to life, how come other people aren't able to?

[Artemis008]

In my own mind, before you are welcomed into heaven you first go to hell to atone to your sins. After you feel true sorrow and regret for your sins you become pure. I also don't think that we are special in any way, shape, or form. We live, breath and die just like any other creature. We're just on top of the food chain. I do think there is some kind of godly being out there, simply put everything is made of something else, so something had to be created from nothing.

[aero]

What I'm getting at is that since the texts within the Bible have been translated, swapped around, and re-translated to the point where the original texts have lost their meaning

This isn't completely true. The King James Bible is the most accurate translation from the original Biblical texts to English. From what I've seen, the other versions do completely change stuff for the sake of copyright and junk like that which is why I refer to the KJV first before looking at any other versions if the old English is hard to understand just from a literary point. There's a ton of history surrounding translations, and I don't think it's fair to just say it has been translated and leave out all the work that's been done to preserve the meaning while only focusing on the lost meanings of other translations.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EVufl8Oy-PQ
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/King_James_Version

I must ask, which version of the Bible do you refer to?

I always refer to the KJV when discussing the Bible.

And I also must ask, are you in the belief that Jesus died, yet came back to life? If so, how, logically, did that happen?

No. As I said in the OP I haven't converted, I've just had a new found interest in Christianity and the application of its teachings to modern times. For example, it can be observed in society that deviations from the Biblical teachings on marriage cause great harm to people. Divorce is linked to crime, mental illness, and splintered loyalty. Same sex couples have a disproportionately high rate of domestic violence compared to straights, especially among lesbians. Even controlling for what country and culture you're viewing, these observations hold true. The thing holding me back from converting fully is faith that Jesus died and came back to life. No matter how solid the rest of the foundation is, I'm not sure if I can be honest if I were to say I believe in the supernatural parts.

Sources on my claims about marriage deviation:
https://mainweb-v.musc.edu/vawpreventio ... heet.shtml
http://www.uncfsp.org/projects/userfile ... _Sheet.pdf
https://www.ncjrs.gov/App/publications/ ... ?ID=167327
https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/21848809

[PixelPest]

There is no scientific way to explain The Resurrection. Part of Christianity is faith in God and truth, even when we may not be able to fully understand it with our bounded knowledge

I never said the word "science" once in my post. I just want to know how you believe it happened. If Jesus came back to life, how come other people aren't able to?

Lazarus did (by a miracle of Jesus). I can't explain how it happened since it isn't a concept that I think can be truly described accurately with the understanding we have of our universe.

We all are special because we are the only creatures made in God's image and likeness. We also have free will and are not bound to instinct. Furthermore, we don't go to Hell, since it is a place of eternal torture and a completely severed bond with God, we go to Purgatory if we need to before Heaven

[MistakesWereMade]

I'll be honest. The reason I'm Christian is because of several things:

1.-I was born from a Christian family
2.-Lots of the teachings helped me have an easier and more peaceful life

And the main reason:

When i was a child, and my dad was in his 40's, he got very ill from all the hard work he did (he carried a lot of shit in events through long distances, and the only drink he was provided was soda). He was suffering from kidney and liver failures, to the point where the doctors flat out said there was no saving him. He was retired from the hospital and we brought him home, so all our family could do is pray and take care of him.

And then it happened, one day, he suddenly became healthy, he did not seem ill at all and we took him to the doctor to check what was happening. The illness was (mostly) gone, the doctors couldn't believe it, and we were told that he was going to be fine.

Granted, he had to take some pills and medical measures to restore him to his full health, but that was a short period. Now he's a happy man in his 60's who's capable of doing a lot of physical activity.

When that happened, I aknowledged that miracles did exist, and from there on I've entrusted my life to God. I have not suffered from any health problems (which is surprising considering that all i do is literally sit on my ass memeing on the internet 24/7), I am doing perfectly fine in school, I've not been assaulted by other people (which is actually a feat considering the country I live in), and there hasn't been any tragedy that has fully stopped me and my family from holding up well.

[Metamorphizer]

The only form of Hell that I'm very familiar with (other than the stereotypical literal "fire and brimstone") is the Mormon version, which actually comprises two distinct places. Basically, the afterlife between death and resurrection is divided between "paradise" and the "spirit prison". People who die in their sins go the spirit prison, which I guess is somewhat similar to the Catholic doctrine of purgatory. Depending on what knowledge they had in life, they can repent of their sins after death and enter paradise; if they don't repent, or knew perfectly well that they were committing sin, then they will remain in the spirit prison and suffer for their own sins, rather than benefiting from Christ's atonement. Ultimately though, they will pay the price for their sins, be resurrected, and enter the lowest of three kingdoms in heaven. The only ones who permanently remain in hell are the "sons of perdition", who are essentially people who knew, without any doubt, that God exists (usually meaning they've seen and interacted with him) and then totally rebelled against Him. Only confirmed person in this category is Cain and possibly Judas (in the KJV, Christ calls him "the son of perdition"). After the Millennium, the sons of perdition, alongside Satan and his angels, will be cast into Outer Darkness, which is thought to be the space beyond the created universe.

[aero]

Question for Catholics: What do you make of the accusations that Pope Francis is the anti-Christ?

[TLtimelord]

Question for Catholics: What do you make of the accusations that Pope Francis is the anti-Christ?

I say those people are stuck in the Victorian Era.