/christian/ - christian

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>>27512 (OP) 
>I will remember the deeds of the LORD; yes, I will remember your wonders of old. I will ponder all your work, and meditate on your mighty deeds. Your way, O God, is holy. What god is great like our God? You are the God who works wonders; you have made known your might among the peoples. (Psalm 77:11-14, ESV)

We are in this together, brother. Pray for me, as I pray for you. Let us pray for one another.

Ten years ago I thought the world was gonna end, and I was reading the Bible cover-to-cover as quickly as I could. I lamented that I wasted my younger years on fruitless stuff and neglected reading His Word.

It has been a journey for me as well. There has been ups and downs, but the Lord has always miraculously provided for me. I am working on seeking Him first thing in the morning, instead of being a worldly Christian and only seeking Him out when things get bad.

I want to encourage you brother. The struggle you face, is the same struggle that the Apostles faced. That we all face. Even Jesus Christ faced Himself when He was out in the wilderness.

Be good.

>>27512 (OP) 
>get to chapter 9
>section title: THE PLACE OF ISRAEL
yeah this is rich

Watch yourselves brothers and sisters in Christ

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Other weird stuff going on as well. Egyptian government out of nowhere wants to take over St. Catherine's Monastery and to turn it into a tourist attraction. 
https://www.catholicnewsagency.com/news/264561/monks-close-doors-of-st-catherine-monastery-as-battle-with-egypt-government-continues

>>27491
>He warned that the ruling allows the state to reclaim the property if the monks ever leave — for any reason —
>“This new legal status puts the monastery’s entire future at risk,” he said.
I thought the whole point is that the monks stay?

>>27491
Insane

We're at 50%

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>>27490
Thank you for these recommendations! I had not heard of these and they seem like very in-depth resources which I think is great and definitely more of what I was looking for but couldn't find.

I'm gonna put a recommendation for Matteo Ricci's work on Confucian ideas and Christianity (more specifically Catholic) in here - It did accidentally help cause the "Chinese Rites" controversy at the time due to a debate as to whether all of the Confucian rites Ricci thought were permitted in Catholic thought were really secular rites (as Ricci believed) or actually religious in nature (and thus not allowed) but that controversy's ended now and other than that the book is considered very solid and very historically significant in terms of Christianity and Eastern thought, and helped to convert Confucian people in China, Korea, Vietnam, etc. I'm not sure of it's use among the Orthodox, but Catholics and later Protestant missionaries used it's ideas too great success. The old now-ended controversy aside, it's considered an incredibly important work and very highly regarded so I think it's worth putting here.

Honestly, I think Eastern philosophy tends to be kind of ignored in terms of evangelism and Christian study here in the West so resources like what you put are really good for growing knowledge on these thigs.

A short free resource for evangelizing to Shinto practitioners - not Buddhism obviously but I don't think Shinto is commonly discussed

Shinto, The "Way of the Gods", or Jesus Christ, God's "Way"? by Richard S. Lofgren
https://www.ctsfw.net/media/pdfs/lofgrenshinto.pdf

It doesn't really go into the cultural views of leaving Shinto in Japan since from what I've heard it's considered a practice that helps "make" you Japanese and so people can sometimes have trouble leaving it but I might be wrong on that information

>>21879
>>21922
The Western versions of Buddhism tent to be more ((( secular ))) than the ones in Asia. But that's not a problem for Buddhists because they choose to not worship God or any gods. But there are also Buddhist temples with images of gods (like Brahma, etc.) and there are some sects/schools where there are practises where they pray to a certain pagan deity/deities.

>>24584
>Brahma
>Is that the hindu creator deity?
Yes.

>>24626
> A true Buddhist would tell you that Jesus, of course, was a Buddha, too, as it is a state of being above mere humanity, but below true divinity. 
That actually happened historically, if you read about Manichaeanism. It's a syncretic religion that combined gnostic teachings with elements from Christianity. Later it also got blended with Buddhism. Eventually it died out.

>>27524
Some interesting side notes for Christ the Eternal Tao is that Hieromonk Damascene was the spiritual son of St. Seraphim Rose. St. Seraphim Rose, known in the world as Eugene Rose, studied Chinese philosophy and graduated magna cum laude from Pomona College in 1956. He then went on to obtain a master's degree in Oriental Languages from Berkeley in 1961, where he wrote his thesis titled Emptiness and Fullness in the Lao Tzu. That thesis became part of the foundation from which Hieromonk Damascene crafted his book. St. Seraphim studied under the premier sinologists at that time, being mentored by both Gi-ming Shien, and Professor Peter A. Boodberg, and having become fluent in classical Chinese. Eugene Rose also studied briefly during the period before his conversion to Christianity under Alan Watts, but eventually found him too superficial.

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>>21803 (OP) 
Does this help?

>>27511
>it was the evil one that had influence upon his heart and the Holy Spirit was not with him.

>>27517
Pretty sure his actions can be attributed to the evil one and not to the Holy Spirit. Unless you are suggesting that the Holy Spirit can led someone into sin.

>>27501 (OP) 
Once Save Always Saved

>>27518
The post attributed his heart to the evil one, sir.

>>27520
Absolutely, insofar as his actions are not attributed to the Holy Spirit, unless you are suggesting the Holy Spirit can lead us to sin. But never did I condemn him, as you are suggesting

>>27449
Why didn't he make a world with truly righteous humans in the first place, is he stupid?

C.S. Lewis discussed the problem of pain at length.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LN8b5wkAEbg
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MPXWyfKcfkw

>>27450
In essence, God did in the beginning with Adam and Eve. God created humanity for communion with Him, not as pre-programmed beings incapable of choice. True righteousness is not merely an inherent state but a relationship, a dynamic participation in God's divine life. If humans were created already perfected in righteousness, they would lack the ability to freely choose love, obedience, and holiness. Love without choice is not love at all. Additionally, creation itself is a process of growth and transformation. Humanity was made in the image of God, but the journey toward likeness, becoming truly righteous, is one of synergy between divine grace and human will. The fall of Adam and Eve was not an arbitrary failure but a consequence of free will, which allows for both sin and redemption. Through Christ, humanity is given the opportunity to freely return to righteousness, not as automatons but as willing participants in divine life. Would a world of preordained righteousness truly reflect the depth of God's love? The beauty of salvation lies in the fact that righteousness is not imposed but offered, and that through struggle, repentance, and the overwhelming grace of God, humans can become what they were always meant to be: partakers of the divine nature (2 Peter 1:4).

>>27452
NTA. Powerful, thanks Anon.

>>27452
>If humans were created already perfected in righteousness
But, anon, Genesis 1:31* and Ecclesiastes 7:29* states they already were. And then they weren't by no one's choice but their own. I do not find fault with God for not seeing it coming. Because how can anyone forsee that which doesn't exist, which is freedom from God? And forsee that which has never happened before, which was man rebelling against God? This isn't a hard thought either. For does mankind, who was made in the image of the spirit of God, not love to justify himself with "How could I have known?" But it is only God who truly gets away with such an excuse. Neither do I believe that God would have seen it coming, because he is the Beginning and the End. God is the Beginning and the End. But not at the same time. Or else God would not have called himself two different times if he is the same time. "With God all things are possible!" you might now be thinking. But, obviously, all things being possible must also include the possibility that it's not possible. Matthew 24:24* has an example of this.

As for why man rebelled, the reason is there is no reason. Because provoking God is without reason to begin with. Is this too simple and stupid sounding to be what's happening? You bet it is! But it is what's happening anyway. And you've got to deal with it.

Lucifer has a similar stupid sounding origin

>>26650
>If you can abstain for a day, then you can abstain for a week
Wrong, also your own imagination can make porn or porno situations
The best way is to distract yourself

I have not. And I probably never will. Notwithstanding the most success I have with quitting pornography by far is a proverbial cutting off of that which offends me, in removing myself from ownership over desktop PC's and laptops (I post this from someone else's computer.) Now I am "free" from pornography. "Free" because I do not practice the habit anymore, but I still have the habit. And I am sure if I went back to my old ways that I would quickly pick up from where I left off.

I still use a smartphone for computing tasks. But curiously smartphones do not have the same grip on me like PC's and laptops do. Perhaps the web browsing logistics do not mesh with me. Perhaps it is because it was PC's, and not smartphones, that had dominion over my impressionable adolescent years. Either way, thank God for me being enough of a no name wage slave that I do not need my own PC for my job. It makes the transition to a smartphone and staying away from computers easier.

>>26813
>And if your right hand causes you to sin, cut it off and throw it away. For it is better that you lose one of your members than that your whole body go into hell. (Matthew 5:30, ESV)

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https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RGvD44u08Rk

>>26813
I thought that too and then God intervened and I saw porn for the monstrosity that it was, as a tool of Satan that destroys the healthy image and soul of women and men that God made good in the beginning. It puts human beings back into the gutter immediately after the fall, naked in the shameful depravity that obliges one to hide from God, overthrowing the basic dignity that God gave to Adam and Eve in the first sacrifice for sin to make them tunics.

>>27369 (OP) 
based, I hope he uses his platform to promote the gospel. Like how many more interviews about secular degenerations can be profitable for his soul

>>27371
Same. I just want him to take a careful approach. Like I would love to see more apologists on the show, but I wouldn't want him to go full fanatic and drive his audience away before they can be Christpilled.

>>27382
>Forgiveness is the ultimate get out of jail card.   
You seem to have a skewed view of redemption. For the person who sins, simply asking for forgiveness does not bring about redemption, but the act of repentance with a contrite heart can. Everyone sins, and so it is important that we continuously repent and always draw closer to Christ. We forgive others because just as we sin and deserve destruction, Christ says that if we truly forgive others, God the Father with forgive us. Forgiveness of others is a form of repentance.

>>27374
I don't remember where Paul said "you know what I don't want to mention that Jesus rose from the dead because I don't want to go full fanatic and drive away the areopagus". What brings people to the Lord is the preaching of the gospel and the power of the Spirit, you don't make Christians by stealth.

>>27505
Nah, it would be better if he allowed other Christians on to preach the gospel. Joe is no Paul.

>>26674
Good on you, hope you're feeling better. You may want to take a look at a Daily Walk Bible, or find an outline online for reading it over the course of a year, it helped me tremendously.

>>24554 (OP) 
My Bible schedule:
1 Day's work
1 Chapter 
1 Long Prayer
1 Night of rest

How it came to be:
"I should read my bible more now that I'm starting to think about Christianity more seriously, I'll start in Proverbs because I want to be wiser" - ~2 years ago 
(went on to Ecclesiastes, then Job, then Psalms, then all the prophets, wrapped around, went through the Pentateuch, continued on, and am now reading through 2 Samuel (I'll be reading Chapter 22 tonight).

As well as that, around the same time I decided to bring back the nightly prayers my parents used to pray for me before bed. It started off as a short and simple thing with a thanks-asks-thanks model I came up with from the Lord's prayer, now it has become a long chain of [thanks]-[asks]-[thanks]-[requests]-[thanks]-[pleas]-[thanks]-[request]-[thanks]-[asks]-thanks that I use to make sure 
I stay grateful for what I have and do not become conceited.

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>>27411
I try to follow this little devotional that takes you two years to get through OT and every year through NT. I have slacked off a lot and I need to get back into it.

>>27413
Keep up the good work Anon. 
Sometimes I can't get through my Bible reading schedule in the evening, but whenever I do that, I make sure to catch up with it in the morning. The main point is to keep on going. I have been sick for 1 month now, and it has forced me to go to sleep early sometimes, but I keep up my Bible study efforts in the morning whenever I miss a day like this.
Also, on the prayer part, I think I have now officially overextended myself in prayer. The whole point was to craft a genuine prayer I could pray before bed earnestly, but now I have come to reciting it as a chore. It's a shame because, otherwise, the prayer meets all the elements I wanted it to meet originally. Now I think I shall have to restart and see what else I can come up with, using that sandwich model or maybe something else entirely.

>>26665
>I'm happy /christian/ is still around, it took some time to find it again. Have a good day Christanons
What previous /christian/ boards have you frequented? Are there other christian communities like this online?

Thomas Müntzer (1959) English Subs
East German film
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jNUMRCiVcW0

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The Pope's Exorcist is based loosely on the memoirs of Fr. Amorth, so does it count as an outlier of Christian cinema, or is it resigned to the hollywood horror bin?