Christian bronies: meet, greet, and mingle!

[Sudo Krenton 243]

 

 

No strictly speaking anti-theists. All anti-theists are atheist but not all atheists are anti-theist. An anti-theist doesn't just want you not to believe but they wish for the end of all religious institution and thinking . . . sometimes through violent suppression as my reported conversation showed.  

 

My mistake... I had that in mind, I just couldn't put that in writing for some reason. Yes, I've dealt with anti-theists in particular.

 

 

 

Well that's good to hear. Yes, doubt and questioning are good, but no it's not the loss of faith that I was referring to it was the fear that people would hurt me for what I believed. Something that was a completely foreign concept to me until recently.

 

 

Not sure what exactly you were replying to due to the "-snip-" but, yes it is definitely a good thing to question rather taking things for granted. What usually Threatens me is when someone throws an argument (e.g. epicurean paradox) at me... I'm not a fast thinker, and it took me days to find out the issue with this thing.... so when I see a seemingly sound argument, and it's left fermenting in my brain until I come to a conclusion, I start to worry about a lot of things... not fun for me at the very least.

[Boyevyye De 243]

Hey-o everypony. How are ya'll doing today?

hallo

 

Awww yeah! Eastern Orthodox!..... Not that I am one myself... I just love the that culture and religious style.

 

(Byzantine Catholic)

I am Russian Orthadox myself specifically. 

[Steel Accord 6,658]

Not sure what exactly you were replying to due to the "-snip-"

 

Basically everything after my first quote.

 

 

 

but, yes it is definitely a good thing to question rather taking things for granted. What usually Threatens me is when someone throws an argument (e.g. epicurean paradox) at me... I'm not a fast thinker, and it took me days to find out the issue with this thing.... so when I see a seemingly sound argument, and it's left fermenting in my brain until I come to a conclusion, I start to worry about a lot of things... not fun for me at the very least.

 

A good go to counter that I've come up with is that God is benevolent, but people aren't always. God gave man free will, and some abuse that. If God made every murderer suffer a fatal heart attack upon killing someone, why would we need to pursue or try to define justice for ourselves? If He made it so that no one desired to do evil, then there'd be no individuality, just the voice of God in your head with no choice. If there's no free will, there is no good, and inflicting that upon humanity is a greater evil than that which we could ever do upon ourselves. God stays His hand because He's benevolent.

Edited July 11, 2015 by Steel Accord

[LittleMac 3,084]

I'm doing alright, I suppose.

You sure? The way you worded that makes it seem that you aren't

Unless I'm reading too much into it...in which case, you can ignore this

[Finia 260]

I hope all are doing okay. I just believe in being good to others and others will be good to you. Just try your best and be friendly towards people. Even if one sometimes say stuff they don't usually mean. I am sure it is the same thing with the internet, politics and arguments. People are so afraid of the stuff that happens around us that they say hateful and nasty thing to one another.

 

I just believe in the idea of trying to do what you are good at, and help people the best you can. I believe everybody is a good person if they try their best

[Sudo Krenton 243]

 

 

A good go to counter that I've come up with is that God is benevolent, but people aren't always. God gave man free will, and some abuse that. If God made every murderer suffer a fatal heart attack upon killing someone, why would we need to pursue or try to define justice for ourselves? If He made it so that no one desired to do evil, then there'd be no individuality, just the voice of God in your head with no choice. If there's no free will, there is no good, and inflicting that upon humanity is a greater evil than that which we could ever do upon ourselves. God stays His hand because He's benevolent.

 

Hmmm....

Well my counter for it is based on the fact that the paradox commits two logical fallacies, thus making it an invalid argument(even though it would appear to be a solid one). Not only that, but it doesn't really question the existence of God, but his nature. As no one has experienced or known God in His fullness... we can't even define what His nature is (this also ties into the logical fallacies). Aside from that, I also take a similar route to yours with the paradox..... God would be benevolent if He didn't give us a free will (slavery).

 

Anyhow, that's only one of the many things I've had to discover what I believe in, etc.

[CosmicHooves 2,705]

Just asking.

Are there any fellow non-denominational Christian Bronies out there?

[Steel Accord 6,658]

Just asking.

Are there any fellow non-denominational Christian Bronies out there?

 

I'm an ecumenical and syncretic Christian if that's close enough.

[LittleMac 3,084]

Just asking.

Are there any fellow non-denominational Christian Bronies out there?

Yup, I would also be nondenom

[I used to be a stranger 7,989]

This post has been redacted by the author.

Edited May 9, 2021 by Blue

[brsajo 162]

Just asking.

Are there any fellow non-denominational Christian Bronies out there?

My denomination is pretty obscure so I may as well be.

[Sunwalker 981]

I am aware I might be a bit late to reply this, but you never know
 

Hey guys.
I'm at a very low point in my life at the moment.
I just feel like I've gone too far and God won't forgive me.
It's just that the things I've done throughout my life make me question whether I was saved in the first place.
And I'm the type of person who has reached this low before many times in my life.
Over time a feeling of hopelessness has developed in my mind.
The real issue here is, I don't know if I'm saved or not.
Can someone help me?

It's a sinful addiction I've had ever since I was 12 years old.
The problem is, it's private and I have a hard time admitting it to anyone in public, even my pastor.
I try to handle the problem myself and it just gets worse.
Eventually I thought to myself I was unsaved because I have fallen victim to my addiction so many times.

 
It is precisely the other way around: when you fall into sin is when you need to get closer to God the most. Thinking that you should get distant from God is a temptation. Nobody is worthy, to begin with. But even then, God is merciful and he sent His son to die for us. The Church isn't a country club for saints, but rather a hospital for sinners. And everyone is a sinner. And even when you are not sinning, you still need to keep yourself close to God in order to avoid sin.
 
In a sense you are not wrong with not telling it, sin isn't a thing that someone should promote or be proud of. This might cause scandal, which will cause more harm than good. But when seeking help for it is unavoidable having to mention it, so in this case it is better to be as discreet as possible and don't give more details than the necessary to understand the issue (I think you were fine in this regard).
 
Don't despair, sometimes it takes a while in order to completely overcome an addiction. Just don't give up and keep praying for it.
 
 

As awkward as it might sound, but I need help with this too. I've had this addiction for too long and want to end it now. I thought I could figure it out myself by putting safe search on and resisting urges, but that has dont is made my problem worse. I've sought help (porn addiction help sites and even FIMfiction), but all I got were people who just gave me little to no advice at all.

I've just happened to come across this and thought it as a good opportunity to ask for help as well. If it isn't too much to ask, can any of you help me with the same problem I have? I desperately want to get rid of it. I feel like it is the #1 thing keeping me from a relationship with God.

Finding what are your triggers, and then avoiding them as much as possible is a good start. It is not something that can be overcome overnight, it might take years. Usually at first you will end up falling slightly less often, and then the success rate will slowly getting more frequently until you don't fall anymore. Just don't give up.

 

Another thing that helps is aversion therapy, that is causing an uncomfortable stimulus (without getting to extremes) every time you do something you want to stop doing. Keep in mind that this is not causing harm to yourself, it is just doing something uncomfortable that will not hurt you, for example some people who want to stop smoking make cigarettes to taste bad.

 

Some ideas, for example, could be: eating something bitter, drinking cold water, taking a cold - but not freezing - bath (or at least less warm than the usual, if you can't stand a cold shower), etc.. The idea behind this is to make your brain to associate the act with something uncomfortable, then it will try to avoid it. But remember, don't go to extremes, this isn't self-harm. If you want to add a spiritual dimension to this, I guess that this also can be called a "penance".

 

At any rate, never forget to pray. In the end of the day we are unable to overcome sin only by ourselves, we need also the help of God. Maybe you can, at the bare minimum, to meditate a psalm per day.

[BillyLa 21]

Hey folks, hows everypony doing?

[starshine wonder 79]

Billy, I'm doing great. Also, hi!! glad to have found this

 

I come from a non-denom (sort of), the church I go to is part of Partners in Harvest (includes Catch the Fire Toronto, Bethel and a few others) and we've just had a leadership change which I'm very excited about

 

If anyone ever wants to just talk, I'm available here and on Skype

[Sunwalker 981]

Hey folks, hows everypony doing?

I am doing well, thanks!

 

I have just returned from church, and the friends who give me a ride back home invited me to go eat something. We had a good time, it was a different way to end the Sunday

[CosmicHooves 2,705]

I've got a question here.

 

When someone on this site calls God "evil" and a "villain", what are their possible reasons for doing so?

And what would be the best response to them?

[A Black Circle 1,585]

I've got a question here.

 

When someone on this site calls God "evil" and a "villain", what are their possible reasons for doing so?

And what would be the best response to them?

Because they don't want to believe in the good he's done. Most of what is said revolves around sexism and homophobism, and also supporting slavery. Here's a fact: The Old Testament is history, NOT law. It has some good morals, but I think that almost all of the apparently hateful things come from here, mainly Leviticus/Numbers/Deuteronomy. So while conveniently ignoring all the life-saving and world-fulfilling he has done, they hate him. To quote Baurus,

THAT'S

NOT

SMART.

 

Also, I'm a prophet.

[LittleMac 3,084]

I've got a question here.

 

When someone on this site calls God "evil" and a "villain", what are their possible reasons for doing so?

And what would be the best response to them?

Calling God "evil" has a lot of different reasons behind it. For example, if someone were to pray for a loved one to get better but they end up passing on, that can make God seem unfair to them. However, there are plenty of people who have just arrived to that conclusion after personal study without anything being taken from them.

The only way I can see how to deal with that is if you simply present your case on why you think otherwise and see if you can sway them. If not, then it's their opinion to have

[starshine wonder 79]

'also, I'm a prophet.'

That's quite a statement, Flinchel. I would like to ask you a question, if I may. What is more important, a title or a relationship? Just curious to see your answer....

 

Decrypted, a lot of the time, people have been hurt when God hasn't done something for them or they've known someone who went through a tough time and end up asking where He is etc. There's a lot more reasons than that but the advice I would give would be to love them without having any expectation of them.

[Steel Accord 6,658]

I've got a question here.

 

When someone on this site calls God "evil" and a "villain", what are their possible reasons for doing so?

And what would be the best response to them?

 

Actually there's a term for that if you don't already know it: Misotheism. Literally "hatred of God."

 

Of course, I don't think the multitudes who claim such actually hate God but rather hate the idea of It.

[Sunwalker 981]

I've got a question here.

 

When someone on this site calls God "evil" and a "villain", what are their possible reasons for doing so?

And what would be the best response to them?

I have been noticing that one of the main reasons some people have a disdain for God is because of bad examples given by religious people, especially the parents but their close community can also "help". It is when the religious people they know are fanatics, annoying or live an immoral life. If this is the impression they get from religion, they think that God is like that and a god like this isn't one that deserves to be followed.

 

Also related to the above. Ideally, your parents should be your first experience of God's love. But when the parents aren't loving, especially in the case of the father, the kid will have problems will accepting a parental figure, and this also applies to God. There is a correlation between atheism and people who either didn't grew with a father or the father was a jerk. This does not mean that everyone who is atheist had problems with their parents, though.

 

Another reason for people thinking that God is evil is the punishments he gave back in the Old Testament, but the keyword here is punishment. I don't think that most people would oppose for a criminal to get punished when the subject is civil justice, but oddly enough some people seems to be offended when it is divine justice. In this case, it is important to remember:

1. Those people who were punished were very far from being saints. Just read the relevant passages and see by yourself all the despicable stuff those people did.
2. Even then, they got several opportunities to admit their wrong ways and change their path, yet they refused all of the chances. Abraham even tried to "bargain" with God the salvation of Sodom, but not even a single just could be found.
3. God speaks with each people in the language they understand. The culture of Antiquity was extremely different from ours, the people were even more savage and warlike. So in the Old Testament God used a language that this kind of people could understand.

 

Another common reason that people usually bring to say that God is evil, is the existence of evil by itself, as theoretically a benevolent God wouldn't allow the existence of evil. This reason is fallacious because it ignores the existence of the free will of the creatures. Evil exist because this world is corrupted by sin, and sin comes from the free will. If people were forced to do the right thing they wouldn't be really free, God want free individuals and not puppets. The way for people to be happy is to do the right thing willingly, but having freedom also includes the possibility of doing bad stuff.

 

Ironically, I find that the existence of evil is a good  argument for the existence of a benevolent God. I think that Christianity is capable of explaining the existence of evil and good better than any other worldview, Christianity is both more cynical and more optimistic than any other.

 

It is more cynical because when you look to the Universe though a Christian worldview you can see that the Universe isn't merely indifferent towards life (as an atheistic worldview would say), the Universe hates life. It is actively seeking to destroy you, both body and soul, and it will throw everything it have against you. All of this makes sense when you consider who is "the prince of this world", and there is a reason that Christian life is called "the narrow path".

 

But at the same time it is also much more optimistic because there is a light in the end of the tunnel, God sent his son to die for us so we don't need to spend an eternity in suffering. In an atheistic worldview this life is a spiral of chaos towards oblivion, but with Christianity we have God helping us through life, he promised that he would be always with us, and at the end suffering will cease. The fact that we are capable of standing against literally impossible odds is a good indicative that there is a benevolent God helping us.

 

Talking about suffering, another reason for people thinking that God is evil is if apparently he hasn't answered a prayer, especially when a loved one dies. I understand that this would be a reason for despair if there were nothing beyond this life, but we cannot forget that Christians believe in Eternal Life. So we can say that our loved ones who died are with God and absent of any pain and suffering. I don't know why God does not always physically heal someone, God has a much broader view of things than we do and maybe it was just better for the person to no longer suffer. In any case, the prayer did help with the salvation of the soul, a spiritual healing, which is what counts the most.

[A Black Circle 1,585]

That's quite a statement, Flinchel. I would like to ask you a question, if I may. What is more important, a title or a relationship? Just curious to see your answer....

 

Decrypted, a lot of the time, people have been hurt when God hasn't done something for them or they've known someone who went through a tough time and end up asking where He is etc. There's a lot more reasons than that but the advice I would give would be to love them without having any expectation of them.

A relationship, of course.

 

I could explain how if you want.

[Steel Accord 6,658]

Actually there's a term for that if you don't already know it: Misotheism. Literally "hatred of God."

 

Of course, I don't think the multitudes who claim such actually hate God but rather hate the idea of It.

 

@,

 

Actually, if I might elaborate, does anyone else besides me ever notice how as much as we are accused of being hateful and aggressive, how often it's the anti-theists that are the ones frothing at the mouth and wishing for destruction and pain?

[A Black Circle 1,585]

 

@,

 

Actually, if I might elaborate, does anyone else besides me ever notice how as much as we are accused of being hateful and aggressive, how often it's the anti-theists that are the ones frothing at the mouth and wishing for destruction and pain?

The former, not the latter. Aggressive and hateful is not the Christian way.

[starshine wonder 79]

Flinchel, it's cool I just tend not to go in for titles as such, mainly because how I define my relationship with Daddy and how I define myself in that relationship. I'd rather be a daughter of the living God than a prophetess, if that makes sense.