Christian bronies: meet, greet, and mingle!

[Sunwalker 981]

2 hours ago, zerox said:

I just wanted to share my experience.

 

btw anyone here interested in agnosticism?

That is fine, @zerox. Those militant people seems to be unable to realize that things are more complicated that people just being A or B, there are much more nuances and differences than what they give credit for. Being misunderstood or falsely accused of lying is really annoying. From what I can notice, they are rather seeking some sort of "social approval" by defending some cause, than actually being interested on discussing things.

About your question, yes, you could say that I am interested. I have been interested on discussions about having or not faith for quite sometime. Personally I think that between agnosticism and atheism, it is easier to make an argument for the former, because a negation is hard to prove, one would have to ultimately know every single case and somehow show that it is not there on every single one of them. Stating that one cannot know everything sounds more realist for me, when considering between those two propositions.

Anyways, on such kinds of subject it is not a single event or discussion that is going to define one's position, since we are talking not about something simple as which shirt to wear, but rather about an entire worldview, one that defines how everything else is seem and its meaning. In other words, a paradigm. It's the combination of one's experiences and ideas through the entire life. That's why one should not rush, and also understands that other people might see things differently, as the people you talked with should had been understood.

Edited April 28, 2017 by Sunwalker
Accidentally submitted before finishing the post, now it is finished.

[Steel Accord 6,660]

6 hours ago, zerox said:

I just wanted to share my experience.

 

btw anyone here interested in agnosticism?

I am. Insomuch as I fully support it. Although maybe you could correct my definition if it's off. "The declared non-commitment to a divinity existing or not existing." That about right?

[zerox 1,100]

43 minutes ago, Steel Accord said:

I am. Insomuch as I fully support it. Although maybe you could correct my definition if it's off. "The declared non-commitment to a divinity existing or not existing." That about right?

yes that should be about right. I hope I understood correctly. english isn't my first language

[Hetairoi15 130]

 

1 hour ago, Steel Accord said:

Insomuch as I fully support it. Although maybe you could correct my definition if it's off. "The declared non-commitment to a divinity existing or not existing." That about right?

 Hey there! I am relatively new and happen upon this. I am a believer, I have a few questions in general, but I'll leave that at that for now. But I agree with the definition of agnosticism. One of my friends is actually going through something and he declared himself as one and we constantly have intense discussions about it that is invigorating to say the least!

[Steel Accord 6,660]

Actually now that we sort of have the subject of belief/faith going as a topic, I have something that's been on my mind for a little bit.

Adrian is an atheist, he dismisses even the possibility of God. He says he believes what he sees. One day, a miracle happens before his eyes. An angel appears before him and others on a street corner in broad daylight and speaks to each of them words they all consistently remember. Or his best friend has suffered third degree burns all across his body and when a Priest prays for God to heal the boy, his flesh is restored before both of their eyes. Point is, he experiences something that cannot happen within our understanding of how the physical universe works. He now fully acknowledges the existence of God.

This leads me to wondering. Is his faith genuine? Is it even faith? Leaving aside if that's what God should have done or if he qualifies as Christian or even religious. Is this conversion false and if it is, how so?

I ask because I sometimes hear the assertion of beleif based on experience being someone's requirement for religiosity. And something just tells me it doesn't work that way even if they believed in God based on sense experience. What do you guys think? Especially our agnostic newcomer?

Edited April 28, 2017 by Steel Accord

[zerox 1,100]

speaking for myself I would start believing in god if one of this things happen: a miracle that can't be explained by science or that science without a doubt proves the existence of god.

[Brightbart 268]

21 hours ago, zerox said:

speaking for myself I would start believing in god if one of this things happen: a miracle that can't be explained by science or that science without a doubt proves the existence of god.

What we perceive can be subjective though. What one calls a miracle another could claim our scientific knowledge isn't up to par or it was coincidence etc. If you're looking for miracles whether or not you find them will probably depend on if you think they could be possible. If your outlook is they don't then you'll see certain events in the latter perspective whereas others will see it in the former, and vice versa. 

Per your previous question/comment though. I think agnosticism is a rather intelligent choice to make all things considered. Saying God exists or does not exist requires faith even if we 'know' God exists(or doesn't for atheists), since that is our subjective opinion. In a sense, at least how I view it, agnosticism is more of not placing faith one way or the other.  I never really understood atheism in the context of definitive "there is no God", and then claim science backs that up. That to me has always appeared as a shallow understanding of science and religion. But that's because I would say that science points to the existence of God much moreso than it doesn't. 

[Brightbart 268]

Hello everyone I hope you all had a good Mother's Day weekend! I had my wisdom teeth removed today and it went smoothly with no complications so far. I'm praying it stays that way! I've read that if something goes wrong it's usually after the surgery. 

God bless and enjoy the summer weather; and to those in the southern hemisphere enjoy the wonders of winter!

[Prospekt 11,018]

27 minutes ago, Brightbart said:

Hello everyone I hope you all had a good Mother's Day weekend! I had my wisdom teeth removed today and it went smoothly with no complications so far. I'm praying it stays that way! I've read that if something goes wrong it's usually after the surgery. 

God bless and enjoy the summer weather; and to those in the southern hemisphere enjoy the wonders of winter!

Ooh, funny coincidence, I had my wisdom teeth removed a week ago!  I went back for my follow-up appointment yesterday morning and everything's healing up smoothly. I'm praying that the healing process goes well for you, too.

[Brightbart 268]

On 5/15/2017 at 11:16 PM, Prospekt said:

Ooh, funny coincidence, I had my wisdom teeth removed a week ago!  I went back for my follow-up appointment yesterday morning and everything's healing up smoothly. I'm praying that the healing process goes well for you, too.

Heh that is, I have my followup Monday morning. Hope it goes well like yours did, so far so good, thanks for the prayers!

[Crusaders Forever 88]

On ‎5‎/‎16‎/‎2017 at 0:44 AM, Brightbart said:

Hello everyone I hope you all had a good Mother's Day weekend! I had my wisdom teeth removed today and it went smoothly with no complications so far. I'm praying it stays that way! I've read that if something goes wrong it's usually after the surgery. 

God bless and enjoy the summer weather; and to those in the southern hemisphere enjoy the wonders of winter!

I had two of my wisdom teeth pulled. They were the very back ones, so I couldn't get the brush into them, so the kinda decayed and broke.

[BlinkZ 1,151]

So about two weeks ago, my one eye bleed internally and man was i freaking out.  I might recover vision back if they drainied it but it a catch 22 situtain where if it bleeds agin well poof ther goes any eye sight what so ever. but it a long short at this time. It one big waiting game. Thankfully I got praise going out for me from all kind of places and that helps me remain calm..but man am i scared of losing any more vision then i alreayd have. 

I mean i'm just making a skim version of events in this point. Last two weeks have been mentally exhusting and a living hell of emitions.

[Stickman, The Legend 303]

Yay, i'm not the only christian brony on the forums! This makes me happy

[Arc Flash 7,884]

Just thought I'd say I'm a Christian and proud of it!! And I'm also a proud brony and my wife is a Christian and pegasister as well

[BlinkZ 1,151]

You know we could talk about such topics that we christains have to fight head over heels for but then some atheist would come over and say "hate speach!!
 

People who try to put millions of years into 6 days of creation are only falling into the trap

[SummerOfGold 31]

1 hour ago, BlinkZ said:

but then some atheist would come over

Forgive me if I'm starting something, and also for picking out what probably wasn't the focus of your comment, but to be honest I am more worried about what members of this discussion would say if I brought up something that has to do with the Christian walk than the unlikely atheist showing up.

I realize this isn't Sunday school, but this group doesn't really feel open to conservative views, and if anything I feel like I'm encouraged to be politically correct and censor myself rather than have freedom to speak my mind here.

[ChB 18,550]

@SummerOfGold Well, speaking for myself, I welcome conservative views and respect your and BlinkZ's convictions. I am conservative myself, though I tend not to talk very much, as I have mixed feelings about a lot of things in politics.   

[BlinkZ 1,151]

34 minutes ago, SummerOfGold said:

Forgive me if I'm starting something, and also for picking out what probably wasn't the focus of your comment, but to be honest I am more worried about what members of this discussion would say if I brought up something that has to do with the Christian walk than the unlikely atheist showing up.

I realize this isn't Sunday school, but this group doesn't really feel open to conservative views, and if anything I feel like I'm encouraged to be politically correct and censor myself rather than have freedom to speak my mind here.

We don't have freedom to discuss. Cause doctrination in schools. plus just saying conservative seems to just brush stuff aside. Make a stand and get burned but still need to stand or get flattened like wheat.

[GoldenGumdrop 164]

Hello, I'm fairly new to the forums and I'm glad to find this thread to mingle with fellow Christians. I have no problem answering questions that those who are not Christian may have as long as it's polite and civil discussion. I have been a believer for a long time, although my road with Christ has been a rough one. My biggest problem is I don't go to church. I know that doesn't make someone a believer, but it's good for worshiping the Lord and spiritual renewal.

[ChB 18,550]

50 minutes ago, GoldenGumdrop said:

Hello, I'm fairly new to the forums and I'm glad to find this thread to mingle with fellow Christians. I have no problem answering questions that those who are not Christian may have as long as it's polite and civil discussion. I have been a believer for a long time, although my road with Christ has been a rough one. My biggest problem is I don't go to church. I know that doesn't make someone a believer, but it's good for worshiping the Lord and spiritual renewal.

Welcome, GoldenGumDrop! I think it's a tough one for many of us. I'm having a hard time doing my morning prayers consistently and reading the Bible often. Pray for me, in that regard.

 

May I ask what denomination of Christianity you are part of? 

Edited June 11, 2017 by ChB

[GoldenGumdrop 164]

Sure, I'm Baptist by denomination.

[PonyMage 228]

I doubt anyone recognizes me since I never posted in here that often (and I disappeared for awhile due to school), but I would like to reveal some of my thoughts and experiences with my religion (Christianity). The long and short of it is that I have been losing my faith in Christianity lately. I've been depressed for a long time, like "I tell myself I deserve to die at least once a week" kind of depressed. I was never able to isolate the root cause until I began to question my religion.  I was hesitant to publicly share some of my past here for my parents' sake, but now I feel I have a right to share my experiences for what they are. Keep in mind as you read the following that I was raised in a fundamentalist household.

You know those stories about rich kids that are forced to live in estates and never mingle with "commonfolk?" That's pretty much the household I was raised in, only we aren't rich. Basically, the idea is "The world has been hit by a Satanic fallout kids, hide here in our bunker and you'll be safe from contamination." Ironic, considering how dysfunctional we all are... Anyway, eventually I began posting on forums behind my parents' backs. For the first time, I heard about homosexuality. I realized it was strictly prohibited by my parents' doctrine, hence why I'd never heard of it. My initial disgust turned to tentative acceptance, and I heard about the science of "It's biological". Being the rebellious little teenager I was, I started to wonder "Is that me? Am I gay?" Of course, these questions were kept hidden from my family. Then I begin to develop "feelings" for a gay guy online. I'll never know if he was a catfisher or not (probably, in hindsight there were some red flags) but younger me didn't even think about that. I went along in my happy so called "relationship", deciding that God wouldn't be against it.

Then my mother found out.

That was one hell of a morning. I had imagined if my parents ever found out, I would argue with them. I would stand up for myself. Me, the perfect little untainted trophy on my parents' shelf, would burst free and develop his own beliefs. That died quickly. There was a lot of shouting on my mother's part, and I didn't say much. I won't deny I was shaking. When I asked her if she wanted to kill me, she told me (and I quote) "Of course I want to kill you." And as she said "If your father ever founds out, he WILL kill you." I believed her too. If you saw how angry my dad gets when he rants about the world, you would too. It's humiliating to look back and see how completely cowed by her I was. Heh. Anyway, I promised to stop being gay, and she made me cut ties with my online friends. She said God would forgive me for what I did, and I believed her. Or so I thought.

Apparently my subconscious didn't, because ever since then I've been pretty consistently depressed. Granted, I was depressed to a degree before that too, but this was worse. I struggled with the idea that I deserved death for my mistakes. In the past six months or so, I've told myself weekly that I was a blight on the world that brought no good. I felt as if God were hanging over me like a weight, that I had to explain my every action to him. That limited my social capabilities; when I was allowed to talk to my friends again, my bitter mental state made me act like a complete bitch towards them, and I broke away from them. I felt that no one cared about me, not even God. Why would he? I felt scared to make decisions and to be myself. Essentially, I was hardly my own person.

Then one day I heard about conversion therapy. You can imagine my shock. As fucked up as what I had lived through was, it wasn't even close to some of the bullshit that others have lived through. That was the day I lost my faith in Christianity. I don't feel that I can stand in support of something that (to some people) justifies such horrible things. Yet according to my parents, there is only one "true Christianity" (theirs) and everyone else has interpreted it wrong. In that case, count me out of it altogether. I can't hate homosexuals or transsexuals like they do. I've tried, damn it. And I've been told that God abhores hypocrites; by definition, calling myself a Christian while supporting ones of its most taboo things would be just what He hates. Nor can I stand by a doctrine that drives me into the ground everyday, telling me that I don't deserve to live. So I am NOT a Christian anymore, and I never can be.

What I find interesting is that I feel like I've always known deep down this would happen someday. I never actually doubted my religion before. Yet even as a little boy, I felt a bit uncomfortable with my parents' cynical world view. If I were a loyal Christian, why did I often feel uneasy when God was brought up among my family? Why did I feel that, if anyone in our family failed to be a Christian, it would be me? I feel almost as if this was always who I was, and denying that was what caused my pesky depression. Because yes, my depression has subsided (for the moment, at least). And yes, I realize that as a young adult, deviating from my family is normal and it may lead to nothing. But I know this; whatever religion I choose to follow, it won't be Christianity, and it will be one that I follow because I choose to, not because my parents threatened me with eternal damnation (which they have). For the first time, I realize that I have the freedom to develop my own thoughts, my own morals, and my own path through life, not the path dictated for me.

There was actually a lot more that I wanted to say on why I'm losing faith in Christianity, but this post is already long enough as it is. Besides, I suppose this is not an entirely appropriate place for that. Even this post may offend some, which isn't my intention. You follow the religion that makes YOU happy. Hasta la vista.

 

Edited June 12, 2017 by Show Stage Guy

[Sunwalker 981]

15 minutes ago, Show Stage Guy said:

I doubt anyone recognizes me since I never posted in here that often (and I disappeared for awhile due to school), but I would like to reveal some of my thoughts and experiences with my religion (Christianity). The long and short of it is that I have been losing my faith in Christianity lately. I've been depressed for a long time, like "I tell myself I deserve to die at least once a week" kind of depressed. I was never able to isolate the root cause until I began to question my religion.  I was hesitant to publicly share some of my past here for my parents' sake, but now I feel I have a right to share my experiences for what they are. Keep in mind as you read the following that I was raised in a fundamentalist household.

You know those stories about rich kids that are forced to live in estates and never mingle with "commonfolk?" That's pretty much the household I was raised in, only we aren't rich. Basically, the idea is "The world has been hit by a Satanic fallout kids, hide here in our bunker and you'll be safe from contamination." Ironic, considering how dysfunctional we all are... Anyway, eventually I began posting on forums behind my parents' backs. For the first time, I heard about homosexuality. I realized it was strictly prohibited by my parents' doctrine, hence why I'd never heard of it. My initial disgust turned to tentative acceptance, and I heard about the science of "It's biological". Being the rebellious little teenager I was, I started to wonder "Is that me? Am I gay?" Of course, these questions were kept hidden from my family. Then I begin to develop "feelings" for a gay guy online. I'll never know if he was a catfisher or not (probably, in hindsight there were some red flags) but younger me didn't even think about that. I went along in my happy so called "relationship", deciding that God wouldn't be against it.

Then my mother found out.

That was one hell of a morning. I had imagined if my parents ever found out, I would argue with them. I would stand up for myself. Me, the perfect little untainted trophy on my parents' shelf, would burst free and develop his own beliefs. That died quickly. There was a lot of shouting on my mother's part, and I didn't say much. I won't deny I was shaking. When I asked her if she wanted to kill me, she told me (and I quote) "Of course I want to kill you." And as she said "If your father ever founds out, he WILL kill you." I believed her too. If you saw how angry my dad gets when he rants about the world, you would too. It's humiliating to look back and see how completely cowed by her I was. Heh. Anyway, I promised to stop being gay, and she made me cut ties with my online friends. She said God would forgive me for what I did, and I believed her. Or so I thought.

Apparently my subconscious didn't, because ever since then I've been pretty consistently depressed. Granted, I was depressed to a degree before that too, but this was worse. I struggled with the idea that I deserved death for my mistakes. In the past six months or so, I've told myself weekly that I was a blight on the world that brought no good. I felt as if God were hanging over me like a weight, that I had to explain my every action to him. That limited my social capabilities; when I was allowed to talk to my friends again, my bitter mental state made me act like a complete bitch towards them, and I broke away from them. I felt that no one cared about me, not even God. Why would he? I felt scared to make decisions and to be myself. Essentially, I was hardly my own person.

Then one day I heard about conversion therapy. You can imagine my shock. As fucked up as what I had lived through was, it wasn't even close to some of the bullshit that others have lived through. That was the day I lost my faith in Christianity. I don't feel that I can stand in support of something that (to some people) justifies such horrible things. Yet according to my parents, there is only one "true Christianity" (theirs) and everyone else has interpreted it wrong. In that case, count me out of it altogether. I can't hate homosexuals or transsexuals like they do. I've tried, damn it. And I've been told that God abhores hypocrites; by definition, calling myself a Christian while supporting ones of its most taboo things would be just what He hates. Nor can I stand by a doctrine that drives me into the ground everyday, telling me that I don't deserve to live. So I am NOT a Christian anymore, and I never can be.

What I find interesting is that I feel like I've always known deep down this would happen someday. I never actually doubted my religion before. Yet even as a little boy, I felt a bit uncomfortable with my parents' cynical world view. If I were a loyal Christian, why did I often feel uneasy when God was brought up among my family? Why did I feel that, if anyone in our family failed to be a Christian, it would be me? I feel almost as if this was always who I was, and denying that was what caused my pesky depression. Because yes, my depression has subsided (for the moment, at least). And yes, I realize that as a young adult, deviating from my family is normal and it may lead to nothing. But I know this; whatever religion I choose to follow, it won't be Christianity, and it will be one that I follow because I choose to, not because my parents threatened me with eternal damnation (which they have). For the first time, I realize that I have the freedom to develop my own thoughts, my own morals, and my own path through life, not the path dictated for me.

There was actually a lot more that I wanted to say on why I'm losing faith in Christianity, but this post is already long enough as it is. Besides, I suppose this is not an entirely appropriate place for that. Even this post may offend some, which isn't my intention. You follow the religion that makes YOU happy. Hasta la vista.

 

One reason that I do not judge people is because only God knows what actually goes inside them, specially on their innermost thoughts. What goes there may change everything, there are things that may not be readily apparent for the outsider observer, that would change everything "if only they knew or understood". Even them, with God, between Mercy and Justice, the former always prevails, as long there are still a bare minimum of good intentions. God does not blame anyone on stuff they have no control of, or that they don't even know it is wrong. Lastly, but not less important, God respects one's will and will not force people into anything

It is also important to remember that being Christian doesn't magically exclude someone from doing bad stuff. Actually, it should be an way to help avoiding sin. But people may still fail anyways. Judas betrayed Christ himself, in spite of all chances that Jesus gave him. In a sense, almost all of the Apostles also did, because nearly all of them left Jesus at the Calvary, specially Peter who denied him three times. Peter and the others, except for Judas, repented of it later and made amends. At any rate, God is always open for forgiveness. With the coming of Christ, God became something closer than a distant authority figure, he became a Father.

No matter what, the Father always respects your will, though.

[Prospekt 11,018]

I hope everyone's having a great week.  Summer has now begun in the Northern Hemisphere, along with winter in the Southern Hemisphere. May the Lord bless you and keep you during this season.

Quote

"Faith resembles a lamp. As a lamp lights the whole house, so the light of faith illuminates the whole soul." -- St. John Chrysostom

 

[Breite Wiese 95]

God bless everyone here! I just found out that there was a Christian forum here. It's good to see some people on here love Jesus Christ.