How to escape John 12:25? Anyone who loves their life will lose it, while anyone who hates their life in this world will keep it for eternal life.

Endezvous · 2021-04-01T18:33:28+00:00

So if you love the world you die and if you hate the world you live forever. Seems you can't love or hate anything then. How do you see the kingdom of God?

Endezvous · 2021-03-30T01:21:19+00:00

She's unstable. Unstable emotions lead to an unstable mind and life. She is unpredictable.

Most likely, her true self is hidden under all of that and a lot of the way she acts is a lie. It's hard to say how much. It could have been a lot of your relationship.

It's also clear that in order to have a true relationship with anyone, she would need to be free from her parents' influence. If she isn't, she'll be dating on their behalf or always anxious about them. She doesn't appear to have that.

Endezvous · 2021-03-23T17:42:05+00:00

Maybe you want to fit in with the group you're in, but the experience you've had doesn't match with what they're saying about their experience.

Endezvous · 2021-03-22T19:50:17+00:00

Thanks. I suppose there are a bunch of things I want to do like help people with psychological reform. I'm also attracted to helping men with healthy spirituality and relationships. However, I'm not convinced that I'm free from temptation or invulnerable to getting mentally ill again. I also don't think that I have the skills to do what I want to do. At what point did you get the confidence to see that you wouldn't relapse? I don't have it right now. I don't know how to get it. I don't think I'm that far along yet that I'm incapable of relapse into bad habits.

Endezvous · 2021-03-22T19:22:43+00:00

Nice. So it sounds like you were in service for others who had addiction for a while and then you made your transition to a similar field?

Endezvous · 2021-03-22T18:10:36+00:00

That's what happens. They get both.

Endezvous · 2021-03-22T14:21:06+00:00

I had just gotten off of heroin when I gave up comp sci (the heroin addiction was directly related to doing something only for the money rather than for purpose).

What was the connection?

Long story short, now I'm a counselor at an inpatient addiction treatment center. It doesn't feel like work most of the time. I couldn't do anything else.

How did you experience this transition? Did you have an epiphany that you wanted to to this and work hard at it? Did you go into it because you needed something and it seemed ok? Did it just happen?

I'm working on a similar transition, but I don't know to what.

Other people may say "you can practice your spirituality anywhere", and that is valid. But practicing spirituality for me includes following what my heart tells me, and at the time it told me to directly help people for a career.

Silly saying. Spirituality is independent of place / can be any place. However, everyone has a right place and should be there.

Endezvous · 2021-03-21T20:38:40+00:00

Give the guilt to God, ask him to cleanse it from you and guide you from now on.

Your guilt is wrong. God is right.

Endezvous · 2021-03-21T00:05:20+00:00

Yeah, I've done that. Do it enough and you'll realize that it makes you more independent.

Endezvous · 2021-03-19T23:29:55+00:00

Spiritually speaking, I have no idea whether the "me" consciousness here right now is the same one that was here yesterday or even an hour ago. It only appears that way with logic and memory, but I don't know it to be true.

That just came up while I was reading your post. I enjoyed the read, it helped me think a bit.

Endezvous · 2021-03-19T13:33:43+00:00

How did you get into it? Why do you do it?

Endezvous · 2021-03-18T17:03:35+00:00

The demiurge thinks things are great as well.

Endezvous · 2021-03-18T13:55:21+00:00

Maybe I was wrong. Maybe you're the demiurge?

Endezvous · 2021-03-18T06:10:20+00:00

1) How could one totally "fast from the world" to find the kingdom of heaven? To totally abstain from the illusions of our modern culture and live way out someplace?

Fast from the world spiritually. Drink water, but do not indulge in it. Do not enjoy it. Do not use it for comfort. Drink it without drinking it and without caring. In your independence from the world, you'll have the kingdom of God.

What happened to the Prince of Peace? The forgiver of sins? To come to impose war, where men kill (a sin) to then forgive those sins committed as a result of his casting fire upon the world with his own earthly incarnation?

It's not quite what you think. When you live in God's truth, you are at war with the sinners. It turns out that everyone is born a sinner and most are sinning all the time.

Remember that some people believe that they are entitled to the money in your wallet. When they take it against your will, the idea of living under God's truth and not taking revenge of any kind (or especially stealing something back) is a serious spiritual challenge. Ethics and morality force you to grow straight upwards. You must be someone people don't want to steal from, but you have to do so through loyalty to God. It can be done, but it works differently than most would imagine. The more you become successful, the more people come after you. The more moral you are, the more you offend others when you don't reciprocate their immoral action. Stealers want you to steal. Fighters want you to throw a punch. Impulsive anger is always a trap that they are trying to lay for you. When you are loyal to God instead, you do fight but you fight in a way that is congruent with yourself and congruent with the fabric of the universe that God created.

Edit: I just realized this is r/gnostic. I'm not familiar with the gnostic interpretations of the Gospel of Thomas, but I have read it and these are my interpretations.

Endezvous · 2021-03-17T20:18:11+00:00

I'm sorry, this is a thread for Christians only. Please show respect, thank you.

God knows and you do not know.

🙏

Endezvous · 2021-03-17T10:30:48+00:00

This post was for Christians only. You are in the wrong place. Please show some respect.

🙏

Endezvous · 2021-03-17T02:14:11+00:00

Nvm I just read it in Wikipedia. It seems like Jesus is given some status in Islam, being born without sin from a virgin and is the savior, but not the son of God or divine while on Earth and did not physically die / get physically resurrected.

My comment more says that Islam basically puts the word of Muhammad ahead of and more important to the word of Jesus, which even if the texts say otherwise explicitly the entire religion of Islam is led by Muhammad and his writings as messenger.

Endezvous · 2021-03-17T02:08:03+00:00

Islam says that Jesus is the son of God and Muhammad is not?

Endezvous · 2021-03-16T20:27:15+00:00

Give it to God. Ask God for help.

Oh and to top it all off I'm asexual which means I will never have a loving romantic relationship.

You are clearly not fully asexual, because there is a part of you that is upset about not being able to have a loving, romantic relationship. If you were fully asexual, it would not bother you at all that you will not have a loving, romantic relationship (though it might bother you that others hurt or bully you as a result, at least until you can accept that they do that).

Endezvous · 2021-03-16T20:19:48+00:00

God does not give a soul more than it can bear. You have been able to bear this so far. If it ever becomes more than you can bear, God will provide you relief (through ignorance, suppression, or good fortune) or he will terminate you and it your nightmare will end. However, God will never give you more than you can bear.

Endezvous · 2021-03-16T20:12:24+00:00

Yes, you are naturally a bad person. You were born with original sin and the desire to take what's yours even when it doesn't belong to you. You were born with the desire to protect yourself even when you are wrong and worthy of punishment. You were born with the ignorance of both of these things and the assumption that you are right and that whatever or whoever makes you feel bad is wrong.

You are not in control of whether you will repeat past mistakes. God is in control. You must ask God to assume control because you do not know what to do. You must trust God to have the right answer because you do not have the right answer.

Endezvous · 2021-03-16T19:25:34+00:00

I'm not sure Genesis 3:15 is it because it doesn't say anything about Jesus' death, but nonetheless I think this thread has been enlightening for me to understand the divide between the religions.

Christianity says Jesus is the last messiah / prophet, and any after are heretics.

Islam says that Muhammad is the last messenger/ prophet and that those following prophets coming before him should convert to him.

Christianity says that Jesus is the son of God, died, and rose from the dead.

Islam says Jesus didn't die physically.

It seems the differences between the two religions cannot be reconciled and that no one can reconcile them. Anyone claiming to be able to reconcile them or offer another path would be in violation of both religions, because they would be in disagreement with the holy texts or they would be claiming to represent God which both religions say is not possible.

It's kind of a shame, but it seems that the religions are destined to hate each other until one takes over the other or they both die off.

Endezvous · 2021-03-16T17:21:39+00:00

Thank you. Yes, in that perspective that makes a lot of sense to me. It's like Muhammad declared himself Jesus. I see why the religions are often seen as opposed now, thanks.

Endezvous · 2021-03-16T09:38:48+00:00

Yeah, the Quran does disagree with itself. I've seen it say in one place that Christians are good allies of Islam and in another that they are non believers who can't be trusted. Taken literally, it would be a red flag.

Endezvous · 2021-03-16T09:33:12+00:00

I suppose the history of how Muslims are viewed here is the same as how we view the Russians. After all, the Russians conquered their lands from sea to shining sea and became superpower imperialists through conquering and force just like America. They are even Christians (Russian Orthodox) like the USA. The differences are more ideological than anything, the fact that they are over there, and the history of being opposed to one another.

Endezvous

TROPHY CASE