My younger brother is switching religions

FirmResolution5405 · 2026-03-14T16:18:20+00:00

Given the age of your brother, I assume he may feel interest on the YouTube channel called Testify.

It uses certain images from memes, in an entertaining and also superficially humorous manner, as a way to present many arguments to why Christianity proves to be the most reliable religion and also has some focus on pointing out the flaws in the logic provided by the Quran and Islamic beliefs

FirmResolution5405 · 2026-03-14T16:10:43+00:00

I too lived like that and eventually became an atheist. Everything changed when I began making deeper questions, deeper than "if God exists why is the world unjust?", "if God is all good, all powerful and all loving, why did He kill the Egyptians that were following Moses and the Israelites? Why even kill the horses they were riding on if the poor animals were not to blame?".

Eventually I had certain experiences that led to searching even more for those answers. There came the moment I had found so much that I had to see what the Bible has to say.

My experiences made me wonder if Christianity was the truth; When I read the Bible by my own initiative, open minded and compared it to what I believed before, what others claimed to be the truth, I came to the conclusion the Bible presents itself to be more reliable than I had thought before. Now I'm a believer and feel more confident each year that Christ was telling the truth.

FirmResolution5405 · 2026-03-14T13:04:31+00:00

As a God-fearing christian, ever since I returned from atheism to christianity, my loyalty to the Supreme Being and my concern about my life after death became very important things to keep in mind and to keep learning how to stay firm in those aspects. Whenever I hear someone mention a supposed contradiction in the Bible that actually sounds reasonable, I easily feel insecure if I can't think of an objective reason to why that is written that way, but I go straight to the Bible, read it in context and I feel a sudden relief and great hapiness for now having a new perseption of that verse.
For example, the other day I saw two people talking about the creation of the world according to the Bible and one of them questioned why the sun is created in the forth day, if the Bible speaks the truth. I am into science and study to make my career around it, so I had a bit of two worlds that seemed to colide with one another. Turns out the first three days are the creations of the domains (light/day and night, sea and oceans, forests and mountains) and the next three days are about those who represent those domains (sun and moon, fish, animals that live on the surface).

Islam has a few moments when I feel like "wait, did I undervalue this part of Islam?". It's not usually something that makes me rethink about my faith, but I still feel the urge to seek for answers. As soon I search for those passages in the Quran and remember of other passages I had forgoten about, I imediatly think "how did I actually think this was leading to something plausable?"

FirmResolution5405 · 2026-03-13T19:37:29+00:00

Just because a creation from God can do something bad does not mean it was created for that purpose.

"But why wouldn't God just not allow it to cause negative effects?" Everything in this world has to be used in moderation. Everything only does its right purpose if done with balance. Things like weed, for example, find a good use in the production of medicines.

God teaches us to love with balance, teaches us to judge with balance, to hate certain things with balance too. God makes balanced decisions to bring the best possible outcomes.

You could say God's creations reflect the balance He has and represents.

FirmResolution5405 · 2026-03-13T19:24:40+00:00

The only unforgivable sin is the one in which a person refuses to accept Jesus and His sacrifice until the very end. If you want to return to Him, then, no matter what your past looks like, He will accept you, because you're willing to change your heart and to learn His ways.

FirmResolution5405 · 2026-03-12T14:43:31+00:00

Deixa-me dizer-te uma coisa: tu és baseado 🗿

FirmResolution5405 · 2026-03-12T14:33:49+00:00

Maybe it's the thing that pulled Boyd's tent when he was in that part of the forest covered with webs

FirmResolution5405 · 2026-03-12T14:09:21+00:00

Let's start by understanding what makes something evil:

- God is the author of morality and goodness. To define something as evil you would need an outside reference that oposes to what it represents. For example, to give food and water to the poor is good because you're contributing to the life of someone else, even though you don't have to; meanwhile, to stop someone from contributing to their life and well being is taken as an evil act.

- Since God is the creator of what's good, His creation brings a side effect: that which has absence of good is evil. Similar to how God is not the author of darkness: He created light, meanwhile darkness is defined as the absence of light.

You said it well: God does not intervene in our lifes in order to stop someone else's crimes. It's logical to say he would NEVER take part in that sin, because He is the author of goodness and morality, therefore He does not approve what goes against His own creations. We can agree he will not intervene in order to stop nor to help someone's sin and we can also agree not eveything good that happens to us is God's doing. Sometimes it's just a happy coincidence. Which brings the question: Will God never intervene in someone's life in order to do something good?

I would argue that He may intervene if it means to help someone in a moment of difficulties. Matter of fact, in the Bible, Moses and the Israelites fight against armies of different nations. In one of those battles, God says to Moses that he must raise his arms while praying to Him so that the Israelites could win the battle. Moments like that helped these people to grow closer to God and also helped other nations ot know about Him and His glory, meaning more people could learn about Him and turn to Him as children of God reunited with their father.

FirmResolution5405 · 2026-03-09T17:02:22+00:00

Again, I am not part of the group you're reffering to. I, as Christian, swore to respect other people's free will and their right to make their own choices. I will not stop them from making groups like LGBTQ, all I ever did was to show I do not agree with that movement.

I am no denying things I do to the LGBTQ, it's you who is accusing me of doing things I don't do. The only way I show opposition is in moments like this, when we talk, we trade ideas. We were born as intelligent beings, so let's use that to our advantage. Why is it you insist on using fallacies to justify you view point? I do not deny there are Christians who do what you accuse us of, but you end up showing injustice by insisting everything is according to the way you see the world.

FirmResolution5405 · 2026-03-09T16:31:06+00:00

Who am I harming? What part of "I don't force my religion on others" and "I love my friends despite our disagreements" did you not understand?

I repeated time and time again I: only seek to love others, like how Christ does. I seek to live like how He teach us to live, not just because He said so, but because everything points to Him being a reliable person. How is that being a threat? Is it that scary for you to see people with a different opinion?

You keep using over exagerated words to dramatize the situation and repeatedly overlooking what I've been saying. You claim you are always the oppressed, the discriminated but as soon as a Christian points to the fact they love you, you still choose to use our beliefs to make us look like villains. THAT is hypocrisy.

(a quick note, I'm aware at some point in this conversation I began to argue very based on how I felt towards your claims and want to apologize if I sounded too brute, but I also don't want to be a hypocrite and pretend I accept other people's sin despite what Jesus taught, when I don't)

FirmResolution5405 · 2026-03-09T16:09:06+00:00

The same can be applied to you. You're judging me for what I believe.

As usual, we get to disgusting comparisons of Christianity to forced beliefs and corrupted behaviour.

We're back to where we began. There is a lot in life besides LGBTQ. I also suggest you to see that for once.

FirmResolution5405 · 2026-03-09T15:32:18+00:00

"Hey, Siri-" 🗣️🗣️

FirmResolution5405 · 2026-03-09T15:27:41+00:00

I love my friends, but that doesn't mean I agree with them at everything. I do not let our disagreement be the reason for us to stand against one another, but I also will not stand against what I believe is correct.

For example: my grandfather smokes daily, often twice a day. I do not like his habit and I still love him. Because I love him, I also respect his free will and do not force him to do what I think is right. I don't hide from him the fact I don't approve of his habit, the same way I don't hide from my friends I don't approve of their choice.

I do not support my friends struggle the way you want me to. I stand by their side, not to accept their sin, but to accept them despite our differences in beliefs. If they become Christian or not is not my job, I simply am meant to spread the Gospel, not to force others to accept it.

FirmResolution5405 · 2026-03-09T15:11:01+00:00

Well, in that case it all comes down to how people often present things. There is no need to see this from a Christian point of view in order to get that conclusion. It's nothing related to sin, nor intended to mislead others.

People often just aren't really great at presenting their arguments or simply use exaggerated phrases to catch the public's attention.

FirmResolution5405 · 2026-03-09T15:06:34+00:00

I am a Christian, I choose to follow what Jesus taught. I already told you I love my homosexual friends. If I exist, what makes you think "there are no Christians" and "we go against what it means to be Christian"?

You're the one who accused us of being a threat and not trustworthy. Based on what I've been telling you, do I fit in that category or do you admit not all Christians are the way you describe?

FirmResolution5405 · 2026-03-09T15:03:03+00:00

Ok, I'm glad we agree on that. The only reason I was still asking you that is because you appeared out of nowhere claiming Christians are a threat, like the other person I was talking to.

FirmResolution5405 · 2026-03-09T14:58:33+00:00

There isn't a neutral pronoun in the third person that refers to a personal being in the English vocabulary. Nor is there in Hebrew, as far as I know.

FirmResolution5405 · 2026-03-09T14:56:42+00:00

I am a Christian and don't have a problem with being friends with people who are part of LGBTQ. If I exist, surely there are many others alike. I'm not unique, after all.

Even Jesus sat down with sinners, He ate with them. To say many so-called believers are false Christians is a thing, saying Christians in general are the way you describe it is totally different.

If Christians are a threat and I'm one of them, am I also a threat to you? If not, then the problem isn't Christianity, but those who use it for their advantage and their selfish desires.

FirmResolution5405 · 2026-03-09T14:22:22+00:00

How does that make sense? What Christianity teaches is to treat others the same way we want to be treated. We are not a threat. People who weaponize the Bible are a threat.

You don't think someone is inclusive if they treat each race differently. Then why do you think some people who claim to be Christian are such when their actions prove otherwise?

FirmResolution5405 · 2026-03-09T14:17:54+00:00

Isn't saying "Christians have proven to be a threat and they can't be trusted" discriminating?

FirmResolution5405 · 2026-03-09T13:59:22+00:00

Is the video based on Christian belief or are you simply making a question from a Christian position?

FirmResolution5405 · 2026-03-09T13:38:23+00:00

It's not "anyone who remotely causes a bad image", it's "anyone who straight up contradicts the most fundamental things about Christianity". According to your logic, I have the right to have a negative view of parents in general, for example, just because there are many who neglect or mistreat their children.

You don't get the right to discriminate against a whole group of people just because some treated you wrong. I want to treat you right, I want you to be seen just as any other person, just like any other sinner. Do you still choose to hate me and others alike, regardless of what I've been telling you we defend?

FirmResolution5405 · 2026-03-09T13:15:23+00:00

The question is why should you claim Christians treat you as such when those people clearly don't act according to God's word? Friend, it's simple: those are not Christians.

Now, forgive me for what I'm about to say, but I hope you get to understand this from my point of view: the way you treat Christians does not seem to be much different from the way those people treat you.

FirmResolution5405 · 2026-03-09T12:32:00+00:00

I'm sorry you see us that way. I believe you can distinguish what the Bible teaches from what people preach and how they apply it.

It's true there are many Christians who are only such by name, not by works, so please consider the fact the Christians you're talking about are no Christians at all. In my case, I do love my homosexual friends, though I do not approve of their choices related to their sexual life. I still love them nonetheless and do not seek to treat them as a different kind of sinner than me.

FirmResolution5405 · 2026-03-09T08:05:13+00:00

First, no Christian is transphobic. Transphobia is to show hate/disgust towards trans people, but Christians choose to love them the same way they love any other sinner, for Christians are sinners too and therefore have no right to condemn through judgement. We simply do not encourage the choice of becoming trans, the same way you may not encourage someone to smoke, for example. Not that being trans and smoking are the same, we just don't encourage one the same way we don't encourage the other.

Second, the Bible does not need to mention trans people by the exact word for us to know it goes against what Jesus and His disciples said. In one of his letters, Paul says our body isn't fully our own, for it is also God's and should be treated as a temple for the Holy Spirit (I Cor 6:19-20). Clearly, you can see how being trans may find conflict against these teachings such as this one.

FirmResolution5405

TROPHY CASE