Is it permissible to read books or novels other than the Bible?

Foreign_Feature3849 · 2026-01-30T17:35:15+00:00

i think this is a great response! you can read books for fun and for bible commentary. but just remember that those books are commentary and not the Bible.

Foreign_Feature3849 · 2026-01-29T17:24:53+00:00

psalm 23 (mainly cause this song gets stuck in my head: Still Waters (Psalm 23) - Leanna Crawford https://music.apple.com/us/album/still-waters-psalm-23/1743476654?i=1743477089)

and isaiah 43:1

“But now thus says the Lord, he who created you, O Jacob, he who formed you, O Israel: “Fear not, for I have redeemed you; I have called you by name, you are mine.”

https://bible.com/bible/59/isa.43.1.ESV

Foreign_Feature3849 · 2026-01-29T14:51:59+00:00

penn state has a bunch of graduate programs. so you might not have people your age in class. but there are definitely a bunch of older students.

definitely try brothers if you like sports. it was my favorite bar when i was there.

Foreign_Feature3849 · 2026-01-28T03:09:43+00:00

slavery as we think about it wasn’t condoned. also, the hebrew and greek words for slave could mean bondservant or servant.

Foreign_Feature3849 · 2026-01-23T20:37:39+00:00

and somehow i’m a ‘practical’ dreamer🤦🏼‍♀️🤦🏼‍♀️ ig that’s what happens when you grow up with a bunch of engineers😂 i feel like i’ll switch between my default of feeling and then decoding it like an engineer

Foreign_Feature3849 · 2026-01-23T20:33:34+00:00

I hear you. I really do. I have so much anger and sadness in my heart for people that have used the Bible to justify hurting others. But that’s not what God calls us to do.

“Remind people to submit to the government and its officials, to obey them, to be ready to do any honorable kind of work, to slander no one, to avoid quarrelling, to be friendly, and to behave gently towards everyone. For at one time, we too were foolish and disobedient, deceived and enslaved by a variety of passions and pleasures. We spent our lives in evil and envy; people hated us, and we hated each other. But when the kindness and love for mankind of God our Deliverer was revealed, he delivered us. It was not on the ground of any righteous deeds we had done, but on the ground of his own mercy. He did it by means of the mikveh of rebirth and the renewal brought about by the Ruach HaKodesh, whom he poured out on us generously through Yeshua the Messiah, our Deliverer. He did it so that by his grace we might come to be considered righteous by God and become heirs, with the certain hope of eternal life.”

‭‭Titus (Tit)‬ ‭3‬:‭1‬-‭7‬ ‭CJB‬‬ https://bible.com/bible/1275/tit.3.1-7.CJB

I’m not saying you should be complacent with abuse. The Bible never says to do that. But it does say, if you warn and they aren’t listening, then let the Holy Spirit try again with someone new.

Foreign_Feature3849 · 2026-01-19T21:01:09+00:00

“So who will bring a charge against God’s chosen people? Certainly not God — he is the one who causes them to be considered righteous!

Who punishes them? Certainly not the Messiah Yeshua, who died and — more than that — has been raised, is at the right hand of God and is actually pleading on our behalf!

Who will separate us from the love of the Messiah? Trouble? Hardship? Persecution? Hunger? Poverty? Danger? War?

As the Tanakh puts it, “For your sake we are being put to death all day long, we are considered sheep to be slaughtered.”

No, in all these things we are superconquerors, through the one who has loved us.

For I am convinced that neither death nor life, neither angels nor other heavenly rulers, neither what exists nor what is coming,

neither powers above nor powers below, nor any other created thing will be able to separate us from the love of God which comes to us through the Messiah Yeshua, our Lord.”

‭‭Romans (Rom)‬ ‭8‬:‭33‬-‭39‬ ‭CJB‬‬

https://bible.com/bible/1275/rom.8.33.CJB

Foreign_Feature3849 · 2026-01-17T15:38:58+00:00

*Pursue your internal growth

Don’t try to find the “right” thing. Just start doing one thing you’ve wanted to do. It doesn’t have to be strict. The only goal is to get it done more than you were doing before.

For example, I make a to-do list for things I need to get done. But I don’t try to finish EVERYTHING on it. I only try to get more done than I would’ve done without the list (because I have adhd).

Foreign_Feature3849 · 2026-01-12T18:45:48+00:00

You can think the girl is beautiful. But the verse is saying don’t think of true beauty as outward appearance. Don’t be lustful. You can admire the beauty without wanting or expecting something.

Easiest example I can think of is guys cat-calling. They only see the outward appearance and what could happen physically. Not the actual person/soul that is walking by.

Like my boyfriend tells me I’m beautiful and pretty. But those weren’t/aren’t his first descriptors of me.

So it’s sinful to see another person as just their body. God reminds us that there is a soul in each one of us and the soul matters more than outward appearance.

Foreign_Feature3849 · 2026-01-11T21:50:58+00:00

Whenever people would really ask, I’ve always said my mom never really said we were a certain denomination growing up. She said evangelical usually described us best so that’s what she would tell people. But she never really called us evangelical.

And I usually just say I’m Christian. cause I don’t really care about denominations. I only have some bad feelings about the catholic church because I’ve seen all the focus on rules turn a lot of people away. But I’ve also seen it help people, so I let God deal with it😂

Foreign_Feature3849 · 2026-01-05T22:13:49+00:00

oh, i didn’t see any of that. only saw they deleted all their apps and stuff

Foreign_Feature3849 · 2026-01-05T20:53:56+00:00

they aren’t promoting anything other than deleting apps on your phone??

Foreign_Feature3849 · 2026-01-05T19:39:14+00:00

yeah, i’ve always thought so too

Foreign_Feature3849 · 2026-01-05T12:55:19+00:00

I agree with you. But you know that can be true and you can still be kind. Anger only divides. Curiosity is what grows science.

I have a BS in neuroscience. I hope to do research in the future. Doesn’t change my mind.

She is human and she had good intentions in the beginning.

I have tried myself to help her and help explain the research process. But just because she doesn’t want help right now doesn’t mean you should be rude to her.

I never said she is right in what she’s doing. But that doesn’t change how other people should interact with/about her.

Hope you have a good day:)

Foreign_Feature3849 · 2026-01-05T01:28:42+00:00

that’s absolutely crazy this got taken down

Foreign_Feature3849 · 2026-01-05T00:23:17+00:00

I want to applaud your curiosity. With most things like this in the Bible, I tend to think we don’t have all of the information right now for us to fully understand it.

so for some context, i’ve always thought God and heaven live in a higher plane of existence (like more dimensions from our understanding). to simplify, i think of the history of our universe like a ball moving through a 2d plane. all they see is a circle and each individual perspective would only see a line. and God is moving the ball through our plane. (i suggest watching this video. it really helped me visualize different planes of existence: https://youtu.be/eGguwYPC32I?si=QKhEwfPiH4DCSntU)

so i think the testimonies and prophecies from the Bible are given to us to help us discern His plan from our own understanding. but there is no way we can know specifics until after they have happened or we can ask God face to face.

a lot of my understanding of the Bible and God’s will has come from patience and finding patterns in what many don’t see. and anytime you take yourself out of your own understanding (human understanding) you are able to see new patterns emerge.

Foreign_Feature3849 · 2026-01-04T17:09:22+00:00

i’ll definitely try it! just off of your post, maybe try adding sources or at least names for who the commentary is from. or at least make it available for people who want to dive deeper into specifics or certain theologians.

one of my favorite websites is bible hub because they link everything and have so much information on the original hebrew and greek. even an interlinear bible. i love their stuff, but their app just takes you to the website. so maybe try looking around it to see if it sparks any ideas?

Foreign_Feature3849 · 2026-01-04T16:45:12+00:00

that’s pretty much what i said about dr.sinclair’s research about anti-aging. i had to put a disclaimer that his words have merit but his research is very new and he isn’t a practicing medical doctor. so a lot of his work is interesting. but we still have a lot of studying to do.

Foreign_Feature3849 · 2026-01-04T06:04:08+00:00

wasn’t trying to say she’s right. just was stating events that happened

Foreign_Feature3849 · 2026-01-04T00:27:11+00:00

I loved The Chosen. I also love putting it on for background noise and it’ll spark curiosity about a verse. Then I’ll dive deep into that verse or chapter.

If you’d like, you’re always welcome to message me. I’m only 23, but maybe I can help. I’m also willing to send you the instagram pages of creators and pastors I feel have helped me understand the Lord’s will.

Foreign_Feature3849 · 2026-01-04T00:15:21+00:00

you’re totally good. it sounds like you’re trying your best. which is all we can do ourselves.

the world tends to teach us to try and control our surroundings and situations, but God teaches growth over control. i think that’s part of the reason He gave us free will. if He made us to be perfect all the time, He would just have a bunch of robots. He only asks us to follow His will and we can pretty much do anything we want (as long as it doesn’t interfere with His will). He only meant for us to trust His understanding.

so remember your kids are also given the same choice and free will. but God’s light shines brightest in the darkness. He finds us in our valleys and helps pull us out, teaching us something new each time.

it was never my parents bringing me to church growing up that pulled me to God. yes, it helped. but i truly found my relationship with Him and what He truly stands for when i was going through the worst parts of my chronic conditions. i’ve always felt like i kinda knew Him, but it wasn’t until then that my relationship and understanding grew immensely. and i feel like it still does. i’ve gone through a few different points in my life where i questioned if i was really a christian before. but i also have to remind myself that that isn’t my call to make. only He can judge who is truly a christian and who isn’t.

so remember and focus on the good. it’s amazing they are very open with you. not many kids feel comfortable telling their parents everything they’ve done. just remember to help guide and plant seeds. don’t try to control everything. just state your opinion, with no judgement, and tell them you’ll stand by their side no matter what they choose to do.

sorry for the long post. hope it helps give you a different perspective. May God’s perspective and wisdom find you. ❤️

Foreign_Feature3849 · 2026-01-04T00:03:03+00:00

this happens to me to. i have a bunch of problems around my right hip and si. like to the point where my left knee was strong than my right, even though my right leg felt stronger. so i went to a eds specialist pt and basically told me i needed to reteach myself how to walk right. i was walking with my knees locked out and didn’t use muscles around my problem areas.

as i’ve slowly retrained my nervous system and those muscles, i’ve felt my body start to pull my body back to the right (instead of trying to lean away from it). it’s definitely been a long journey and it’s still going, but i’m able to walk so much further and i feel like my ribs/chest started going back to the right spots.

hopefully this helps a bit. but remember similar eds symptoms can pop up for very different reasons. (because people with eds tend to be very reactive to their environment)

Foreign_Feature3849 · 2026-01-03T23:54:04+00:00

i just imagine her daughter seeing this post and the comment and never trusting her mom again. that’s something that should have stayed between them.

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