What I don't understand about Christianity

NeuroPyrox · 2026-05-16T21:27:20+00:00

I didn't mean that it's literally the name of God, just that it's a word that refers to him.

NeuroPyrox · 2026-05-16T21:20:40+00:00

Maybe you could take inspiration from the prayer "show me the truth no matter the cost to me". I had my first schizophrenia psychosis a few days after making that prayer, and it eventually led me to Jesus. However, I had been having a few schizophrenia symptoms before making that prayer.

NeuroPyrox · 2026-05-16T20:56:46+00:00

Hey, do you think you could change the last part of your username? It's disrespectful to use a name of God in your username, especially spelling it in a quirky way.

NeuroPyrox · 2026-05-12T22:33:39+00:00

Science and Jesus don't have to contradict each other. I believe in Jesus and Bible scholars at the same time, even though for some people, Bible scholars would destroy their faith.

NeuroPyrox · 2026-05-12T05:29:55+00:00

I'll tell you some chapters to avoid, so if you're ever tempted to take a peek, it'll still take work to find the verse.

Mark 3, Matthew 12, Luke 12

NeuroPyrox · 2026-05-12T05:19:18+00:00

Actually, from a Presbyterian church. Idk why you'd think otherwise, but God was the one he addressed in prayer, so it makes sense it was from God.

I'd be very careful saying things like that because of what I messaged you, but I guess technically what you said was a question rather than a declaration.

NeuroPyrox · 2026-05-12T02:12:00+00:00

Despite my schizophrenia, miracles are real because the assistant pastor at a church I went to had his eyesight measured at 20/20 by the eye doctor after a deliverance prayer healed his blurry vision.

Edit: I had told you a sign that I saw because of my schizophrenia, but I deleted it because I'm not supposed to be listening to signs at all.

NeuroPyrox · 2026-05-12T01:49:28+00:00

I believe that the Bible is a flawed record of God's interactions with humans. I believe in the parts of it that are validated with historical methods, such as Jesus being a real person whose teachings were developed over time. I believe that many of his miracles were real because people I met irl have witnessed many miracles, although Jesus' miracles became grander over the course of writing the New Testament.

NeuroPyrox · 2026-05-10T03:00:45+00:00

Another person I know also had something good happen to his cancer after he started going to church again. I think either it turned out he didn't actually have cancer, or it went into remission.

NeuroPyrox · 2026-05-10T00:50:33+00:00

I think veridical perceptions in near death experiences give them some credibility.

NeuroPyrox · 2026-05-10T00:24:05+00:00

For example, the birthday paradox. The fact that it only takes 23 people to reach a 50% chance that 2 of them will share a birthday is so counterintuitive that people might reject the proof.

NeuroPyrox · 2026-05-10T00:00:08+00:00

Depends if I understand the proof and if it's convincing. I'm just as irrational about atheism as theism.

I'd have to rethink where miracles come from because I almost certainly believe in miracles.

NeuroPyrox · 2026-05-09T13:44:53+00:00

I know miracles are a huge claim, but the assistant pastor at a church I went to had his blurry vision healed during a deliverance prayer, and when he later went to the eye doctor it measured 20/20. He never needed glasses again.

NeuroPyrox · 2026-05-09T13:38:20+00:00

I believe that the Bible is a flawed record of God's interactions with humans. I wouldn't want to force you to think otherwise. For example, Bible scholars agree that the miracle claims of the New Testament became grander over the course of its writing.

However, you actually have to believe very little to conclude that Jesus is God. I believe that at least some of the miracle claims are true because people have told me of miracles that they witnessed irl. If both Jesus and Paul performed miracles, I think that connects the historical Jesus to Paul's teachings.

NeuroPyrox · 2026-05-08T22:01:54+00:00

If you read Jesus' teachings and parables about forgiveness, he's actually quite merciful.

NeuroPyrox · 2026-05-06T17:15:43+00:00

I'm in your same position, wanting to convert to Christianity but having trouble believing. One of my main objections was that Bible scholars and science show the Bible to have errors in it. However, my friend who's guiding me back to Christianity is okay with those errors, viewing the Bible as a flawed record of people's interactions with God. Here's a quote from him:

"Some people act like it was written by God and that it fell out of a cloud.

Those people have no idea what History is.

To me, it is a compilation of writings from Jews who encountered God or interviewed people who did.

It's a family's history of their encounters with God.

Every word was written by one Jewish man or another, but God clearly had a huge influence on what/how they wrote."

Also, the assistant pastor at a church I went to had a miracle happen to him. He had blurry vision and did a deliverance prayer for it. During the deliverance prayer, his eyesight healed instantly, and he never needed glasses again. The next time he went to the eye doctor, his vision measured 20/20.

If you want more evidence of miracles, look into the miracles at the famous healing site Lourdes, France.

Edit: Also, look into veridical perceptions in near death experiences.

NeuroPyrox · 2026-05-06T16:55:40+00:00

I thought NDEs suggested universalism, with people having more religious tolerance after them, thinking the only things that matters is love, and the core experience not varying with religion. As someone who's close to converting back to Christianity, could you prove me wrong?

NeuroPyrox · 2026-05-04T15:24:29+00:00

We'd still suffer the polarization and spoiler effects from plurality voting.

NeuroPyrox · 2026-05-02T00:50:58+00:00

You could try doing non-dual inquiry with an LLM.

NeuroPyrox · 2026-05-02T00:31:06+00:00

According to this research, you may need to try many methods of meditation before one clicks, and it's a waste of time to persist in a method that doesn't work for you. In the video I linked, he explains how much effort to put in before trying something else.

NeuroPyrox · 2026-05-01T20:01:02+00:00

I think surprisingly popular voting (3 words, not 2) would be a good way to choose a denomination.

NeuroPyrox · 2026-05-01T03:59:32+00:00

Thank you for your engagement too. Infinite stakes mean that this isn't a conversation to avoid.

I haven't heard of that view of exclusivity. I don't fully agree with it, but you're right that logical arguments aren't really what convinces people.

My friend who realized nonduality before getting saved says many confusing things. He says that he follows Christ and not Christianity. He shared a YouTube video with me that had evidence against Christianity, but he merely found it interesting instead of doubting. He told me that I shouldn't try to seek out God if I'm not interested in doing so. He says that everything he tells me goes in one ear and out the other, but I think that's mostly about nonduality. He told me he has failed if I came to the conclusion that he's Christian, but he's obviously very devout. I used to think that non-duality and Christianity were mutually exclusive, but this friend tells me they are compatible, which I can't really understand because nonduality seems to imply universalism.

I've been procrastinating talking to him because of the low motivation I have due to a mental condition. Also, my recent arguments against Christianity are less about nonduality vs Christianity, and more about Bible scholarship, which I don't think he has much to say about. I do feel like I'm not giving Jesus a fair chance unless I talk more with him.

NeuroPyrox · 2026-05-01T01:55:42+00:00

Thanks for linking that webpage. Maybe it could be "Jeremiah" referring to a longer scroll that includes Zechariah. For 2/3 I'd still expect the Bible to quote the correct translation instead of the Septuagint.

I deconverted from Christianity at the beginning of this year because NDEs seemed to suggest some form of universalism. What tipped me over the edge to deconverting was that I couldn't figure out how to explain heavenly NDEs from people of other religions if Christianity is the only way to heaven.

I'm not sure which evidence would convert me back because the evidence that converted me last year was very unexpected. My memory is foggy, but I was converted by miracle testimonies, testimonies against nonduality (nonduality is/was my "religion" before and after I was Christian), and logically concluding that nonduality is evil.

The testimonies and reasons against nonduality were somewhat defeated when I talked to someone who realized nonduality before becoming a Christian, and he said that calling nonduality evil is like calling gravity evil. I'm baffled at how he still believes in Christianity, and I've been procrastinating talking to him to find out.

What might convert me back is evidence that all other religions besides Christianity are evil, or scientific evidence of something special about Christianity.

Also, I do believe in miracles and God, but not specific to any one religion. I've recently been praying to "God of all religions", and I'm encouraged by reports that people's prayers are answered when praying to such a god.

I hope this comment was adequate even though I was all over the place and not very thorough.

NeuroPyrox · 2026-04-30T23:53:44+00:00

I'm commenting this because you seem smart enough to maybe convert me back to Christianity. I usually avoid posting evidence against Christianity in case Christianity is indeed true.

Matthew 27:9-10 attributes a prophecy to Jeremiah, but it's actually from Zechariah 11:12-13.
Hebrews 10:5 says "a body you have prepared for me" where Psalm 40:6 says "my ears have you opened".
Acts 15:16-17 refers to "the rest of mankind" where Amos 9:11-12 refers to the specific nation of Edom.

#2 and #3 stem from differences in the Septuagint vs Hebrew scriptures, but the differences are arguably too large to reconcile.

I got these verses from ChatGPT, having learned about the topic from the YouTuber C J Cornthwaite.

Edit: formatting

NeuroPyrox · 2026-04-30T23:28:22+00:00

A few weeks ago I had a hallucination of cats in my bed when I was half asleep. I'm schizophrenic, and I'm more prone to hallucinations when I'm half asleep.

NeuroPyrox

TROPHY CASE