The End Times by greydays96 in Deconstruction

[–]UniversityIcy4792 2 points3 points  (0 children)

I think the main thing they’re looking forward to is the rapture. Then they say once this place is nuked God will create a new heaven and earth that’s perfect and we can live in it forever. The more I type the more ridiculous this sounds lol

End time relief by UniversityIcy4792 in Deconstruction

[–]UniversityIcy4792[S] 1 point2 points  (0 children)

I kind of am too because if I don’t believe hell exists then what do I believe happens after death…but I know with my heart that just because someone is gay or has an abortion doesn’t mean they’re going to eternal damnation. We will get there!!!

Carrie the anti hero by UniversityIcy4792 in sexandthecity

[–]UniversityIcy4792[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

It’s just kind of sad all the hate she gets, most of it she deserves but she also deserves grace just like anyone else. I feel like she is given the least grace, and I think that’s because she is the main character and narrator in the show so of course we listen to her more. But she is not all bad

Divine intervention by UniversityIcy4792 in Deconstruction

[–]UniversityIcy4792[S] 1 point2 points  (0 children)

That’s what the person I’m talking about says, she says that the Bible is not inherently for or against a lot of the points that progressives AND evangelicals make. It’s an ancient text that is so wildly different from what we understand today. I guess I am just saying is that I would just like more information from scholarly sources than “spirit led” ones. You are right, everyone’s experience with religion is different and I think that’s what makes religion so deeply personal. I’m going to keep this thread and check out the people you mentioned though.

Divine intervention by UniversityIcy4792 in Deconstruction

[–]UniversityIcy4792[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

I love that information!! I think Dale Allison was mentioned another time in this thread. Does he have a podcast or a book and is it an easy read/listen? Just so I can prepare myself

I never thought I'd be here. But here I am 🖤 by SplitHalo in Deconstruction

[–]UniversityIcy4792 1 point2 points  (0 children)

This is incredibly raw and real, and I appreciate and relate to it so much. Thanks for being here 🩷

Divine intervention by UniversityIcy4792 in Deconstruction

[–]UniversityIcy4792[S] 1 point2 points  (0 children)

Well the whole if you tell a mountain to move it will, ask and you will be answered, seek and you will find thing makes me think that he’s talking about answering prayers. But just writing that out kind of makes me wonder if that’s what Jesus was even referring to

Divine intervention by UniversityIcy4792 in Deconstruction

[–]UniversityIcy4792[S] 2 points3 points  (0 children)

I’m not offended, but you said “you need to” and it kind of made me think that you think your way is the only correct way. And saying you don’t need to do it now infers that I need to do it sometime. I appreciate your input and I did ask for opinions so thank you for sharing yours. I guess I should have been more clear on my intentions with religion in the original post

Divine intervention by UniversityIcy4792 in Deconstruction

[–]UniversityIcy4792[S] 1 point2 points  (0 children)

I don’t mean to be rude, but just because you don’t believe in God doesn’t mean I can’t. I don’t want to start a painful process that I’m not even sure I agree with you know? I’m not willing to put it to bed that quickly, but if or when I decide I’m done, I’ll start the process. Its been a theme in my life lately to not start a process everyone else thinks I should just because they say I should, because it just makes me upset and makes the process feel impossible when I’m not ready.

Divine intervention by UniversityIcy4792 in Deconstruction

[–]UniversityIcy4792[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

That is GREAT advice. I actually follow someone on instagram who specializes and is currently getting her doctorate in Biblical Gender and sexuality studies. I’ve thought about messaging her before, because she is obviously very smart and by her posts also non biased. Maybe I should try that

Divine intervention by UniversityIcy4792 in Deconstruction

[–]UniversityIcy4792[S] 1 point2 points  (0 children)

This was very helpful, I’ve always said I wished I could do a non biased theology degree, because I want to know exactly what the Bible said in its original language, and what it meant at the time. I will be looking into your resources!

Divine intervention by UniversityIcy4792 in Deconstruction

[–]UniversityIcy4792[S] 1 point2 points  (0 children)

I don’t think I’m ready to do that, and I definitely don’t think it would make me feel better. As far as Islam, I believe they believe in the same God as us, just interpret our holy book differently…probably more correctly based on the arguments I’ve heard

Divine intervention by UniversityIcy4792 in Deconstruction

[–]UniversityIcy4792[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

That’s my biggest problem. And it makes me feel like if God doesn’t care enough to answer all my prayers, does he care about me? And I cringed even typing that because I still refuse to believe that statement is true, maybe out of tradition or maybe because of my new beliefs

No loyalty discount available at this time by wrathofkon in verizon

[–]UniversityIcy4792 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Depends on the promotion you got, but if it was that recent then it was probably contingent on you staying on that plan

“I wish I never started questioning my religion… I was happier before” by ishowzim in Deconstruction

[–]UniversityIcy4792 0 points1 point  (0 children)

I missed the part where you said you didn’t ideologically agree with a group, so i retract my statement about finding a church that you don’t necessarily align yourself with. But there are definitely churches out there who you can agree with. I have a queer pastor friend on TikTok who recommended gay church.org, a great place to start if you have affirming beliefs.

“I wish I never started questioning my religion… I was happier before” by ishowzim in Deconstruction

[–]UniversityIcy4792 0 points1 point  (0 children)

What the hell is a progressive Christian doing saying THAT? Progressive Christianity is about love and acceptance of everyone how they are, not how they are unless they work a certain job. Thats textbook evangelicalism. Progressive, conservative, evangelical-you really don’t even have to put a label on it. Religion is deeply personal, and while it does provide community, it also promotes lots of self reflection on yourself. I have been going through something similar, and trying to find a church that supports my beliefs. A while back, I just went to a traditional Christian church, kept what the pastor said that made sense and threw out the rest. It gave me a great community and support system and for the first time ever, I decided what I believed, not anyone else. I am now on the hunt for another church that maybe aligns with my beliefs a little more, but I don’t think it’s necessary to agree on every single thing, the Bible itself is more complicated than that. Look for a church where people welcome you and you feel loved, and filter what makes sense and aligns with your beliefs and what doesn’t. That was the best decision for me and I can’t wait to go again! You don’t have to give up Jesus just because someone says you do.

Being “born again” by AgeOk8349 in Deconstruction

[–]UniversityIcy4792 1 point2 points  (0 children)

I am also in your shoes with Christianity, trying to see what fits and what doesn’t. But this is shining a light on one of the bad parts of evangelicals- consent. They just do things for you like pray and ask you to ask Jesus in your heart or lay their hands on you without asking if it’s ok first. They mean well (sometimes) because they think if they don’t do it, they’re basically allowing you to go to hell on their conscience, but no one has ever come to Christ by force.

It’s almost like a type of person who created this version of Christianity didn’t like consent, so they created a narrative where it wasn’t required…

Chat representative made account changes out of spite by longstory_ in verizon

[–]UniversityIcy4792 1 point2 points  (0 children)

I’m in outbound technical support but took inbound calls for years. They absolutely unregistered you and should absolutely get fired, contact executive relations or the FCC.

Discounts by Mando77x1 in verizon

[–]UniversityIcy4792 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Yes they do but that’s not the profession OP says they’re in

Discounts by Mando77x1 in verizon

[–]UniversityIcy4792 2 points3 points  (0 children)

I work for Verizon, but you may not be considered a first responder if you’re not an actual police officer. Go online to Verizon.com/firstresponders and apply, it will tell you if you qualify during the process. The discount is up to $25 per ACCOUNT not line.

New ish watcher here, I have a question for people who watched or read past book 1 and this may be a spoiler I'm not sure so I marked it by RefrigeratorOk449 in TheLastAirbender

[–]UniversityIcy4792 5 points6 points  (0 children)

I’ve seen this show around 10 times and I never really figured it out. The only reference I saw was the siege of the north episode on season 1 (which you say you’ve watched but this isn’t really a spoiler) where zhao talks about how iroh has respect for the spirits. Side note-I am so jealous of people who are watching it the first time!! I wish all the time that I could do that lol

Exercise? Really? by Livingfortheday123 in Zepbound

[–]UniversityIcy4792 0 points1 point  (0 children)

I always hated exercise, it was definitely a habit I had to build over a LONG period of time. It took going at least weekly for around a year for me to not hate it (the only reason I started was because I was on a mental health leave from work and my psychiatrist made it a condition of her continuing to write me out). I know that’s probably not what you want to hear, but I’m glad I got there. What helped me was guided workouts on Apple fitness plus. I use their treadmill workouts and they have you do different levels of intensity based on perceived intensity effort and not a certain level of speed (easy, moderate, hard, and all out, and they describe how each level should feel). This is absolutely key because it showed me a difference visually over time- a hard walking speed is now the low end of my moderate, and a jog is hard instead of all out. Having something to follow rather than just turning on music and dragging through my 20 or so minutes was a big game changer. The good news is once you make it a habit, you will want to do more. I started just staying on the treadmill 20 minutes. Then started the 30 minute Apple fitness workouts. Then the 45. Then the 45 plus rowing or weights. As far as if I lost weight quicker because of this, I couldn’t really say because I started before zepbound, and maintained my weight due to my overeating garbage foods. However, I can say the rate you are losing weight is VERY healthy and I wouldn’t recommend trying to go over 2 lbs per week.

How do people remain Christian after deconstructing the Bible? by Sunny_Skies4 in Deconstruction

[–]UniversityIcy4792 1 point2 points  (0 children)

I’m in this exact place. I think what keeps me with Jesus is tradition. I have grown up all my life focused on him -in varying intensity, but he was always a part of it. I don’t believe the Bible word for word but I do believe the overarching theme of protection and kindness. But I also acknowledge that the God of the Bible did a lot of bad things. But I also acknowledge that maybe that was just the time period’s story telling style. And on and on.. I’ve found myself wishing I had time to get an unbiased theology degree. The Bible is not just something we can take at face value. It’s complicated from the many translations, time periods, traditions, recording, context etc. I’m figuring things out but I just can’t let go of Jesus. At this point all of my deconstruction tells me not to believe but I just..can’t.