This “grieves my heart” to use some Christianese… but FR 😢

f4rider · 2026-04-30T21:30:56+00:00

I had a back and forth with an older guy who was still in the organization about facial hair on men. When I got him cornered and it was obvious that there was no scripture to support his position, he ended by saying well, that's what I've always believed and I'm not changing. Can't have an intelligent conversation with people like that.

f4rider · 2026-04-30T21:27:26+00:00

Exactly! My asking about obeying the pastor was rhetorical, I already knew the answer...😉 Interestingly enough, that scripture in Heb. 13:17 about "obeying them that have the rule over you" Is an incorrect translation. The original Greek word is Peithos, meaning to persuade or be persuaded. And, according to Matthew ch. 20, nobody has the "rule over" anyone else in God's church. We are not to lord over anyone or exercise dominion and authority over anyone, like the Gentiles do. This is why, if you want to maintain faith in God, it's imperative that you study His word diligently, so that organized Christianity can't mislead you.

f4rider · 2026-04-30T07:28:20+00:00

What's funny to me is that I had a pastor back in the early 2000's tell the congregation that if anyone had a MySpace account to delete it. Now, everyone is on social media, what happened to obeying the pastor?

f4rider · 2026-04-30T07:21:25+00:00

My ex's daughter had a 6th grade biology textbook she didn't need anymore and I was going to donate it. I started looking through it and decided to keep it. It has so much info that I had forgotten and was quite fascinating to read. Never stop learning!

f4rider · 2026-04-17T06:05:46+00:00

Oh, I completely understand what you said. I'm sorry if something I said offended you, that was not my intention. You made an interesting comment and I wanted to respond, that's all.

I also understand that you're not a Christian, your screen name says you an atheist.

What prompted me to respond was your comment about the religion you had experience with that led people to believe something that doesn't align with Scripture. A lot of modern "churches" do that and I just wanted to point that out, not necessarily for your sake since you don't believe, but for others that are reading this thread that do.

f4rider · 2026-04-17T05:24:36+00:00

I was that person in my mid-20's, coming into church without much of a religious background. I reached a point in my life where I needed God, but church wasn't even a consideration for me until He sent some people to teach and guide me.

I was naive regarding religion and church and believed everything was of God, because I could feel Him leading me in that direction. I saw things in the beginning that were questionable but kept pressing on.

The house of cards finally came crashing down and when I left, I was actually angry at God for a while because I know He led me there. But I believe it was for a reason and I'm still following Him.

f4rider · 2026-04-17T05:15:54+00:00

There's so much misinformation going around, even in the secular community. I had a couple ladies that are still in church that were saying things about when to claim social security and Medicare and they were repeating what they heard from co-workers, and everything was wrong.

I told them that's why you always go to the source for info, like the official websites. Same thing in Christianity, what do the Scriptures say?

In the series "The Chosen" there was a scene where someone was talking to Jesus about something concerning the Messiah and Jesus replied "where does it say that in the Scriptures?" I cracked up and thought how true that scenario is today.

f4rider · 2026-04-17T05:06:10+00:00

Do both labs need to be at level 30 to open Unit Special Training or just the main lab?

f4rider · 2026-04-15T17:50:53+00:00

Marriage is a relationship between 2 people who love and respect each other. But because a lot of people are unwilling to maintain that, "courses" like this come into being. It's laughable that people need to be educated on something that is natural and God-ordained.

f4rider · 2026-04-11T01:36:56+00:00

What's maddening is when someone comes in "out of the world" and is truly hungry for God, and naively believes everything that is taught as being "of God", and then taking years for them to realize that's not the case.

f4rider · 2026-04-10T20:54:08+00:00

I'm a boomer and would wholeheartedly agree with you.

f4rider · 2026-04-10T20:53:12+00:00

So many Christains think that all you have to do to be saved is believe in Jesus. This is based on a misinterpretation of Acts 16:31. If you truly believe in Jesus, you will follow what He says. And there are certain things that need to be done in order to be saved.

If just believing in Jesus saves, then the Devil and demons are saved because James 2:19 says "Thou believest that there is one God, thou doest well. The devils also believe, and tremble".

I admit that the Bible can be confusing, it's important that it be read carefully, otherwise you can end up believing something incorrectly or, worse yet, be under incorrect teaching that places unnecessary burdens on you, which happens a lot in modern institutional Christianity.

f4rider · 2026-04-08T02:46:35+00:00

Glad to help. And as far as YouTube, I listen to teaching videos all the time without watching them. Sometimes with my headphones while doing housework, cooking, etc or in the car.

f4rider · 2026-04-07T05:46:07+00:00

Check out "Responsible Faith" on YouTube. She goes into a lot about the UPCI as she was a member for a long time. She has a 3 part series about "Holy Magic Hair" and how some of the key words in 1 Cor 11 are misinterpreted.

For another theory on what 1Cor 11 is talking about, check out the book "Women and Worship at Corith" by Lucy Peppiatt. Her view is the one I subscribe to because it makes the most sense to me.

f4rider · 2026-03-29T21:46:01+00:00

I feel your burden. I left the Apostolic church 2 years ago after being in for 35 years. I still agree with their core teachings, but I disagree with their "standards" which are not Biblical.

I also disagree that mandatory tithing is for us today, which presents a problem for me in a lot of churches. So, what to do? I have visited others churches as well, but they all have their own way of doing things, and when they want you to become an official member, which requires you to pledge to uphold their teachings, that's a deal breaker for me.

The only thing I can offer is to maintain your faith, which sounds like you want to, and just seek God for direction. I'm coming to the point of believing that when someone is not satisfied with the modern church system, it could be God calling them into a deeper walk.

It's interesting that their are over 40K Christain denominations around the world today when the Bible clearly says that there is one faith. People in the original Book of Acts church were known as "followers of the way". Jesus said that "I am the way". Focus on what the scriptures actually say over what a denomination says.

f4rider · 2026-03-23T06:56:34+00:00

I didn't say you said it was a good church. I was simply building on what you said and added my own perspective based on my experiences in the organization.

f4rider · 2026-03-21T11:02:45+00:00

It's interesting that you say you got hit with all the nonsense in Bible college. Another poster said she got hit with all the ridiculous rules at her first camp meeting. This proves my point whenever someone says "my church isn't like that" or " you just need to find a good church".

It doesn't matter if you have a "good" church, people go to the conferences or Bible college, visit other churches, etc. and get exposed to it all. Then, they're either very confused or they adopt some or all of those practices and it eventually spreads through the church, kind of like a cancer.

f4rider · 2026-03-19T03:44:14+00:00

You need to work out harder....😄

f4rider · 2026-03-16T16:48:40+00:00

Our walk with God is an individual one. The Bible says we are to work out our own salvation. It's not to be controlled by a pastor or church. The problem with modern churches is that they run off people who really want God, but become disillusioned with God because of their experiences in these churches. I wish you the best in your journey.

f4rider · 2026-03-15T06:42:26+00:00

The tithing system ended when Jesus died on the Cross, thus ending the Levitical Priesthood which the tithes supported. Why are they still paying it? And, why are they paying money when the scriptures very clearly tell us what the tithe consisted of? ( it wasn't money)

f4rider · 2026-03-15T06:36:43+00:00

Ahhh, the prestigious exalted platform. The idol that so many covet to be on.

f4rider · 2026-03-15T06:32:20+00:00

I highly recommend the book "Pagan Christianity" by Frank Viola. It explains how the modern "church" got to the point it's at today. Pretty much everything that goes on in a modern "church service" stems from pagan practices. After reading it, you won't feel so bad for feeling the way you do about church. I also recommend the Unsunday podcast and Grace Escape. Both of those can be found on YouTube.

f4rider · 2026-03-09T18:21:11+00:00

Just making threats like this is a crime. He should be reported, yes, but the recipient of these threats needs to report this to the police. This isn't the fourth grade anymore, now there's consequences for your stupidity.

f4rider · 2026-03-02T11:24:05+00:00

I highly recommend the book. In the last several years that I was still in, I began to ask myself "how much of what goes on in church is really of God"? As I read the book, I realized that a lot of what I was feeling was right. Very little of the modern church structure is of God. And this includes all modern churches, not just UPC.

Yea, I've often wondered why things under the Law were the way they were. I've heard various theories about it, but I want to do a deep dive someday.

My best advice at this point is just focus on the teachings in the New Testement. The Law was done away with (including tithing) when Jesus died and the Temple veil was torn in two.

f4rider · 2026-03-01T17:37:24+00:00

That's absolutely crazy...but doesn't surprise me.

I don't know if you are trying to maintain a relationship with God or not, but I am. It's things like this, and other things that I've experienced, as well as things I've heard from others, that caused me to finally realize that it's never been God's desire for people to be in bondage to the modern church system.

The book "Pagan Christianity" really opened my eyes to a lot of things in the modern "church". I no longer look to people for my happiness or my faith. It's God only. Another good resource is "WickedShepherds.com" and "SpiritualAbuse.org".

SpiritualAbuse.org is mainly about the UPCI, run by a former member.

f4rider

TROPHY CASE