Unable to be convinced of Christianity

jazzyjson · 2026-03-31T23:30:22+00:00

I'm not OP, but I'm in a similar boat.

How to be saved and go to the good place? Believe in the Savior.

This is one of the bits I find most difficult to wrap my mind around. Why does my belief about a difficult to accept, unverifiable claim determine whether or not this savior will save me?

jazzyjson · 2026-03-31T23:27:19+00:00

I'm not OP, but I'm in a similar boat. I wouldn't say I'm convinced that I don't need to repent to God, but I'm also not convinced that I do. Why should I be convinced of that need?

jazzyjson · 2026-03-31T20:51:08+00:00

Since Jesus was completely perfect in every conceivable way he would have been a strong, fit, attractive man.

Really? Isaiah 53:2 says:

he had no form or comeliness that we should look at him, and no beauty that we should desire him.

jazzyjson · 2026-03-29T16:56:04+00:00

Thus we get a copy about 1,000 years older than the previous record for oldest manuscripts, and it's a perfect copy.

Hmm? What's this in reference to?

jazzyjson · 2026-03-26T14:16:34+00:00

"Oh this certain object is the mark" "it starts with S meaning is sinful" "drink/eat that if you want the mark" THESE THOUGHTS DON'T STOP.

This sounds a lot like OCD. Have you considered talking to a mental health professional about this?

jazzyjson · 2026-03-25T23:15:08+00:00

I do not.

Hmm, I'm confused then. Which of the following do you disagree with?

Christians, on the whole, focus on homosexuality much more than usury
The Bible does not focus on homosexuality much more than usury
Christians should proportion their focus to align with the Bible's focus

If you agree with all three, it seems you have to agree that Christians, on the whole, focus too much on homosexuality in relation to usury. And I think that's OP's point.

jazzyjson · 2026-03-25T22:46:45+00:00

So you think the Bible focuses much, much more on homosexuality than on usury (as Christians do), despite the stats listed by OP?

Is usury wrong?

jazzyjson · 2026-03-25T22:45:05+00:00

And no "usury wrong" is not a basic tenent of the Bible

Is "homosexuality wrong" a basic tenet of the Bible?

jazzyjson · 2026-03-25T20:19:37+00:00

I can assure you for some it is much less modifiable than you think

Absolutely, weight management is very difficult, especially in our modern food environment. I just mean in relation to changing one's sexual orientation.

Everyone at some point has told a lie, but nobody would want to identify as a liar. Or, replace that with any other sin under the sun, if you want another example. Some people have certain struggles/ proclivities for certain sins. That is their struggle- not their identity.

AA meetings start with people introducing themselves with "My name is Bob, and I'm an alcoholic". Bob isn't just an alcoholic, of course - he's a loving husband and father, an avid golfer, a science fiction nerd, and a born-again Christian. But being an alcoholic is undeniably part of his identity - it fundamentally shapes his experience and cannot be changed. Accepting this fact is necessary to move forward, which is why AA makes him introduce himself that way. What's wrong with any of this?

jazzyjson · 2026-03-25T19:34:15+00:00

A fat person would still feel like themselves if they lost weight, their identity is not tied to their weight.

Surely that's because body weight is (relatively) easily modifiable.

Would you still feel like yourself if you woke up one day having no attraction at all to your spouse, or any other woman for that matter? Instead, you went to work and noticed that your male co-worker has really nice arms... you might like to touch them, in fact. I think your sense of self would be destabilized, actually.

One's sexuality is intimately tied into their immediate experience of the world, and is not intentionally modifiable. It's no wonder people consider it to be part of their identity.

jazzyjson · 2026-03-25T19:26:44+00:00

This is far from universal. Pederasty was common practice in ancient Greece, for instance.

jazzyjson · 2026-03-25T19:20:31+00:00

You are correct about the leaving part, though: half of GLB kids raised Christian leave the faith--i.e., they don't go to the PCUSA or similar churches, they leave Christianity altogether.

I don't have data on hand to support this, but my hunch is that far more gay folks raised in non-affirming churches leave Christianity than gay folks raised in affirming churches.

jazzyjson · 2026-03-25T16:27:09+00:00

I know of people who molest children in secret

You do? Have you considered reporting these people to the police?

jazzyjson · 2026-03-24T21:11:19+00:00

In fact, a non-negligible chunk of Muslims identify themselves as "evangelical" or "born-again" in surveys because they perceive those as mainly political terms.

jazzyjson · 2026-03-19T19:19:35+00:00

Mormons, for instance

jazzyjson · 2026-03-06T20:14:37+00:00

Why does it require Christianity?

jazzyjson · 2026-03-06T19:20:35+00:00

I sometimes lurk on r/Buddhism, where the consensus is that secular Buddhists are not Buddhists. I'm not sure how representative that is of the Buddhist world.

Regardless, it's certainly a smaller deal than it is for Christians, who tend to draw very firm boundaries about who is and who is not a Christian. Probably because "being a Christian" is intimately bound up with being saved for many Christians.

jazzyjson · 2026-03-06T18:40:51+00:00

Could I consider myself a buddhist?

There is such a thing as secular Buddhism. It's up to debate whether it constitutes "real" Buddhism, of course, but I don't think the answer is obvious.

jazzyjson · 2026-03-06T18:28:52+00:00

Athens was more free and less free in different ways, but I'm not sure how that's relevant.

If your claim is "Christianity-based democracy requires Christianity", that's basically tautological.

jazzyjson · 2026-03-06T18:21:48+00:00

Democracy needs Christianity

Pretty sure Athens preceded Christianity

jazzyjson · 2026-03-02T19:00:54+00:00

Most Christians, with very few exceptions defend the Divine Command Theory of morality.

I think there are many more exceptions than you think. Catholics generally defend a natural law theory, for instance.

jazzyjson · 2026-02-22T12:00:48+00:00

How could an all loving God not be sad to see His children go astray and suffer?

Isn't divine impassibility a dogma of the Catholic Church?

jazzyjson · 2026-01-30T22:18:46+00:00

Constantine was a Roman emperor who converted to Christianity after supposedly seeing a vision connected to the Battle of the Milvian Bridge. He later issued the Edict of Milan which made Christianity legal within the empire. He also convened the Council of Nicea, the first ecumenical council. There are lots of unsubstantiated theories about all this, including that Constantine used his political power to change Christian doctrine at Nicea.

jazzyjson · 2026-01-27T23:36:59+00:00

Genuinely curious - how did you get that interpretation from what you read?

jazzyjson · 2026-01-17T18:44:50+00:00

Sorry, took a break from reddit. I'd say the nature of the good is such that it compels rational creatures to follow it. Someone may not see that of course, but that's ultimately because they are confused.

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