My parents were Christian, not exactly practicing but they both love Christ. I grew up being made to say my prayers, was baptised, went to church a handful of times but I never really believed it. By my teen years I was a staunch atheist. Through my late teens and 20s I turned towards agnosticism. Now I'm in my 30s and I'm definitely theistic in that I believe in God however I still can't buy into the Jesus meme. I'd really like to believe/have that level of faith but I just don't. This has left me feeling more lost than when I was agnostic. Where do I go from here? What do I do with my newfound belief in God if I can't convince myself that any of the Abrahamic religions are 100% true?
Sorry for the blogpost but I want a distraction from all the war talk. Pic semi-related
What is the next step on my spiritual journey?
Bumping for God.
Read the story of Christ with a truly open heart and let yourself feel vulnerable with it. You will breakdown and begin sobbing from the decades or repressing your roots when you feel the true meaning of Christ’s story, his sacrifice.
As an agnostic, I am always searching for answers that may never be found. But I was raised protestant and still hope that Jesus comes back and reaps havoc on this shithole
I'll give it a shot. What are the best books in the Bible for his story? I can't deal with Genesis and the other non-Jesusy stuff, never been able to make it to the good parts.
See that would make me a believer lol
Yes, never give up hope!
Platonism. Check out the YouTube channel Aarvoll.
Thanks, I'll check it out.
All I have on Christianity, the teachings, morals, philosophy, law, history, origin etc.
History
Christianity being in opposition to jewry:
Pagan gods being the angels
Historical Evidence for Jesus
How Christianity transformed the wold
Correcting claims on common misrepresented parts of the history:
Sodom and Gomorrah
Definitions:
"Dinosaurs", Behemoths and Nephilim
Teachings, Doctrines and Guidelines
Law:
Philsophy:
Pauls work
OT and NT belonging together:
The destruction of the Temple
Logical argument for the christian God
Different teachings within Genesis:
Satanism:
Sun as symbol for God
Purpose behind good and evil
Metaphysics:
Afterlife and Judgementday:
Why Jesus is needed:
Role of the chosen people
Ethnicities
Trivia
God speaks to us through our experiences, not through books written by deranged Jews. There's a lot of truth to be learned just by observing nature, people and events. The important thing is to be honest and not lie to yourself. Know what you know and what you don't know.
Wow, that's a lot to take in. I guess I'll start at the top
That's pretty much how I got to this point. I have a hard time taking the words of men as seriously as the nature of the conversation requires me to.
>Read about some circumcised jew preaching in synagogues and telling goyim how to commit racial suicide
nah
Is there a more permanent archive of all this? I don't want to lose this post.
Yes, you are on the path to wisdom. You experienced that people lie and learned from it. This is how divine revelation works.
see the blog linked is not entirely up to date though, but you can just save the link to the archived thread
Thanks bud, looking forward to digging into it.
actually, you may be better starting in the second section which goes into the teachings, philosophy, metaphysics etc. and exolains those. the top part is basically the historic narrative and how it fits what we know, a kind of refutation of the mainstream view. but it depends from case to case i guess
I also worry about the dangers of solipsism when it comes to the divine. I feel like we need to have some reliance on one another to come to the truth.
Ok, I'll check that part out first.
Start with Matthew, aiming to finish acts. And a bit of advice, if you’re having trouble with parts that describe something that should be impossible, don’t force yourself to take it literally. If something seems unbelievable, instead of dismissing the whole parable, try to ascertain what it could mean symbolically or even just how it makes you feel, accepting that it may or may not be literal.
Understand that truth has been redefined in the last 200 years, and don’t force yourself to read this only from a modern perspective.
well, the best answer then is one you dont like,as you should read the book in completion. a lot of jesus teaxhings are based around the OT and its law and traditions, the culture of the time, all you can understand better when reading the OT.
The Bible is a complete work. its not that you can just pick and choose the parts of scripture you like and discard the rest. thats how we got to the globohomo churches we see today as they just remove context they dont like, forsaking faithfulness for appeal to the masses
Admittedly symbolism is something I struggle with even when it comes to novels and other media. Especially since the cultural sources will have different symbols and ways of interpreting them. Are there any good resources when it comes to Christian symbolism or is it more something I'll need to interpret on my own?
Check out Jung's Aion; he bridges psychology with Christianity and what Christ represents.
It's a tough read; there are lots of commentaries on it. If you aren't into philosophy or other such things, I would recommend Uberboyo on Aion on YT. Of course, they only get it half-assed, but it's tough subject.
Why would you worry about that? Solipsism is just a mentall illness and denial of reality. Reality is all around you, it's impossible to both be honest with yourself and deny it at the same time. I don't really know what you mean with
>I feel like we need to have some reliance on one another to come to the truth
but it is of course impossible to know what is lies and what's not lies if the claim is not independently verifiable in your own experience. As soon as you turn this agency over to someone else and just believe, then you're no longer an independent intelligence, but their creature. Which is fine for most people, it's a huge responsibility off your shoulders.
I totally get that, I just figure it would be more digestable once I've read the core story of Christ on its own.
Thanks, I'll take a look.
thats a dangerous path, which again removes authority from the scripture. after all a big reason people believe Him to be thr most high are the awe inducing events Ge showed to the people.
thst being said the Bible indeed is to be read on many different layers and angles, some verx symbolic and allegorical. however God uses real historic events to teach these lessons, them playing out in reality like it giving credence to the symbolic teaching behind the event
While I'm not a Christian, part of the Mormon story stuck to me. Supposedly, the founder (((Joseph Smith))) also didn't know what to believe, so he just asked God.
i learned, when you have troubles understanding a part, it helps to just look up the verses or chapter and see other peoples take on it. most of the time you will find a good explenation quickly as others who struggled put their findings together for others. but i can only repeat myself thst reading the story in completion helps too and can aid in spotting the vipers
I guess I just meant that I'm worried about doubting myself and my own interpretations and that it seems necessary to converse with others to see which parts of their interpretations line up with my own. I don't know if I'm explaining myself properly either. I didn't mean solipsism in the strictest sense of the word. Just that with the divine being in each of us how can I be sure that what I'm thinking is correct.
Ok, I'll keep that in mind. Thanks.
Maybe I shouldn’t say symbolism, metaphorical might be better. In a similar way someone can gain deep meaning and a sense of truth from any story, only you must understand that the Bible is the source of modern western storytelling that has built civilization and society and thought itself, as we know it. Therefore it’s message, if you can fully internalize and really expose your heart to it, is far more powerful and intense. Overwhelming even.
I do recommend not spending to much time yet reading other people’s interpretations and theories. The time for that will come later. Best advice I can give you is open up a Bible right now and start reading.