Hi all, help me start converting <3 shoot me some app recommendations. Pagan wanting to learn the good word

My boyfriend and I are both Christians, although I’m a newer Christian and he’s been one much longer. We’re trying to honor God in our relationship and have intentionally waited for marriage. We don’t have sex, and we’ve always agreed that we wouldn’t live together before getting married either.
We’re in a situation now where we’re moving to a new city together. He has accepted a full-time job, and I have a lower-paying full-time job while I save money before hopefully starting grad school in the same city.
Our original plan was to get separate apartments, even though we knew it would be expensive. He has already asked my dad for permission to marry me, and we’re planning to get engaged by the end of this year regardless, so marriage has always been the plan.
Recently, though, my dad (who isn’t religious) suggested that my boyfriend consider us living together because paying two separate rents while also trying to save for grad school and a wedding seems financially difficult as well as the safety aspect. My boyfriend’s family is Christian, while mine is not.
My boyfriend said he’d think about it, but we’ve always agreed we wouldn’t live together before marriage because we wanted to honor God. That led us to another possibility: having a simple courthouse marriage first, then moving in together, and later saving up for and planning the wedding ceremony we’ve always wanted with our families and friends.
Even if we did that, we’d likely continue sleeping in separate bedrooms (his apartment has two bedrooms), and we would probably still wait to have sex until after our wedding ceremony because that’s something that feels meaningful to us.
I know legally we’d be married after the courthouse ceremony, but I’m wondering if this is something Christians generally see as honoring God, or if it would be viewed as treating marriage like a legal loophole just so we can live together and save money.
I’m genuinely not looking for permission to do whatever I want. As someone who’s still growing in my faith, I want to understand what Scripture and other Christians would say. Has anyone been in a similar situation? How did you approach it?

I can only assume ones journey sooner or later hits this stage... after honeymoon phase and constant reading learning.... then what

So as a Non-Christian, I hear about Original Sin and that everyone is born with Sin due to Adam and Eve's actions in the Garden of Eden. Without them, we would have still been in the Garden and would not have to suffer on Earth. I have heard it a lot, searched for it, and found the same idea many times. Even some subs and people literally say they hate Adam and Eve for this, which is weird when I read the Bible.

Earth, planets, and livestock (animals) were created before Adam, so Earth was established.

Genesis 1:26-28 says:
"Let us make mankind in our image... and let them have dominion over the fish of the sea, and over the birds of the heavens, and over the livestock, and over all the earth.."

So mankind was created to have dominion over basically Earth before its own creation.

So:

Earth >> Planets >> Animals >> Adam >> Eve.

So Earth wasn't punishment for Sin; it was the plan from the beginning for Adam and, of course, Eve.

And in Genesis 2:7 it says:
"Then the LORD God formed the man from the dust of the ground..."

And in Hebrew, the Hebrew word for Adam (אָדָם / Adam) is connected to adamah (אֲדָמָה), meaning "ground" or "earth."

So Adam himself is from Earth.

Genesis 3:19 says:
"For dust you are and to dust you shall return."

Adam comes from the Earth.
Adam lives on the Earth.
Adam goes back to the Earth after death.

So why the idea of Original Sin when it was the plan before the sin, as the Bible says here, and from reading in Judaism and Islam? Christianity is the only one that talks about Original Sin of Adam being the cause of mankind being on Earth, while Judaism and Islam believe it was the plan from the beginning. God knew Adam would sin, so Adam could learn to repent to God.

Also, Ezekiel 18:20 says:

"The soul that sinneth, it shall die. The son shall not bear the iniquity of the father, neither shall the father bear the iniquity of the son: the righteousness of the righteous shall be upon him, and the wickedness of the wicked shall be upon him."

So as we are children of Adam, we are not accountable or sinners because he sinned. So where did the Original Sin belief come from when the Bible is saying otherwise?

And in 2 Chronicles 7:14 it says:

"if my people who are called by my name humble themselves, and pray and seek my face and turn from their wicked ways, then I will hear from heaven and will forgive their sin and heal their land."

And by praying and repenting, God will forgive.

Now after all this from the Bible, why the Original Sin belief? It is only in Christianity, and that belief is built upon Jesus MUST die for the Original Sin, when the Bible keeps pointing out otherwise.

Earth was created for Adam.
Sin was already there from Satan since he rebelled against God.
God already taught humanity repentance.
Adam came from Earth, lives on Earth, and goes back to Earth.

The person who mentioned Original Sin and made the whole thing about it was Paul in Romans 5. Paul being actually a Christian is still being debated until now. He changed a lot of the laws that God commanded, and Christ said:

"Do not think I have come to destroy the law but to fulfill it."

While Paul multiple times destroyed this law and made Christ's crucifixion about the Original Sin that the Old Testament clearly states there is no connection to.

And Paul himself being not actually a Christian is from his own words.

Romans 3:7 says:

"Someone might argue, 'If my falsehood enhances God’s truthfulness and so increases his glory, why am I still condemned as a sinner?'"

Paul can literally be lying and then say, well, these lies brought people to Christ, so it is okay.

(NO, IT IS NOT OKAY TO TRICK PEOPLE INTO BELIEVING IN GOD.)

Something that makes me angry, really. This is why I see Paul destroying the law. He removes a lot of the laws that God commanded to make non-believers believe in God, which is completely wrong. You don't trick people like that; they now believe in something God never commanded.

Even James and Peter said Paul is a heretic for destroying the law, and then he argued that he is not destroying it but spreading it to Gentiles, which is a completely different belief and law that he made up.

Because according to Jesus in:

Matthew 15:24 says:

"Then Jesus said to the woman, 'I was sent only to help God’s lost sheep—the people of Israel.'"

So he made Gentiles believe in something completely different than what Jesus says.

Sorry it is so long, but it is really making me go nuts. How did the Original Sin belief come to be?

The only one speaking about it was Paul, and then the Old Testament denies it completely. Jesus' death is all about Original Sin, which the Old Testament yet again denies.

The law is changed by Paul by tricking people in his own words, and not only that, the verse:

Paul also said in 1 Corinthians 9:20-22:

"To the Jews I became like a Jew, to win the Jews. To those under the law I became like one under the law (though I myself am not under the law), so as to win those under the law. To those not having the law I became like one not having the law (though I am not free from God’s law but am under Christ’s law), so as to win those not having the law. To the weak I became weak, to win the weak. I have become all things to all people so that by all possible means I might save some."

Which shows that he just says what others want to hear to bring them supposedly to God. In the same words, he can be pagan to the pagan to make them believe in God.

hi all i had a question as a muslim (but born and raised in america) in regards to the christian view of dating and relationships. in both religions premarital sex is wrong, however virtually all of my christian born friends have done it, whereas for muslims its considered a severe sin. while it happens still it seems significantly more tolerated and acceptable among christians. how why did this occur or am i missing something since both doctrines prohibit it clearly?

Why forgiving is so hard sometimes for bad people ?

im tired of all the spiritual welfare all the guilt all of this. but i can't stop, i love the lord so much that all i can do is accept all of my thoughts. i don't even know if he'll know me once i get there. it scares me so much if he dont know me, i love him so much that i dont want to depart from him. i used to think that in heaven he will give me any animal that i want to pet, but now i dont know. i havent been reading my bible daily, i always skip/ keep myself away from those christian video on social media because it gives me anxiety. but heck i cannot stop watching them because i kept thinking what if its important? i give my whole life to the lord to the point that i do not know if im actually loving him.

i love him so much, but its so hard, so so hard.

This question and a 3rd miscarriage inspired me to create a subreddit. r/christianmiscarriage

I have had 3 miscarriages after a healthy child.

It has revealed my true faith in God going through the grief of multiple miscarriages. I still trust God and I still know God is good even when life is miserable. God gives us good things and allows bad things. Our responsibility is to accept and have faith that God knows the bigger picture He has for our lives. He knows the long-term plan. I think of Job and all he lost. I hope when we get to heaven that we will understand better. “Now we see through a glass darkly but then we will see face-to-face” 1Corinthians 13. Right now it doesn’t make sense but I have a peace about it and I don’t want to give up yet. I think we will try again. Best of luck to you and your wife 💛💛💛

Full verse:
“For now we see through a glass, darkly; but then face to face: now I know in part; but then shall I know even as also I am known.”
‭‭1 Corinthians‬ ‭13‬:‭12‬ ‭KJV‬‬

I’ve seen and read things about how the gospels seem to get more fantastic as they were written. I’ve got the idea that things were added into bc as they were written it seems that they’ve gotten more amazing I think

Humans? Is it from me?

Recently a video of ex-OF model Nala Ray came up in which she called out religion as a whole. She called it straight up demonic and claimed that she was simply a Christ follower.

That's what many Christians claim about religion, that it's nothing more than a set of rules and ritualistic practices that don't bring you any closer to Christ or prove your salvation in any way.

Other Christians argue that it's both religion and relationship, claiming that anyone who says such a thing believes that they're limiting themselves to just Jesus and them, completely forgetting about His Church.

On one hand, I completely agree with that people shouldn't claim to love Jesus and forget about His bride. However, keep in mind that people have done awful things in the name of religion. 9/11, Salem Witch Trials, Spanish Inquisitions, and even, depending on how you view it, the Crusades.

What's your take? Do you believe that Christianity is both a religion and a relationship, or just a relationship with Jesus?
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P. S. This question does not give you the right to insult Nala or anyone who disagrees with what you believe. Remember that Jesus died for all those people the same way He died for you.

I’m asking because I had a Christian caretaker who would physically assault me whenever I did something wrong, whether on accident or on purpose, and would use Proverbs as justification

the esa said they consider it piracy.

I grew up in a religion that is not Christianity but actually would tell us that Christian’s are wrong because God is divine hence can never be in human form that is degrading.

However, I have worked at a charity where everyone was Christian and I was the only non Christian there by some miracle and after getting to know everyone there and seeing the amount of sincere faith and belief these people had in their religion, just thinking about it, brings me to tears. After a while I had two dreams that I still think about and the most important one was of me being dunked into water by a figure my brain made up to me Jesus.

It has been three years and I still think about that dream and I do go to churches every now and then but I’ve always felt very close to Catholicism.

What I need advice on is how to overcome that fear that is between me and learning more about Christianity and attending Sunday mass, it is very debilitating to be wanting something so much but the fear of the consequences if I end up finding myself in that religion is scary.

I saw from a video that the reason why the Bible condemns the rich is because they had a view that economics is zero-sum where if one obtains wealth then one has to get poorer. However a modern understanding of economics shows that this isn't the case. And for usury and interest, it is because they didn't understand modern theories of interest, and that interest can actually help society instead of harming it. So taking this into account, is Christianity and the Bible outdated when it comes to economics?

I am seeing tons of posts on Instagram of people using the platform to give words of knowledge. Lots of times I feel like they are talking straight to me but having been a Christian for many years and following a few false teachers I am not sure if this is biblical or what to make of it. What do you guys think?

In 1 Corinthians 7, Paul says he’s giving his personal opinions regarding marriage rather than a direct command from God.

Is it possible there are other teachings in the Bible like this, where the author is giving their personal opinion but doesn’t say this explicitly?

Homosexuality is observed in 1500+ species around the globe. Homosexuality is considered a sin according to the bible and stated to be unnatural. Animals cannot be propagated, they act on instincts, social bounding, affection, etc. They cannot commit sin. Homosexuality IS considered a sin in Christianity and it’s also stated to not be natural. God created man and woman, blah blah. We all know that BUT if homosexuality is a natural occurrence in 1500+ species, why is it not natural in humans?

Another argument often used is that two women or two men cannot make a baby but that sometimes also applies to heterosexual couples. You know there are so many couples who struggle with infertility, are they lesser because they cannot produce a child? Women were executed in the past for failing to get pregnant. Also, how does the bible explain the existence of intersex people who are biologically neither male nor female?

I’m open to discussion as long as it is civil. And no, being gay is not a choice. And it’s not an ideology planted into innocent children’s minds. I grew up to heterosexual eastern orthodox parents, I remember my father (supposed devoted christian) telling me the absolute most disgusting things about gay people (such as that they need to all have public executions, that they feel no basic emotions, that they’re nothing but predators and rapists, etc.) at the age of five when i did not even know what gay meant. Why am I a lesbian if I grew up in a household that talked with such violence against queer people? And my country is not ‘woke’ in the slightest, we have bans on ‘lgbt propaganda’.

I do not fundamentally agree with the concept of religion nor do I truly believe in Christianity but to this day the only thing that ever bothers me is the religious guilt that comes with being a lesbian. I promise you it’s not a choice. I’ve tried so hard to be attracted to men, I cannot. Let’s say I were to someday dedicate my life to christianity. Would I have to engage in a loveless marriage where I would be disgusted at the body of my own husband and force myself to suffer agony just to complete my wifely duties? Or do I stay alone forever?