❓ PLP Inquires❓

[Esslemont]

Amen and Hallelujah.

I most certainly do...in humility and faith.

Praise Jesus! Glory to God!

Another fantastic morning that He has given me another opportunity to live through and enjoy.

Kick ass day.

 

[n8Romantic]

Who know's for sure. It has to be all about faith. Perhaps God manifest differently in each person. Jehovah, God, Odin, Zeus, Satan, all the Eastern religions Gods I can't even name. Not to mention the Gods worshipped by early indigenous people around the globe. All are real to those that believe. I grew up in a religious family went to church regularly, yada, yada, yada. Got some good stuff out of it to. What I learned most importantly was learning to share and give to others. A higher power has become more personal. Organized religious services do nothing for me. Too male dominated, though I am a male. Much racism as well. Growing up I thought Jesus was a tall blonde Nordic man. That's what the Bible pictures portrayed. But I've been to the Holy Land and know better. I'm grateful for every day I have on this earth. God doesn't need to dangle the carrot of "heaven" in front of me. Every day is heaven to me and I'm thankful. Yes, even the painful, stressful, and trying times are part of heaven. They help define who I am and make me stronger. When I die I'd like to be buried under under a nice shady tree, no casket or embalming and let my decaying flesh provide feed living organisms, sustaining life. That's probably illegal so I opt for cremation and just throw the ashes in the shitcan.

 

[Whiskeyjack]

02.24.21


Just an easy question today...

Do you belive in God? Have you always believed the way you do?

I'm curious to know your answer to your own question, PLP. Will you be sharing?

 

[Lonelywife1205]

02.24.21


Just an easy question today...

Do you belive in God? Have you always believed the way you do?

I absolutely do. I have believed the way I do since I was 12.

You didn’t ask this, but I feel like as a Christian people might wonder how I reconcile my faith with some of my life choices. My answer is that I believe I am a work in progress, not perfect by any means. I believe God is going to take the broken pieces of my life and make something beautiful. When the pieces are glued back together, His light will shine brightly through the cracks.

 

[Whiskeyjack]

I absolutely do. I have believed the way I do since I was 12.

You didn’t ask this, but I feel like as a Christian people might wonder how I reconcile my faith with some of my life choices. My answer is that I believe I am a work in progress, not perfect by any means. I believe God is going to take the broken pieces of my life and make something beautiful. When the pieces are glued back together, His light will shine brightly through the cracks.

I really like this answer.

 

[PrettyLilPussy19]

I'm curious to know your answer to your own question, PLP. Will you be sharing?

I will share because I definitely asked because I was curious.

I've always been a good Christian girl (once you subtract the filthy pervert part) but I mean it. I've always tske the "words in red" seriously, I've always been involved and have taken leadership roles. It's always been my goal to be educated about my faith and not just sit on pews and let someone preach at me with no discerning filter.

Thats why over the past year I've really been shocked and heart broken over what I've seen as thr American church acting in complete opposition with thr God they believed in.

There was a moment where it seemed logical to throw the baby out with the bath water and go full agnostic but I've since come a little closer back to center.

I do believe in a God. There's just too much evidence that there is some design. However, I think the American church has slathered a layer of narcissism that has made humans the center of the universe instead of the other way round. I'm doing some seeking, some thinking, some reading. I think you can't find any fault with the reported words of Jesus - words of love and justice.

I just don't know if I belive in the church anymore. (I could keep rambling but I'm not sure anyone would be too interested.)


Thank you to everyone for your answers! They've been really interesting.

 

[haha_on_me]

02.24.21


Just an easy question today...

Do you belive in God? Have you always believed the way you do?

Absolutely. You can't convince me that in all the years that humans have existed and believed that someone was their creator, that we all got it wrong. I believe that Saint Peter will greet me at the Gate, smile and say "you did well in spite of the stumbling you did". Someone IS greater than I am, I can see it in the sunrises and sunsets. It's in the bark of a tree, the smell of a flower, the eyes of a dog, it's there, living proof. Did we evolve from apes? I'm sure some of you did, look at how you act. Science and religion should go hand in hand, you bet we've evolved through the years from something, it was the plan. We will compete the circle someday and I believe it will start over again, just as I believe it has in the past. But yes God, the Great Creator, I Am, is who I pray to every single day.

 

[AveryElle]

I’m not christian nor do I associate with many active / participating Christians anymore - if you’re just now seeing the hypocrisy of most Christians...well, it’s not new.
BUT!!!
There are some amazing churches near me with fantastic congregations and missions from LGBT inclusion and interfaith community service to working hard to end gun violence. Maybe that’s rare and more a nod to our Quaker roots here in PA, but I have friends that belong to some truly fantastic churches that are ideologically consistent and pillars of the community. I think if you truly like church and the community it brings, there are churches out there for you. It may be a different sect of Christianity but they’re there. I know it took me a long time to find my type of congregation but it was worth it. I moved away and still very much miss it.

 

[Dirt_in_the_Ground]

One of my favorite subjects to learn about is religious history. And I live next to a church with many wonderful and generous and kind people in it. I used to play piano in a church. But I have never personally grasped the concept of faith, or the impulse to impose one’s myths on other people. The universe is 14 billion years old. If there ever was a God, I figure he left us behind a long time ago, and isn’t concerned about our petty skirmishes. I know people who debate being Baptist versus being Methodist. Who gives a shit?

 

[Deleted member 3041612]

I’m not christian nor do I associate with many active / participating Christians anymore - if you’re just now seeing the hypocrisy of most Christians...well, it’s not new.
BUT!!!
There are some amazing churches near me with fantastic congregations and missions from LGBT inclusion and interfaith community service to working hard to end gun violence. Maybe that’s rare and more a nod to our Quaker roots here in PA, but I have friends that belong to some truly fantastic churches that are ideologically consistent and pillars of the community. I think if you truly like church and the community it brings, there are churches out there for you. It may be a different sect of Christianity but they’re there. I know it took me a long time to find my type of congregation but it was worth it. I moved away and still very much miss it.

I do agree with you there. Some of the most discriminating people are those who claim the Christianity umbrella, no matter the race. There are unsavory types everywhere. With that, I do believe there is a place for forgiveness because of the ability to change ideals and habits for the better.

Because this is my belief, I am in no way trying to push mine for you to accept, take on or work within. I’m just agreeing on what we both see of what is disturbing.

 

[PrettyLilPussy19]

I do agree with you there. Some of the most discriminating people are those who claim the Christianity umbrella, no matter the race. There are unsavory types everywhere. With that, I do believe there is a place for forgiveness because of the ability to change ideals and habits for the better.

Because this is my belief, I am in no way trying to push mine for you to accept, take on or work within. I’m just agreeing on what we both see of what is disturbing.

I agree.
I think the problem I have is judging Christianity by the followers who aren't doing a good job of being Christians. Or Muslims or Jews or Hindus... Wr should judge a faith but those adhering to it's tenets most directly.

It's a bit like judging a diet by someone who cheats every weekend. It won't give the best impression or results.

 

[PrettyLilPussy19]

03.01.21

Happy March!

I had a conversation with someone about this and I thought it would make a great discussion topic

How do you determine who your "close friends" are? Is it what you share with them? What they share with you? Length of time you know each other? Going through events together? What levels up a friendship for you?

 

[tnman03]

03.01.21

Happy March!

I had a conversation with someone about this and I thought it would make a great discussion topic

How do you determine who your "close friends" are? Is it what you share with them? What they share with you? Length of time you know each other? Going through events together? What levels up a friendship for you?

Good question. It’s an always-evolving process for certain.

Commonalities and time duration for certain.

Disparities and how the differences mess and communication works is another.
Conversational flow and its level of complexities are another. I really enjoy discussions and friendly disagreements where a lot of bantering takes place.

I’ll probably share too much and know for certain that some of my friends have as well. But I try to be cautious and draw the line at certain points.

 

[AveryElle]

I agree.
I think the problem I have is judging Christianity by the followers who aren't doing a good job of being Christians. Or Muslims or Jews or Hindus... Wr should judge a faith but those adhering to it's tenets most directly.

Except - at least in my faith - people don’t agree on the basic principles of the religion. I’m happy to not be judged along with orthodox because I personally find many sects of my own faith abhorrent. The idea of ‘what it means to be a______’ is personal. Plenty of very Orthodox Jews wouldn’t consider me one. I’d imagine similar is true for baptists and Unitarians and all that. The concept of what it means to be a member of a faith shouldn’t matter as long as you’re a good person. Doing something right in the name of God doesn’t make you a good person. You should do the right thing regardless.

 

[PrettyLilPussy19]

Except - at least in my faith - people don’t agree on the basic principles of the religion. I’m happy to not be judged along with orthodox because I personally find many sects of my own faith abhorrent. The idea of ‘what it means to be a______’ is personal. Plenty of very Orthodox Jews wouldn’t consider me one. I’d imagine similar is true for baptists and Unitarians and all that. The concept of what it means to be a member of a faith shouldn’t matter as long as you’re a good person. Doing something right in the name of God doesn’t make you a good person. You should do the right thing regardless.

I was simply stating a religion should be judged by the best it offers not the worst.

 

[BadAmy]

03.01.21

Happy March!

I had a conversation with someone about this and I thought it would make a great discussion topic

How do you determine who your "close friends" are? Is it what you share with them? What they share with you? Length of time you know each other? Going through events together? What levels up a friendship for you?

I think I have two basic levels of friendship.

There are those that I seek out and contact frequently, constantly feeding the relationship because we both feel it's what we need from one another. It's reciprocal and understood. We share commonalities, and revisit them frequently, keeping things new and fresh and interesting. Unless I am told otherwise, we are okay with that type of connection.

Then there are those who I interact with less frequently, and when we do, its as if no time has passed. We could be silent with each other for long stretches of time, and it wouldn't change the energy we have when we do connect. We share commonalities, and revisit them frequently, keeping things new and fresh and interesting. Unless I am told otherwise, we are okay with that type of connection.

sometimes, the two overlap. If a close friend drifted from the first type, into the second type and touched base on occasion, I would not long for them to be tighter, but thankful that they are connected at all.

unless, of course, I did something to cause them to distance themselves from me.
Then, that's a whole other conversation.

I am thankful for the small group of friends I have in my life, and never want to put pressure on any of them to put more into the relationship than with what they are comfortable.

This includes my Lit friends, too. They are friends. No matter where they are found.


now. how bout some dic pics?

 

[AlpineFresco]

I was simply stating a religion should be judged by the best it offers not the worst.

I don't know about that, at least in isolation. How it responds to moments when the worst comes up feels like a (but not *the*) reasonable yardstick? I would say that includes people hijacking a religion as a vehicle for their own ends (but then... who says what a religion is? If enough people follow a wildly divergent path but continue to use the name, does it become merely a different branch? Obviously depends on specifics, but you get the broad idea).

 

[PrettyLilPussy19]

I don't know about that, at least in isolation. How it responds to moments when the worst comes up feels like a (but not *the*) reasonable yardstick? I would say that includes people hijacking a religion as a vehicle for their own ends (but then... who says what a religion is? If enough people follow a wildly divergent path but continue to use the name, does it become merely a different branch? Obviously depends on specifics, but you get the broad idea).

Well I think that just is a different question entirely. Ultimately we don't get to control who calls themselves a follower of any faith. And people rarely hold others to the standards of their claimed faith.

I stand by my point.

 

[AlpineFresco]

Well I think that just is a different question entirely. Ultimately we don't get to control who calls themselves a follower of any faith. And people rarely hold others to the standards of their claimed faith.

I stand by my point.

If that's true that we can't control who calls themselves a follow of [x], then what are we judging when we judge [x]?

 

[PrettyLilPussy19]

If that's true that we can't control who calls themselves a follow of [x], then what are we judging when we judge [x]?

I don't know. I'm not judging, I making a statement about the guidelines with which other people judge as stated above. I have enough to deal with in my own yard. I don't spend a lot of energy judging others.

What rules do you use when judging other people and the way they follow their religion?

 

[Dirt_in_the_Ground]

I don't know. I'm not judging, I making a statement about the guidelines with which other people judge as stated above. I have enough to deal with in my own yard. I don't spend a lot of energy judging others.

What rules do you use when judging other people and the way they follow their religion?

I read the Bible cover to cover when I was nine or ten, and I recall observing the behavior of adults generally and thinking, They’re not following the rules! Took me a while to realize that there are just too many rules to follow . . .

 

[PrettyLilPussy19]

I read the Bible cover to cover when I was nine or ten, and I recall observing the behavior of adults generally and thinking, They’re not following the rules! Took me a while to realize that there are just too many rules to follow . . .

I think there's only two that count.
Nine or ten? That's some heavy reading for a child.

 

[AlpineFresco]

I don't know. I'm not judging, I making a statement about the guidelines with which other people judge as stated above. I have enough to deal with in my own yard. I don't spend a lot of energy judging others.

What rules do you use when judging other people and the way they follow their religion?

Broadly, it only really comes up if there's an obvious strong correlation or break between what the person says and does. But, that's not really exclusively tied to religion. It's a fairly good wide-sweeping approach, I think?

It can be interesting (and I definitely don't always mean that in a negative way) when someone is cherry-picking which rules to follow and which to not.

 

[PrettyLilPussy19]

03.01.21

Happy March!

I had a conversation with someone about this and I thought it would make a great discussion topic

How do you determine who your "close friends" are? Is it what you share with them? What they share with you? Length of time you know each other? Going through events together? What levels up a friendship for you?

Just to get us back on track.

I think I consider close friends on track record, open mindedness and time. Someone who I not only can tell all my deep darks to but someone who will hear them with an open mind and someone I can reciprocate that with. It's hard to get that close to me but once you're there I'm pretty hard to shake.

One of the things I dislike about myself the most is how guarded and suspicious I can be with people.

 

[Dirt_in_the_Ground]

I think there's only two that count.
Nine or ten? That's some heavy reading for a child.

I don’t claim to have understood what I was reading. I just read obsessively. We didn’t have cable TV back then.

I think the best rule is the Golden Rule. Except for when it comes to anal sex.