u/DoveStep55

What do you think? Why?

Proverbs 25:21-22 (NRSVue)

If your enemies are hungry, give them bread to eat, and if they are thirsty, give them water to drink, for you will heap coals of fire on their heads, and the Lord will reward you.

Does the ending of this thought display a spiritual immaturity on the part of the author?

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https://www.reddit.com/r/Christian/s/sSpG5Ij9rW

Do repeat negative experiences with Christians who hold the same viewpoint as each other on a given subject give you an aversion to their shared viewpoint?

In other words, if most of the time when you come across a Christian who believes X the experience of them sharing, demonstrating or defending the X view ends up being overall a negative experience, does that start to impact your impression of the view (X) itself?

When do you think an aversion to the viewpoint (X) is justified by the impact of the negative words and behavior of those holding the view? Put another way, when do you think it's right for a view to be negated by the people espousing it?

In instances when you think the view itself (X) shouldn't be negated by the words or actions of those espousing the view, how do you keep them separate so that you don't develop a prejudice against the view based on the words and deeds of the people who hold it?

Why do some Christians have so much fear about things they think have a “spiritual” origin or connection from outside of Christianity?

For example, fearing/avoiding objects like natural crystals, exercises like yoga, therapies like breath work, cultural celebrations like lunar new year, or generic spiritual practices like meditation or forest bathing.

We could even expand this out to include those who fear/avoid traditional Christian spiritual practices outside their own stream of Christianity comfort zone, such as *lectio divina*, speaking in tongues, celebrating Christmas, celebrating All Soul’s Day, the use of prayer beads, lifting of hands during worship, use of incense in worship, use of icons, etc.

Further, how do you think a Christian should approach these types of things?

To what extent do you think an object or practice’s use by others should make a difference to a Christian’s use or practice of the same?

Why is that so difficult for some people to accept as a logical possibility? For whatever reason, I’ve never really struggled with the concept of both being true, but I often see people talk about it on Reddit like it’s an impossibly. I often hear people arguing that if God is omniscient we can’t have free will.

Where are you on this? Do you struggle with it? If so, why?

I noticed my local library has a 2025 InterVarsity Press book called ‘Reading the Bible on Turtle Island: An Invitation to North American Indigenous interpretation’, by authors T. Christopher Hoklotubbe and H. Daniel Zacharias.

Has anyone here read it yet? I’d love to hear your perspective on it if you have!

In 1 Corinthians 11, when read within its full context, do you think it’s possible that Paul was referring to the Church as “the body”?

“For all who eat and drink without discerning the body eat and drink judgement on themselves.”

In other words, was he still scolding them (as he was earlier in the chapter) about neglecting to properly care for their fellow church members, making the point that the Eucharist is no longer the Eucharist when we partake of it without really “seeing” and caring for our fellow members?

I see this interpretation as aligning with several other teachings in scripture:

-The concept taught in Amos 5 about worship being rejected by God when performed concurrent with injustice

-The concept taught in James 2 about faith being “dead” if “works” of actually providing for the hungry brother are neglected

-The concept taught in Mathew 5 about Jesus identifying so closely with “the least of these” that our mistreatment or neglect of them is mistreatment or neglect of Jesus Himself

What do you think? Is that a valid interpretation? Have you heard it before?

There’s a big news headline right now after Baptist Pastor Robert Jeffress said on Fox News,

“And you know, the great irony is it looks like President Trump has a better understanding of what the Bible teaches about the role of government than the Pope has.”

This is far from the first time that Jeffress has made headlines for publicly opposing other Christian leaders, including the previous Pope, in defense of Trump. I think most of us can see that there’s some degree of sensationalism & political propaganda at play here, of course, so my real question is:

What do you believe about God’s purpose, and a faithful Christian’s approach, to government?

Which things that you believe about Jesus can be proven?

Which things that you believe about Jesus do you have to decide to accept without proof, or “take on faith” as one might say?

How do you personally deal with any conflicted feelings about the things you need to “take on faith”? (Might not be applicable to everyone, of course, but seems to be a common experience.)

One reason (of many) that Mother’s Day is hard for some people is that they have a difficult relationship with their mom or other mother figure (s) in their life.

What’s your advice for Christians in that situation?

Which things that you believe about Jesus can be proven?

Which things that you believe about Jesus do you have to decide to accept without proof, or “take on faith” as one might say?

How do you personally deal with any conflicted feelings about the things you need to “take on faith”? (Might not be applicable to everyone, of course, but seems to be a common experience.)

How do you define idolatry?

Where do you get the definition?

Is it possible to idolize God?

Is it possible to idolize the Bible?

Is it possible to idolize your theological or doctrinal beliefs?

That’s it.

If you’ve read Pete Rollins’ book “How (Not) To Speak of God”, I’d love to hear your thoughts on it. I recently started reading it and it’s some real food for thought. Curious how it impacted others here who’ve read it, or are still working through it.

These are questions for Christians who DO NOT believe the Bible is inerrant and/or infallible.

If you believe the authors of the Bible were sometimes writing by direct divine authority, how do you determine which parts of the Bible were written that way versus which parts were not?

Do you view the writings of the Bible as authoritative, even if they’re sometimes errant or fallible? Why or why not?

What’s your view on cessationism?

Do you believe people today might have the same types of insights as the biblical authors did?

Edit: Please read title as “inerrant AND/OR infallible.” If you hold either view, I welcome your replies! 😁

Do you believe the doctrine of “Original Sin”?

For discussion:

If yes, please tell us what that means to you and why you believe so.

If no, please tell us what you believe instead and why.

If unsure, please tell us why you’re not sure.

Let’s talk about it!

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This is a question specifically for Christians who believe in “gender roles”, including the idea that certain forms of ministry & service within the church can only be fulfilled by men.

How do you understand the “no longer male and female” segment of Galatians 3:28?

“There is no longer Jew or Greek; there is no longer slave or free; there is no longer male and female, for all of you are one in Christ Jesus.”

What do you think was the purpose of this statement if you believe there are still restrictions and/or distinctions based on gender for those within the Church?