I’ve recently been looking into Aquinas and from there Plato/Aristotle, and there seems to be quite a large overlap of these philosophical thoughts and Christianity. The history of the church also shows great wholesale adoption of the ideas of Plato and Aristotle so much so that we’ve almost identified the God of the philosophers as YHWH.

What are some concerns and risks here if any or are these two compatible ways of understanding God?

I have recently seen a lot of social media posts on Prayer Bibles. Where you put tabs throughout your Bible of prayers from scriptures on specific topics such as Trust,discernment, gratitude, endurance etc., really any topic you would want help praying about. You then refer to them for assistance in your prayer life. What are your thoughts on something like this? I keep thinking...well, how can I just specify certain verses as better than others when the whole Bible is for us to show us who God is? Maybe I'm overthinking this. Thoughts??

It's Free For All Friday! Post on any topic you wish in this thread (not the whole sub). Our rules of conduct still apply, so please continue to post and comment respectfully.

AND on the 1st Friday of the month, it's a Monthly Fantastically Fanciful Free For All Friday - Post any topic to the sub (not just this thread), except for memes. For memes, see the quarterly meme days. Our rules of conduct still apply, so please continue to post and comment respectfully.

Intro

Thank you all for coming to read this.

Let me start off first by saying I have a lot of distrust and anger towards the Reformed community. So to come here to the belly of the beast, I hope, is something ordained by God to serve some kind of purpose. What that is I have no idea. If I am rude or hateful in my responses to some of you, forgive me. I have had a..difficult time in recent years. And my experience in this sect has yielded some very good times and some very bad ones. For what Im about to say I ask only for patience, understanding, and brotherly love as a fellow believer in our Lord Christ Jesus.

Rebuke and Desperate Reconciliation

But this I have against you. Some of you are so focused on having, as I like to call, "The most correct doctrine," that you've forgotten what it's like to have love in your hearts! You think you've answered the most fundamental questions about the faith and have finally, "arrived." No need for growth. No need to ponder further. Questions or doubt are treated as dissent and like pharisaical white washed tombs you stamp it out. I've seen this in my own church, in other churches, random Reformed people I've met in my travels, on the internet, and in this very sub. Close friends who are Reformed have treated me and others this way. There is a characteristic arrogance amongst you that drives me to ungodly and sinful anger. I've seen it, heard it, and smelled it for 15 years. You are causing people to stumble. Because of you, people blaspheme the name of God. People in dire straits who need your affection and reassurance more so than anyone else are driven away in great sorrow by harsh judgement and stern reproof. Strike me down in anger if you must, but know this: God sees and knows all. Nothing is hidden. Not in your hearts, not in your tongue. Every action and word spoken will be accounted for and this goes for me without exception.

I am working on forgiveness. I am working on repentance. God help me I am trying. But in some things I have no grace within me towards you. Not one iota. I have no grace as I ask for grace, hypocrite that I am. But allow me to mend the wound 1% by saying this. You have a gift. A crown jewel. A precious talent of gold given to you by our Savior. You have a thirst for truth unlike any denomination. A reverence, worship, and respect for God's character, holiness, and Word unseen by any other. Above all else, you bring to the table a unique logical nigh mathematical dissection of theology in that self same pursuit of truth. You have the discernment of the Bereans and the skill/precision of a surgeon.

Forgive me, I've felt duty bound to say all this. Whether that is a cathartic release of anger in relation to previous injury or a godly desire to see you repent of this salvation by the Law, I know not which. Maybe both, perhaps neither. But this I know. The Law was not crucified for our sins nor was correct doctrine. Calvinism was not pierced for our transgressions. It was Christ and Christ alone. In Him we place our faith and hope. Not TULIP, not John Calvin, or the 1689 Baptist Confession but Jesus Christ.

I hope this moves some of you. Truly I do. I've seen the damage this has done for year after year and I can hold my tongue no longer. I pray God moves His hand to unharden hearts today. Because as you will soon find out I'm not some outsider slinging venom from the sidelines. I lived it and breathed it. May God forgive me for my anger. God help me to be gentle and loving. God show me mercy for my failure to obey your commands.

In the Beginning

At last we arrive at the point of all this. My testimony, such as it is.

I was born and raised within the Reformed Baptist Church. I was saved at age 15. I always had a keen awareness and sensitivity to God's divine nature. At age 4, before I could form memories, my mother told me when she was sick I placed hands on her to heal her. I shouldn't have been able to know how to do that.

I grew up deathly afraid of the torment of Hell. I saw God as fire insurance. A get out of jail free card. I didn't know why I needed to follow God, I only knew that He was angry with me and I needed to have Jesus in my heart to escape His judgement.

At age 15 I was saved. There was a, "moment" but no angelic choir or great light shown from the sky. The change was gradual. My catechism was having conversations with my step mother, a lifelong believer, in the car going to and fro. I asked deeply troubling questions and the answers I received were further troubling still. But I knew them to be true. And In my acceptance I found a peace and joy I'd never known. For the first time in my life I was truly happy.

Harsh Realities

But the good times were not to last. And a castle built on sand, while beautiful and mighty, is only as strong as the foundation which must face the inevitable tide. At age, I don't know, 20 or 21, my first great trial of faith came. A classic Christian cliche. I went to college and battled with a secular professor. Intro to Ethics. My apologetics, theology, and metaphysical view of the world were utterly destroyed as my teacher threw proverbial javelins through every shield I put up.

My confidence was replaced by doubt. A constant companion that would soon follow me for years. I began to have serious questions about God's love, justice, and wrath. I even dared to ask the question, quietly, "Is He truly real?" The questions I asked were not welcome either in my family or my church. My grandfather, an elder, told me, "u/TheByzantineEmperor , it matters not whether these questions are troubling. It matters how YOU respond and you will be judged by your Maker accordingly."

I had no support. No outlet. So I suffered in silence. I tried to, "just have faith," but doubt acted as a corrosive acid and slowly ate away at the foundations of my faith. I went through my first great depression, even unto suicide. But nothing changed. Not even when Christ appeared to me in a dream, I think, to reinforce my faith and comfort me. I confided that dream in two places. Here, 7 years ago, and to my mentor and only friendly hand in the fight. He told me, "ByzantineEmperor, people don't have dreams like that. I've never had a dream like that. What you saw was real. God is real."

The Fall

But it wasn't to be. My faith slipped through my fingers like trying to grab ahold of flowing water. The stronger and tighter I gripped the more it escaped me. I prayed on bended knee with eyes full of tears for days, weeks, and months. I searched God's holy Word for answers with no resolution. The only person I knew who could help me was my stepmother. But she didn't know the answers to my questions either. And, "just have faith," was no longer sufficient.

A year of this went by and there I was sitting in my room quietly. In the middle of a weak halfhearted prayer I opened my eyes. I looked at the bed, looked around the room, then towards the Heavens. Opening my mouth slowly I said, "You're not listening are you? Because you're not really there." I cried bitter tears that night. The realization had finally dawned on me. God was dead. Worse yet, he never existed in the first place. The Creator of the Universe, my Father, and my best friend wasn't there any more. I had no one left to turn to. I no longer had my faith. My view of the world, people, and myself was shattered. My community eventually shunned me and my family's disappointment and heartbreak was tangibly and expressly felt.

I had nothing. No where to go. No foundation to start from. Just an endless sea of voices in every direction screaming, "Pick me! Believe in me!" It took a long time, but eventually I settled on a worldview more keenly aligned with myself. I gave myself to the Prince of Reason. Naturalism and his partner nihilistic atheism. His prophet was Fredriech Nietzsche and an unknown demonic entity pulled the strings from afar.

Spiral Into Madness

I will not regale you with tales of my blasphemy and debauchery that took place over the last seven years. It would not be appropriate here and the shame is too great besides. But I will tell you that I made a slow descent into darkness. At the end of it all, I sat on death's door. More than once I tried to take my life and each time my will to resist grew weaker and weaker. Last October, I felt that familiar call to the shadows once more. A secret urging, whispers from the black. "Just put the pistol to your head. It can all be over so quickly. Your rest will be sweet." I had a family and a beautiful daughter but it was not enough to will me to live.

One day, through no inclination of my own, I felt compelled to do something I would never have otherwise done. I got up from where I was sitting, pulled out my footlocker, opened my dusty ESV Bible I hadn't touched in nearly a decade, and read the Gospel of John. I read it in what felt like the blink of an eye, but I wept over every single page. I thought to myself, "How could I have stayed away for so long!" When I was done, I put it back where it went and shoved it into a place forgotten. The pain of having hope again burst through my ribs. It was too much and I couldn't handle it. I pushed it down and moved on. Two weeks later there I was. Sitting in my bathtub, fully clothed fully intoxicated as I could possibly be, I began to see and feel it.

The Miracle

Friends, I know the attitude many people in this community have towards certain spiritual aspects. A spiritual thing occurs and some say, "Ha! Charismatic. Such foolishness." But I want you to please suspend disbelief. Understand that the Spiritual Realm is real. Scripture tells us so. Understand too that God can do all things. Put your trust, not in me, but in that and listen to what I say.

An evil dark presence began to fill the room I was in. That's the only way I can properly describe it to you without actually taking you to that moment. This darkness began to come through the closed door started at the frame then creeping along the walls and ceiling. I was terrified. I had feared demons all my life and now my worst fear was being realized. In that moment of panic I did only what I knew I could do. "In the name of Jesus Christ I rebuke you!" I screamed. I have no memory of what took place after that.

The next day, I was at a crossroads. At the rock bottom of rock bottom and no rope left to hold onto I was tethered above the Abyss. I could do two things. I could shake my fist at God and say, "To Hell with you. I will never submit. Let me die." But that was not an option I was willing to do. Even in my wretchedness, I wanted to live. I wanted to be happy. I wanted to have my faith back, as I had all along, even though I didn't think it was possible. So I did the other thing. I made a deal with God. A wager, if you will. I prayed, 'God, if you are real, and if you exist, and if you are good, I will worship you. And if you are not, well then, I have lost nothing and am no better or worse off than I began."

Brothers and sisters. Believe me when I say this. There is power in prayer. With faith as small as a mustard seed I prayer that weak little prayer. I cracked open a door that was closed to God more than seven long years. And by doing so God the Father rushed in like the storm of a thousand hurricanes. Every doubt I brought up, every fear, every roadblock, trap, and conundrum he struck down with effortless blows. Not only this, but he replaced my anxiety with peace ve and joy. I went from crying bitter tears to crying joyful tears. I thanked Him over and over again. I told everyone I knew of the great thing He had done. Much rejoicing and crying took place. My brother said to my father, "Slay the fattened calf. The son has returned home."

Once I was lost, now I am found.

Once I was blind, now I see.

Once I hated, now I love.

Once I had sorrow, now I have peace.

Once I sought death, now I live again.

Conclusion and Prayer

But friends, as Is so often the case, the story is not over. Today I struggle with many struggles and I humbly ask you for help. I commit many willing sins. I confess to you that I go out of my way to have sex outside wedlock. I drink to get drunk and would get high if I had the opportunity to. I swear and blaspheme daily. I've stopped pursuing the path of righteousness because the pain of walking it is too much.

Recently, I had a dream again. Christ came to me and said, "Read Galatians. You will find your protector there." I haven't done so. But my best friend did. And he said that what I've been doing is depending on my own strength for salvation, not Christ. I will admit, this has been true for almost my entire walk with Him. Fellow believers, help me please. As the Rich Young Ruler said, what must I do to be saved? I pray not for salvation from death. That victory was won at the Cross. But I plead with you. Have mercy on this poor sinner.

Forgive me Lord for repaying your gifts of grace with such vile filth. Forgive me for spitting in your Son's face and striking Him on the cheek. Have mercy on me O' Lord. Wretch that I am. Unworthy to ask forgiveness. I pray God that you show me the way. Let me walk the path once more. Jesus my lord, help your unfaithful servant. Teach me your ways. Let me walk in your light. Fill me with your love. Show me the Truth again. Do not give me the punishment I deserve. Come to me O' God. Have mercy on me. In the name of the Father, and the Son, and the Holy Spirit I pray. Amen.

For the Lord has heard the sound of my weeping, the Lord has heard my plea, the Lord accepts my prayer. Let all my enemies be ashamed and greatly troubled. They shall turn back and be put to shame in an instant.

I have heard a pastor from IPB proposing a program in which children would memorize the Westminster shorter catechism by age 12 and then would proceed to study the larger catechism for 3 years and then have a 4 year long study of systematic theology including the reading of a full dogmatic work (either Berkhof or Calvin).

I know Presbyterians are known for their emphasis on education and literacy, but I was quite surprised by the demands of pastor.

I have had a peculiar experience and I’d like to see if anyone else has had a similar experience as mine.

I am what would be considered a reformed Baptist and have been for decades. I am not a charismatic, and if anyone told me the story I’m about to share with yall I would have wrote it off that the person is crazy or it was coincidence. I am admitting beforehand that this is a subjective experience and could be interpreted as coincidence. However, on a personal level it’s hard to accept as only coincidence. Especially with a view of God’s sovereignty in all things.

So… I’ve had a friend from grade school (we are both near 50 now) who lost his father when we were young. He has been diagnosed as bi-polar. He is a highly functioning person despite the diagnosis. A few weeks back he had a bi-polar “episode” and self medicated with alcohol. This led to an outburst none of us have seen from him before, landing him in trouble on many fronts. He has been married to an awesome woman for 3 years now and this event split them up. They are very carefully trying to work it out now while still being separated.

I have been under tons of stress. I have a very stressful and dangerous job. God has always been faithful and his favor has allowed me to be successful at this job. Recently, in the past few weeks things have gone against me at work. Besides many smaller issues, we had a terrible accident and a guy lost half his foot. This led to all sorts of investigations and such. The guy is recovering well and we have slowly got back to work. During this time I was praying for Gods protection and favor over our daily work activities.

Fast forward to the night of the experience. My friend expressed his struggle with his bi-polar and struggle to hold his life together. Fully admitting his own sin and faults, and I felt my own struggles in life and at work. It brought to mind that we weren’t just struggling, we were wrestling.

I sent my friend Ephesians 6:10-20

[12] For we do not wrestle against flesh and blood, but against the rulers, against the authorities, against the cosmic powers over this present darkness, against the spiritual forces of evil in the heavenly places.

My friend is a charismatic. I am not. I knew this would resonate more with him than me. I used this text to help him see that besides his flesh struggle that there are spiritual forces at work in this world as well. I tried to balance this with the fact Satan has never been able to touch a child of God without first obtaining permission, using Job’s hedge, and Peter’s sifting like wheat as examples. Both showing Satan doesn’t not have ultimate authority and that God permits Satan to do certain things that ultimately are used to accomplish God’s will in our lives.

After he and I spoke, I walked outside to get a cold water from the ice chest in my truck. It hit me that I had drawn a separation on that text by thinking it should apply to a charismatic differently than to myself as a reformed thinker. I had to be honest with myself that even in though I believed the text at face value i didn’t take it as serious as I should beacuse I didn’t want to be a cooky charismatic. This ultimately is unbelief. I felt convicted.

I felt burdened by this and for my friend so I decided I needed to pray about it. I started out as usually with a lot of racing thoughts. Slowly I became surprisingly focused. I prayed, acknowledging that God knows all things and brings them to be, I asked that he watch over my friend and to please put a hedge around him like he did with Job. Then, in faithfulness to the text in Hebrews, I asked that if any spiritual forces were working against my friend that God, having all rule and authority would remove them from my friends presence.

Here’s here it gets weird, for some reason it hit me that on at least one occasion, when Jesus cast out demons, he cast them into pigs. Because of this I was thinking to myself, where, and should I even, ask where to send these evil spirits. I literally was praying, “God I don’t even know where they should go but please
remove them from my friends presence”

In that exact moment and out of no where a cat starts squalling like you had a knife in its gut. This went for like 20-30 seconds. I never seen the cat. It was near me either under the office trailer i stay at or under a truck nearby.
I immediately understood/assumed this was some spiritual thing. I went into fight mode and the hair was standing up on my neck. We do have wild house cats around the trailer but I didn’t see the one that freaked out.

Here’s my thoughts on this.

I don’t think demons left my friends house in mississippi, flew to Texas, Entered the cat and had it run away.

I don’t think demons were sitting on my shoulder, then entered the cat during my prayer, and ran away.

What I’m leaning on is that in God’s sovereignty, he allowed that the timing of my prayer and the squalling of the cat, ( it is the time of year for cats to mate, and fight) to coincide with each other to let me know to take the Ephesians text very seriously, with all it’s implications, and to continue praying in this manner for people. Also to show me that despite all the despair in my and my friends life, that he is hearing our prayers.

Only one other time in 50 years has a prayer answered so immediate. And that was when I was diagnosed with cancer 25yrs ago. I was feverishly praying for comfort when I got a knock on the door by a preacher I had never met.

This event happened weeks ago. I still feel like it wasn’t even real. I keep going back to it trying to decide how perfectly timed things were with my prayer and the cat squalling. Also that I was praying for things I had never prayed for in my life.

I’m sure a lot of charismatics will have lots of experiences. What I’d like to hear is what type of “peculiar” experiences any of you have had as reformed folk. Also I’d like to hear your thoughts on my experience and how you would explain it. I’m thick skinned shoot it to me straight.

Olá a todos!

Vou me mudar para a Suíça daqui a alguns meses e estou procurando recomendações de igrejas.

Especificamente, estou procurando uma igreja séria, centrada na Bíblia, que considere as Escrituras como a única autoridade para a fé e a prática cristãs.

Observação: ainda não defini a cidade exata, então fiquem à vontade para enviar recomendações de qualquer região (e, por favor, especifiquem o idioma falado lá).

Muito obrigada desde já pela ajuda e sugestões!

Ps: I forgot to mention that the area I'm moving to is actually in the French-speaking part of Switzerland.

We have attended our current church for over 10 years. We had an issue with our former pastor regarding giving false assurance of salvation by directing people to "go back to time they asked Jesus in their heart" rather than looking for the fruits of salvation. He left the church after being confronted about this and our new pastor has been great. However, we have church members who blame us for our former pastor leaving and strongly dislike us. Every Sunday seems like a struggle in Sunday school as we have one or two people in class who argue regarding salvation being a total work of God and election. They firmly believe in decisionism and politic to other people in the church regarding this belief. They also believe God speaks directly to them, which is not aomething we agree with. We are very involved in our church, but when do we knock the dust off our shoes or continue to persevere? Thank you

I've been in a bit of conflict with this issue. I work within a department of young professionals, and many work activities involve happy hours and drinking. I personally do not have an issue with drinking, but since putting my faith in Christ, I have been convicted in Paul's call against drunkenness (Ephesians 5:18). This has convicted me to be much more vigilant about how much alcohol I consume.

Yet at times, drunkenness and vulgar language is present at these events. Paul calls us to not conform to the patterns of this world (Romans 12:2), but I struggle with determining where the line of condoning and supporting this behavior is.

I do not want to be prideful or prude, but I also recognize that we are called to be set apart.

I do not want to deny myself the opportunity to develop meaningful relationships with these people and, but I also do not want to appear participatory in this behavior.

I want to demonstrate Christ's love to them, but this also seems like an unreasonable place to do ministry.

Has anyone else faced a similar situation and been convicted in their behavior/perspective?

Just wanted to ask the question regarding this issue. I know they were never one of us, but still a lot these people claim they could not reconcile the sovereignty of god of who goes to hell and who to heaven, it goes something like that humans are gods puppet and god creates certain human for eternal torture which makes him immoral. When I first learned this theology I was also confused and had trouble learning but eventually I Surendered. These people on the other hand could not reconcile this , how would I address this to close relationship who turned exchristians

I checked out two PCA churches in my area recently and both senior pastors seem to live a lavish lifestyle. Is this the norm for Presbyterians? The one senior pastor leads a church in my town, which is a predominantly low income area, and lives a half an hour away in a much more affluent town. Is this normal?!

Recently I heard a quote from Rosaria Butterfield that holding to a local flood in Genesis 6-8 is heretical and those who hold to that position, such as Gavin Ortlund, are wolves, lumping him with those such as Matthew Vines. Is belief in a localized flood heretical?

Welcome to r/reformed. Do you have questions that aren't worth a stand alone post? Are you longing for the collective expertise of the finest collection of religious thinkers since the Jerusalem Council? This is your chance to ask a question to the esteemed subscribers of r/Reformed. PS: If you can think of a less boring name for this deal, let us mods know.

I can't believe it took me this long to realize this but: from the Israelites, to the Pharisees, to the Church at Corinth, to the Church at Ephesus, and to the Churches of Revelation; the institutional (visible) Church and the People of God have always been impure and in constant need of reform and renewal. That's why Protestants believe in Sola Scriptura, because Sola Scriptura is the implicit charge that the visible Church, the People of God, can and have erred.

This is what will inoculate me from chasing after Rome, this is what will keep me grounded.

Praise be to God!

I've recently been going over some stuff and came across the debates between Wells and spurgeon. I've found my self in agreement with Wells more so than spurgeon, especially with this because salvation is entirely God’s sovereign work , any appeal to the general public is illegitimate. What are your thoughts?

I have a non-believing elderly relative who is very ill and at the end of life. I am not emotionally close to him, but am very close to his wife (my aunt) who is also non believing and generally belongs to the “just be a good person; Christianity is not for me” line of thinking.

i would love any suggestions of online sermons or readings for them, that are palatable and encouraging to a non believer, but also theologically and Biblically solid.

Thank you!

Hi everyone:

My wife and I are currently wrestling through whether we should leave our current church, where we have been for well over 10 years. Up until this last year, we both have been involved in in our church in one way or another: small group, participants, small group leaders, and my wife served our church's AWANA program for a few years and also has participated in the women's ministry in various ways.

While there are other reasons factoring into our consideration, I think I would argue that the biggest reason we are considering leaving currently is because of our churches size. I remember some years back when one of our pastors preached a sermon in which he indicated that the elders of a Church are supposed to know their flock. More recently, had a membership meeting, our senior pastor acknowledged that he could now look around the auditorium and see entire pockets of people he did not recognize.

For my wife and me, this is becoming painfully apparent in the fact that, even after being at our church for a number of years and participating in various ministries, we have only a few close family friends. Because of our churches size, it is entirely possible to be involved in a small group, start getting to know a few people better, and then never see them again because of how big the church is and because the church offers multiple services. In fact, I ran into one lady in the hall the other day, who, even though we have been in a couple small groups together, didn't appear to remember me.

We would like to be a part of a smaller church where, as with another church we left several years ago, we might have a chance to get to know more people in the body and have that process unfold more organically because of the churches, smaller size. So my question: are we being consumer to Christians with our desire, or is this a legitimate desire?

Thanks in advance!

PS: for what it's worth, I plan to have the same conversation with my church's leadership. Just haven't gotten there yet. But I am determined to leave the church correctly rather than just vanishing.