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Over the past year I’ve reconnected with my Catholic faith and frankly Christianity in general. I found the Hallow app to be a great resource and found comfort in it. I highly recommend if you are so inclined.
Our world is in a time of turmoil and it’s easy to lose hope , easy to lose faith in an era where faith is uncool. To quote John Paul the Great
“ do not be afraid . There is no evil to be faced that Christ has not faced with us. There is no enemy that Christ hasn’t already conquered.There is no cross to bear that Christ has not already borne for us and does not bet with us”.
Over the past year I’ve reconnected with my Catholic faith and frankly Christianity in general. I found the Hallow app to be a great resource and found comfort in it. I highly recommend if you are so inclined.
Our world is in a time of turmoil and it’s easy to lose hope , easy to lose faith in an era where faith is uncool. To quote John Paul the Great
“ do not be afraid . There is no evil to be faced that Christ has not faced with us. There is no enemy that Christ hasn’t already conquered.There is no cross to bear that Christ has not already borne for us and does not bet with us”.
Hope you are doing well good buddy. It’s sad times we are in but I also have faith things will get better. We are all here for you my friend, great post.
I see the commercials for this app all the time. Looks interesting and very necessary in these troubled times. Mark Wahlberg is not only a good actor, but one of the few that I respect in that profession.
First, congrats on reconnecting. I spent a good sized swath of adulthood apart from God. Very grateful Our Father is not like us; we tend to give up on folks who consistently disappoint us. He desires each of us to know Him. The Bible tells He is slow to anger and quick to forgive. (which is 180 out from most of us lol)
Also, thanks for having the courage to post. IME over the last ~ 18-20 years, this is not the safest space to discuss our spiritual life. It’s a core foundational part of daily life for many FBGs.
It looks like the Hallow app is Catholic centric? Which is awesome, we have several Jesuits in my immediate family and I count several Catholic authors as my favorite theologians.
For FBGs who lean Protestant, Abide is a solid app. From the folks who publish Guideposts devotional booklets if you’re of a certain age (they’re ubiquitous & have been around since 1945 -started by Norman Vincent Peale.)
Tell me if you think this is true.
In order for a Protestant to understand Catholic theology - I suspect most don't care to know - it's probably good to understand a fundamental difference in Biblical authority. The bedrock tenet of the Reformation is the Five Solas:
• sola scriptura (Scripture alone)
• solus Christus (Christ alone)
• sola fide (faith alone)
• sola gratia (grace alone)
• soli Deo gloria (glory to God alone)
The first one speaks to the preeminence of the Bible. Our understanding of what we believe begins and ends with what scripture has to say. It is the all sufficient inspired Word, and when we handle it correctly, able to provide us with an understanding on the nature and character of God, and how we should live our lives.
Any theological discussion starts with "Did God say that? Where can I find it?"
Our Catholic brethren have a different view.
Catholicism teaches that the doctrines contained in Sacred Scripture (the Bible) and Sacred Tradition (the Church) are authoritative because God's revelation is the source of both. The Catechism puts it this way: “Sacred Tradition and Sacred Scripture make up a single sacred deposit of the word of God.”
Just pointing this out so we can understand one another better. We come at any subject with a distinctly different hermeneutic.
@HellToupee / @Joe Bryant LMK if I represented the basic Catholic belief system correctly.
Anyway, have more to say but will leave it there for now. We’ll see how this one goes.
Spiritual/religious conversations have gone better than political conversations here, IMO. We've had some great ones over the years. That's not to say they've been 100% friendly, of course. The key, again IMO, is to just identify when there's a poster that I don't think I can interact with in a healthy, loving way and simply disengage with them while continuing to engage with those who I can have good conversations with. Easier said than done, of course.
I'd love to hear what you, and others, have to say on topics like this.
Spiritual/religious conversations have gone better than political conversations here, IMO. We've had some great ones over the years. That's not to say they've been 100% friendly, of course. The key, again IMO, is to just identify when there's a poster that I don't think I can interact with in a healthy, loving way and simply disengage with them while continuing to engage with those who I can have good conversations with. Easier said than done, of course.
I'd love to hear what you, and others, have to say on topics like this.
Agreed. I've found by and large, spiritual discussions go ok. Sure, there are sometimes the mocking Easter Bunny / Flying Spaghetti Monster stuff but for the most part, I've found people who may not agree with another person on spiritual / faith things are usually pretty understanding. And it should work both ways, right?
I have Christian friends who sincerely think they can "prove" something in the bible to someone who doesn't believe the bible by showing them a bible verse. That simply doesn't work.
I have Atheist friends and by and large, they are completely fine with what I believe. And I try to show them the same respect.
Thankfully, at least in my experience, it is something people can discuss with respect and civility.
Spiritual/religious conversations have gone better than political conversations here, IMO. We've had some great ones over the years. That's not to say they've been 100% friendly, of course. The key, again IMO, is to just identify when there's a poster that I don't think I can interact with in a healthy, loving way and simply disengage with them while continuing to engage with those who I can have good conversations with. Easier said than done, of course.
I'd love to hear what you, and others, have to say on topics like this.
Agreed. I've found by and large, spiritual discussions go ok. Sure, there are sometimes the mocking Easter Bunny / Flying Spaghetti Monster stuff but for the most part, I've found people who may not agree with another person on spiritual / faith things are usually pretty understanding. And it should work both ways, right?
I have Christian friends who sincerely think they can "prove" something in the bible to someone who doesn't believe the bible by showing them a bible verse. That simply doesn't work.
I have Atheist friends and by and large, they are completely fine with what I believe. And I try to show them the same respect.
Thankfully, at least in my experience, it is something people can discuss with respect and civility.
The religion threads are a lot more civil than they used to be here. As you mention, it used to be "I'll prove you wrong" or "gotcha!" type stuff.
I think some of this is because the membership has aged and has discovered that arguing religion serves no purpose. Shame we couldn't figure that out about politics.
First, congrats on reconnecting. I spent a good sized swath of adulthood apart from God. Very grateful Our Father is not like us; we tend to give up on folks who consistently disappoint us. He desires each of us to know Him. The Bible tells He is slow to anger and quick to forgive. (which is 180 out from most of us lol)
Also, thanks for having the courage to post. IME over the last ~ 18-20 years, this is not the safest space to discuss our spiritual life. It’s a core foundational part of daily life for many FBGs.
It looks like the Hallow app is Catholic centric? Which is awesome, we have several Jesuits in my immediate family and I count several Catholic authors as my favorite theologians.
For FBGs who lean Protestant, Abide is a solid app. From the folks who publish Guideposts devotional booklets if you’re of a certain age (they’re ubiquitous & have been around since 1945 -started by Norman Vincent Peale.)
Tell me if you think this is true.
In order for a Protestant to understand Catholic theology - I suspect most don't care to know - it's probably good to understand a fundamental difference in Biblical authority. The bedrock tenet of the Reformation is the Five Solas:
• sola scriptura (Scripture alone)
• solus Christus (Christ alone)
• sola fide (faith alone)
• sola gratia (grace alone)
• soli Deo gloria (glory to God alone)
The first one speaks to the preeminence of the Bible. Our understanding of what we believe begins and ends with what scripture has to say. It is the all sufficient inspired Word, and when we handle it correctly, able to provide us with an understanding on the nature and character of God, and how we should live our lives.
Any theological discussion starts with "Did God say that? Where can I find it?"
Our Catholic brethren have a different view.
Catholicism teaches that the doctrines contained in Sacred Scripture (the Bible) and Sacred Tradition (the Church) are authoritative because God's revelation is the source of both. The Catechism puts it this way: “Sacred Tradition and Sacred Scripture make up a single sacred deposit of the word of God.”
Just pointing this out so we can understand one another better. We come at any subject with a distinctly different hermeneutic.
@HellToupee / @Joe Bryant LMK if I represented the basic Catholic belief system correctly.
Anyway, have more to say but will leave it there for now. We’ll see how this one goes.
I don’t use it personally, but I have friends who like it. My wife uses Dwell to listen to the Bible.
My preference leans toward apps which help deepen my understanding of the Bible. Probably user specific and perhaps not all that helpful:
YouVersion Bible app - this one has been around forever (2008), it’s what I open up in church to follow along with readings. There are 75 versions of the Bible on there so no matter which one you prefer it’s in there. They have a ton of reading plans and devotionals on there.
In the past I’ve done 5 or 7 or 30 day plans with friends. There’s also a social media aspect; haven’t done this in 5+ years but you can share verses to a timeline, message each other, like someone’s activity (e.g., if they’ve publicly shared what reading plan they are currently doing.) These days I only use it to listen to the Bible while commuting. Every January I do “The 30 Day Shred” and read (listen) to the Bible in 30 days. I just a social media fast, you read 40 chapters per day. It’s also great to take month off scrolling lol.
Bible Hub & Logos - if you want to nerd out on deep Bible study these two are in a tier by themselves. Currently I use the free interlinear tool on Bible Hub when I want to know the original Koine Greek (New Testament) or Hebrew (Old Testament) word that was used in the text. Logos is like adding a 20K volume library, but has less value if you don’t have one of the premium versions. It’s mostly for theological students and/or pastors for sermon prep. I’ve been fortunate enough to get some steep discounts on it in the past and it’s an amazing resource. I would hasten to add whilst this kind of study is rewarding, It’s also completely unnecessary & on some level a bit worthless in terms of just trying to be more like Jesus. Knowledge puffs up, love edifies. Knowing God is not an intellectual exercise. Imagine if God’s plan was “well only the smart ones get to unlock these mysteries.” That wouldn’t make any sense. But as a lay leader I have found it helpful to have a thorough understanding when I am leading a group. Doesn’t really make me a better person, and I have to guard against pride. Hope that makes sense.
Bible Project (also Bible Project YouTube channel) - this is the polar opposite of the two I just described. These guys are fantastic at demystifying the Bible and explaining it in an accessible way. Usually in 10 minutes or less. (8 minute animation on the Trinity) Great resource regardless of where you might be in your journey. As an aside, these guys get some things wrong (IMO) and they have a different nuance than mine. I don’t really care, I try not to major in minors. They help a lot of people understand the Bible better.
ESV Study Bible - companion app to the physical Bible I read at home. It’s 2500 pages and makes my back sore to carry in my backpack. lol. I know I’m a total dork.
Got Questions? - the app version of gotquestions.org - pretty much my go to source when I need a quick overview or baseline knowledge. As with Bible Project, accessible and easy to understand. Unlike Bible Project, almost perfectly in sync with my Reformed view.
Reformed - catechisms, confessions, creeds, doctrines of grace, five solas - for a guy like me, doesn’t get any better than this.
Complete geek about reading the Bible. Wholly unnecessary to being a Jesus follower. You should be in the Word on a regular basis, it is how God speaks to us, but it’s pretty easy to understand without that extracurricular stuff, eh.
Almost everything in our life relates to the productivity of work, the entertainment we seek outside of work, or managing our family relationships. When we talk to a friend, we respond to something they have said. In prayer, God’s voice is not audible.
After 30 seconds or so we get distracted, other thoughts creep in and derail us. We start over and wonder why we can’t be more focused. After a few minutes in prayer, it seems like every part of us is saying “Get back to work, slacker. Go do something productive.” Which maybe says something about whether we think prayer changes things.
We might wonder if it matters if we pray. Or we might conclude we’re not very good at prayer. I mean, how do we know if we’re doing it right?
I’ll try to carve out some time later to expand on that, but I think a good starting point is to acknowledge
1) everyone has a longing to speak to God (Ecclesiastes 3:11 says God has “set eternity in the human heart” - a God-given awareness that there is “something more” than this transient world.),
and 2) prayer is kind of mysterious….sometimes it can be hard to understand or feel like we are going about it the right way.
It’s been like this for me as a believer:
Biblical knowledge - I was blessed with great mentors when I was new in the faith (didn’t grow up in the church.) Have often been a Bible study leader.
Worship - my favorite thing about going to church. Love to sing, have often felt the manifest presence of God, to me worship is very experiential and genuine.
Discipleship - like I mentioned, was lucky to have strong brothers who laid a good foundation to my faith. Have paid it forward. Definitely try to give reasons for God and why the Bible is trustworthy, I have studied apologetics enough to engage folks who are curious. That said, have never argued anyone into believing - need to practice discernment, each person is unique.
Service - love to pitch in, whether it’s related to the service, or outreach during the week, volunteering. Being in community is one of the best things about church.
Prayer - seems like other people are better at this than me.
I felt that way about prayer for a long time.
Prayer, in its simplest, reductive form, is simply me - a child of God - having a conversation with a good Father. Over time it has become a rhythm of my life. But I also remember times in my life when it was sporadic, and frustrating and….we don’t really talk about that.
We should.
Might come by later to discuss more if folks are so inclined. I don’t have any special dispensation, I’m a work in progress like everyone else, but my experiences might resonate and encourage others.
Bible Hub & Logos - if you want to nerd out on deep Bible study these two are in a tier by themselves. Currently I use the free interlinear tool on Bible Hub when I want to know the original Koine Greek (New Testament) or Hebrew (Old Testament) word that was used in the text. Logos is like adding a 20K volume library, but has less value if you don’t have one of the premium versions. It’s mostly for theological students and/or pastors for sermon prep. I’ve been fortunate enough to get some steep discounts on it in the past and it’s an amazing resource. I would hasten to add whilst this kind of study is rewarding, It’s also completely unnecessary & on some level a bit worthless in terms of just trying to be more like Jesus. Knowledge puffs up, love edifies. Knowing God is not an intellectual exercise. Imagine if God’s plan was “well only the smart ones get to unlock these mysteries.” That wouldn’t make any sense. But as a lay leader I have found it helpful to have a thorough understanding when I am leading a group. Doesn’t really make me a better person, and I have to guard against pride. Hope that makes sense.
I primarily use Step Bible for this kind of thing. I really like their interface. I sympathize with your concern on pride. I'm not sure I like the wording of "completely unnecessary & on some level a bit worthless", but I think I get where you're coming from.
I'd be interested in hearing where you differ from some of the views at the Bible Project.
The Bible Project is really effective. Their use of illustrations is outstanding. I love how throughout the series, they keep pointing to Jesus. They explain how the Bible is best understood as 66 books with a unified, unfolding plan of God’s plan of salvation.
They keep the main thing the main thing.
4.34m subscribers 100s of millions of views. They are crushing it. I cannot count how many people have told me how watching videos from The Bible Project has helped them understand the Bible in ways they never thought possible.
That said, behind every project is a person with a specific view. Tim Mackie is the theological engine over there, and he aligns very closely with N.T. Wright. Tom Wright is Anglican bishop who moves effortlessly between scholarly tomes and easy to understand thin books for lay people.
Tom Wright is one of the great theologians of our time. He has defended the historicity of Jesus Christ and a literal resurrection. He has authored over 70 books.
His view (by extension, Tim Mackie and the Bible Project) on atonement differs from mine. He favors the Christus Victor theory of atonement; I believe the Bible teaches Penal Substitutionary Atonement. Propitiation is central to the work of the cross. The great exchange was Christ bore our sins on the cross, and we receive the righteousness of Christ. We receive that by faith alone - nobody gets to steal the glory from God.
Wright (>Mackie>TBP) are part of a loose theological movement known as the “New Perspective on Paul”, which attempts to reinterpret first century Judaism. According to the New Perspective, New Testament scholars have badly misunderstood first-century Judaism. This misunderstanding, according to TNP, dates back at least to the early fifth century and Augustine’s battle against Pelagianism. They also claims that our misunderstanding of Judaism reached its zenith with Luther and the Reformers battle with Rome - in other words, historic Protestantism.
Justification has a very different meaning according to this New Perspective. This goes to the heart of sole fide (by faith alone - a core tenet of both Catholicism & the broad Protestant church.)
At this point I could go off on a tangent and go through six arguments of why the New Perspective on Paul is not the first correct understanding of the gospel after 2000 years of misunderstanding. I’m not sure where that would get us.
It’s an important issue, but I’ll just close it out by saying Tim Mackie is my brother in Christ, as is N.T. Wright. Both have made tremendous contributions to understanding the Bible. They have a flawed view in my understanding of orthodoxy, but I am certain of one thing: we will not stand before the bema seat and hear God proclaim
“Oh, you were so close….but your theology was weak, you missed it when it comes to soteriology. Off to hell you go.” /s
What we all hope to hear - and what I hope you, Tim Mackie, Tom Wright, and anyone trusting in Jesus will hear - is “Well done, good and faithful servant. Enter into your place of rest.”
Bottom line, it’s OK to have differences on minor points. If someone believes Christ Alone, Christ Crucified, Love God + Love People - then we are brothers.
First, congrats on reconnecting. I spent a good sized swath of adulthood apart from God. Very grateful Our Father is not like us; we tend to give up on folks who consistently disappoint us. He desires each of us to know Him. The Bible tells He is slow to anger and quick to forgive. (which is 180 out from most of us lol)
Also, thanks for having the courage to post. IME over the last ~ 18-20 years, this is not the safest space to discuss our spiritual life. It’s a core foundational part of daily life for many FBGs.
It looks like the Hallow app is Catholic centric? Which is awesome, we have several Jesuits in my immediate family and I count several Catholic authors as my favorite theologians.
Thanks , full credit goes to my wife for reconnecting to my Catholicism. I feel like it keeps me grounded and I’ll use what my wife says , it calms and comforts me , clears my mind. She was using the Hallow app for meditation during stressful days in her job. It helped her and I’ve found it useful for me as well . I find myself starting and ending the day with it. The 15-20 minutes has become an important part of my day.
@General Malaise - not sure how the prayer / faith based apps thread turned into a discussion of Catholicism. But if that’s where we are headed, this is probably the wrong place for me to be.
I thought you brought up valid discussion points, if that’s where this thread is going. In a not especially nice way - but by default, you have the moral high ground here. Kids getting raped + institutions covering it up is worthy of vitriolic statements. I don’t think it’s bigotry to call that out.
Hopefully we can get this discussion turned back to connecting with God through prayer.
@HellToupee - it’s above my pay grade to tell you what the thread should or should not be about. But at the fastrack canonization of John Paul II was problematic, right?
I’m not Catholic, this isn’t my fight. But since Rome codified the process of Sainthood, the average time to formally declare a deceased person a Saint is 181 years.
At 9 years, John Paul II was the shortest ever. Second shortest was 15 years for Mother Teresa. Considerable criticism afterwards for each of them.
One reason for allowing a longer passage of time is to have a cooling off period to see if the person's reputation stands up over time. It takes time to do the research into a person's life and writings to make sure that his or her life matches the criteria for sainthood.
Anyway, I'm not in league with the Catholic church or anything about sainthood.
That does not mean that we don't have much in common. We have much we can talk about without taking swipes at the bride of Christ.
Anyway, if you folks want to have a Catholic thread or MoP wants to start a church history thread, go for it. Not my bag but whatever Joe deems acceptable. His house, his rules.
First, congrats on reconnecting. I spent a good sized swath of adulthood apart from God. Very grateful Our Father is not like us; we tend to give up on folks who consistently disappoint us. He desires each of us to know Him. The Bible tells He is slow to anger and quick to forgive. (which is 180 out from most of us lol)
Also, thanks for having the courage to post. IME over the last ~ 18-20 years, this is not the safest space to discuss our spiritual life. It’s a core foundational part of daily life for many FBGs.
It looks like the Hallow app is Catholic centric? Which is awesome, we have several Jesuits in my immediate family and I count several Catholic authors as my favorite theologians.
Thanks , full credit goes to my wife for reconnecting to my Catholicism. I feel like it keeps me grounded and I’ll use what my wife says , it calms and comforts me , clears my mind. She was using the Hallow app for meditation during stressful days in her job. It helped her and I’ve found it useful for me as well . I find myself starting and ending the day with it. The 15-20 minutes has become an important part of my day.
I'm a newlywed, we just celebrated two years. My ex-wife converted to Catholicism when she remarried, and our marriage of 5 years was annulled. With my consent and support - I did not wish to impede her in any way.
That was a quarter century ago. I had long ago resigned myself to, as the Bible says, "glorifying God through my singleness." That changed when I met my wife during lockdown.
Anyway, she has had a profound impact on my prayer life. One thing she and I were always comfortable with was praying with each other. It's how we end each day. We also will spontaneously elect to pray about something we are facing. She has made my life infinitely better in many ways, but probably none more so than becoming a praying man. I prayed before I met her, but she has enriched that aspect of my spiritual life in ways I never thought possible.
If we get back on track maybe I'll share some of my experiences more in depth.
One thing I found helpful is this spring we went to a 3-day prayer conference, at a retreat in the middle of a forest. There were around 300 people there, we were all staying at the same conference center. We had a guest speaker who led us through sessions on Friday night and throughout the day on Saturday. The last session was right before worship service on Sunday - so five sessions in all, though there were also time devoted to free time activities or just hanging out socially. Great experience.
The conference started with a pretty amazing icebreaker. We knew a lot about the speaker, he is a noted author and prayer is one of his areas of expertise. The first thing he did after being introduced was to say "Let's pray."
Silence for three minutes.
"What was your prayer time like? For some of you, that might have been a positive time. That's great, we're happy for you. For most Christians, prayer is hard." Then people started raising their hands and talking about what makes prayer hard in general, what their prayer life is like right now, or an aspect of prayer they find difficult.
It was such a great way to introduce the topic. Organic and authentic, brutally honest, and genuine. We had really great sessions throughout the weekend, but I loved that the speaker started with "Let's do something super awkward. OK, now let's talk about that awkwardness." Really set the tone for open and honest discussion of something that a lot of people who follow Jesus find hard to do.
Sounds like you already know and are bothered by it
I don't want to pour more fuel on to your inferno of fire tonight Many Catholics apparently refer to him that way and we should respect all religions should we not?
This is a prayer driven thread I might remind you
It's not an official title in the Church or anything, just something that some people use and it catches on to an extent. And yeah, there were three earlier "the Great" popes.
Since the death of our beloved Pope John Paul II on April 2, 2005, many have been hailing him as “Pope John Paul II, the Great.” Three Popes have had the title, “the great,” appended to their name: Pope St. Leo I (440-461), Pope St. Nicholas I (858-867), and Pope St. Gregory I.(590-604). However, never has the Church officially pronounced these popes as “great”; rather, they have been identified as great by both popular acclamation at the time of their deaths and by history itself.
And please drop the messages claiming hypocrisy/inconsistency in allowing a thread on prayer but shutting down other threads. We've been consistent in not allowing political threads for a while now. And we've always had the occasional religion or faith thread.
There’s two things I’ve always felt religion gets right (whether it’s intentional or not). Prayer and congregation.
Most humans need something to help combat stress, anxiety, depression, etc. and they also need other people.
Whether you meditate or pray to your god I think you reap the benefits - it centers you, relaxes you and takes the worries of the world off your mind. Good luck to all.
There’s two things I’ve always felt religion gets right (whether it’s intentional or not). Prayer and congregation.
Most humans need something to help combat stress, anxiety, depression, etc. and they also need other people.
Whether you meditate or pray to your god I think you reap the benefits - it centers you, relaxes you and takes the worries of the world off your mind. Good luck to all.
Grew up in a I wouldn't say overly religious house. Sunday school and bible school for a week in the summer. As I got older stopped going but definitely part of community especially in a small town. The thing I don't recall from back then was the anger from some religious people. As in you do or don't do X therefore I'm going to let you know about it. I know it's not everyone everywhere. Maybe it's because of social media 24 hour news.
There’s two things I’ve always felt religion gets right (whether it’s intentional or not). Prayer and congregation.
Most humans need something to help combat stress, anxiety, depression, etc. and they also need other people.
Whether you meditate or pray to your god I think you reap the benefits - it centers you, relaxes you and takes the worries of the world off your mind. Good luck to all.
Grew up in a I wouldn't say overly religious house. Sunday school and bible school for a week in the summer. As I got older stopped going but definitely part of community especially in a small town. The thing I don't recall from back then was the anger from some religious people. As in you do or don't do X therefore I'm going to let you know about it. I know it's not everyone everywhere. Maybe it's because of social media 24 hour news.
I think much of that is social media and the amplification of voices. We hear more now than we used to because it's so easy to amplify voices. Both positive and negative.
Anyway, if you folks want to have a Catholic thread or MoP wants to start a church history thread, go for it. Not my bag but whatever Joe deems acceptable. His house, his rules.
Yeah, I think more threads could be a good idea. We have far fewer religious threads than we used to, but it does seem like whenever we do have them, tangential religious talks works its way in because that's the closest thread around. So, I wonder if starting new threads for new streams of topics will help keep discussion civil.
Anyway, if you folks want to have a Catholic thread or MoP wants to start a church history thread, go for it. Not my bag but whatever Joe deems acceptable. His house, his rules.
Yeah, I think more threads could be a good idea. We have far fewer religious threads than we used to, but it does seem like whenever we do have them, tangential religious talks works its way in because that's the closest thread around. So, I wonder if starting new threads for new streams of topics will help keep discussion civil.
Yeah I’m not sure, I often stayed clear of those. I remember Cross Eyed (sp? Steelers fan who was in seminary) used to post a lot. Didn’t know him well but he seemed mercurial & a tad unstable. Seemed like the further he went in his education the more cynical he got.
We used to have some very articulate FBGs with really fine tuned debating skills. At one time we would see high quality philosophical discussions.
Been a minute, eh?
I did engage in some apologetics in the FFA circa 2016-17. Wish I could remember who it was with…. sharp guy who left long ago. I don’t have much appetite for sparring these days. Go over to Reddit if that’s your idea of fun.
But I do enjoy sharing my experiences and hearing others tell their story.
There’s two things I’ve always felt religion gets right (whether it’s intentional or not). Prayer and congregation.
Most humans need something to help combat stress, anxiety, depression, etc. and they also need other people.
Whether you meditate or pray to your god I think you reap the benefits - it centers you, relaxes you and takes the worries of the world off your mind. Good luck to all.
Grew up in a I wouldn't say overly religious house. Sunday school and bible school for a week in the summer. As I got older stopped going but definitely part of community especially in a small town. The thing I don't recall from back then was the anger from some religious people. As in you do or don't do X therefore I'm going to let you know about it. I know it's not everyone everywhere. Maybe it's because of social media 24 hour news.
Sometimes, it's the specific congregation or area of the country. Mr R grew up Methodist, and thought of them as the cool people. His church was totally mellow. Finding out that they aren't even vaguely close to that elsewhere came as a shock.
Sorry if this thread caused any hiccups. I usually refrain from taking about anything in my personal life. But the past year has brought a lot of change. I was lucky enough to retire early and my wife and I relocated from MA to Florida so we could keep a better eye on her mother. Kids and rest of extended family are still in MA. Luckily east coast travel is fairly easy etc . Reconnecting to our faith has helped. Well long story short i.
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- seems like other people are better at this than me.
