forum Ask the Christians
Started by @Althalosian-is-the-father book
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@StarryWolfy flash_onCrazy Procrastinator

Eucharist = communion

That! Yes, communion has happened at every church I've been to… Mennonite, Pentacostal, Lutheran, (I think even Evangelical is one my family has gone to)
The one really Iconic communion thing I remember is when they did washing of feet as part of communion, (that was in a Mennonite church back when I was ten)

@ElderGod-Icefire

Question about the homosexuality thing: Why do Christians condemn the Entire LGBTQ community, when the only part of it that is frowned upon in the bible is gay sex? Not gay love, just sex?? So why do most Christian people not like trans or other LGBTQ folk?

@StarryWolfy flash_onCrazy Procrastinator

I'd like to touch on the whole homosexuality thing from a few days back. Not religious, so this is mainly based on what I've heard about history as a whole.

In my opinion S & G most likely does refer to r**e rather than the 'sins' of being gay. Seeing as the bible goes way back, it was likely that angels (as most other things with any power back then) were viewed as male (thanks to ancient misogyny). The passage itself probably did have nothing to do with homosexuality originally, but the series of men translating the book probably made it so because r^^e wasn't exactly frowned upon way back then and men viewed themselves as superior to women (usually in the way that women were weak-minded and should bend to their will).

Just wanna bring something up here on the sexist part of earth's history.
If you look back in Genesis, (not sure where) back to where Adam and Eve are cast out of the garden, part of what god proclaims there is something along the lines of "Man will always be stronger than women" and stuff like that,
Basically what I'm trying to point out is that the inherent sexism in our culture dates back to the beginning.
I would bring up the scripture to back me up, but my device isn't the greatest for looking stuff up…

@ElderGod-Icefire

I'd like to touch on the whole homosexuality thing from a few days back. Not religious, so this is mainly based on what I've heard about history as a whole.

In my opinion S & G most likely does refer to r**e rather than the 'sins' of being gay. Seeing as the bible goes way back, it was likely that angels (as most other things with any power back then) were viewed as male (thanks to ancient misogyny). The passage itself probably did have nothing to do with homosexuality originally, but the series of men translating the book probably made it so because r^^e wasn't exactly frowned upon way back then and men viewed themselves as superior to women (usually in the way that women were weak-minded and should bend to their will).

Just wanna bring something up here on the sexist part of earth's history.
If you look back in Genesis, (not sure where) back to where Adam and Eve are cast out of the garden, part of what god proclaims there is something along the lines of "Man will always be stronger than women" and stuff like that,
Basically what I'm trying to point out is that the inherent sexism in our culture dates back to the beginning.
I would bring up the scripture to back me up, but my device isn't the greatest for looking stuff up…

DUDE the whole bible is so fricking sexist. So much of it is like "????????" like it basically says that women aren't allowed to be church leaders and stuff. So stupid

@StarryWolfy flash_onCrazy Procrastinator

I'm not sure how to counter that, but I will point out that not all of the Bible is sexist.
For starters I recommend looking up the Story of Esther, (there's a book of the Bible on her I think)
And then Ruth, (another book of the Bible.)
Then try the story of Hannah, (somewhere in first or second Kings)
And while you're at it look at Deborah, (somewhere in Judges)
Then try the story of Sarai and Abram, (later known as Sarah and Abraham, ) on one of their journeys to Egypt. (Not sure where it is, but someone else may be able to tell you)
And I forget what her name is but it's somewhere in exodus when the Israelites are taking down Ninevah, there's a lady that helps the Israelite spies.
And also take a look at Moses' mother.
And Issac's wife. (Story of Abraham)
This list of stories is just a piece of some of the most powerful stories in the Bible, and they star women,
Culture may be sexist, but the Bible isn't. There are probably a few other stories I missed, but those are some key ones, and they all teach huge lessons about faith and patience.

@StarryWolfy flash_onCrazy Procrastinator

I also can't think of any part of the Bible that said a woman couldn't be a priest. (I may be wrong though).
And if that is true, then at the very least I can tell you that there were important women in the Bible, they may not have gotten the respect they deserve, but they're there just as much as the men.
Some key facts you may wanna know,
Two of Jesus very close none disciple friends were women.
It was (I believe) one of those same girls that discovered the empty tomb when Jesus was ressurected.
If it weren't for the courage of a woman, Moses never would've lived, and Israel would've been enslaved in Egypt longer than they had been.
A woman was a major factor in the quarrell between Jacob and Esau, (their own mother, and parents playing favourites)
A woman made the hard choice of giving up the child she prayed for to the lords wishes, (said kid is one of the most well known prophets, (Samuel))

@Pickles group

^^ if I remember correctly from what my pastor mentioned briefly (oof, but it's not commonly discussed why they're there, at least as far as I know), most of the women's stories serve to say, "look, the women in Jesus's ancestry are important too."

@StarryWolfy flash_onCrazy Procrastinator

^^ if I remember correctly from what my pastor mentioned briefly (oof, but it's not commonly discussed why they're there, at least as far as I know), most of the women's stories serve to say, "look, the women in Jesus's ancestry are important too."

They also tell stories of faith, perseverance, trust, and hope.
And a good portion of the stories I mentioned, those ladies aren't even related to the messiah.

@Pickles group

Also, the first people to see Jesus back from the dead were women. Which also serves as more evidence that the disciples weren't lying, as a woman, or several women's, testimony wasn't worth jack, especially against a man's. So why wouldn't they choose to fabricate their story in a way that would make them more reliable (by having MEN see him and tell everyone)?

@Pickles group

^^ if I remember correctly from what my pastor mentioned briefly (oof, but it's not commonly discussed why they're there, at least as far as I know), most of the women's stories serve to say, "look, the women in Jesus's ancestry are important too."

They also tell stories of faith, perseverance, trust, and hope.
And a good portion of the stories I mentioned, those ladies aren't even related to the messiah.

Yes!!

@Pickles group

Just wanna bring something up here on the sexist part of earth's history.
If you look back in Genesis, (not sure where) back to where Adam and Eve are cast out of the garden, part of what god proclaims there is something along the lines of "Man will always be stronger than women" and stuff like that,
Basically what I'm trying to point out is that the inherent sexism in our culture dates back to the beginning.
I would bring up the scripture to back me up, but my device isn't the greatest for looking stuff up…

I think the verse you're referring to is Genesis 3:16. It's where God is punishing Eve. Pain in childbirth (not the part in question. We all know what that means), and this is the part where it gets tricky. I'm just gonna plop some translations of that part here.
NIV: "Your desire will be for your husband, and he will rule over you."
New Living Translation: "And you will desire to control your husband, but he will rule over you.”
English Standard Version: "Your desire shall be contrary to your husband, but he shall rule over you.”
Contemporary English Version: "But you will still desire your husband, and he will rule over you."

So they're all worded a little differently that makes it unclear to me whether it means "You'll want his kids but if he says no, deal" or something more like "he wants what's best for you, so listen to him."
It's not saying that men are always stronger than women at all. If anything, we are simply different kinds of strong. Scientifically, men are built with more muscle, but we deal with childbirth (ouch), and typically have more mental stress from families.

@StarryWolfy flash_onCrazy Procrastinator

Just gonna steal from my mom here on the reasoning…
The way the verse and it's meaning were explained to me, is that it basically means, the the woman will desire to care and nurture her husband, but the man in the relationship will go for power and control in the relationship.
That in and of itself results in an unbalanced relationship, and can turn abusive, disrespectful, and it's where objectification comes from too…
.
.
Now I could very well be wrong, or at least way off.. But that's what I was taught, and I'm willing to listen to other opinions.

@Pickles group

I haven't really been taught anything about it, but yes, it seems pretty obvious that it can turn into abuse and objectification, and is paraphrased in such a way as to justify it or explain why the Bible condones abuse and sexism. However, I don't think "going for power and control" has exactly the right connotation. I think it's more like, "He married you so he should want what's best for you, which means you should listen to him, because he asks me about decisions."
Sexism is often interpreted as "We don't have exactly the same role, therefore we are not equal", rather than "I'm not being treated with the respect I deserve as a human being" or "these gender roles in particular are very harmful and wrong" (please note that I am not trying to say that women and men are treated equally in many cases, because they absolutely are).

Then again, I'm not very educated on this and it's very late so I might just be spouting bull.

@Pickles group

Also I should say more plainly, having different roles does not necessarily mean inequality, but it's often used by men to justify themselves in not respecting women

@Fraust

I'm late as fuck but I just wanted to put in that my church teaches that premarital sex = bad, but sex is a good thing. It was given to us as a gift from God, after all. Sex does not inherently have to be for procreation. It's definitely acceptable just for pleasure, but only within the confines of marriage.

Also on the "Bible is sexist" thing, I wouldn't say it is. The culture of that time was sexist, yes, and the Bible is simply relaying to us what it was like in those times. Jesus himself is always kind and respectful to women regardless of class, sins, whatever, and treats them as equals as opposed to a lesser person as most men of that time would. That was one of the 'socially weird' things he did that set him apart from other people.

@Becfromthedead group

Oh yeah, I finally remembered a good example of something in the New Testament that’s something most Christians don’t follow.
1 Corinthians 11 talks about head coverings for women (during prayer at least) and also talks about how it is a disgrace for women to have short hair and for men to have long hair (because hair covering for me is shameful). Those of you who are Christian, do you follow the teachings of that particular verse? Probably not, but you do follow others that you believe make “more sense.” This is what I meant a while back when I talked about cherry-picking. I wasn’t only talking about Jewish ceremonial law. There’s New Testament examples too.
(Sorry to bring something up from pages ago, but I just remembered this.)

@Pickles group

So I looked it up, and that verse is saying that if a woman doesn't cover her head, it's like she has her hair cut off, and if it's "shameful" to cut her hair off, she should cover her head (and I'm guessing back then it was). I didn't see anything about men not having long hair. Plus Sampson had long hair and was specifically told not to cut it

@Fraust

I think for the most part, we don't practice old testament laws anymore unless they are restated in the new testament. Like certain things were sinful because of the culture back then. God's not gonna strike you down for getting a tattoo or wearing clothes made with two different fabrics

@Becfromthedead group

Oof, I looked at another translation. The wording in the first one was bad and made it sound like that. My b. However, point still stands. I am sure there are New Testament things that aren’t followed. People of all religions cherry pick some. There’s no changing my mind on that one.

@Kie group

Oof, I looked at another translation. The wording in the first one was bad and made it sound like that. My b. However, point still stands. I am sure there are New Testament things that aren’t followed. People of all religions cherry pick some. There’s no changing my mind on that one.

People definitely do cherry-pick when it comes to what they want to follow. Doesn't even have to be religion-people will follow whatever rules they feel obligated to follow no matter what it pertains to.

@Fraust

bruh the bible was on some double-standard crap sometimes is what I'm gathering from reading all this tbh

Again, the culture was different back then. Women basically weren't shit until the 1900's. That's kind of just how it is?? There were also a lot of weird laws that were important to the culture back then, but aren't now. Certain things (like the tattoo thing) had connections to demonic things or specific cults, which was why they weren't allowed (to avoid being associated with bad vibes ig).

@Becfromthedead group

I know, but I think Dom was arguing against my cherry picking argument. And brought up Old Testament Jewish law which is not what I was referring to. So that’s why I bring it back up.

@StarryWolfy flash_onCrazy Procrastinator

bruh the bible was on some double-standard crap sometimes is what I'm gathering from reading all this tbh

I think a lot of the double standardness is because we mix up the old testament law and the new testament.
When Jesus created the new covenant, he basically said that the old testament laws we're no longer the standard of living.
One good example of this is when one of Jesus disciples, (after Jesus left…) Was approached with creatures that we're considered unfit for consumption, and was told to eat his fill.
(Not sure which disciple, or where, but its new testament for sure)
.
Now, I'm NOT saying that the old testament laws are good rules to follow, (ten commandments for example)
But at the same time I have to point out something else. If you look through (it's in either Expdus, Leviticus, Duteronmy, Or Numbers) but there were a whole bunch of sacrifices you had to make any time to broke the commandments, or violated other restrictions.
(Again back to my mom's teachings)
I was taught that this bartering of sacrifices, it was kinda impossible to live up to… And it is even more so today.
.
Other thing I wanna point out, when Jesus died on the cross, one of the really key things that happened was that the veil in the temple, the one the concealed gods glory from the people? It ripped in two when Jesus died.
Jesus death and the good news is supposed to be about not having to live up to impossible standards, it's about bridging the divide between humanity and it's creator…
At least… That's what I was raised to believe.