Reflections from the community: 

Former award-winning Chicago Tribune investigative journalist Lee Strobel shifted from staunch atheism to Christianity in 1981 after a two-year historical and scientific investigation. His wife's conversion prompted him to disprove the religion, but the overwhelming historical evidence for the resurrection ultimately led him to surrender his life to Christ.

Strobel's journey began when he was a self-described skeptic living a self-destructive lifestyle. When his wife, Leslie, embraced Christianity, he found the transformation in her character so profound that he set out to dismantle the historical validity of Jesus Christ to bring her back to secularism. Using his legal and journalistic skills, he examined medical journals, the reliability of New Testament documents, and first-century historical texts.

And we are still debating if Jesus existed?

Matthew 7:7-8
7 “Ask and it will be given to you; seek and you will find; knock and the door will be opened to you. 8 For everyone who asks receives; the one who seeks finds; and to the one who knocks, the door will be opened.

My husband and I sponsored a child back in the winter, and after a month or two, the child moved away. We were notified about this via letter, which stated that the payments would stop and that we were welcome to sponsor another child if we would like.

Fast forward two months: when we were canceling our credit card, we noticed we were still being billed by Compassion International even though we weren’t actively sponsoring a child. We brushed it under the rug, thinking it was just a technical error on their part and they could use the money.

I just got a letter today from a different child we were supposedly sponsoring. I never signed up to sponsor a different child. When I went on my account, it claimed that I had an overdue balance since the original credit card that we had canceled was no longer going through.

When I called them, the lady informed me that this was a different sponsored child that had been added to my account. I proceeded to say that I never signed up to sponsor another child. She said this child was automatically added a few months after the other one left.

I then asked the lady, “So you’re telling me this child was automatically added to my account and I wasn’t notified. So I was being charged without my knowledge,” and the lady proceeded to simply say “Yep”.

All I have to say is use a different company or beware when you use them.

Just a reminder that Jesus is God, and we are saved. Thank You, our Lord. Amen.

At 12 years old, Jesus sat among the teachers in His Father’s house, listening, asking, and answering.
His words left them stunned.

They had spent their lives studying the written Word.
Then the living Word sat before them.

And the Word became flesh and dwelt among us. (John 1:14)

I drew an earlier version of this piece some time ago, but it always felt unfinished. The new anime trailer brought me back to the idea, so I decided to redraw it properly.

Every textual element in the piece comes from Scripture. Behind Him, I placed Psalm 119, the longest hymn to God’s Word, using the Hebrew text of the Masoretic tradition (I should have used a version without niqqud for historical accuracy, but it was too difficult to revise). For the scroll across His lap, I used Leviticus 4–5. Along the left side, I added the Latin Vulgate phrase Verbum caro factum est, meaning “the Word was made flesh.”

The asymmetrical eyes and cruciform halo were inspired by the Christ Pantocrator of Sinai. Within His glowing unearthly right eye, I placed the blood-red דבר (dabar), meaning “Word,” to represent His divinity. His left eye has a softer and more boyish quality that reflects His humanity. Together, the two eyes show Christ as both fully divine and fully human.

For the title at the bottom, I chose お父さんの家, “Dad’s house,” rather than a more formal expression. The childlike お父さん emphasizes that He is still only twelve years old. I also used the katakana イェシュア(Yeshua) instead of the conventional Japanese イエス(Iesu) to retain more of the Hebrew pronunciation of His name.

The mole beneath His earthly left eye matches the one in an older drawing I made of the Virgin Mary. It is a quiet reference to their human bond as mother and son. I also made their eyes intentionally similar.

This piece is made in CSP. I used the Gpen at size 7–9 with strong anti-aliasing and soft airbrush. I rasterized the background text, warped the scroll text with mesh transform, and shaded the piece with screentone layer and duplicated coloring layers set to Multiply then clipped everything on top since I hadn't started from a grey base (rookie mistake).

I listened to Stand For You while revising this piece, and it suited the mood surprisingly well. I had it blasting at full volume, highly recommend it!

I hear summer break has started in the US! I hope everyone is enjoying some quality time with family. As for me, I’ll continue making my way to the office at my firm...

♥️

This isn't a place to speak negatively about Christians and have a powwow about it. The r/atheism sub is right there and they do that all day every day. That is your space.

I've got like ten comments I do not intend to respond to, from several atheists responding antagonistically to a very simple assertion that you can't really reduce any further without violating the truth of the principle. And when it is expounded upon, they still deliberately misconstrue what one is saying instead of actually digesting and accepting the principle. We need a place where substantive rather than performative discussions can thrive, per 2.1 below. As it is now, the atheists who post here en masse clearly follow and value the performative aspects of a discussion rather than the substantive, the shadow at the expense of substance, the flesh at the expense of the Spirit. This principle and a great many other principles cannot be properly understood without observing and considering them through the lens of a Christian. Which is another very simple principle they cannot collectively accept, but instead respond with more antagonistic claptrap.

If you don't want the actual answers from the source (Christians) why post on here at all? Just so y'all can go around in a circle stroking and reaffirming your backwards hearts?

2.1 "This subreddit is primarily, but not exclusively, a place for Christians to come and discuss different aspects of our theology. Please have a purpose higher than coming here to mock, insult, or deride aspects of Christianity or Christianity itself. "

Christian mods, show some backbone and cut out the blasphemous herd. We don't tolerate open blasphemy from the inquiring at a Church. We shouldn't here.

Manual drawing ink on paper A5

Trump's Christian support is driving half of Gen Zers away from church: study

I don’t wanna be that guy, but imma be that guy.
I’m mixed raced. Native American, black, Spanish.
I’m having a hard time with Christianity right now, Especially evangelical Christianity.
I know the history of my people in all sides. I know that I wouldn’t be a Christian today if it wasn’t for slavery, residential schools, etc.

I’ve began speaking up about the recent history of the church, as 250 years isn’t that long ago, and even things as early as 30-40 years ago with the last residential school closing in 1998. I’ve spoken of how it’s effected so many peoples views on Jesus and such and how so many people are still actively hurt my church people.

But I’ve been met with so many Christian’s who say “that’s not my problem, I didn’t own any slaves”, “That’s not my problem, I never shot a native”.
It’s made my lose considerable faith in the church. Almost resentment. Because I’ve been met with modern racism, being called savage and such. I had someone tell me “I don’t believe in generational guilt, I have no obligation to reconcile any person of color for something I never did”. And it broke my heart. I no longer consider this person a friend of mine.

If you have a Bible verse that you think is not discussed or appreciated as much as it should be, please feel free to share it or elaborate on why you like it! Thank you very much in advance! I'm sure the responses will be very interesting to read

Anyone like my drawings?
If you can, rate them, and PLEAAASE be brutally honest

Hi all, hope you are doing well? I just want to know if the following is a sin

So my wife has a very low libido (we are intimate about once a month). I on the other hand have a very high libido. My wife dis send erotic photos of herself to me a few years back. My question: Is it a sin if I masturbate to these images and my wife knows I do it? Or is it a grey area since I do look lustfully and a woman, but that woman is my wife

Has anyone read a Cultural Backgrounds Study Bible? Is it a good SB?

What questions or topics does it discuss? How does it compare to other SBs?

Is it a well-respected SB across Christian Churches, or does it have a tendency to be favored by specific Churches?

Would the activity of a righteous and loving God include creating someone evil?

Deuteronomy 32:3-5 assures us: "Perfect is his activity... Righteous and upright is he." Clearly, Jehovah's activity consistently reflects justice, goodness, and love—not evil.

Then consider this:

If God's activity is perfect, where did evil come from?

John 8:44 says of the Devil that "he did not stand fast in the truth." Those words imply that he once stood in the truth but chose not to remain there. He became a liar and a murderer—not by design, but by choice.

The same principle can be seen in Eden.

The Bible says that Eve was deceived. (1 Timothy 2:14) But it also says Adam was not deceived. Knowing God's command and its consequences, he deliberately chose disobedience. Like the angel who became Satan, Adam knowingly misused the gift of free will.

Rather than placing blame on God, these scriptures direct our attention to the real issue—not how God created his intelligent creatures, but how they chose to use the freedom he gave them.

That brings us to ourselves. Unlike Satan or Adam, we are imperfect. We don't always appreciate the purpose for which God has given us his gifts, and we can easily misuse them.

A Yoruba proverb expresses that thought well:.:

"Tí ènìyàn kò bá mọ ohun tí a dá ohun kan fún, ó lè máa lò ó ní ọ̀nà tí kò tọ́."

If a person does not know what something was designed for, they may use it in the wrong way.

Our freewill is one of God's greatest gifts. When we understand the purpose for which he gave it—to love him and willingly choose what is right—it becomes a blessing. The Bible account reminds us that the problem was never God's perfect activity. The problem has always been how intelligent creatures choose to use the freedom he lovingly gave them.

For context, I am a young French man who grew up as a staunch atheist, often actively challenging religion. I used to view religious people as individuals who had simply invented imaginary friends for themselves (please God, forgive me).

However, for the past year or year and a half, I have been drawing closer and closer to Christ.

The problem lies with my family: they are fiercely anti-clerical and atheist, rejecting all religions which they dismiss as nothing more than "sects that succeeded and are legal."

I share a very strong bond with my family, especially with my older brother, given the hardships we have faced together, and I am genuinely afraid of severing that connection if I tell them about my journey toward God.

I am well aware that Christ tells us not to hide our faith (as in Luke 9:26 "Whoever is ashamed of me and my words, the Son of Man will be ashamed of them when he comes in his glory and in the glory of the Father and of the holy angels." or Matthew 9:32-33 "Whoever acknowledges me before others, I will also acknowledge before my Father in heaven. [33] But whoever disowns me before others, I will disown before my Father in heaven.").

So, I am turning to you for advice on what I should do, because I just don't know what to do.

Thank you very much.

Exodus 19:12-13 Put limits for the people around the mountain. Tell them, ‘Be careful that you do not go near the mountain. Do not even touch the foot of it. Whoever touches the mountain must be put to death. Do not lay a hand on any of them. Kill them with stones or shoot them with arrows. Whether they are people or animals, do not let them live.’ They may go near the mountain only when the ram’s horn gives out a long blast.”

I've been reading the Bible before I go to sleep, but I just can't seem to wrap my head around why god would do this

A news conference inside the Capitol brought together leaders from the United Methodist Church, the Episcopal Diocese of Texas, the South Central Conference of the United Church of Christ, the National Council of Jewish Women and more. Texas Impact, an interfaith grassroots network, organized the event.

The religious leaders condemned the “grave moral evil” of deportations, detention centers and enforcement-related deaths involving U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement and urged ICE agents and government officials to “examine their conscience.” Those who determine that their actions are immoral should “resign and find other work,” said Jim Harrington, who works with immigrants at St. James Episcopal Church in Austin.

“Following orders is never a justification in the Christian tradition — nor in international law — to perpetuate evil,” Harrington said.

Just a quick question that kind of boggled me a bit. If God's will is the same today, tomorrow and forever. How will some of our prayers for eg "long life" "good health" etc. work?

"I think one problem is that people today equate Christian faith with believing the Bible is inerrant. This is a modern view that simply seems like 'common sense,' but it only seems that way because fundamentalist views of Christianity have convinced not only fundamentalists but most everyone else in Christianity that if the Bible has any mistakes, Christianity can't be true" - Bart Ehrman