god said that?

What tools are you talking about?

We all fall short of sin and the only tool we need is his word (the Bible) to understand how we should live according to him.

What do you consider gifts? Cause not everything that looks good or feels good here on Earth is of God. Satan grants wishes too.

i just feel that being granted this gift of life with its wide array of human experience just to forfeit to a doctrine seems not intended?

otherwise why have our own personal connection to god? our own will and ability to form our own answers, for better or worse.

why give us all this, just to be forced to follow something external to our own connection with god?

Well nobody is “forcing”.

We our granted free will to do whatever we please with our lives. Some will follow God and others won’t.

Due to this we’ve had all diffrent types of things formed in human life due “mankind”.

God has giving us a choice to follow in his word. Nothing is forced. That would be a contradiction to his word. You don’t have to follow or due anything to his particular doctrine if you don’t want. However in his Word there is consequences for not following. It’s up to you though. Your own walk through life it’s up for you to chose to decide what you put your faith into

the privatization of faith is a capitalist psyop

of course the logic of capitalism is that it eventually colonizes every part of the private sphere too, effectively meaning the total displacement of faith by things like consumer fetishism and neoliberal ethics

Imagine if somebody you loved sent you a letter and you decided to ignore that letter.

to me the love letter is this experience.

the mind and soul i’ve been granted. i dont mean to bring up atheist talking points the bible itself is external to god. those telling me its his word are external to god.

Where orthodox gang at

im going to be completely honest can you eli5 this?

privatizing religion makes it weaker (in society) and its absence is filled by other things which are not so good

One of the more familiar and recent crowning achievements of the Christian Left can be attributed to Dr. Martin Luther King Jr, the architect of the civil rights movement.

( little known fact: Dr King repeatedly and explicitly referred to the civil rights movement as the civil rights REVOLUTION. )

the civil rights revolution was based on the theory of social praxis that Jesus Christ himself delivered on top of a mountain in the company of the poor, forgotten, and downtrodden.

The message of Christ (the gospels) is EGALITARIAN and explicitly anti-hierarchical. It specifically espouses preferential treatment for the poor while condemning greed, riches, individualism, and anti-social behaviors.

Jesus continuously warns that greed and love of money will breed spiritual wickedness, especially amongst high places (those who hold positions of power are easily blinded by money)

Do not kill
Forgive offences
Do not repay evil with evil
Love your neighbor
Keep your word
Forgive debts
(basically recognizing empathy as the crucial pillar of a thriving community)

these are anti-hierarchical principles based on non-violence, democracy, and community.

The true message of Christ ( specific to the gospels, the explicit words of Jesus Christ himself )
is completely at odds with the contemporary American paradigm in all aspects (socially, politically, economically, culturally)

In America,

we repay evil with evil and
we do not forgive offences

(the death penalty. an oppressive justice system. largest prison population in the world. lengthy and abhorrent prison sentences for non-violent offenders. the school-to-prison pipeline.)

we do not love our neighbors (NIMBYISM, rising political polarization, rise in hate crimes, racist rhetoric becoming mainstream, rampant gun violence, deaths of despair, rising d*** addiction)

we do not care about the poor (only developed nation without universal healthcare for its citizens, social safety net is being deliberately sabotaged, infrastructure is crumbling, wealth inequality at an all-time high, incapable and corrupt government, out-of-touch elites)

An economy based on consumption demands a neutered American public that is constantly distracted and tired. Apathy is the political and social requirement of a capitalist society.

The modern day American Church is either politically neutral (which benefits the oppressor) or sympathetic to a newly developing right-wing Christian fascism.

( right-wing ideologies support the view that certain social orders and hierarchies are inevitable, natural, normal, or desirable.

right-wingers have traditionally erected, supported, and protected hierarchies through the use of VIOLENCE

consumerism, neoliberalism, neoconservatism and capitalism are all right-wing ideologies which will come to favor far-right tendencies when felt threatened )

Again, Christ's message is explicitly egalitarian, stressing forgiveness, community, and cooperation.

America's doctrine is explicitly ROMAN (pagan), preaching social Darwinism, survival of the fittest, individualism, instant gratification at all costs, normalization of violence in the media, increasing militarism, exploitation and marketing of the human body, xenophobia, racism, nationalism, climate destruction and pollution

It used to be common sense to assume that the overarching Christian community would speak out against atrocities, injustices, and the dangers of moral decay. (this was historically the case more often than not)
Abolitionists used the gospels to end slavery. Christian intellectuals ( Jesuit priests, Christian socialists ) were at the top of Nazi kill-lists during the holocaust.

Progressive/left Christians have historically been anything BUT apathetic to the issues of their times.

The Civil Rights Revolution and the plight of Black Americans in the Jim Crowe South absolutely enthralled the world at the time capturing support, adoration, and empathy from all four corners of the globe.

We are still too close to Martin to realize that in the future, Dr Martin Luther King Jr will undoubtedly be recognized as the greatest American of all time. Surpassing even Washington and Roosevelt.

Christ was a political dissident executed by his nation-state for preaching against the hierarchies of his time.

Sounds familiar?

The civil rights revolution was born in the Black churches of the American South with Christ's true message of egalitarianism at the forefront. Their example is as pertinent as ever.

The contemporary American Christian paradigm is untethered, purposeless, and floating in the wind. With no guardians, fascists will kidnap and appropriate Christianity for violent and xenophobic means (This is already happening)

Martin was very far from Christ but maybe reflecting on a figure like Martin can help revitalize the once noble roots of American Christianity.

MARTIN KILLED JIM CROWE WITH KINDNESS

But do not be mistaken, the neutering of progressivism (which lies at the center of Christ's message) within the American Church was a deliberate act of counter-revolution in response to the Civil Rights movement. But that's a whole different story.

John 3:30 “He must become greater; I must become less.”

Which version of the Bible is the only tool we need?

reading this list of supposed “Christians” on here like

End of Transmission

speak on it bro

The Great White Throne Judgement.

Luke 5:31-32 Jesus answered, “It is not the healthy who need a doctor, but the sick. 32 I have not come to call the righteous, but sinners, to repentance.”

“We must not mind insulting men, if by respecting them we offend God.” -- Saint John Chrysostom

you want to take over or should I. What do you think the rules should be?

I think you should because you seem more passionate about it. I think an important rule is no aesthetic posting

Aesthetic is an enemy of Christianity in my opinion

how do I become op?

The Bible isn’t just “a book” it is the living word of God and basically a guide on how to live our lives in a way that glorifies him

now wait just a minute

yeah but why do you think that