satanism. Pride, egoism, body modifications, hatred. Christianity. Selflessness, joy, humility, appreciating nature as is.
which one is better?
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I wouldn’t call it “satanism,” but certain specific modifications are definitely not being content with how God made you.
You have to think about your reasons for doing it. If you’re doing it because you don’t like the way you are, I think even you would agree that that’s not great (body positivity). I think it’s ok to get tattoos and stuff, as long as you’re honoring him with them. God cares more about your attitude towards him than your actions. And there’s no prohibition of it in the New Testament.
Also, Syl and I are pretty much on the opposite ends of the spectrum for Christians (Eastern Orthodox for them vs Southern Baptist for me), so we have quite different views on certain things. The major difference is they’re much closer to Catholicism (with saints and sacraments and all that), while we are Protestant and post-Reformation.
I guess I worded it wrong, getting body modifications doesnt mean you are satanist, but it definitely isnt Christian like ALTHOUGH some denomination of Christians do get a small tattoo on their hand when they become clergy(i think) as it has some symbolism. Though, generally speaking, you will almost always see satanists with some sort of body modification.
1 Corinthians 6:19-20 “Do you not know that your bodies are temples of the Holy Spirit, who is in you, whom you have received from God? You are not your own; 20 you were bought at a price. Therefore honor God with your bodies.”
some denomination of Christians do get a small tattoo on their hand when they become clergy
Yes, Coptic (although they’re not all completely Christian).
Also, that 1 Corinthians passage may apply here, but in the context I think it was speaking more specifically towards sexual sins.
It does not really matter what it was speaking more about, your body is a temple for the Holy Spirit, it should speak for all sins.
shouldn't your actions towards others and your kindness, empathy, etc. be more important than your actual beliefs/feelings toward God? If someone is a Hindu who is the kindest person in the world, is generous, etc., don't you think they have more right to be in Heaven (or whatever you believe) than a supposedly "Christian" person who did evil during their life. I would think that, in reality, they are worshipping the same positive values, qualities, characteristics, and goals, and thus, the same God in reality. What you call your god shouldn't matter as much (because languages and cultures are different) as just being a good person.
Yea kind actions should, just because you do one thing good doesnt mean you you can do another thing bad. Said Hindu might be doing things better than said Christian, but is the Hindu Christian? No, so he won’t go to heaven, neither will said Christian go to heaven if he did terrible things. Also please capitalize God next time.
No, literally every major religion is mutually exclusive. Just as one example, Surah 4:157-158 in the Quran says that Jesus was not crucified, while obviously Christianity disagrees. Was Jesus God? Christianity says yes, but Orthodox Judaism says no. Are the Vedas authoritative religious texts that we should all follow? Many Hindus would say yes, but Buddhism began in large part as a rejection of the Vedas. The list of mutually exclusive religious truth claims goes on and on. If God exists, by definition he has revealed himself through one religion, not all of them.
Additionally, you can’t get to heaven by being a good person. Any “god” would have to be perfect, or they wouldn’t be a god. And you can’t work hard enough to get to heaven because it’s not possible to become perfect. You must be perfect to be in heaven. This is why Jesus had to come to pay for our sin himself, because we couldn't do it on our own. It’s literally impossible. The prophet Isaiah makes it crystal clear: we are unclean and our righteous works are like filthy rags (literally translated, it means a menstrual rag) to God (Isaiah 64:6). As does Paul in his letter to the Romans, “All have turned aside…no one does good, not even one” (Romans 3:12).
(Also, this is why other religions than Christianity are false. They all say you have to work for your salvation. In reality, if salvation means you are spending eternity with a perfect God (which by definition cannot tolerate imperfection), then you either have to become perfect, or that god is not perfect. The first is impossible, the second means that’s not a god, and therefore a false religion. There’s a lot of other reasons which I can explain, but that’s just one.)
I disagree with Syl a little bit here. Orthodox Christians tend to, I would say, overemphasize the works that you have to do and the rites and rituals that you have to follow. In reality, Jesus has done all the work and all you have to do is trust him. Christians do act in love and kindness and do “good deeds”, but not to earn salvation. We do it because we love God for saving us and want to do what he says (which is to love people).
not all christians/jews/muslims agree with that interpretation
maybe they don’t agree, but it’s true
i’ll send you a short excerpt from a religious scholar’s sermon later, but your church's interpretation of the bible doesn't make it "truth". other people have read and understood the same passages to mean different things.
I’m not saying my interpretation. It is an objective fact that all major religions are mutually exclusive. I can go through each one individually if you’d like. It is also an objective fact that all religions other than Christianity require you to work for your salvation. Again, I can go through each one individually.
You may be talking about another point I made but those two are true, objectively. Which interpretation of the Bible am I making that you are asking about?
we dont really overemphasize, we just do it traditionally, our church was quite literally founded by Jesus.
I would disagree with your premise. “Doing it traditionally” isn’t always good, especially not when it doesn’t line up with Scripture. Tradition is not as important as truth. Nowhere in the Bible does it say to have a bishop, priests, and especially not saints.
You guys do have some good practices though, like monasticism. My church focuses on that a lot, like we have a youth retreat I’m going to this month in which you spend multiple hours alone reading the Word.
All in all you still believe Jesus died for our sins and believing in Him is the only way to be saved, which is the main point. Everything else is not very important compared to that.