Oh man, this is so sad. Please don't watch this video and let yourself become lukewarm in your beliefs. There's no integrity here. It's all so wish washy and "whatever you feel for yourself", choose what makes you happy. This isn't right, please don't buy into it...hold fast to the confession of your faith without wavering or doubting.
Well I'm glad she didn't tell us that everyone who isn't a Christian is going to hell or that gay marriage shouldn't be legal. I hope that's not what you believe either.
And being a Christian you can't pick or choose what you want to believe in just because it's less confusing that way... Heaven is real and every Christian will say that. Id have to say you're not a Christian. You'd have no doubt about all of this.. You are just clinging on to an idea to make yourself feel better. You have a long journey to go.
I didn't say I don't believe in heaven and hell... I said that I choose not to think about it. I choose to focus on loving people. Because even the most studious theologians will debate Arminianism and Calvinism (the debate as to whether God chooses you or you choose God)... Because of that I have personally chosen to focus on what Jesus told the Pharisees is the MOST important commandment... To love my God with all my heart, all my soul and all my mind and to love my neighbor as myself and then to point to Jesus. I don't decide whether someone goes to heaven or hell so I don't focus on it that much. I don't know if that clarified anything and if you still don't think I'm not a Christian that's ok. Lol I just wanted to clarify:)
NikkiPhillippi I really follow you on this Nikki! This is something that should never effect our day to day lives and how we treat people. I think it just threw some people off how you weren't too intellectual the whole video and they brushed on these rather heavy topics in a really quick, profound way that it got mixed up with the rest of your simple-ish video. IDK if that makes sense. Again thank you for this video and creating platform for this conversation.
Religion is a personal thing. You cannot tell a person what they are or are not. Faith is personal. Belief is personal. How would we ever learn or develop if everyone followed monotonous guidelines and never questioned? I highly doubt you follow EVERY part of the bible. All major churches have picked and chosen bits and pieces that suited them. Very few religions are pure and consistent with the way they begun. We are human. Things get distorted along the way. Sometimes for the better, sometimes not.
The proof is that there are hundreds of prophecies in the Bible and so far they have all been fulfilled. The Old Testament was written roughly 400 years before Jesus was born & the messiah was talked about in the Old Testament. that is the proof. A good way to look at it is like comparing God to an artist. Do you believe in Picasso? How could you if you have never seen him, or spoken to him or touched him? We believe that he is real and we know he exists because we have seen his art. Look around you, the art and creations of God are all around us!
Samantha Page I was going to say the same thing! I feel like the attitude of just picking a couple of things you agree with is so wrong. Jesus never said "Hey it's fine to just listen to me on a couple of things, everything else never mind"
I love you Nikki, but after hearing you saying there's no proof that God is real yet you have a relationship with God, those 2 things contradict each other. If u had a true relationship with God like u say you'd experience him and wouldn't say those things. I feel like u just agree with Christian values but don't actually experience or believe in it. This isn't hate. I hope u experience God one day and get clarity :)
No.. they actually don't. She is referring to other people that have other faiths than her. She is saying that no one has actual concrete evidence that there is a God (and having faith is not evidence) and she is not going to try and dissuade other's beliefs, which is a respectful thing to do. There is no actual proof to prove that God is real, there just isn't. You cannot prove that any faith is real, that's why it's called *faith*. Just because she isn't a Christian in how you practice does not make her relationship with God invalid.
Exactly i don't like all what she says and its not a truth answer about her questions! By the all the questions that you want to know the true answer is here in this link! Just click it and start chat then select your name and age and religion "if you want" then there is some one will chat with you about that religion questions ! www.edialogue.org/index/en Thank you so much guys❤️❤️❤️❤️❤️
I agree 100% I love her and her videos but when she said that its like, if you say there's no proof you most likely haven't felt God the way maybe other people have. I know I have felt him so strong! I'm actually going on a youth trip today! I went there last year and the power of God is real in that place!
I agree with EVERYTHING you had to say. My mom is Gay I am Christian and I believe I was made to love, be love and show love. I believe God created different religions because he needed to reach everyone in the way that spoke to them. He is ONE God with many messengers of his love.
I don't like to say I'm religious, i just like to say I follow Jesus! I think religion "says do but Jesus says done" its not about works or how good you are its about aligning your life to Gods. I believe there is only one God and its Jesus Christ, and he's the only way to eternal life. He is the only way to happiness on this earth! He died on the cross for me and loves me, so why wouldn't i want to spend every day living for him?!? He created all of us and loves us all. Its a fight each day to put aside our own personal grief and struggles and choose to love and follow him but its so worth it. Jesus + Nothing = Everything
A UA-camr not ashamed of the Gospel?? Making regular videos and open enough to share her faith? I don't need to even see the other videos to know I'd love them and want to stick around, I subscribed!
Nikki, I was wondering if you have accepted Christ as your personal Savior? If so, you can be assured that you are indeed, going to Heaven. There is no need to worry about talking about Heaven--it does exist. John 3:16-17 says, "For God so loved the world that He gave His one and only Son, that whoever believes in Him shall not perish but have eternal life. For God did not send his Son into the world to condemn the world, but to save the world through him."
Not necessarily--When you accept Jesus, you have the assurance that you are going to Heaven and therefore, believe in Heaven and Hell. This is in no way meant to be judgmental.
I was wondering the same. She talks about being a Christian, but I pray she truly understands what a Christian is, and that is a follower of Christ. As a born again Christian, I know without a doubt, how dooming hell is and am so thankful i know 100% I will spend eternity with my Lord in heaven!
If we go to heaven for accepting Christ as our savior then who are the meek ones that will reside on earth forever in peace? God is a God of love and would never want to see us suffer in something called Hell.... The earth in the beginning was suppose to be a place of peace a paradise... And his promise is to bring that back... Psalms 37:10,11 and verse 29 says "Just a little while longer, and the wicked will be no more; You will look at where they were, And they will not be there. But the meek will possess the earth, And they will find exquisite delight in the abundance of peace. The righteous will possess the earth, And they will live forever on it."
It's really hard for me to hear you say you have this strong faith and belief in Jesus and the bible, but then go ahead and say there is no proof that what you believe is the truth. It's scary how Christianity has changed and how people modify the bible to fit their own beliefs. Nikki I know that God loves you and he wants you to see the proof in your every day life. Nature is proof, miracles are proof, prayers are proof, the Holy spirt is proof, the fact that many people give their lives to Jesus everyday is proof. God loves every single one of us. Gay, straight, black, white, hurt, happy, falling apart. He accepts us as his own children. It pains him to see his people sining, and being just lukewarm In their faith. Like the saying Love the person hate the sin. Society today is filled with sinful people that haven't experienced Christ.We as Christians have a duty to spread out faith and help people in need. I believe that love is very very important, and that Jesus dying and taking all our sins upon himself is proof of that. But God is also a very scary God. He hates sin so much that he is willing to do anything to drive the devil away, but you need to take that first step and WANT to accept Christ. We shouldn't be afraid of God like he's going to punish us if we sin, we should be afraid of disappointing Him through our sins. We should want to do good, and let people know that Christ is out savior. I want to pray for this world, and everyone that's unsaved, or for those that are having a hard time believing in such an omnipresent, powerful God, or for someone that's just going through a hard time.
In regard to the first sentence, I think she meant that she believes and KNOWS God is real because of how He has shown presence in her life and the lives of those around her, but it is nearly impossible to explain/show that to someone who does not believe in God...if that makes sense
I truly think she meant physical, tangible proof that a God exists. That's why Faith is so important to her. In her heart, how she feels, is her personal proof.. but it's hard to explain things... with any subject.. without physical, tangible proof.
You say God loves gay people yet you're troubled by how Christianity has adapted or people change their intrptetTions? Untill the last few decades and still in some churches christiNity had shunned gay people. Ow do you explain discrepancies between sects or churches? I wonder if you beliefs are troubling to certain other Christians.
HowdyAshley moshayy6 I understand what you guys are saying and all, but nature is physical, and tangible proof. How can you look at the beautiful mountains and the stunning sunset/sunrise and not see Gods artistic creations. All the colors, shapes, and textures in nature are so precise and perfectly made that it could have only been the creation of our wonderful, all powerful God.
Part of believing in Jesus is believing that the Bible is in fact a FACT and a message of God's own living words to man. Corinthians explains that there are four things that ruin a man and one of those is man's philosophy. Do not let a preacher or priest or any man tell you what it is right to believe; that is what causes confusion. The "word of faith" movement (those like Joel Olsteen) is very deceptive and does not teach people anything but to be lukewarm. God's truth is love. It is our mission in this life to find that truth.
***** I'm not going to say he isn't a Christian. But he is a prosperity and positive thinker pastor. I personally believe that we need to follow no man, only the Word of God. Testing what man says against the Bible always!
luxconcept I think you missed the point in what Joel and his wife meant. People go to church to worship because it makes them feel closer to god, obedient, happy, etc. That's what she most likely meant. So in a roundabout way, people go to church for themselves. And what is wrong with saying that god will make you successful? I've heard WAY worse things come out of christian mouths. I personally like Joel's message because he doesn't come off preachy or over the top, it's all about positivity and love from what I've heard him say.
So true. Very well put. My suggestion to anyone wanting to know more or seek after the Truth. Get plugged into a Bible teaching church. Start reading the Bible on your own and ask the Lord to reveal Himself to you. I would suggest reading the book of John. God bless you all!
I think its really cool that you have the guts to voice your religious preferences. So many people hate discussing this topic just because the worry about the haters they may receive. Much Love!
As a Catholic I definitely disagree with a lot of things in this video. I think some of your beliefs and opinions contradict each other. But I really do admire your passion for your faith and I have learned a lot from you so thank you Nikki!
Hey as a non-denominational Christian who is frequently studies Catholicism (school) I know where you think you are coming from. But in reality we believe Jesus loves everyone as a core so she really is not contradicting her beliefs. I hope that makes sense. I'm just trying to make it clear for you and everyone else Catholicism and Christianity are actually very different in the outer beliefs and of course everyone is entitled to their own opinions beyond that.
Nikki, I respect your beliefs and I'm not trying to be rude, but you contradict yourself a lot in this video. To have Faith in God means to 100% believe that he's real. Saying "He may or may not exist" isn't the same thing. Thats not faith, that's guessing and hoping you're right. God says not to lean on your own understanding because that will lead you astray. You seem to share some of the same values of a Christian, but don't have the mindset of a true believer. You have to be for it completely or not at all. You can't only focus on the good parts and ignore all the parts that scare you or make you really think hard, like about heaven and hell. Those parts are just as significant, if not even more. Bible specifically talks about lukewarm Christians. You are either for God or for Satan. You can't be both. Christianity isn't just about doing good deeds and spreading love, though thats important too. It's about obeying God and His word and spreading the gospel like he tells us to do. Sorry that I sound like I'm ranting cause I'm mad or something, like I said I understand your point of view even though I don't agree. This is just how I feel. *please no hate people I'm not trying to be that one judgy person, I just don't agree with her and I want to express my feelings about Christianity.*
Girlllll I have so much respect for you and this video. I was raised Catholic but I am not religious as an adult - having said that my life and my actions are no different, I'm the same person I always was and really my morality, my outlook on life and the way I treat other people came from my family and upbringing over anything else. If people get that from going to church or the bible, I'm happy for them and I just do my thing. Although as an adult I don't currently believe in God a lot of people seem to mistake that for me being AGAINST the existence of God, which is totally not true. I am open minded and always wanting to learn. If there is a higher power, that's great, I just can't reach that conclusion based on evidence I've seen. If people choose to believe that, I'm happy for them, as long as people are respectful of each other, kind, compassionate and loving I don't care what anyone believes, I go off people's character not who they do or don't choose to pray to. One thing that strikes me in the comments is the way people are telling you what you need to do, that you just don't understand your religion, that you haven't found the right church and that if you did x,y and z you would be a true Christian. It baffles me because you are very open, very accepting and not judgemental of what anyone else believes, so it's strange that people would try to push what works for them on you. A lot of people use the reasoning that you should spread the word, advise people and that its all well-meaning, but I truly believe that if people do want to spread their message the most powerful way to do that is just to apply it to your own life and let people see how it helps you. If they want help, they will seek it out, it makes me sad that you are loving, open, accepting and happy yet people are telling you how to live your life. Like you said, life is all about grey areas. There are people in my family who have really done some cruel things, who don't act kindly and who clearly have some problems. They went to the same church as us, and every week we watched them sing the loudest, suck up to the priest and pretend to be upstanding members of the community. It made church a frustrating place to be and we (my parents and I) found it really really hard. Around the same time my parents discovered a love of hiking and bought a caravan to travel around at weekends and visit different areas of the country, climbing mountains, exploring and developing skills. They felt truly at peace up there, and at the end of each weekend they came home refreshed and happy. They were kinder to colleagues, joyful, relaxed, accomplished and had a lot of perspective on the wonders of nature and their small place in the world. They were changed people and life was much better. For them, getting out into nature was beautiful and they decided that if there is a God, and he's capable of making all that beauty, that he would also be capable of understanding that appreciating the world and spending time gathering their thoughts was good for them, that they didn't need to sit in a building for an hour every Sunday morning to be good people. They don't practice Catholicism any more but they decided if God does exist they need to give him more credit. He would get it. That's not to say everyone should skip mass and take up climbing, but that one size does not fit all. We are all different and that's fine. My parents didn't look down on the people sat in church and I hope they didn't think differently of them. At my very strict Catholic school a girl got pregnant at 14 because we were not properly taught about contraception. She was definitely thought badly of, and I am fully aware that not every Catholic would have treated her the same way, but the truth is that she is a lovely person. She went on to pass all of her exams, went to college, worked hard, and is now married to the father and has a total of five kids. She's won awards in the community and is really kind, yet others who were "devout" in terms of rules are divorced and have been arrested. The rule book in black and white doesn't account for these differences, so it frustrates me that people could be missing some wonderful people and experiences. Like I said, I am totally open to other people's beliefs, I respect them and I really don't talk about religion much with anyone, more about kindness and being good. I would never ever go up to someone who believed in God and start a conversation about the lack of evidence, or push my opinion on them, in the end, as long as we are good and moral, it shouldn't matter, it's a personal thing. If there is a hell and if God is such a stickler for the black and white rules, that is my fate to have, who knows, if God does exist he might one day say "I gave you all that free will and you were just so obsessed by the black and white rules that you missed out on all of these wonderful people and experiences in life!" In the end none of us know, the ability to look at the person not the belief is something I find invaluable. This was really really long, I know, but let's face it, if I was born in another country I would likely have been raised Jewish, Muslim, Anglican, Hindu, Sikh, or any number of other religions. It doesn't really matter what you call yourself or which rule book you happened to find, it's more important to focus and reflect on your life and actions, and let that radiate in how you treat others. You're a good person Nikki and you da bomb 💕🙌
Honestly, as an Atheist, I've always been kind of uncomfortable watching Nikki's videos regarding religion and advice, because it is so different from what I believe and I've never believed you NEED faith or religion to be happy. That being said, this video gave me much more respect for Nikki's views, especially when she mentioned not having proof in a God and not understanding or having control over Heaven and Hell. That is such an intellectual way of understanding faith and religion, and I wish other people understood this as well. Good for you Nikki. I'm glad you made this video, and it really exposed to me what you believe in a logical and understanding way. Stay true to you.
I am Muslim and I attended a Catholic Highschool which I am glad I did. It was obligatory that I take 3 Christianity classes and 1 world religions class. I also had to attend Mass and any other religious event (retreats, visiting Churches etc.). I obviously chose to attend a Catholic school. I learned so much about Christianity and other religions and by doing this it has helped me to accept others for what they believe. In the end every religion on earth preaches love and peace and even if someone is an atheist they basically can have the same morals and ethics without having a religion tell them to. What people sometimes don't understand is that Judaism Christianity and Islam are all connected. You cannot have one without the other. Adam and Eve, Cane and Abel, Noah, Abraham, Moses, Isaac, Jesus, Mary, Muhammed, the stories are the same with minor differences here and there, but the ultimate message is that there is one God and He created us and to Him we belong and to Him we shall return. Even if you are the same religion as someone else you will still have different point of views and different opinions but guess what, none of that matters what matters is YOUR relationship with the Almighty! (Quran 109:1-6 "To you your religion and to me mine") God bless.
Girl, this video made me wish we were friends and could chat about spirituality over lunch. Your thoughts on this subject were so thoughtful and resonated with me. I'm currently on this journey--trying to forge my own path while feeling scared to verge too far from the religious community I'm currently part of. I'm afraid to disappoint others and I realized just this week that I'm letting other people get in the way of my relationship with God. You are so courageous and I'm going to try my best to follow your lead. All the best!
Wow. This is my first time on your channel and I am really blown away by your beautiful, thoughtful, intelligent opinion. It is true there is a distinct difference between KNOWING and BELIEVING. Each person deserves the right to take that risk as they see fit,. I normally would never comment on something so controversial because I have no interest in debating about religion, and I am perfectly fulfilled with my spiritual beliefs, but I just wanted to say THANK YOU. Cheers to you for listening to your inner wisdom and being brave!
I am catholic and I agree with almost everything you said. Some of the stuff that I believe is a gut feeling that is backed by my faith, Ya know. And as for the gay think and with any situation really, I think you should love the person, or at least respect them as a human, no matter what they do. I was always told love the sinner hate the sin. Cause we are all sinners, but we all deserved to be loved
I'm also Catholic!! I was also always told 'hate the sin, love the sinner' It is not our place to judge bc, like you said, we are all sinners :-) I wish more people understood that!
I subscribed to your channel a while back and I watched this video, and it was before I actually put my faith in Christ. Coming back to this, I realize how much this video has actually helped me in my journey to becoming a Christian, so thank you so much for being so open about your faith♥
One thing I don't understand about her philosophy is why she believes in the Bible in the first place if she doesn't believe it is the truth from God. I understand that other people can have different views, and I don't think it is the job of a Christian to force their views on others, but I don't see the point in saying you are a Christian if you don't believe that the Bible is the truth.
speedgirl131 i think she believes the bible is the truth, it is just interpreted in SO many different ways that she means you never know which person/religion is telling the truth because at the end of the day its just that person interpretation and they have no physical proof.
This was an awesome video Nikki, and I LOVE how you are talking about Jesus so publicly. Something that is frowned upon in the media today. However, in Christianity you can't pick and choose what you want to believe. The Bible is the word of God and you need to either believe all of it, or none of it. There is no middle ground. It isn't what "fits your lifestyle" or "what works for you", its all or nothing. I agreed with most of the things you said, but the part about Heaven and Hell struck me. If you don't believe in Heaven, then basically you are saying you don't believe in God. What do you think happens after we die?? We're just dust in the ground? If you are truly a Christian you believe that those that accepted the free gift of salvation through the death of Jesus Christ, you will go to Heaven when you die. If you don't choose to accept Jesus, then you go to Hell. It makes no sense if you believe the Bible and Jesus' teaching that nothing happens after you die. You should want to share the Gospel with people and let them know of Jesus grace and mercy, so they will no longer be lost and get to spend eternity in Heaven. The Bible says this world is not our home. Either Heaven or Hell will be our final destination based on whether you are saved or not. I am not trying to condone you or anything Nikki. I am glad you are sharing your Christian faith with others. :) These are just my thoughts from the video.
She did not say that she doesn't believe in heaven or hell, she said that she chooses not to dwell on it. Heaven and hell is a scary concept for a lot of people. Especially when the basis of your faith is to love everyone, only to realize that half of the decent humans you love are going to hell because they don't believe in our Lord and savior Jesus Christ. It is pretty hard to swallow, but it's a journey, and she may not have reached the point that you have. Also, she isn't picking and choosing. The bible is a very complex book that people get wrong all of the time because they don't let the Holy Spirit guide them in reading it. I just recently had an amazing spiritual teacher tell a ton of people that they could lose their salvation, which is not scriptural at all. Since humans are so flawed you honestly have to dive into the word yourself. What I received from the word is that "love is the most important thing" so just because a person is gay, you don't judge them, you love them and point them to God.
I agree! You can't choose the easy-to-accept facts and ignore the others. She did say she's still growing, we all should be, and her views can still change.
I personally do not believe in gay marriage, but I hope that people will not judge me on this & think I am homophobic as I am not. Let me explain The bible says that all sex outside of marriage is sin. Do not commit adultery is one of the 10 commandments, and that means having sex with anyone you are not married to. So a gay couple getting married should combat that? I don't think it does. I am all for gay couples in a loving committed relationship committing themselves to each other for life, so I think civil partnership is a good thing. I do not think gay marriage is a good thing, as the bible says marriage is between a man and a woman, not just 2 people who love each other. I believe that in God's view, gay married couples are not truly married, and that man is changing biblical meanings of words to suit their desires. HOWEVER as a Christian, I believe that it is wrong for me to hate anyone (& I wouldn't hate them anyway as they have nothing hate worthy). I believe that unless I am perfect (only God & Jesus are) I cannot judge others based off their actions. The bible says only God can judge, and also says remove the log from your eye before trying to remove the spec from someone else's. The bible also says speak the truth with Love. I have gay friends and if I told them they could not marry their partner, how loved would they feel? Not at all. Also when I get the heaven God is going to judge me on how I behaved while here on earth. If I am wrong, I do not want to have acted sinfully or wrong because of what I believed. Hence I say "I believe" or "I think". If I was gay I would not get married and would live a celibate life, because of what I believe (so as if I am right I have not sinned, the same way as I don't hate or judge gay people - I want to as blameless & Christlike as possible) but I do not judge and definitely do not hate those who choose or believe differently.
I'm not religious, but we need more people like you in the comments - I love how you're proud of your beliefs but aren't negative/preaching about them.
I'm gay so I can't help but be somewhat on guard when someone says "I don't believe in gay marriage". But, I will say that your attitude and respectfulness is extremely commendable and I thank you for that. I'm just curious as to what your stance on atheist marriage is, do you think they should only be allowed civil unions like gay people or is it okay for them to get married in the church?
luxconcept i'm not hating at all so please don't take this the wrong way, but if there are two atheists getting married, i'd highly doubt it would happen in the church. it wouldn't even make sense because it's not a holy place to them, their marriage wouldn't need to be seen by God to them, because they don't believe a God exists. Many pastors may actually refuse to marry them though (if they did want to marry in a church) because many pastors/priests/churches want the beliefs of who they are marrying to line up with what they believe. I think that is every church's right and the right of the pastor/priest who is performing the service.. if they don't support an atheist lifestyle, jewish, gay, muslim... whatever it may be... I agree with their right to deny performing that service because they are staying true to their beliefs, values, and lifestyle. To me that isn't discrimination. Just like I highly down a Jewish minister would perform a christian wedding.
I can see your point and appreciate the respectful approach. But marriage seems to be a right that goes beyond religion, and is not a strictly Christian practice. For example: Would you deny a Muslim man and woman the right to be married?Im assuming no as your concern seems to be about gender not a lack of correlating beliefs. Because muslims certainly don't have the same beliefs as Christians. By that logic we can infer that marriage is a right between people despite their beliefs, not requiring them to have the same beliefs as you in order to get married. So if they don't personally believe in the gender roles that you have set for them why should that matter? Giving absolutely anybody else who disagrees with you about anything the right to marriage is a direct contradiction to your point that people have to believe what you believe to be able to marry. Marriage is not strictly Catholic practice so why can't they be married in another compacity and not the Christian marriage that you are referring to? If people can have different beliefs and still be married then why can't living a homosexual lifestyle be one of those values?
I am a huge fan, and I love that you're outspoken about your beliefs, but I have to disagree with a lot of what you have said. The Bible is proof. The way God makes you feel is proof. Being filled with the Holy Ghost by the evidence of speaking in tongues is proof. And more, and more. God wouldn't let the Bible be our guide for hundreds of years if it weren't true. It's not okay to pick out points, twist them for your own use, etc. You can't just pick something out and say you don't agree with it and push it aside. It's okay to be confused or ask questions, but you can't change what it says. And as for the gay issue, you're talking about where it's written in the Old Testament. But the New Covenant broke that, BUT, the New Testament has verses talking about it being a sin, as well. And by saying it's not when other Christians say it is, it's making us look like liars or that we're just being "judgmental." Of course, we're all sinners, and I do think that people pick that out and scrutinize it much more than other sins. I think you're awesome and I'm not trying to be disrespectful to you at all. I just feel like what you said gave out mixed signals and is the "easy way" for being a Christ follower. It's easy to talk about God, but you have to walk the walk as well. I think you are a very kind-hearted, sweet person, and I think you have an awesome relationship with God from what I know of you, too. I'm not trying to say that you don't, at all! This video just bothered me and kind of broke my heart.
+Tiffany Blair I was thinking the same thing! The Bible carries so many beautiful and wonderful verses on how real God is. The entire book is proof, as you said. I am saddened by the fact she called herself a Christian and had faith in God, but then immediately claimed that there was no proof to his love. Having faith in something you cannot see is truly beautiful. When you do not have that, I am not sure that you can view yourself as a devoted follower in the Holy Spirit, and then you do not know what to stand for. What is true, God. God is alive, true, love, joy, grace, mercy, and so much, much more!
If you can "prove" everything you just stated, then I guess you'll have no problem saving every person you meet. Nobody can dispute proof and facts. (I'm already saved btw but not because I've been shown proof. I follow without it because that's what God demands.)
I hate that people say christians hate gays. No. We dont support it, but we love and respect those who are gay. Everyone sins and even though i dont support it many of my christians friends and I are happy that gay marriage is legal now. We dont support but we have no right to tell others who to love.
+NavigatorSpade who are we to say that it is a sin? only God can judge right? however, christian live to point finger and say who is a sinner and what not... let's just say there is no small sin or big sin... then if you believe really that being gay is a sin ok that is not different than the sin of judging and accusing with no right to do so. We are not God so love your neighbor, and move on.
One of the most valuable things I have ever learned in life is that you CAN NOT judge other people for what they believe or how they live. You CAN NOT do this because this is how people have grown up, how their ancestors taught their grandparents, parents, and now the traditions and beliefs are passed down to the next generation. With so much diversity, and so many different belief systems and religions out there, everybody believes things differently. Who are you to judge someone who believes something because it is what they have grown up being taught, and how they have lived their whole life? If it is all they have ever known, it's not fair to judge them. Love, and let love! Live and let live!! All the power to you Nikki. Keep spreading your love. xo
This video really broke my heart. The truth does not change whether you "choose" to believe it or not. The truth is true for all. The Word of God is the truth. As followers of Christ, we don't choose not to think about some parts of His Word just because it might offend others. Your decision to ignore the Word of God may hurt no one else, but it wounds Jesus. Withholding the truth from others should offend you much more than compromising with the world. I love you and I'll keep you in my prayers.
Nikki, The fact that you feel sad that You're going to heaven and a bunch of these people are going to hell is WHY we are supposed to SHARE God, and his word! Saying in this video that there is no proof of God is TOTALLY contradicting your "I am a christian." And by saying that your leading others astray!! "i am a christian but there's actually no proof of God. I just know how he affects me" whaa??? This makes 0 sense. How would you have any control over who's going there and who isn't is by sharing his teachings! Loving others but still abiding by God's commands! God says specifically in the Bible that we are NOT to accept Men with men or women with women but we are to take the situation and use it as an opportunity to show them God, and Share the gospel. Solomon had hundreds of wives, yes. BUT, God told him it was wrong! But saying that since it was a different time also changes TONS of other things you believe, like, the ten commandments. That was old? Moses went atop a mountain to burning bush! My point being, that if you believe one thing in the bible you need to believe all of it. Because what says one part is true and one part was of a different time so it doesn't apply to current events? Humans? we are of the flesh!! Sinners!! Sometimes dummies! God's word is the only thing we should apply our believes to. Focusing on your life and choosing to basically ignore God's specific instructions isn't really loving others. Its leading them astray. These are my opinions, however of course i am human as well. And i do make mistakes! Comment below anyones thoughts?? vvvvvv
+morganhope ➳ i totally agree! i feel personally that a lot christians i know who say they're christians pick and choose the verses to believe. and i'm like WHAT! if this book is the word of God and He said what's right and what's wrong, then we must follow suit. the moment you made the choice to follow Christ you also made the choice to follow His word. and when you pull it apart, you're relationship with God isn't as strong as you say it is. i don't know if that made sense tbh, but it's how i feel. i think what you said is great!
+morganhope ➳ I want to be respectful in my response while also expressing why I disagree with what you said. I hope I can do both without offending. First, I agree with Nikki that we have no proof of God. What tangible, physical, concrete proof do you have? None. You have your faith. That is not concrete, but it can certainly be overwhelmingly powerful (I know this because I have felt moved by Him throughout my life). Second, Nikki made a great argument about reading the Bible with an awareness of historical context. At one point, women were stoned for having an affair. Would you recommend we still stone women who cheat on their husbands? I doubt you would. It's inhumane. We are in a different time now and our culture demands different reactions to such events. So Nikki isn't suggesting we ignore parts of the Bible that we don't like "just because." She's suggesting that we think about the context in which certain commandments/rules/etc. take place. We also know that many of Jesus's teaching were parables, meaning the events/stories didn't physically take place, but are stories told with the intent to teach a lesson. So we can't always read the Bible literally. And two people can read the same story and take different things from it. If they both go and "follow the Bible exactly," as you suggest, that "exactly" can lead them down two completely different paths deepening on their individual reading of the Bible. We each try our best as Christians. Just because you or I follow a commandment differently doesn't mean we're sinning. There is a lot of nuance to religion and to being a practicing Christian. Which is why I love having discussions and disagreeing--it shows that we are human and that we all need God's guidance in our lives! I wish you well. :)
itsGinaMarie Hello, I would like to thank you for your kind way of expressing how you feel. And this is my response, and I also hope to express my feelings without offending. First things first, Of course, it is very wise to think of historical context. But when a woman would have an affair, the people would take action according to what the Bible says. Of course, the bible does NOT say to stone them, but it also says many things such as those who do commit this sin are to be punished and when you do commit sexual immorality it's not like every other sin which is outside of the body, but it is against your own body, and the damage is within. This being said, although the times now are much, well easier in a way, the people took great action upon this due to its severity in the Bible. Nowadays, so many people do have affairs. And it is so often discussed on social media as "cheating" and it is "common" in a way that it grieves the heart of God. What I mean to say in this, is that as time goes on our culture gets more and more used to being so relaxed. And some call it a "luke warm" Christian. Our world is not getting better, in fact every day it gets worse. SO by comparing the time and culture of Jesus, and now, I would truly say that then is so much better than now. And back to the evidence of God, I will agree. That no, there is nothing that is concrete evidence. In fact often times I struggle when I try and explain that i believe God is my creator, and he's your creator. And the creator of the world. But then again I remember, when you go to every theory or explanation of evolution, or the big bang, God is the only one. All signs of life point to him and I believe that there is more to the proof of his existence that just my faith. What I meant to say when Nikki says that there is no proof of God, is that as a Christian it is our duty to believe %100 percent that he is our Creator, and that everything on earth is proof that he exists. I agree with you that 2 people can read the Bible and come out with 2 different opinions. But all in all, its the same. And yes there are so many people that I know that definitely don't have the same beliefs as me, But when I read what God says about man with man and woman with woman, that is no parable. It is smack dab, clear, straight forward. It is a sin! Many pastors, and teachers // evangelists avoid the subject so that they do not offend. Which is not the path God wants us to take. And when people say that they are going to just "love," that is fine! Great! But there is SO much more to being a Christian than just loving. Because when you just "love" and nothing else, sometimes it does a lot more damage than actually showing them the way through love, and saying that you disagree with their opinions, and using it as an opportunity to share God's word and his teachings and what IS right, and what IS wrong. I do hope you can find my reasoning and maybe respond with everything you have to say. Of course, Im not a perfect Christian. I'm just a teenager trying to find my way to God and his plans for me. Again, Thanks for responding. God bless.
I grew up in a Christian home my whoooole life. My dad is a pastor, and so as you can see, God has been very prominent in my life! My dad actually gave a message on an episode he watched. he said that in the episode, there was this girl who desperately wanted to be a boy. and my dad said there is nothing wrong with this because this is how this individual was born. We were born to love people. It doesn't matter if you are gay. It doesn't matter what race you are. It doesn't matter who you are. I love you all so much and God loves everybody equally.
Hay Nikki, just wanted to thank you for this video! :) I've grown up in an atheist family and am now (aged 19) in the process of building my own version of what spirituality means to me. I'm so inspired by your humble, open minded, inquisitive approach to faith! To be open and unashamed of your faith, whilst encouraging "respect and conversation" around this topic and urging your viewers to "sit and think about spirituality", is what makes you such a wonderful role model. I've experienced a lot of religious people telling me that my family and I will go to hell for not being baptised etc, that we are sinners simply for not believing the same as them. This can be very upsetting and has the potential to close a person up to spirituality altogether. So thank you for making me (and I'm sure countless others) feel encouraged and empowered to embark on a lifelong journey of soul-searching, learning and finding out what faith means to me. Sending you love & light, Cat x
Agreed with this 100%. I love that you speak about this on your channel. This is completely the MOST important aspect of happiness. Faith is believing without seeing, and remembering that God is love. And YES for not being ashamed of your faith. When you place your faith in God, he will bless you!!!
I'm atheist....went to Christian nursery, Christian primary, Catholic secondary and the only thing I took away from those experiences is that man has too much power when talking about a higher power. It is belief or opinion if you like and nothing more, not to say that a higher power doesn't exist but it is belief/opinion that keeps the notion alive. I'm so happy this video was made as the only message she is really preaching is that it's ok to believe. No damning statement for all those that don't believe and no praise for those who are very devout. She accepts people's differences with love and from what I have learnt, that is surely the main message. I'm 27, a happily married woman with a newborn son. I do not need to worship a higher power. I live my life as a good person in my own right in the manner I see fit. I do not need to live forever in heaven or eternal damnation in hell. My life however will continue to live through those I love who will remember me. I do not fear death and I believe death is final and that there is nothing wrong in that. Again, this is just my opinion, I fully accept that everyone sees things differently and I welcome that. Well done Nikki.
Jenny....the comment hasn't influenced my believe or lack of. I was merely stating that many Christians negatively influence those who don't believe or believe something different by saying they will go to hell. This in my opinion is not a valid discussion. I agree that Christians are most definitely not perfect and as such should not be damning people to hell for commenting something they do not agree with. If they feel the need Christians should simply say a silent prayer. I do not believe in God, nor do I want to. The bible in my opinion is just a book with lots of hypocrisies. It is still a good book but for me that is all. I appreciate many believe in a higher power and do not ever want to turn anyone from their faith. I simply want equality, I'm sick of every religion saying their God is the only God. It is all opinion and that is fine. I choose not to believe and others choose many different religions, that is also fine. I've experienced people from many religions and have no issue with any of their beliefs, just the way in which they see different beliefs to their own. Thank you for replying and its nice to see someone with a strong opinion putting it across well.
You have such a fresh perspective Nikki! Thanks for talking so candidly (you really are an excellent communicator). I was raised catholic and had the same confusion and frustration as you. I figured I could never truly believe in any religion if I didn't believe in EVERY aspect of it. Some things just don't make sense to me. It's encouraging to hear your stance on it and to know I'm not the only who felt that way. I bought a daily devotional awhile back to explore my spirituality more. (love out loud by joyce meyer...totally up your ally!) I think I'll start reading again! xo
I'm really loving the how to be happy january series! Although I'm not a Christian (I'm muslim) I believe in a lot of the things you believe in. Having a relationship with God is definitely key to happiness. Although people may think there isn't a scientific proof of God's existence, I think part of your religion is actually to go beyond science and facts and to believe in God although you haven't seen him. Exactly that is in my opinion what's the most important thing. It's really hard to explain this to other people but as a believer there are just these moments when you KNOW that God is there and that you feel his presence and him answering your prayers. When reading the Quran (which is the book muslims believe in in case anyone didn't know) I see how everything relates to me and how everything written in the book can't be anything but God's words. God doesn't need us. We need him. The feeling of truly believing in God is the most beautiful thing you can feel. I think our religion is really judged unfairly these days because of some people but if you're really open and you read about the religion or read the Quran you will surely see that the Islam is a beautiful religion that is forgiving merciful and guiding. I hope everyone has a great day, God bless you
I dont know about you guys but I dont need any proof that God is real. the bible is more than enough for me and I have so much faith and spiritually and that overpowers everything.
Yesss! Once you have a personal relationship with Jesus, the way you feel is all the proof you could ever need! I could care less whether anyone ever "proves" if God exists because that's not the point. The whole idea of faith is that you never know for sure, but based on your feelings and personal relationship with Him that is enough to make you believe. For me Jesus is the only validation that I need.
Amen! We have to trust He's real by faith because He's a God of faith. Proving Himself in a super obvious way wouldn't require you to trust in faith anymore :)
This is such an inspirational video. I find in my life that I often get faced with questions and situations that give me a chance to think about my faith and spirituality. I, much like you, have thought a lot over the years about what I believe in and how it effects my life. The blessings that I have received from trusting God, loving others and being grateful are innumerable. I also admire Jesus for the countless miracles, lessons and pains that he went through, all because of us. I also believe in the Ten Commandments. They are a way of remembering how to live worthily and lovingly. They teach us to have gratitude, patience and kindness. Having an open mind, to other faiths and opinions is the best way to be, because other people have lived a different life and may not know the truth yet (or know of different truths). Although I do have a set opinion on heaven and hell, I also try to steer away from categorising people between the two. Thank you so much for sharing your faith Nikki❤️
Matthew 10:35 "For I have come to turn a man against his father, a daughter against her mother, a daughter-in-law against her mother-in-law." The most important thing is to love people by showing them the truth of the gospel. Jesus didn't come to hold hands with everyone and tell them their sins were okay. He came to spread a radical message that many people hate because of what it condemns - their sins.
I hope that this will help someone. This is my story of how I came to god and really felt his presence. So I have grown up in a Christian Methodist church my entire 15 years but when I was 14 I got confirmed in my church and decided to read the bible outside of Sundays and it helped me a lot some days I would just open up the bible and it would be the perfect verses for whatever I was going through in my life. The summer of my 14th year I went on my church's workcamp and really felt I belonged.We went to sermons in the morning and afternoon but during the day we were in groups and were assigned to a house to help(along with free time). Throughout the week we fixed up this trailer our lady was living in and really got to known the lady. I felt God so much during this week. It's so hard to describe the feeling. I felt like a was overflowing with love and happiness and just wanted to give others love and happiness cause I had so much. And I get what we came to call Jesus shivers it was just when we were listening to a sermon and we sudden shiver. Anyways I hoped that helped someone.
Nikki, I love and respect Jesus but I'm not a Christian. He was an amazing person who was afforded so many miracles in order to lead people to God. ONE God, like it says in your commandments. I don't believe that he died for our sins. I don't believe that he was the son of God. I'm muslim. In islam we are taught to respect Jesus highly because he was one of the many prophets sent to lead mankind, like Noah, Abraham, and Muhammad (pbut). When the bible was revealed, it was the actual word of God, but since it was written so long after Jesus' time, and written by others, the meaning, words and message was hugely changed and misinterpreted. The coming of a final messenger was actually prophesied in the Bible. 1600 years later the Quran was revealed to Muhammed (pbuh), always written down straight away. Not a letter was written down wrong. There are zero contradictions, a multitude of prophesies that have happened and still a lot yet to come, and many scientific miracles. Till today, not a letter has been changed since then. It is the actual word of God. The Quran was sent to correct the Bible. Christians were misguided and worshiped Jesus instead of God. People even returned to worship idols even though the Bible abolished it. This is a major (if not the biggest) sin in Islam, and it is made clear that God has NO sons. If you even associate anyone or anything with God then that is enough to call you a non-believer, because the whole foundation of the religion is to recognise the one-ness of God. Even if you read the Quran, there are SO many similarities. My Christian friends would often explain something to me and I'd say 'I believe/do this too'. We believe in Noah's ark believe it or not. So many of the teachings are the same. Just thought I'd say because people always think Islam is a completely separate and different religion when really, Allah=God, the creator of the universe. Nikki really recommend reading more about Islam because it answers a lot of the things you were talking about in this video. Everything is so clear and logical. Even if it is to understand a group of people and how they think a bit better :)
Thank you for explaining that , u really said what I want to say , especially about the similarities , we have "in Islam" a lot of common things between us , as Nikki said about loving your neighbors and always giving love and making excuses for other . I totally agree that your faith has a big impact in your happiness and feeling good . and I think everyone has the rights to ask , because it's not easy to change even small things about your believe . Thank you .
I never comment but I just had to! Your story on your spiritual journey is literally just like mine. I didn't grow up Christian though but after meeting my current bf, I started going to his home church and it changed my life. I felt so welcomed and at home like I actually belong. I knew this is the walk my life is supposed to take. I thought at first it would be easy, but I struggle daily to trust God and to acknowledge him in my life, but at the end of the day I know that I have his love and favor in my life and I try hard to read the word each day. Thank you for standing up for what you believe in. I sometimes feel like I can't openly talk about it to everyone because so many ppl are against my beliefs, but you make me recognize that my relationship with Jesus is my own, and i should not be ashamed. I love your and Dan's story and who you two are and what you stand for. Thank you for making these type of videos and being brave enough to share your beliefs and experiences. I pray you continue to have favor in your lives and many blessings!
It's sad to me that many believers have become complacent, afraid to offend. Jesus was not afraid to offend people, He stepped on lots of toes and convicted people. That's why He was such a radical and outcast but He changed and saved so many lives. It is disappointing to hear someone who calls themselves a Christian saying that they can't say for sure whether or not the Bible is truth and refuses to stand against sin and Satan. This whole watered down wishy washy version of living life for Jesus is disappointing. I totally agree with you- we are called to LOVE. But we are also called to shine a light - regardless of whether or not people disagree.
Hello Nikki, this is my first Nikki video I've ever watched (it came up as a suggested video after my latest upload) and WOW! Really love that you had the boldness to pour your heart out like this. Also very surprised to see the positive, uplifting community in your comment section. Even some atheists enjoyed what you said, and are stating their opinion without any hate, which I find really awesome. We as Christians can sometimes have a mindset that we can't share or relate to atheists, while forgetting the fact that at some point in our life, we had felt similar in our thoughts about God. It's a good reminder that it's a progressive journey for us all and we're all still learning Him bit by bit. It is an individual choice, a personal opinion and just wanted to say thank you so much for sharing! I really enjoyed it and I have to share this with my girlfriend haha. From a fellow couple in Christ, Benny & Eva
The Bible IS GODS word. For me, that is all I follow and in doing so I have complete faith in Him. I do not pick and choose what I want to believe or agree with from The Bible. Only agreeing with some of Gods words would NOT be complete faith in him. I have grown as a Christian so much and could not be happier and more proud of myself. I am so excited to see a youtuber that I watch talk about her Faith with GOD even though I don't agree with everything she says she stilll helps to spread GODS name and love.
I respect other people's religions, but I don't believe in God or anything that goes along with most religions. in my opinion, religion is the root of many issues in our society today. I'm an atheist, a realist, whatever you want to call it. and I am definitely open for discussion!
I like how you are very respectful about other religions. I see so many atheists on the internet bash Christians for what they believe. I personally disagree that religion is the root of many issues in society (however I agree that people do bad things using religion to justify their actions) but I think religion is more beneficial to society than harmful. These are just my opinions.
I agree with you that religion causes and has caused many problems. Relgion in the past has held back scientific development and killed many people. It continues to do that today though not nearly as bad.
i think its important to differentiate between religion and politics.. politicians using religion as a tool in their filthy games doesn't make religion bad.. ps. i respect you for respecting others religions :)
i am religious and have no problem with people who are not. i don't judge people over that or any way they choose to live their lives. I love your comment because you are stating your beliefs without calling christians or other religions stupid. ignorant, or everything else you usually see online. I would never use those words against someone who believes something other than me and so when people do that it makes me so mad, so your comment was so refreshing to see. Your religion and what you belief does not determine if your a good person or not, only your actions and words can do that and you seem like a great and respectable person.
I also do not believe in god. I think people use god as an excuse for mess ups or great things in their life. When a good thing happens to someone, most of the time it happened because of HARD WORK. Also, when something bad happens to someone they claim god is 'testing them'. No. These bad things are happening to you because you didn't put in any HARD WORK. Stop using god as an excuse. He is make believe. Like the tooth fairy and Santa Claus.
Oh Nikki. There is so much proof that the Bible is the truth and most certainly the Word of God. It's every where we look if we choose to see. I would STRONGLY encourage you to openly ask God to prove to you that what he says in his word is true. I think you'll find some pretty incredible things once you become completely confident of that fact.
Wow, Nikki, I always feel like I can relate to you but this one was spot on for me. I experienced something very similar. I went to private school up until right before high school, and during that time I encountered some wonderful people, but I also encountered some extremely hypocritical and judgmental people. I had grown women say to me "I am praying for you." Insinuating that there was something wrong with me. I grew to feel like all of those things I learned as a kid like, "Do unto others what you would have them do unto you" or "What Would Jesus Do?" were lies because of how the "Christian" people around me were acting. All of that led me to lose my faith for many years, but as an adult I realized that those people were just that...people. They were flawed just like I am flawed. I no longer let people like that effect my life and my decisions. My relationship with God is just about Him and me. Anyway, thanks for posting this. Amazing video as usual.
I've been having problems with my beliefs, but after watching your video, I must confess I almost cried. You believe exactly what I subconsciously always have, and hearing you put it in words was a very emotional thing for me. Thank you so much.
Hey Nikki! I really appreciate you being open and honest about your experience with Christianity and religion. I recently graduated from a Christian college in MO and it's super duper easy to talk open and freely with people out here because, let's be honest, the majority of people have the same beliefs as me! So I don't feel like I'm being judged by others when I talk about God, prayer, church, etc. When I visit my hometown in CA, I'm a little more reserved with what I say and how I say it just because I want to be sensitive to others, yet always stay strong in my faith. It's just a whole different world (the midwest vs LA). So, I could TOTALLY imagine how difficult it would be when literally the whole world has access to your videos and everything you say is being watched my thousands of people. So, long comment, but I just really appreciate your openness and I'm sure it will inspire other UA-camrs to be comfortable talking about the things that matter most to them. xo, Melissa
Something that may be very confusing for some people, is that if a group of people you know to be "Christians" are being cruel and rude, then they probably aren't real Christ followers. A lot of people think that going to church week in and week out is what makes you a Christian, but that's not true. True Christians are people who have accepted Christ into their heart and lives and typically would not be mean for no reason because according to Christianity (not forcing it upon anyone) when you accept Jesus into your heart, you are inviting the Holy Spirit to dwell with you. And yes, us Christians constantly mess up all the time, but the God prompts us to love others and be kind, so when someone says something blatantly mean without a second thought, they probably are not true Christians or have fallen away from their faith.
Oh sister! As a daughter of Christ... You are in difficult place in your life ... A lot of Christians go through this daily. I love that you want to love others and that's such a great thing! We aren't called to decide who is going to heaven or hell but we are called to set healthy boundaries with others who are bad influences or draining and what nots. Hold on to hope and know that God is your father and he loves you and i will be praying for your walk with Christ and that it becomes stronger and that your truth is in the bible and the work that the spirit does in you.
Zoe Alyse Z I don't understand atheists just walk out side look at all the trees look and the clouds look and all the creatures running around were do you think they came from ?
For the love of Beauty and life I don’t know if you know this but there was a tiny ball of energy and that exploded and created space and everything inside of it.Also clouds are water
This video was uploaded a while ago, but it showed up on my recommended video list, so I thought I would check it out. I haven't watched many of your videos, but this one in particular has to be my favorite. I intend to watch lots more of you videos! Of course some things that you said I disagree on, as with every video. I never comment on controversial videos because I have no intention or drive to argue or debate my beliefs. I am a Christian and this was really inspiring and eye opening. I love how you said that you are comfortable with your relationship with God and not about fitting in with a group, or being ashamed by your belief. I feel like a lot of times I am nervous to talk about God to anyone other than my family, and close friends. I go to a Christian school, and even there I sometimes feel nervous to open up about my faith. I am really encouraged and inspired after watching this video to ask questions, and open up about my faith and my relationship with God . Thank you!
I'm not religious and I didn't come here to troll, but more observe and listen. So many people in different (and even the same) religion seem to disagree about so much. Nobody follows any religion 100%. I'm not here to comment or judge on how people keep their faith or what they believe. But I definitely don't like seeing people belittle each other in the comments because they believe different things. You have to do what is best for you and a ton of people aren't going to agree with that. Each person might interpret each 'scripture' to mean a different thing. I am all for learning about new things from people of all walks of life. I'm never going to believe in god. But I respect everyones rights to choose for themselves.
Nikki, this was such a level headed, honest, down to earth video. Thanks for putting that all out there for us, it took guts to talk so candidly about something so personal to YOU. When you said, "that's just where I'm at, and I reserve the right to change my mind again in the future" I thought, wow, yes. Both knowledge (what we know to be true) and faith (what we believe to be true) are such fluid things, several hundred years ago for example, we "KNEW" the earth was flat!! It's good to recognize that our knowledge and our spirituality can adapt as we live our lives and see new perspectives. I'm a very spiritual person myself, in that I think there is definitely something or someone out there bigger than myself, but is it a person? A power? A force? A man on a cloud? I have no idea! I chose to believe that life has meaning, I chose to believe that kindness and love have meaning, that's all that matters to ME. Spirituality can mean different things to everyone, but if it's focused around love and being at peace with oneself, it can be so helpful to so many people. I think this video was very brave, helpful, and full of love and honesty. Thank you. xxx
You are so brave to make this video I hate that Religion is such a taboo subject on the Internet no matter what you believe in religion is such a beautiful prospect and I think it should be talked about rather than shunned great video : )
Nikki, I actually wanted to say that I love how you had the guts to say what you think about your religion. That honestly took a lot of courage from you. I grew up with my father being a Jehovah's witness and my mom is a catholic. I definitely believe in god however I still haven't decide what religion I would like to be in. I will say that I really enjoy hearing the way you grew up has influenced your point of view towards your religion. I also enjoy the way that you think, not many people think the way you do. You are very open minded and just because you think this TODAY, doesn't mean you're going to think this your entire life. I love how you keep your options open and like learning from other opposing views. You are honestly such an inspiration! Don't EVER change the type of person you are to please others! I feel society needs more amazing people like yourself!
I'm Muslim and I believe in only one God. And I believe that before our prophet Mohamed there were other messengers like Jesus and I believe in every single one of them. And I also believe that the Quran is truly the words of God and there is proof for everything and guidance in it. And there are a lot of scientific facts that were discovered just now about the earth or humans, and they were written in the Quran 14 centuries ago before being discovered by us humans. Oh and btw I love your videos Nikki!!
Nikki, thank you so much for making this video. I was raised in catholic schools all 12 years. While my parents aren't practicing Catholics, their parents were and saw the importance religion can play in an upbring. Not to mention the common misconception that catholic school can offer a better education. While I had good grades and was in advanced classes, I really struggled with the religious aspect of my school. Most of what I was being taught made sense and seemed like a positive way to live my life, but there have always been glaring issues with Christianity for me (some of which you addressed). For the longest time I shunned spirituality altogether because large portions of what I was being taught directly contracted the main points that I believe religion was all about, loving eachother, loving yourself, and making the world a more positive place. It is only recently that I have started to be okay with having questions or even disagreeing with portions of religion. There are a lot of comments saying you can't pick and choose, but for me this has actually allowed me to develop my beliefs more and become a better person because I'm more aware of my values and more focused on being loving, rather than disregarding it altogether because nothing fits me. To those people saying you have to believe the bible 100%, I don't agree. The goal of any religion should be to love each other and make the world a better place. People get so caught up defending their faith that they forget what it actually teaches. Isn't tolerance a form of love? Isn't respect a form of love? How about you respect others opinions rather than tell them they are wrong, and tolerate those who chose to live lives different from what you believe (Ex. Gay marriage) Instead of concluding they are wrong or going to hell for not believing your religion or not believing to the extend that you do. I shouldn't have to state that you are allowed to have your opinion and share it, after all, it's called a comments section, but there is a way to defend yourself with intelligence and tact. Out of genuine curiosity is there not even one tiny piece of the bible or Christian teaching you are unsure about or don't agree with? Plenty of pastors and clergy disagree about interpretations or how teachings should be applied to our lives. We all think it's saying something different, and you expect people to 100% blindly and completely agree with the bible, to what interpretation does that refer? Yours? Are you more qualified than millions of professionals that still seem to disagree? Without interpretation and application to our lives the bible is just a book. By that logic you would agree with the interpretation, not the words because there is no way you can actually know what was meant, only infer. So if people disagree on the interpretation how can you expect them to take the bible as the whole and definite truth. You probably don't agree with this, and that's exactly my point. We are born to question things around us to learn about life and from that we develop our beliefs. It's okay to disagree. Nobody has all the answers, it would be nice if both extremely religious and non religious side-takers would stopped pretending they did.
It scares me when people who call themselves Christians and who have influence, make videos like this or put out their personal views. Christianity has SUCH a skewed view by the public because people represent it wrongly. Im not saying she's doing that, but please don't base your view on all of Christianity by what she says she believes in this video. Thank you 😌
So I've watched this before when you posted it, and I thought it was great and decided to come back to it 2 years later. This,-- your words seriously just touched my heart and you expressed every single thought I've been having lately! Ive been struggling with that grey area that you mentioned and just everything you said in this is exactly what I've been thinking. It honestly just made me feel so good to not feel so alone about it all! I've been praying that God would take away my bitterness that I've had lately, and that I would draw closer to him, and now that I'm older and just know more about the world around me, it's been difficult at times to feel his presence in my life and to feel so.. imperfect to him. I have always strived for Jesus and have always stood firm in my faith, and never even considered other things until these past few years. And that has scarred me a bit, feeling like I am not agreeing with things, and not living to God and the Bible's 'standards'. But at the end of the day, I know that it's all in God's hands, and I love him, and he loves me. Thank you for this video then, and now, Nikki! So glad to know of someone who has a similar heart !
One thing I really appreciate about this video (let's be honest, there's a LOT of things I loved about this video, haha) is that your argument against sex before marriage wasn't purely just 'because the bible says so'. I have heard a lot of debates about the topic as a Christian myself, and I'm honestly not 100% convinced that the bible alone explicitly is against it. HOWEVER, as someone who did actually have sex before marriage with a previous partner... I totally agree with your points about it being a very serious, emotionally binding thing. It's probably not something I'd even fully realised when I had sex. And that was with a person I was engaged to... and I had to call off our wedding 3 weeks before it was meant to happen. So you're totally spot on that you can break up riiiiiight up till you walk down that aisle and I think it's a really important thing to think about because WOW that emotional stuff is not fun to deal with. But yeah, thanks for being awesome and open about what you believe :)
she is one of the realist youtubers. creating a video about what she believes and trying to help other people. I'm pretty sure other "famous" youtubers wouldn't do this video. i am only 13 lol. but this video was honestly amazing.
Hi Nikki! The part where you mentioned about different conclusions, I just have to say that that it because of sin. what I mean is that the Bible even says in the last days, and now, people will simply choose what they want to believe and call it what they want so that they can "feel good". Jesus says His people will have life to the fullest, that means All parts of life, hard and peaceful. I just wanted to say this because the Bible is not for anyone to determine or draw conclusions about except for God. Even though I know it can be hard to do! To be sure things, make sure what you believe is Biblical, make sure you read the Scriptures in context and objectively about it. Since God is perfect and humans are flawed can you trust yourself to draw conclusions? The Bible is true because God wrote it through people who were filled with a love for him, they had Godly discernment. Don't let this make you're head spin, but all I'm saying is that a solid thing to do would be to pray, seriously pray with Jesus and ask for Him to reveal the truth, be in a church where the main concern is to ONLY glorify Jesus Christ, do some research, RC Sproul and Francis Chan clarify how in Christianity we're cannot lean on our own understanding, the Bible actually states that. I just want to make sure that you and others are following God and God only, and I know it can be hard! If you ever want to talk or anything just let me know, I love how you take stand for the faith! Stay humble and kind, God bless you :)
Nikki, I don't usually comment on UA-cam videos but this one really spoke to me. I do not consider myself a "religious" person. I was raised in a religious home but it never really resonated with me even when I was young. Throughout my life and after much research and wondering I came to a conclusion: No one really truly knows what is real and what is going to happen until death. And I truly feel that judging others only brings about hate and internal disharmony. I don't doubt that there is something out there that is greater than us yet I'm not sure what or who it is and I'm ok with that. I live my life and I try to be the best person I possibly can regardless of what is out there. I am no stranger to hateful comments (mostly from Christians which I agree is the most surprising part) about my stance on religion. But I try not to let it get to me. I'm glad that they have so much faith in something and that it makes them feel fulfilled. I just wish that everyone no matter what religion could just stop all of the judging and hate and just be perfectly imperfect people together. I have a lot of respect for you and this video and for the tolerance you have shown. I may not share the same religion but I share the same core values of just trying to love everyone and the uniqueness that this world contains. Never stray from what you truly believe in your heart and what ultimately makes you happy. You have a lot of courage for putting your beliefs out for the world to see. Happy January!
I am a christian i believe in god when i was born my family went to church when i was about 8 or 9 we stopped going because my dad wouldnt get up in the mornings but now i am 15 my family we still believe in god but my mom works on sundays so she can never take us really so being 15 im curious i really want to build a relationship with god and explore i mean explore what i think about this and that and i really want to just delve into my faith with all of me just totally immerse myself in it i feel like im at a point in my life where i am ready to just build my relationship with god devote my life to him
That is awesome at your age. Check out Joel Osteen he has podcasts. That way you can have a little church at home. Another suggestion would be to start a bible reading plan.
Definitely read your Bible and Pray! God really speaks to you through them and that shows Him that you are truly committed! It's so awesome that you a seeking a relationship with Him!!! Check out hisrock.net! God is really doing a great work through Pastor Wes there and Pastor really just preaches straight forward truth...They do podcasts and Livestreams. Highly Highly recommend!
If you have Internet access on your phone or at home go to JW.ORG, it has so many great answers to many of the questions we have today all based off of gods word the bible. I hope you get to check this website out. Also check out the section for teens and I recommend reading "young people ask" and make sure you have your bible on hand because that's where all the answers will come from :)
That's great that you want to learn more about God. I would advise you not to go to jw.org as it is a Jehovah's Witness website and they are cult-like in doctrine and behaviour. I would advise you to read your bible and pray everyday, find a church(nondenominational until you find exactly what you believe) there you can worship, fellowship and get answers to your questions :) also look up freshlife church on UA-cam. Some really good sermons on there :) God Bless xx
I love how open you are about your religion and how unapologetic you are for your view points. It makes me even happier that your view is pretty much every body can do their own thing. I went to a tiny Christian high school and was pretty much told I was going to hell for not agreeing with them, so it's wonderful to find people who are strong in their Faith that are not forcing it on to others. Loved this video. I choose not to talk about my view points online because of the backlash, I wish people would be more chill about it.
I just want to say hi, um I do not believe in god whatsoever do not get mad. I never really have I would pray and the next day the worst would happen so I stopped believing. Life is not great for me not because I don't believe in god but because of what people have said about me. I don't believe in god because how could someone who never lived create a world and then a heaven no way can anyone do that. Wether he is up destructible or not does not matter but I also do not believe in science it really doesn't tell logic all the time. So I am sorry if this is offensive but I honestly don't get how god could be something to worship if we have no proof. I have heard all the sayings seeing is not believing believing is seeing but that doesn't make sense sorry I had to say this.
In my religion, worst things happen to good people, maybe god loves you thats why you face the worst things/people, or a test of how strong your faith is, god doesn't have to prove himself to people, follow your heart girl :) my religion is Islam
while prayer is an important aspect of it all, you first need to develop a relationship with him. confess your sins, ask for forgiveness, and let him work through your life in mysterious ways. he has three ways of answering prayer: yes, no, and not yet. the bad things that take place in life are all part of his divine plan for you. something that often turns those away from believing is that they pray once and they feel it wasn't answered. you really need to put effort into it, devote at least half of an hour to your day to speaking to him, and, i promise, you will see him begin to work in your life :)
Look I get what you are saying I am connected to the saint Santa Claus there is many connections but I do not believe the worst happens to the best that is not god that is just bad luck it has brought any good to my life and if you were in my shoes you would understand
Look I also get what you are saying but I believe that gays are ok and so many things against the bible the bible is so falsified I don't get it god doesn't work in magic for me he ruins me and that is if he is real my life doesn't need religion to depend upon but thank you for your opinion
Nikki, it's really inspiring to watch you speak so candidly and so openly about your beliefs. I'm from a very accepting Christian family, but I'm often on the fence about faith. I'm gay, so I sometimes feel ostracized by some faith communities, and it's made me a little wary of certain sects of Christianity. I don't often comment on videos, but I really wanted you to know that I'm very touched by your open-mindedness and kind heart. I had a smile on my face by the time I finished watching your video, and I wish you all the very best!
Nikki, I see a lot of criticism in the comments from Christians but I just want to tell you how much I love the way you went about this video. As a Hindu girl who loves your videos I'm so glad I didn't have to hear you saying you think I'm going to hell for not believing in Jesus! Excellent job speaking on a touchy subject without alienating viewers of other faiths :)
I am a Christian as well and It has been encouraging to see youtubers like yourself and rachel talbott not be afraid to actively share the fact that you are Christians. With that being said, I feel like you do have a lot of growing to do in your faith (as do I). I guess I was a little concerned when you said that you choose not to take a stance on heaven/hell. This is such a big part of Christianity and the whole point of us being on earth is to go forth and make disciples (Matthew 28:19). We should be sharing the love of Jesus Christ to all so that they may be saved as we have been saved. Im glad you're spreading the love of Jesus around but I urge you to take the reigns on your faith and choose to believe in heaven and hell because they are real places. Thanks for sharing your beliefs with us. I know it must have been intimidating but I appreciate your honesty and transparency.
I was raised christian but i dont know somethings dont always make sense. Like why would god kill jesus if he loved him so much? I was looking into islam and it says that god saved him and that makes more sense to me..god didnt hurt solomon, moses, or noah so why would he let jesus go through so much suffering? Thats just my opinion, still trying to figure out my thoughts
I am a Muslim and in Islam we believe that God raised Jesus into heaven he did not get crucified. We also believe that Jesus will come back with Imam Mahdi before the end of time to save us from the dajal (the one claiming to be the Messiah).
Hi :-) Your question is really complicated but it's also a really good question! I'm not an expert but I guess I can try to explain it to you from what I know as a Catholic. The reason God sent Jesus, His only Son, was bc He loved us so much and He wanted to save us from our sins. It's very much like a parable I read a while ago about a father who sacrificed his son, who was in danger, in order to save a train packed with people. Also much like the story of Abraham and his son, Isaac. It's all about the sacrifice. Jesus was destined for the cross. He was born for the cross in order to save the rest of the world from their sins. God had a plan for Jesus, much like He has a plan for the rest of us. It was necessary for Jesus to give His life for us (the ultimate sacrifice) so that He could be resurrected. You said that you read into Islam and it says that God saved Jesus. The Resurrection is God saving Jesus, thus saving all of us as well. As far as killing Jesus, it was not God who killed Him. It was the people at the time who rejected Him and condemned Him to death as it was foretold. You have to remember that the Resurrection is the most central part of Christianity bc it proves everything that Jesus claimed to be. If Jesus had not risen from the dead, then Christianity would have been a lie. The Crucifixion and the Resurrection go hand in hand. They are what allow us to go to Heaven to be with God for the rest of time. I'm not 100% sure if what I said is totally right,, I was writing off the top of my head :-) I encourage you to do more research and also ask lots of questions! You can maybe try to call into a Catholic or Christian radio station where they have people who are more knowledgeable than I. Anyhow, I hope this helped you! God bless!!
In Islam you are accountable for your own deeds and cannot depend on any person to enter Heaven. Only way is to do good and ask for God's mercy, the Most Mericiful. I am Muslim btw. Also a question for Christians, which I'm curious to hear your perspective on: Why would God create you, if you are already destined for Heaven because of Jesus's sacrifice for you?
Hera A Your question is also complicated haha.. As far as I know, God created humans to be His companions but then the whole Adam and Eve situation happened, thus creating original sin. Because of that incident, we are born sinners. God gives all of us the freedom to choose to do what we want and, after we die, our souls still have free will--we can choose to do penance for our sins in Purgatory in order to go to Heaven or we can choose Hell, aka eternal separation from God. We are not 'destined' for Heaven or Hell because we have free will. What you said about how, in Islam, the only way into Heaven is to do good and ask for God's mercy is actually very similar to what Christians believe! Again, I encourage you to ask the experts (I'm just a 16 year old girl and my words are not fact lol). God bless!
I think theres a hidden reason I found you and your channel. I've struggled with my faith for a long time. Growing up in utah, a predominantly LDS state, and in the church pretty much ruined religion for me when I was around 11 because my bishop came to our girls class and told us we should always obey our husband and our bishop, that we are meant to be at home with children and doing everything her husband tells you regardless of your opinion or what you want to do. That being said i know now that i am older and married (21) and a mom, that what others may think is right may not actually be right. Im not a devout christian but our opinions and our faith are very very similar. Especially finding the church that finally felt like home, etc I love your personality and your positive attitude. Tha k you for being so open and honest! Love you xoxo
Ugh Nikki! I CAN SO relate! Sometimes I feel that same sense of rejection and criticism from my Muslim brothers and sisters and I'm like....wait, what? It's so disheartening and I've adopted a very similar mindset in terms of my own faith. Live and let live! Believe and let others believe! Just so refreshing to see someone with the same mindset!
Salam, I believe I must send my Salam for it is my duty as a muslim to send peace to my fellow muslim family. I agree with you and do believe that people within religions may criticize each other for maybe reasons such as not properly following the religion or disagreeing with the way you may be doing things. And for this I believe that we as muslims should give each other the benefit of the doubt. For prophet Muhamad said, "Give your brother 70 excuses." Its not a shock that this happens for it is only human nature to judge others. But I believe that if we all properly follow our religion the way our prophet taught us and the way Islam tells us then we won't need anyone judging others. May Allah Guide Us All and Help Unite Us On Islam :)
Sajah Abdelghani Nabela Noor hi girls! i started reading 21st century english books on hadiths and islam and it got me really pumped up! I also have this saying that says "faith only goes up" I'm not being biased but i've never felt more secure or content
THANK YOU THANK YOU THANK YOU!!! I have just been struggling with the fact that I don't agree with everything that the general population of Christians seem to believe in. Especially with your point on gay marriage. I just don't see how we have a right to tell someone what they are feeling is wrong when we have no proof that it is a sin at all, and even if it is, it's still our responsibility to love others. You made a major point about choosing what to believe in and how a lot of people (mainly christians) don't agree with that, but that is exactly how I see it too. It's not like I'm choosing things that only benefit me. Like if I did something that I believed was wrong and was in the bible as so, I wouldn't just suddenly choose not to believe that part anymore just to benefit myself, because that's not at al what this is about. It's about your faith and you can't have good faith in God if there are things that just seem morally wrong to you. These things have greatly put a damper on my relationship with the church I used to attend because they just seemed to constantly bring up things that seemed wrong to me. I still would like to attend church, but the one I have access to just makes my faith falter because it is like they are telling me what I believe is wrong. So I unfortunately have had to stop attending services there, but have been able to feel better about my faith. But thank you for posting this video because it makes me feel a lot better in my faith and my approach to it. It helps to know that I am not the only one that thinks this way but can still have a good relationship with God nonetheless. Thank you.
This is my own opinion. I respect religious people and I don't judge them or their beliefs. Personally, I am not religious. I don't believe in any God. When people say things like "God made me this way", "God chose this path for me", "God/the Bible told me to do that", "God/the Bible says this is good/bad" etc. it just doesn't sit well with me. The way I see life is that YOU make your own decisions, your own opinions and you learn from them, YOU choose your own path. This is your life. Basically, YOU are responsible for your own life. You shouldn't base your life on something else or blame God if it isn't going well. Be your own person.
I respect your religion and every other religion I'm a Muslim And I just wanna say something God doesn't have a family God is by his own no wife,son,daughter,father, or mother And Jesus is a prophet that sent a message to the world to believe in God and the religion There is many more prophets Our prophet is Mohammed And I thank god every day for everything Please respect my opinion
Agree with absolutely EVERYTHING. This also makes me feel so much better and more confident about what I believe and my faith. You made it all make so much more sense. My best friend is gay and for years I've been trying to put my thoughts into words about why I don't necessarily think being gay is a sin, and you said it perfectly. Its not my place to tell them who they are or are not. And Jesus called us to love each other. So that is what I will do... Whether they are a "sinner" or not. That's not my decision to make. And if I am the only "Jesus" they see in their life, then I need to be that for them. I also agreed with everything else you touched on. I've said this before, but I look up to you for so many reasons, spirituality and your faith being the biggest reason. Thankful for people like you who are so transparent about your faith and your walk with God. I always feel so refreshed after How To Be Happy January. Can't believe there's only a week left. ❤❤❤
I don't think she was at all saying that she doesn't believe in heaven and hell, just that she isn't going to dwell on how to get there which is exactly how it should be. No one should live their lives trying to get into heaven, they should live it for God. If they do that, they'll get there.
Hey girl! I'm a youth leader at my church and I just want to say, wow. The courage and strength it must of took to post this, not knowing what the outcome of it would be, is so inspiring & I really respect you for this. You are entitled to your opinion & so is everyone else! Keep spreading the love & God's word :) also, for the people who say "you don't believe in God cause you haven't felt Him", there are so many ways to feel God. Even long time Christians may not! But that's where faith comes in. Stay strong in your faith, nikki!
Jehovah's Witnesses are really great people, they all try their best to follow principles in the bible and try hard to make themselves better people and all their beliefs are based on what the bible says, they don't twist things and they are all unified in what they believe. I think you would really appreciate them Nikki, and I know they would really welcome you if you visited their church. i felt very welcomed and cared for when went.
Of course we are christians ahahah being christians means believing in Jesus as The son Of God and believing He is the only one who can save us by his sacrifice and lead us To God Im 18 and been raised in a family of jw and i can say It is not oppressive At all My religion brings out The Best of me gives me values and morals so dont assume your husbands point of view as The right point of view and dont talk about things You do not know ok? ;) bye
Sabrina C. Being Christian involves the whole Trinity. Father, Son, Holy Spirit. Didn't the Watchtower say armageddon was going to happen in 1975? he bible clearly says only God knows the hour. And being "defellowshipped" because you did something out of line with JW teaching? that doesn't sound very Christian to me. I could go on and on.
blackandblue10 Lol XD.. its not out of line with JW teaching.. its if someone's out of line with BIBLE teaching... Obviously you dont know much about JWs... lol x)
I feel bad for Nikki. Instead of allowing her to form her own relationship with God, lots of Christians in the comments are tearing her faith down saying she 'can't pick and choose what parts of the Bible she believes.' Everyone who is religious picks and chooses. What about fabrics like polyester that you're not supposed to wear? How about shellfish? Costly garments and gold jewelry for women? Divorce? You can't deal in absolutes unless you're doing all of those things 'right.'
How can you defend what you stand for? You don't believe that the Bible is God's word. Why don't you base God's teachings on any other book? You say you have no proof that God exists. Why believe He does? When you claim to have no evidence, why are you believing what you believe? There would be no reason to. Your account of your faith basically boils down to your emotional and somewhat spiritual feelings. And the feelings of the people around you (this is what you stated). A problem arises when the only reason you claim to have for believing in Christ and in God is your emotional response. Faith is not simply blind belief in what makes you "feel" something. There should be reason and logic that backs up your faith and makes it evident. Or at least provides an explanation for your trust in God. Otherwise, why believe in something you can't defend or don't understand? You can't.
I'm not Christian (or any religion) but I attend a Christian university. When I saw that you were gonna make a video about this I was kind of dreading watching it. But you have such intelligent and constructive opinions on everything while putting opinions different than your own into perspective. Especially how explained that you've chosen to subscribe to your faith and nobody has the proof to tell someone that what they're doing is wrong because it goes against the word of God. I've developed a whole new level of respect for you and I'm not religious in any way! You rock
Hey Nikki! This was really brave of you to do :) I respect everything you said and please dont let those bashing your beliefs because their views are different, they just cant see outside their own opinions. God bless you and your family ♡♡♡
Nikki! I am beyond proud of your for being bold in your faith. We live in a time where being politically correct controls a lot of conversation and the hostile opinion of Christians persists. A lot of people claim to be Christians but show no evidence or touch on in in their videos or other platforms. For that I want to thank you! I am in college for Bible right now and while too much theology leaves me confused and feeling a little heartless about things, I have learned a lot and I have gained a relationship with God on an intellectual level as well as an emotional. He is to be Father who is to be adored and feared. Right now our culture is really really focused on the LOVE and FAITH aspect of Christianity. But one thing I have really learned in following Christ has a balance we will never perfect or even understand, but it is important. While love an faith are wonderful, beyond words important, the flip-side to them both are also very very important. JUSTNESS AND KNOWLEDGE. God calls us deeper than simply floating by on love and faith, and it can suck and be really hard. God is Holy and He will judge us and He does punish and steer those who are disobedient and we are going to have to answer for what we do or don't do. He gave us the Bible not to just reassure and encourage us, but to stab into every area of our lives directing us towards Him, and it is more concrete than you gave it credit for. We also can't be lazy or complacent in FAITH, why do you believe what you believe?-- it is important. Being a Christian has a huge cost and can really make you somber, but it it the only thing than can bring true, everlasting joy. God breathed the stars and calls us His children. We need to approach him in awe and in humility.
A- thank you for the compliment. It is a very stressful thing just putting this type of video up! Lol B- I am aware that there is more to Christianity than just love and faith BUT because Jesus said SO clearly that love is the MOST important thing...I'm choosing to believe him. And honestly - I'm not a pastor. I'm not trying to stab at people and make them see the "error of their ways"... This was just a video on MY beliefs and how I see things and choose to live my life. I read my bible, consult with people who know and love me, attend church and seek council... So I really do try and examine my life. That being said I'm sure as you've seen in the church...& there is no way around it...people are divided. Because of that I have decided for myself to keep learning, strive to love others (which I know you said is a huge focus in our culture...but if you look around, we're not doing it that well... Hahaha) and grow in wisdom. I'm choosing to not have harsh opinions on things I don't know for sure (because everyone's outlook on certain issues are different)... So ya- that was rambley! Haha I hope that made sense:)
NikkiPhillippi Thanks for taking the time to respond to me and being a part of this conversation! Yeah I completely follow you, this is such a hard thing you are doing trying explain your faith. We are all honestly one big mess when it comes to opinions and love. I think after reading some comments I follow a little more what you are getting at. It is great how we can challenge one another. I just feel that there is a danger of being " lukewarm" (over-used word, but fits I guess) which you clearly are not in your persistence to know God, even in your routine videos. No complaints about what you are doing! It is honestly refreshing coming from all my theology and biblical classes.
We Do Have Proof.....😩Nikki please ILY but this is kinda wishy washy... We have an anchor for our soul. love you tho!! this is so courageous and lovely xxoox
All that I meant is that I don't look down on other peoples intelligence... and other intelligent individuals believe different things and that is there prerogative. I realize that we DO in fact have evidence in terms of the stories that occur in the bible... I simply meant that we as a population can not say with COMPLETE certainty that what any of us believe is true. We weren't there in the beginning...we have not met God or Jesus face to face... It's all faith. Because of that I don't want to slam my beliefs down people's throats... Besides, some Christians would argue that even if I did slam my beliefs down people's throats it wouldn't matter because God chooses us not the other way around (which is that whole theological debate I said I didn't want to participate in.) so YA! Thank you though for your compliment!:) I just wanted to address your first comment:)
Nikki this blew me away. You're probably getting all kinds of comments that are trying to change what you believe or whatever and I just felt like I should say how I feel about this video. This video was extremely respectful. You are setting a great example. I respect you the things you had to say, and your beliefs a lot. Although, I am not a christian and I don't really think that believe in that kind of a God as of right now (I have spiritual beliefs but I don't choose to identify with any specific religion because I don't want to feel pressured to fit into any kind of mold, I just have my own thoughts and that's all. I don't take it too seriously, I'm the same way and just think everyone should spread love) how you portrayed yourself was highly respectful AND I find what you believe and how you believe it to be as well! You're very open minded and that's great! I was somewhat raised by a very strict "old-school" christian family, and they are very by the book, and very close minded. I believe that the kind of Christian you are, is the kind of Christian everyone should be! Sending love to you! Keep doing what you're doing!
Tell it, girl! Everyone's allowed to believe what they wish to believe, so true, all the fighting and the war born of people's anger at others for not believing as they do is the saddest thing. As a girl from a family of scientists, I myself and agnostic atheist, however I genuinely find religion really interesting especially having covered human psychology so much in my degree...you'd be amazed at the statistics for happiness/health/longevity amongst communities who come together in whatever faith they have (including atheists who gather in a community-like way) :) I would consider myself to be spiritual in my own way, though X
Hi Niki and other viewers, I am 13 years old a d a Christian. It breaks my heart to read all these comments about atheists and non believers. I would just like to say that God has truly helped me and blessed me in my life threw the power of prayer. I was ready something and it said you win threw hard work and God is just an excuse but though hard work can contribute to your success we would be no where without God. In our lives we will have many successes but wuth God we will do in addition the successes things we thought we would never dream of. There was a point in my relantionship with God and I thought "Where are you? How do I know that you are true?" . To all non believers how do you explain people being healed on the spot a d speaking in tongues. When the holy spirit cones into you .. . It is amazing and that is when you know that this God that we talk about is real and amazing. God sent his son, Jesus to die as a living sacrifice so that we would have our relantionship with God. God has done so many personal miracles in my life that people would see as not likely. It breaks my heart to read about this non believers because I want them to feel what I feel, why God is amazing and wonderful. I don't see this as a RELIGION but as a RELANTIONSHIP. I always talk to my God about problens, ask him to help me or I even just casually talk with him. I'm sorry that those Christians talked about you Niki then again we are all not perfect. The way I see it is that Christians are people who just have a relantionship with their father and understand the history. God is love and please understand that. He is knocking on your door, all you need to do is open it.
But if you believe in God and believe that Jesus is the son of God, then you believe that the Bible is God's word and that you should learn from it and keep it close to your heart. The bible talks about heaven and hell, and if you are truly a Christian who believes in Jesus, then you should believe in heaven and hell. All you need to do is claim Jesus as your personal savior and repent and ask for forgiviness for your sins, and then you will be forgiven and go to heaven.
I'm so glad you made this video, I was raised as a Mormon, but stopped going to church when I was 15. We were a poor family in a very wealthy neighborhood and I got treated really terrible at church, there came a point where I just got fed up with the judgement and felt extremely unwelcome. My husbands in the same boat, the last time he went to church he wasn't wearing a tie and 30 people must have pointed it out until he eventually got sent home. We live in Utah where religion can get pretty extreme and we have just started trying to get pregnant. We really want to start going to church when we have a kid, but are not sure where to go where we will feel welcome. I was wondering if you could tell me what kind of church you go to? I love your views and the fact that you can go to church wearing casual clothes and would love to have the same experience! Thanks for being so awesome and sharing your beliefs without being pushy and judgemental, it's not something I see a lot of and I really appreciate it :) 💗💗💗
The evidence is the many things that have came to pass since the bible was written. You can call yourself any type of religion, but the truth is the bible. I don't understand why you say you don't have any proof in what you believe, I'm not sure how to interpret that. Im a Christian, I attend a non-denominational church, and I have proof in what I believe in. Its not just faith, because there have been many miracles, which is proof, of God in my life and in others. Also, I don;t understand how you dont take a stance on some thing sin the bible. Obviously, the old testament( in the ways they lived) is old, and that i not how the new generations live. But you can't just take bits & pieces of the bible and then call it Christianity. Whats the point of following a religion that has no eternal follow up. Heaven and hell is very talked about in the bible. Theres even stories on the news of miners that had to stop digging because they heard screams from deep in the earth, look it up! Heaven and hell is real, and its a huge topic in the bible, you can just decide to rule it out. There are many versus/stories in the bible where it talks about homosexuality, 1 Timothy 1:9-10 is one of them. I love you Nikki and I have always watched and supported you, and I always will. But I don't understand why you take something so important so lightly. Its like you're a lukewarm Christian. But thats just my opinion...
If we're being honest here, I think you are really cool. You are an inspiring person. I applaud the way you have gone about holding yourself on such a public platform with your faith and your relationship with Dan. I have been a believer for as long as I remember but kind of fell out of going to church and reading the bible and being a light for him. This video really made me feel His love. Thank you Nikki. Love you girl!
I really really really appreciate this video. My dad grew up with a lot of religion thrown at him from a very young age that he doesn't really have a particular religion he feels like he should be apart of. My mom, on the other hand, grew up in Germany and moved 20 times by the time she was 18 and her father (my grandfather) never really cared enough to take the time and be an active member of any church setting. this being said, I've grown up being atheist. It was never a problem when I was younger, nor was it relevant in any way, to anyone I knew. now that I'm older though, I've learned that people judge me on my beliefs. I am heavily invested in science and because there is no proof, my brain can't accept that it was/is real. However, I would like to learn more about Christianity without people judging me for who I am already so I can make an informed opinion on my beliefs. One thing I'd like to say is that I hate the fact that because I don't have a specified religion, I'm automatically slapped with a label (Atheism) and disregarded with thought that I'm not good.
I invite you all to read the English translation of the Quran (final unchanged words of God) to find the truth yourself. There is NO god but Allaah, Mohamed and Jesus were the messengers of Allaah. Peace be upon you ~
I've been rolling my eyes each time you've mentioned that God and faith are your reasons to be happy, since I'm an atheist and an overall happy person. However, I realize that my annoyance at your talk of spirituality isn't fair to you. I like your open-minded approach to your faith. I am not the militant atheist who thinks that all religion is poison (I run into those types every day in my local atheist Facebook group), or that religious people are stupid or even misguided in their beliefs. I think that if it's what gives you joy when the world inevitably gets bleak, then it should absolutely be a part of your life. If it is your motivation to be kinder to others and to make the world a better place, then I'm all for it. My mom is very religious, and her faith has gotten her through some really dark days, so for that I am grateful. I was a religious person for 21 years of my nearly 26. It was a comfort to me, and I liked being able to be so sure of something. However, a few cracks in my beliefs started showing up after high school (OK, so maybe a little bit of it was that I wanted to drink and have sex) until finally the evidence against it became strong enough that it just crumbled. I love science, and we keep discovering new explanations for things where we used to just say "God did it." So yeah, I just want to say that even though I disagree with your belief I have a higher power (my higher power is math-based ;D), I respect your point of view and the extra push it gives people to live better lives. Sorry, that was long...
Oh man, this is so sad. Please don't watch this video and let yourself become lukewarm in your beliefs. There's no integrity here. It's all so wish washy and "whatever you feel for yourself", choose what makes you happy. This isn't right, please don't buy into it...hold fast to the confession of your faith without wavering or doubting.
I'm beyond sadden. You cannot choose what you like from scripture! Jesus talked about love, but He also talked about Hell and Heaven.
Amen! That's exactly what I was thinking. I kinda felt like she didn't want to step on any toes.
Well I'm glad she didn't tell us that everyone who isn't a Christian is going to hell or that gay marriage shouldn't be legal. I hope that's not what you believe either.
***** in the bible (new testament) says the only way for a divorce to be okay is if someone committed adultery.
***** This was in the old covenant with Moses. Jesus came to give us a new covenant. Where works cannot save only Jesus can save. Works cannot save!
And being a Christian you can't pick or choose what you want to believe in just because it's less confusing that way... Heaven is real and every Christian will say that. Id have to say you're not a Christian. You'd have no doubt about all of this.. You are just clinging on to an idea to make yourself feel better. You have a long journey to go.
I didn't say I don't believe in heaven and hell... I said that I choose not to think about it. I choose to focus on loving people. Because even the most studious theologians will debate Arminianism and Calvinism (the debate as to whether God chooses you or you choose God)... Because of that I have personally chosen to focus on what Jesus told the Pharisees is the MOST important commandment... To love my God with all my heart, all my soul and all my mind and to love my neighbor as myself and then to point to Jesus. I don't decide whether someone goes to heaven or hell so I don't focus on it that much. I don't know if that clarified anything and if you still don't think I'm not a Christian that's ok. Lol I just wanted to clarify:)
NikkiPhillippi I really follow you on this Nikki! This is something that should never effect our day to day lives and how we treat people. I think it just threw some people off how you weren't too intellectual the whole video and they brushed on these rather heavy topics in a really quick, profound way that it got mixed up with the rest of your simple-ish video. IDK if that makes sense. Again thank you for this video and creating platform for this conversation.
Religion is a personal thing. You cannot tell a person what they are or are not. Faith is personal. Belief is personal. How would we ever learn or develop if everyone followed monotonous guidelines and never questioned? I highly doubt you follow EVERY part of the bible. All major churches have picked and chosen bits and pieces that suited them. Very few religions are pure and consistent with the way they begun. We are human. Things get distorted along the way. Sometimes for the better, sometimes not.
That makes much more sense. Thank you.
Oh my god. You are ridiculous.
The proof is that there are hundreds of prophecies in the Bible and so far they have all been fulfilled. The Old Testament was written roughly 400 years before Jesus was born & the messiah was talked about in the Old Testament. that is the proof.
A good way to look at it is like comparing God to an artist. Do you believe in Picasso? How could you if you have never seen him, or spoken to him or touched him? We believe that he is real and we know he exists because we have seen his art. Look around you, the art and creations of God are all around us!
Also I don't really believe that you can pick and choose which parts of the Bible you do and don't believe in.
Samantha Page this is awesome. At least someone here agrees with me.
Samantha Page I was going to say the same thing! I feel like the attitude of just picking a couple of things you agree with is so wrong. Jesus never said "Hey it's fine to just listen to me on a couple of things, everything else never mind"
flgir I agree! It's so sad, I'm not angry. I am zealous for my Lord's Word, but I am mostly sad.
Camila Alvarez I totally agree. I use to be like this, but I went to bible school... And my eyes have been truly opened.
I love you Nikki, but after hearing you saying there's no proof that God is real yet you have a relationship with God, those 2 things contradict each other. If u had a true relationship with God like u say you'd experience him and wouldn't say those things. I feel like u just agree with Christian values but don't actually experience or believe in it. This isn't hate. I hope u experience God one day and get clarity :)
I totally agree! she kept saying there is no proof, but if you have a personal relationship with God you feel his presence and him watching over you
No.. they actually don't. She is referring to other people that have other faiths than her. She is saying that no one has actual concrete evidence that there is a God (and having faith is not evidence) and she is not going to try and dissuade other's beliefs, which is a respectful thing to do. There is no actual proof to prove that God is real, there just isn't. You cannot prove that any faith is real, that's why it's called *faith*. Just because she isn't a Christian in how you practice does not make her relationship with God invalid.
Exactly i don't like all what she says and its not a truth answer about her questions!
By the all the questions that you want to know the true answer is here in this link!
Just click it and start chat then select your name and age and religion "if you want" then there is some one will chat with you about that religion questions !
www.edialogue.org/index/en
Thank you so much guys❤️❤️❤️❤️❤️
I think she meant there is no PHYSICAL proof of God.
I agree 100% I love her and her videos but when she said that its like, if you say there's no proof you most likely haven't felt God the way maybe other people have. I know I have felt him so strong! I'm actually going on a youth trip today! I went there last year and the power of God is real in that place!
I agree with EVERYTHING you had to say. My mom is Gay I am Christian and I believe I was made to love, be love and show love. I believe God created different religions because he needed to reach everyone in the way that spoke to them. He is ONE God with many messengers of his love.
Amen 🙏☝️🙌
God didn't create religion, in facts he hates it. Man made religion. It was people who believed in different things and formed a "religion".
I agree I was saying amen to the whole god prt he is the all mighty
That was so beautifully said! I never thought of it that way (: I'm Christian too
that's a wonderful point of view!! beautiful! :)
To me, my Christian faith can be boiled down to this:
My life's purpose is
1) to know God and
2) to make Him known.
xo
I don't like to say I'm religious, i just like to say I follow Jesus! I think religion "says do but Jesus says done" its not about works or how good you are its about aligning your life to Gods. I believe there is only one God and its Jesus Christ, and he's the only way to eternal life. He is the only way to happiness on this earth! He died on the cross for me and loves me, so why wouldn't i want to spend every day living for him?!? He created all of us and loves us all. Its a fight each day to put aside our own personal grief and struggles and choose to love and follow him but its so worth it. Jesus + Nothing = Everything
Amen!! By the way.. I love that video! Jeffereson Bethke, right? I'm reading his book right now and it's so good!
Amen!
love that video!
Amen! I couldn't agree more
Amen, sister!
A UA-camr not ashamed of the Gospel?? Making regular videos and open enough to share her faith? I don't need to even see the other videos to know I'd love them and want to stick around, I subscribed!
+Alexandria Davis Welcome to my channel Alexandria! So happy to have you here!😘💕
NikkiPhillippi im a Christian
Nikki, I was wondering if you have accepted Christ as your personal Savior? If so, you can be assured that you are indeed, going to Heaven. There is no need to worry about talking about Heaven--it does exist. John 3:16-17 says, "For God so loved the world that He gave His one and only Son, that whoever believes in Him shall not perish but have eternal life. For God did not send his Son into the world to condemn the world, but to save the world through him."
***** did you not watch the video. She still has doubts about heaven/hell
Not necessarily--When you accept Jesus, you have the assurance that you are going to Heaven and therefore, believe in Heaven and Hell. This is in no way meant to be judgmental.
I was wondering the same. She talks about being a Christian, but I pray she truly understands what a Christian is, and that is a follower of Christ. As a born again Christian, I know without a doubt, how dooming hell is and am so thankful i know 100% I will spend eternity with my Lord in heaven!
If we go to heaven for accepting Christ as our savior then who are the meek ones that will reside on earth forever in peace? God is a God of love and would never want to see us suffer in something called Hell.... The earth in the beginning was suppose to be a place of peace a paradise... And his promise is to bring that back... Psalms 37:10,11 and verse 29 says "Just a little while longer, and the wicked will be no more; You will look at where they were, And they will not be there. But the meek will possess the earth, And they will find exquisite delight in the abundance of peace. The righteous will possess the earth, And they will live forever on it."
Amen to you my sister in Christ!
It's really hard for me to hear you say you have this strong faith and belief in Jesus and the bible, but then go ahead and say there is no proof that what you believe is the truth. It's scary how Christianity has changed and how people modify the bible to fit their own beliefs. Nikki I know that God loves you and he wants you to see the proof in your every day life. Nature is proof, miracles are proof, prayers are proof, the Holy spirt is proof, the fact that many people give their lives to Jesus everyday is proof. God loves every single one of us. Gay, straight, black, white, hurt, happy, falling apart. He accepts us as his own children. It pains him to see his people sining, and being just lukewarm In their faith. Like the saying Love the person hate the sin. Society today is filled with sinful people that haven't experienced Christ.We as Christians have a duty to spread out faith and help people in need. I believe that love is very very important, and that Jesus dying and taking all our sins upon himself is proof of that. But God is also a very scary God. He hates sin so much that he is willing to do anything to drive the devil away, but you need to take that first step and WANT to accept Christ. We shouldn't be afraid of God like he's going to punish us if we sin, we should be afraid of disappointing Him through our sins. We should want to do good, and let people know that Christ is out savior. I want to pray for this world, and everyone that's unsaved, or for those that are having a hard time believing in such an omnipresent, powerful God, or for someone that's just going through a hard time.
And if anyone just wants to talk, about literally anything email me! Khristina Torchilo
In regard to the first sentence, I think she meant that she believes and KNOWS God is real because of how He has shown presence in her life and the lives of those around her, but it is nearly impossible to explain/show that to someone who does not believe in God...if that makes sense
I truly think she meant physical, tangible proof that a God exists. That's why Faith is so important to her. In her heart, how she feels, is her personal proof.. but it's hard to explain things... with any subject.. without physical, tangible proof.
You say God loves gay people yet you're troubled by how Christianity has adapted or people change their intrptetTions? Untill the last few decades and still in some churches christiNity had shunned gay people. Ow do you explain discrepancies between sects or churches? I wonder if you beliefs are troubling to certain other Christians.
HowdyAshley moshayy6 I understand what you guys are saying and all, but nature is physical, and tangible proof. How can you look at the beautiful mountains and the stunning sunset/sunrise and not see Gods artistic creations. All the colors, shapes, and textures in nature are so precise and perfectly made that it could have only been the creation of our wonderful, all powerful God.
Part of believing in Jesus is believing that the Bible is in fact a FACT and a message of God's own living words to man. Corinthians explains that there are four things that ruin a man and one of those is man's philosophy. Do not let a preacher or priest or any man tell you what it is right to believe; that is what causes confusion. The "word of faith" movement (those like Joel Olsteen) is very deceptive and does not teach people anything but to be lukewarm. God's truth is love. It is our mission in this life to find that truth.
***** I'm not going to say he isn't a Christian. But he is a prosperity and positive thinker pastor. I personally believe that we need to follow no man, only the Word of God. Testing what man says against the Bible always!
*****
luxconcept I think you missed the point in what Joel and his wife meant. People go to church to worship because it makes them feel closer to god, obedient, happy, etc. That's what she most likely meant. So in a roundabout way, people go to church for themselves. And what is wrong with saying that god will make you successful? I've heard WAY worse things come out of christian mouths. I personally like Joel's message because he doesn't come off preachy or over the top, it's all about positivity and love from what I've heard him say.
In other words, don't think for yourself and be a mindless robot?
So true. Very well put. My suggestion to anyone wanting to know more or seek after the Truth. Get plugged into a Bible teaching church. Start reading the Bible on your own and ask the Lord to reveal Himself to you. I would suggest reading the book of John. God bless you all!
I think its really cool that you have the guts to voice your religious preferences. So many people hate discussing this topic just because the worry about the haters they may receive.
Much Love!
As a Catholic I definitely disagree with a lot of things in this video. I think some of your beliefs and opinions contradict each other. But I really do admire your passion for your faith and I have learned a lot from you so thank you Nikki!
Hey as a non-denominational Christian who is frequently studies Catholicism (school) I know where you think you are coming from. But in reality we believe Jesus loves everyone as a core so she really is not contradicting her beliefs. I hope that makes sense. I'm just trying to make it clear for you and everyone else Catholicism and Christianity are actually very different in the outer beliefs and of course everyone is entitled to their own opinions beyond that.
Kendall Shelby no, I'm also a nondenominational Christian. And I don't agree with half the things she said.
Nikki, I respect your beliefs and I'm not trying to be rude, but you contradict yourself a lot in this video. To have Faith in God means to 100% believe that he's real. Saying "He may or may not exist" isn't the same thing. Thats not faith, that's guessing and hoping you're right. God says not to lean on your own understanding because that will lead you astray. You seem to share some of the same values of a Christian, but don't have the mindset of a true believer. You have to be for it completely or not at all. You can't only focus on the good parts and ignore all the parts that scare you or make you really think hard, like about heaven and hell. Those parts are just as significant, if not even more. Bible specifically talks about lukewarm Christians. You are either for God or for Satan. You can't be both. Christianity isn't just about doing good deeds and spreading love, though thats important too. It's about obeying God and His word and spreading the gospel like he tells us to do. Sorry that I sound like I'm ranting cause I'm mad or something, like I said I understand your point of view even though I don't agree. This is just how I feel.
*please no hate people I'm not trying to be that one judgy person, I just don't agree with her and I want to express my feelings about Christianity.*
siomara ortiz thank you! I totally understand and agree with you
10:30 is where it really gets serious.
Girlllll I have so much respect for you and this video. I was raised Catholic but I am not religious as an adult - having said that my life and my actions are no different, I'm the same person I always was and really my morality, my outlook on life and the way I treat other people came from my family and upbringing over anything else. If people get that from going to church or the bible, I'm happy for them and I just do my thing.
Although as an adult I don't currently believe in God a lot of people seem to mistake that for me being AGAINST the existence of God, which is totally not true. I am open minded and always wanting to learn. If there is a higher power, that's great, I just can't reach that conclusion based on evidence I've seen. If people choose to believe that, I'm happy for them, as long as people are respectful of each other, kind, compassionate and loving I don't care what anyone believes, I go off people's character not who they do or don't choose to pray to.
One thing that strikes me in the comments is the way people are telling you what you need to do, that you just don't understand your religion, that you haven't found the right church and that if you did x,y and z you would be a true Christian. It baffles me because you are very open, very accepting and not judgemental of what anyone else believes, so it's strange that people would try to push what works for them on you. A lot of people use the reasoning that you should spread the word, advise people and that its all well-meaning, but I truly believe that if people do want to spread their message the most powerful way to do that is just to apply it to your own life and let people see how it helps you. If they want help, they will seek it out, it makes me sad that you are loving, open, accepting and happy yet people are telling you how to live your life.
Like you said, life is all about grey areas. There are people in my family who have really done some cruel things, who don't act kindly and who clearly have some problems. They went to the same church as us, and every week we watched them sing the loudest, suck up to the priest and pretend to be upstanding members of the community. It made church a frustrating place to be and we (my parents and I) found it really really hard.
Around the same time my parents discovered a love of hiking and bought a caravan to travel around at weekends and visit different areas of the country, climbing mountains, exploring and developing skills. They felt truly at peace up there, and at the end of each weekend they came home refreshed and happy. They were kinder to colleagues, joyful, relaxed, accomplished and had a lot of perspective on the wonders of nature and their small place in the world. They were changed people and life was much better. For them, getting out into nature was beautiful and they decided that if there is a God, and he's capable of making all that beauty, that he would also be capable of understanding that appreciating the world and spending time gathering their thoughts was good for them, that they didn't need to sit in a building for an hour every Sunday morning to be good people. They don't practice Catholicism any more but they decided if God does exist they need to give him more credit. He would get it.
That's not to say everyone should skip mass and take up climbing, but that one size does not fit all. We are all different and that's fine. My parents didn't look down on the people sat in church and I hope they didn't think differently of them. At my very strict Catholic school a girl got pregnant at 14 because we were not properly taught about contraception. She was definitely thought badly of, and I am fully aware that not every Catholic would have treated her the same way, but the truth is that she is a lovely person. She went on to pass all of her exams, went to college, worked hard, and is now married to the father and has a total of five kids. She's won awards in the community and is really kind, yet others who were "devout" in terms of rules are divorced and have been arrested. The rule book in black and white doesn't account for these differences, so it frustrates me that people could be missing some wonderful people and experiences.
Like I said, I am totally open to other people's beliefs, I respect them and I really don't talk about religion much with anyone, more about kindness and being good. I would never ever go up to someone who believed in God and start a conversation about the lack of evidence, or push my opinion on them, in the end, as long as we are good and moral, it shouldn't matter, it's a personal thing. If there is a hell and if God is such a stickler for the black and white rules, that is my fate to have, who knows, if God does exist he might one day say "I gave you all that free will and you were just so obsessed by the black and white rules that you missed out on all of these wonderful people and experiences in life!" In the end none of us know, the ability to look at the person not the belief is something I find invaluable.
This was really really long, I know, but let's face it, if I was born in another country I would likely have been raised Jewish, Muslim, Anglican, Hindu, Sikh, or any number of other religions. It doesn't really matter what you call yourself or which rule book you happened to find, it's more important to focus and reflect on your life and actions, and let that radiate in how you treat others. You're a good person Nikki and you da bomb 💕🙌
Honestly, as an Atheist, I've always been kind of uncomfortable watching Nikki's videos regarding religion and advice, because it is so different from what I believe and I've never believed you NEED faith or religion to be happy. That being said, this video gave me much more respect for Nikki's views, especially when she mentioned not having proof in a God and not understanding or having control over Heaven and Hell. That is such an intellectual way of understanding faith and religion, and I wish other people understood this as well. Good for you Nikki. I'm glad you made this video, and it really exposed to me what you believe in a logical and understanding way. Stay true to you.
I am Muslim and I attended a Catholic Highschool which I am glad I did. It was obligatory that I take 3 Christianity classes and 1 world religions class. I also had to attend Mass and any other religious event (retreats, visiting Churches etc.). I obviously chose to attend a Catholic school. I learned so much about Christianity and other religions and by doing this it has helped me to accept others for what they believe. In the end every religion on earth preaches love and peace and even if someone is an atheist they basically can have the same morals and ethics without having a religion tell them to. What people sometimes don't understand is that Judaism Christianity and Islam are all connected. You cannot have one without the other. Adam and Eve, Cane and Abel, Noah, Abraham, Moses, Isaac, Jesus, Mary, Muhammed, the stories are the same with minor differences here and there, but the ultimate message is that there is one God and He created us and to Him we belong and to Him we shall return. Even if you are the same religion as someone else you will still have different point of views and different opinions but guess what, none of that matters what matters is YOUR relationship with the Almighty! (Quran 109:1-6 "To you your religion and to me mine") God bless.
Also, I encourage everyone to learn about other religions, it opens up our minds and helps us understand each other.
Girl, this video made me wish we were friends and could chat about spirituality over lunch. Your thoughts on this subject were so thoughtful and resonated with me. I'm currently on this journey--trying to forge my own path while feeling scared to verge too far from the religious community I'm currently part of. I'm afraid to disappoint others and I realized just this week that I'm letting other people get in the way of my relationship with God. You are so courageous and I'm going to try my best to follow your lead. All the best!
Wow! You are so awesome! Keep it up girl and thank you so much for the encouragement!! 😘💕
Wow. This is my first time on your channel and I am really blown away by your beautiful, thoughtful, intelligent opinion. It is true there is a distinct difference between KNOWING and BELIEVING. Each person deserves the right to take that risk as they see fit,. I normally would never comment on something so controversial because I have no interest in debating about religion, and I am perfectly fulfilled with my spiritual beliefs, but I just wanted to say THANK YOU. Cheers to you for listening to your inner wisdom and being brave!
+NC Greenie Thank you so much! You are so kind and encouraging! This means the world to me!
I am catholic and I agree with almost everything you said. Some of the stuff that I believe is a gut feeling that is backed by my faith, Ya know. And as for the gay think and with any situation really, I think you should love the person, or at least respect them as a human, no matter what they do. I was always told love the sinner hate the sin. Cause we are all sinners, but we all deserved to be loved
I'm also Catholic!! I was also always told 'hate the sin, love the sinner' It is not our place to judge bc, like you said, we are all sinners :-) I wish more people understood that!
I subscribed to your channel a while back and I watched this video, and it was before I actually put my faith in Christ. Coming back to this, I realize how much this video has actually helped me in my journey to becoming a Christian, so thank you so much for being so open about your faith♥
One thing I don't understand about her philosophy is why she believes in the Bible in the first place if she doesn't believe it is the truth from God. I understand that other people can have different views, and I don't think it is the job of a Christian to force their views on others, but I don't see the point in saying you are a Christian if you don't believe that the Bible is the truth.
exactly what i was thinking
speedgirl131 i think she believes the bible is the truth, it is just interpreted in SO many different ways that she means you never know which person/religion is telling the truth because at the end of the day its just that person interpretation and they have no physical proof.
This was an awesome video Nikki, and I LOVE how you are talking about Jesus so publicly. Something that is frowned upon in the media today. However, in Christianity you can't pick and choose what you want to believe. The Bible is the word of God and you need to either believe all of it, or none of it. There is no middle ground. It isn't what "fits your lifestyle" or "what works for you", its all or nothing. I agreed with most of the things you said, but the part about Heaven and Hell struck me. If you don't believe in Heaven, then basically you are saying you don't believe in God. What do you think happens after we die?? We're just dust in the ground? If you are truly a Christian you believe that those that accepted the free gift of salvation through the death of Jesus Christ, you will go to Heaven when you die. If you don't choose to accept Jesus, then you go to Hell. It makes no sense if you believe the Bible and Jesus' teaching that nothing happens after you die. You should want to share the Gospel with people and let them know of Jesus grace and mercy, so they will no longer be lost and get to spend eternity in Heaven. The Bible says this world is not our home. Either Heaven or Hell will be our final destination based on whether you are saved or not. I am not trying to condone you or anything Nikki. I am glad you are sharing your Christian faith with others. :) These are just my thoughts from the video.
YESSS. Picking and choosing is not an option. You either believe all of the Bible, or none of it.
She did not say that she doesn't believe in heaven or hell, she said that she chooses not to dwell on it. Heaven and hell is a scary concept for a lot of people. Especially when the basis of your faith is to love everyone, only to realize that half of the decent humans you love are going to hell because they don't believe in our Lord and savior Jesus Christ. It is pretty hard to swallow, but it's a journey, and she may not have reached the point that you have. Also, she isn't picking and choosing. The bible is a very complex book that people get wrong all of the time because they don't let the Holy Spirit guide them in reading it. I just recently had an amazing spiritual teacher tell a ton of people that they could lose their salvation, which is not scriptural at all. Since humans are so flawed you honestly have to dive into the word yourself. What I received from the word is that "love is the most important thing" so just because a person is gay, you don't judge them, you love them and point them to God.
I agree! You can't choose the easy-to-accept facts and ignore the others. She did say she's still growing, we all should be, and her views can still change.
I personally do not believe in gay marriage, but I hope that people will not judge me on this & think I am homophobic as I am not. Let me explain
The bible says that all sex outside of marriage is sin. Do not commit adultery is one of the 10 commandments, and that means having sex with anyone you are not married to. So a gay couple getting married should combat that? I don't think it does. I am all for gay couples in a loving committed relationship committing themselves to each other for life, so I think civil partnership is a good thing. I do not think gay marriage is a good thing, as the bible says marriage is between a man and a woman, not just 2 people who love each other. I believe that in God's view, gay married couples are not truly married, and that man is changing biblical meanings of words to suit their desires.
HOWEVER as a Christian, I believe that it is wrong for me to hate anyone (& I wouldn't hate them anyway as they have nothing hate worthy). I believe that unless I am perfect (only God & Jesus are) I cannot judge others based off their actions. The bible says only God can judge, and also says remove the log from your eye before trying to remove the spec from someone else's. The bible also says speak the truth with Love. I have gay friends and if I told them they could not marry their partner, how loved would they feel? Not at all.
Also when I get the heaven God is going to judge me on how I behaved while here on earth. If I am wrong, I do not want to have acted sinfully or wrong because of what I believed. Hence I say "I believe" or "I think". If I was gay I would not get married and would live a celibate life, because of what I believe (so as if I am right I have not sinned, the same way as I don't hate or judge gay people - I want to as blameless & Christlike as possible) but I do not judge and definitely do not hate those who choose or believe differently.
I really love how you aren't negative at all towards homosexual people. Do you believe they should be allowed to marry by law?
I'm not religious, but we need more people like you in the comments - I love how you're proud of your beliefs but aren't negative/preaching about them.
I'm gay so I can't help but be somewhat on guard when someone says "I don't believe in gay marriage". But, I will say that your attitude and respectfulness is extremely commendable and I thank you for that. I'm just curious as to what your stance on atheist marriage is, do you think they should only be allowed civil unions like gay people or is it okay for them to get married in the church?
luxconcept i'm not hating at all so please don't take this the wrong way, but if there are two atheists getting married, i'd highly doubt it would happen in the church. it wouldn't even make sense because it's not a holy place to them, their marriage wouldn't need to be seen by God to them, because they don't believe a God exists. Many pastors may actually refuse to marry them though (if they did want to marry in a church) because many pastors/priests/churches want the beliefs of who they are marrying to line up with what they believe. I think that is every church's right and the right of the pastor/priest who is performing the service.. if they don't support an atheist lifestyle, jewish, gay, muslim... whatever it may be... I agree with their right to deny performing that service because they are staying true to their beliefs, values, and lifestyle. To me that isn't discrimination. Just like I highly down a Jewish minister would perform a christian wedding.
I can see your point and appreciate the respectful approach. But marriage seems to be a right that goes beyond religion, and is not a strictly Christian practice. For example: Would you deny a Muslim man and woman the right to be married?Im assuming no as your concern seems to be about gender not a lack of correlating beliefs. Because muslims certainly don't have the same beliefs as Christians. By that logic we can infer that marriage is a right between people despite their beliefs, not requiring them to have the same beliefs as you in order to get married. So if they don't personally believe in the gender roles that you have set for them why should that matter? Giving absolutely anybody else who disagrees with you about anything the right to marriage is a direct contradiction to your point that people have to believe what you believe to be able to marry. Marriage is not strictly Catholic practice so why can't they be married in another compacity and not the Christian marriage that you are referring to? If people can have different beliefs and still be married then why can't living a homosexual lifestyle be one of those values?
I am a huge fan, and I love that you're outspoken about your beliefs, but I have to disagree with a lot of what you have said.
The Bible is proof. The way God makes you feel is proof. Being filled with the Holy Ghost by the evidence of speaking in tongues is proof. And more, and more.
God wouldn't let the Bible be our guide for hundreds of years if it weren't true. It's not okay to pick out points, twist them for your own use, etc. You can't just pick something out and say you don't agree with it and push it aside.
It's okay to be confused or ask questions, but you can't change what it says.
And as for the gay issue, you're talking about where it's written in the Old Testament. But the New Covenant broke that, BUT, the New Testament has verses talking about it being a sin, as well. And by saying it's not when other Christians say it is, it's making us look like liars or that we're just being "judgmental."
Of course, we're all sinners, and I do think that people pick that out and scrutinize it much more than other sins.
I think you're awesome and I'm not trying to be disrespectful to you at all. I just feel like what you said gave out mixed signals and is the "easy way" for being a Christ follower. It's easy to talk about God, but you have to walk the walk as well.
I think you are a very kind-hearted, sweet person, and I think you have an awesome relationship with God from what I know of you, too. I'm not trying to say that you don't, at all! This video just bothered me and kind of broke my heart.
Agree!
You relidiots are hilarious :)
+Tiffany Blair I was thinking the same thing! The Bible carries so many beautiful and wonderful verses on how real God is. The entire book is proof, as you said. I am saddened by the fact she called herself a Christian and had faith in God, but then immediately claimed that there was no proof to his love. Having faith in something you cannot see is truly beautiful. When you do not have that, I am not sure that you can view yourself as a devoted follower in the Holy Spirit, and then you do not know what to stand for. What is true, God. God is alive, true, love, joy, grace, mercy, and so much, much more!
If you can "prove" everything you just stated, then I guess you'll have no problem saving every person you meet. Nobody can dispute proof and facts. (I'm already saved btw but not because I've been shown proof. I follow without it because that's what God demands.)
I hate that people say christians hate gays. No. We dont support it, but we love and respect those who are gay. Everyone sins and even though i dont support it many of my christians friends and I are happy that gay marriage is legal now. We dont support but we have no right to tell others who to love.
+NavigatorSpade Lol you don't support but you think it's great that it's legal? That is very contradictive.
+NavigatorSpade who are we to say that it is a sin? only God can judge right? however, christian live to point finger and say who is a sinner and what not... let's just say there is no small sin or big sin... then if you believe really that being gay is a sin ok that is not different than the sin of judging and accusing with no right to do so. We are not God so love your neighbor, and move on.
One of the most valuable things I have ever learned in life is that you CAN NOT judge other people for what they believe or how they live. You CAN NOT do this because this is how people have grown up, how their ancestors taught their grandparents, parents, and now the traditions and beliefs are passed down to the next generation. With so much diversity, and so many different belief systems and religions out there, everybody believes things differently. Who are you to judge someone who believes something because it is what they have grown up being taught, and how they have lived their whole life? If it is all they have ever known, it's not fair to judge them. Love, and let love! Live and let live!!
All the power to you Nikki. Keep spreading your love. xo
This video really broke my heart. The truth does not change whether you "choose" to believe it or not. The truth is true for all. The Word of God is the truth. As followers of Christ, we don't choose not to think about some parts of His Word just because it might offend others. Your decision to ignore the Word of God may hurt no one else, but it wounds Jesus. Withholding the truth from others should offend you much more than compromising with the world. I love you and I'll keep you in my prayers.
Nikki, The fact that you feel sad that You're going to heaven and a bunch of these people are going to hell is WHY we are supposed to SHARE God, and his word! Saying in this video that there is no proof of God is TOTALLY contradicting your "I am a christian." And by saying that your leading others astray!! "i am a christian but there's actually no proof of God. I just know how he affects me" whaa??? This makes 0 sense. How would you have any control over who's going there and who isn't is by sharing his teachings! Loving others but still abiding by God's commands! God says specifically in the Bible that we are NOT to accept Men with men or women with women but we are to take the situation and use it as an opportunity to show them God, and Share the gospel. Solomon had hundreds of wives, yes. BUT, God told him it was wrong! But saying that since it was a different time also changes TONS of other things you believe, like, the ten commandments. That was old? Moses went atop a mountain to burning bush! My point being, that if you believe one thing in the bible you need to believe all of it. Because what says one part is true and one part was of a different time so it doesn't apply to current events? Humans? we are of the flesh!! Sinners!! Sometimes dummies! God's word is the only thing we should apply our believes to. Focusing on your life and choosing to basically ignore God's specific instructions isn't really loving others. Its leading them astray. These are my opinions, however of course i am human as well. And i do make mistakes! Comment below anyones thoughts?? vvvvvv
+morganhope ➳ i totally agree! i feel personally that a lot christians i know who say they're christians pick and choose the verses to believe. and i'm like WHAT! if this book is the word of God and He said what's right and what's wrong, then we must follow suit. the moment you made the choice to follow Christ you also made the choice to follow His word. and when you pull it apart, you're relationship with God isn't as strong as you say it is.
i don't know if that made sense tbh, but it's how i feel. i think what you said is great!
ItsHopeHurley I totally understand, and agree with what you said! Thanks for sharing :))
+morganhope ➳ I want to be respectful in my response while also expressing why I disagree with what you said. I hope I can do both without offending.
First, I agree with Nikki that we have no proof of God. What tangible, physical, concrete proof do you have? None. You have your faith. That is not concrete, but it can certainly be overwhelmingly powerful (I know this because I have felt moved by Him throughout my life).
Second, Nikki made a great argument about reading the Bible with an awareness of historical context. At one point, women were stoned for having an affair. Would you recommend we still stone women who cheat on their husbands? I doubt you would. It's inhumane. We are in a different time now and our culture demands different reactions to such events. So Nikki isn't suggesting we ignore parts of the Bible that we don't like "just because." She's suggesting that we think about the context in which certain commandments/rules/etc. take place. We also know that many of Jesus's teaching were parables, meaning the events/stories didn't physically take place, but are stories told with the intent to teach a lesson. So we can't always read the Bible literally. And two people can read the same story and take different things from it. If they both go and "follow the Bible exactly," as you suggest, that "exactly" can lead them down two completely different paths deepening on their individual reading of the Bible. We each try our best as Christians. Just because you or I follow a commandment differently doesn't mean we're sinning.
There is a lot of nuance to religion and to being a practicing Christian. Which is why I love having discussions and disagreeing--it shows that we are human and that we all need God's guidance in our lives! I wish you well. :)
+morganhope ➳ AMEN!
itsGinaMarie Hello, I would like to thank you for your kind way of expressing how you feel. And this is my response, and I also hope to express my feelings without offending.
First things first, Of course, it is very wise to think of historical context. But when a woman would have an affair, the people would take action according to what the Bible says. Of course, the bible does NOT say to stone them, but it also says many things such as those who do commit this sin are to be punished and when you do commit sexual immorality it's not like every other sin which is outside of the body, but it is against your own body, and the damage is within.
This being said, although the times now are much, well easier in a way, the people took great action upon this due to its severity in the Bible. Nowadays, so many people do have affairs. And it is so often discussed on social media as "cheating" and it is "common" in a way that it grieves the heart of God.
What I mean to say in this, is that as time goes on our culture gets more and more used to being so relaxed. And some call it a "luke warm" Christian. Our world is not getting better, in fact every day it gets worse. SO by comparing the time and culture of Jesus, and now, I would truly say that then is so much better than now.
And back to the evidence of God, I will agree. That no, there is nothing that is concrete evidence. In fact often times I struggle when I try and explain that i believe God is my creator, and he's your creator. And the creator of the world. But then again I remember, when you go to every theory or explanation of evolution, or the big bang, God is the only one. All signs of life point to him and I believe that there is more to the proof of his existence that just my faith. What I meant to say when Nikki says that there is no proof of God, is that as a Christian it is our duty to believe %100 percent that he is our Creator, and that everything on earth is proof that he exists.
I agree with you that 2 people can read the Bible and come out with 2 different opinions. But all in all, its the same. And yes there are so many people that I know that definitely don't have the same beliefs as me, But when I read what God says about man with man and woman with woman, that is no parable. It is smack dab, clear, straight forward. It is a sin! Many pastors, and teachers // evangelists avoid the subject so that they do not offend. Which is not the path God wants us to take. And when people say that they are going to just "love," that is fine! Great! But there is SO much more to being a Christian than just loving. Because when you just "love" and nothing else, sometimes it does a lot more damage than actually showing them the way through love, and saying that you disagree with their opinions, and using it as an opportunity to share God's word and his teachings and what IS right, and what IS wrong.
I do hope you can find my reasoning and maybe respond with everything you have to say. Of course, Im not a perfect Christian. I'm just a teenager trying to find my way to God and his plans for me. Again, Thanks for responding. God bless.
I grew up in a Christian home my whoooole life. My dad is a pastor, and so as you can see, God has been very prominent in my life!
My dad actually gave a message on an episode he watched. he said that in the episode, there was this girl who desperately wanted to be a boy. and my dad said there is nothing wrong with this because this is how this individual was born. We were born to love people.
It doesn't matter if you are gay. It doesn't matter what race you are. It doesn't matter who you are. I love you all so much and God loves everybody equally.
Hay Nikki, just wanted to thank you for this video! :) I've grown up in an atheist family and am now (aged 19) in the process of building my own version of what spirituality means to me. I'm so inspired by your humble, open minded, inquisitive approach to faith! To be open and unashamed of your faith, whilst encouraging "respect and conversation" around this topic and urging your viewers to "sit and think about spirituality", is what makes you such a wonderful role model. I've experienced a lot of religious people telling me that my family and I will go to hell for not being baptised etc, that we are sinners simply for not believing the same as them. This can be very upsetting and has the potential to close a person up to spirituality altogether. So thank you for making me (and I'm sure countless others) feel encouraged and empowered to embark on a lifelong journey of soul-searching, learning and finding out what faith means to me. Sending you love & light, Cat x
Agreed with this 100%. I love that you speak about this on your channel. This is completely the MOST important aspect of happiness. Faith is believing without seeing, and remembering that God is love. And YES for not being ashamed of your faith. When you place your faith in God, he will bless you!!!
Ps please more videos like this!!
Emily Olson Agreed!! =)
I'm atheist....went to Christian nursery, Christian primary, Catholic secondary and the only thing I took away from those experiences is that man has too much power when talking about a higher power.
It is belief or opinion if you like and nothing more, not to say that a higher power doesn't exist but it is belief/opinion that keeps the notion alive.
I'm so happy this video was made as the only message she is really preaching is that it's ok to believe. No damning statement for all those that don't believe and no praise for those who are very devout. She accepts people's differences with love and from what I have learnt, that is surely the main message.
I'm 27, a happily married woman with a newborn son. I do not need to worship a higher power. I live my life as a good person in my own right in the manner I see fit. I do not need to live forever in heaven or eternal damnation in hell. My life however will continue to live through those I love who will remember me. I do not fear death and I believe death is final and that there is nothing wrong in that.
Again, this is just my opinion, I fully accept that everyone sees things differently and I welcome that.
Well done Nikki.
Jenny....the comment hasn't influenced my believe or lack of. I was merely stating that many Christians negatively influence those who don't believe or believe something different by saying they will go to hell. This in my opinion is not a valid discussion.
I agree that Christians are most definitely not perfect and as such should not be damning people to hell for commenting something they do not agree with. If they feel the need Christians should simply say a silent prayer.
I do not believe in God, nor do I want to. The bible in my opinion is just a book with lots of hypocrisies. It is still a good book but for me that is all.
I appreciate many believe in a higher power and do not ever want to turn anyone from their faith. I simply want equality, I'm sick of every religion saying their God is the only God. It is all opinion and that is fine. I choose not to believe and others choose many different religions, that is also fine. I've experienced people from many religions and have no issue with any of their beliefs, just the way in which they see different beliefs to their own.
Thank you for replying and its nice to see someone with a strong opinion putting it across well.
You have such a fresh perspective Nikki! Thanks for talking so candidly (you really are an excellent communicator). I was raised catholic and had the same confusion and frustration as you. I figured I could never truly believe in any religion if I didn't believe in EVERY aspect of it. Some things just don't make sense to me. It's encouraging to hear your stance on it and to know I'm not the only who felt that way. I bought a daily devotional awhile back to explore my spirituality more. (love out loud by joyce meyer...totally up your ally!) I think I'll start reading again! xo
I'm really loving the how to be happy january series! Although I'm not a Christian (I'm muslim) I believe in a lot of the things you believe in. Having a relationship with God is definitely key to happiness. Although people may think there isn't a scientific proof of God's existence, I think part of your religion is actually to go beyond science and facts and to believe in God although you haven't seen him. Exactly that is in my opinion what's the most important thing. It's really hard to explain this to other people but as a believer there are just these moments when you KNOW that God is there and that you feel his presence and him answering your prayers. When reading the Quran (which is the book muslims believe in in case anyone didn't know) I see how everything relates to me and how everything written in the book can't be anything but God's words. God doesn't need us. We need him. The feeling of truly believing in God is the most beautiful thing you can feel. I think our religion is really judged unfairly these days because of some people but if you're really open and you read about the religion or read the Quran you will surely see that the Islam is a beautiful religion that is forgiving merciful and guiding. I hope everyone has a great day, God bless you
I dont know about you guys but I dont need any proof that God is real. the bible is more than enough for me and I have so much faith and spiritually and that overpowers everything.
Yesss! Once you have a personal relationship with Jesus, the way you feel is all the proof you could ever need! I could care less whether anyone ever "proves" if God exists because that's not the point. The whole idea of faith is that you never know for sure, but based on your feelings and personal relationship with Him that is enough to make you believe. For me Jesus is the only validation that I need.
Amen! We have to trust He's real by faith because He's a God of faith. Proving Himself in a super obvious way wouldn't require you to trust in faith anymore :)
Science over powers that but ok
This is such an inspirational video. I find in my life that I often get faced with questions and situations that give me a chance to think about my faith and spirituality. I, much like you, have thought a lot over the years about what I believe in and how it effects my life. The blessings that I have received from trusting God, loving others and being grateful are innumerable. I also admire Jesus for the countless miracles, lessons and pains that he went through, all because of us. I also believe in the Ten Commandments. They are a way of remembering how to live worthily and lovingly. They teach us to have gratitude, patience and kindness. Having an open mind, to other faiths and opinions is the best way to be, because other people have lived a different life and may not know the truth yet (or know of different truths). Although I do have a set opinion on heaven and hell, I also try to steer away from categorising people between the two. Thank you so much for sharing your faith Nikki❤️
Matthew 10:35 "For I have come to turn a man against his father, a daughter against her mother, a daughter-in-law against her mother-in-law." The most important thing is to love people by showing them the truth of the gospel. Jesus didn't come to hold hands with everyone and tell them their sins were okay. He came to spread a radical message that many people hate because of what it condemns - their sins.
I hope that this will help someone. This is my story of how I came to god and really felt his presence. So I have grown up in a Christian Methodist church my entire 15 years but when I was 14 I got confirmed in my church and decided to read the bible outside of Sundays and it helped me a lot some days I would just open up the bible and it would be the perfect verses for whatever I was going through in my life. The summer of my 14th year I went on my church's workcamp and really felt I belonged.We went to sermons in the morning and afternoon but during the day we were in groups and were assigned to a house to help(along with free time). Throughout the week we fixed up this trailer our lady was living in and really got to known the lady. I felt God so much during this week. It's so hard to describe the feeling. I felt like a was overflowing with love and happiness and just wanted to give others love and happiness cause I had so much. And I get what we came to call Jesus shivers it was just when we were listening to a sermon and we sudden shiver. Anyways I hoped that helped someone.
Nikki, I love and respect Jesus but I'm not a Christian. He was an amazing person who was afforded so many miracles in order to lead people to God. ONE God, like it says in your commandments. I don't believe that he died for our sins. I don't believe that he was the son of God.
I'm muslim. In islam we are taught to respect Jesus highly because he was one of the many prophets sent to lead mankind, like Noah, Abraham, and Muhammad (pbut). When the bible was revealed, it was the actual word of God, but since it was written so long after Jesus' time, and written by others, the meaning, words and message was hugely changed and misinterpreted.
The coming of a final messenger was actually prophesied in the Bible. 1600 years later the Quran was revealed to Muhammed (pbuh), always written down straight away. Not a letter was written down wrong. There are zero contradictions, a multitude of prophesies that have happened and still a lot yet to come, and many scientific miracles. Till today, not a letter has been changed since then. It is the actual word of God.
The Quran was sent to correct the Bible. Christians were misguided and worshiped Jesus instead of God. People even returned to worship idols even though the Bible abolished it. This is a major (if not the biggest) sin in Islam, and it is made clear that God has NO sons. If you even associate anyone or anything with God then that is enough to call you a non-believer, because the whole foundation of the religion is to recognise the one-ness of God.
Even if you read the Quran, there are SO many similarities. My Christian friends would often explain something to me and I'd say 'I believe/do this too'. We believe in Noah's ark believe it or not. So many of the teachings are the same. Just thought I'd say because people always think Islam is a completely separate and different religion when really, Allah=God, the creator of the universe.
Nikki really recommend reading more about Islam because it answers a lot of the things you were talking about in this video. Everything is so clear and logical. Even if it is to understand a group of people and how they think a bit better :)
This was written so well!
How do you know actually?
I agree.jesus is not the son of God
Thank you for explaining that , u really said what I want to say , especially about the similarities , we have "in Islam" a lot of common things between us , as Nikki said about loving your neighbors and always giving love and making excuses for other .
I totally agree that your faith has a big impact in your happiness and feeling good .
and I think everyone has the rights to ask , because it's not easy to change even small things about your believe .
Thank you .
You forgot to add in your opinion. YOUR belief, not fact.
I never comment but I just had to! Your story on your spiritual journey is literally just like mine. I didn't grow up Christian though but after meeting my current bf, I started going to his home church and it changed my life. I felt so welcomed and at home like I actually belong. I knew this is the walk my life is supposed to take. I thought at first it would be easy, but I struggle daily to trust God and to acknowledge him in my life, but at the end of the day I know that I have his love and favor in my life and I try hard to read the word each day. Thank you for standing up for what you believe in. I sometimes feel like I can't openly talk about it to everyone because so many ppl are against my beliefs, but you make me recognize that my relationship with Jesus is my own, and i should not be ashamed. I love your and Dan's story and who you two are and what you stand for. Thank you for making these type of videos and being brave enough to share your beliefs and experiences. I pray you continue to have favor in your lives and many blessings!
It's sad to me that many believers have become complacent, afraid to offend. Jesus was not afraid to offend people, He stepped on lots of toes and convicted people. That's why He was such a radical and outcast but He changed and saved so many lives. It is disappointing to hear someone who calls themselves a Christian saying that they can't say for sure whether or not the Bible is truth and refuses to stand against sin and Satan. This whole watered down wishy washy version of living life for Jesus is disappointing. I totally agree with you- we are called to LOVE. But we are also called to shine a light - regardless of whether or not people disagree.
Hello Nikki, this is my first Nikki video I've ever watched (it came up as a suggested video after my latest upload) and WOW! Really love that you had the boldness to pour your heart out like this. Also very surprised to see the positive, uplifting community in your comment section. Even some atheists enjoyed what you said, and are stating their opinion without any hate, which I find really awesome. We as Christians can sometimes have a mindset that we can't share or relate to atheists, while forgetting the fact that at some point in our life, we had felt similar in our thoughts about God. It's a good reminder that it's a progressive journey for us all and we're all still learning Him bit by bit. It is an individual choice, a personal opinion and just wanted to say thank you so much for sharing! I really enjoyed it and I have to share this with my girlfriend haha. From a fellow couple in Christ,
Benny & Eva
The Bible IS GODS word. For me, that is all I follow and in doing so I have complete faith in Him. I do not pick and choose what I want to believe or agree with from The Bible. Only agreeing with some of Gods words would NOT be complete faith in him. I have grown as a Christian so much and could not be happier and more proud of myself. I am so excited to see a youtuber that I watch talk about her Faith with GOD even though I don't agree with everything she says she stilll helps to spread GODS name and love.
I respect other people's religions, but I don't believe in God or anything that goes along with most religions. in my opinion, religion is the root of many issues in our society today. I'm an atheist, a realist, whatever you want to call it. and I am definitely open for discussion!
I like how you are very respectful about other religions. I see so many atheists on the internet bash Christians for what they believe. I personally disagree that religion is the root of many issues in society (however I agree that people do bad things using religion to justify their actions) but I think religion is more beneficial to society than harmful. These are just my opinions.
I agree with you that religion causes and has caused many problems. Relgion in the past has held back scientific development and killed many people. It continues to do that today though not nearly as bad.
i think its important to differentiate between religion and politics.. politicians using religion as a tool in their filthy games doesn't make religion bad..
ps. i respect you for respecting others religions :)
i am religious and have no problem with people who are not. i don't judge people over that or any way they choose to live their lives. I love your comment because you are stating your beliefs without calling christians or other religions stupid. ignorant, or everything else you usually see online. I would never use those words against someone who believes something other than me and so when people do that it makes me so mad, so your comment was so refreshing to see. Your religion and what you belief does not determine if your a good person or not, only your actions and words can do that and you seem like a great and respectable person.
I also do not believe in god. I think people use god as an excuse for mess ups or great things in their life. When a good thing happens to someone, most of the time it happened because of HARD WORK.
Also, when something bad happens to someone they claim god is 'testing them'. No. These bad things are happening to you because you didn't put in any HARD WORK.
Stop using god as an excuse. He is make believe. Like the tooth fairy and Santa Claus.
Oh Nikki. There is so much proof that the Bible is the truth and most certainly the Word of God. It's every where we look if we choose to see. I would STRONGLY encourage you to openly ask God to prove to you that what he says in his word is true. I think you'll find some pretty incredible things once you become completely confident of that fact.
Wow, Nikki, I always feel like I can relate to you but this one was spot on for me. I experienced something very similar. I went to private school up until right before high school, and during that time I encountered some wonderful people, but I also encountered some extremely hypocritical and judgmental people. I had grown women say to me "I am praying for you." Insinuating that there was something wrong with me. I grew to feel like all of those things I learned as a kid like, "Do unto others what you would have them do unto you" or "What Would Jesus Do?" were lies because of how the "Christian" people around me were acting. All of that led me to lose my faith for many years, but as an adult I realized that those people were just that...people. They were flawed just like I am flawed. I no longer let people like that effect my life and my decisions. My relationship with God is just about Him and me. Anyway, thanks for posting this. Amazing video as usual.
I've been having problems with my beliefs, but after watching your video, I must confess I almost cried. You believe exactly what I subconsciously always have, and hearing you put it in words was a very emotional thing for me. Thank you so much.
Hey Nikki! I really appreciate you being open and honest about your experience with Christianity and religion. I recently graduated from a Christian college in MO and it's super duper easy to talk open and freely with people out here because, let's be honest, the majority of people have the same beliefs as me! So I don't feel like I'm being judged by others when I talk about God, prayer, church, etc. When I visit my hometown in CA, I'm a little more reserved with what I say and how I say it just because I want to be sensitive to others, yet always stay strong in my faith. It's just a whole different world (the midwest vs LA). So, I could TOTALLY imagine how difficult it would be when literally the whole world has access to your videos and everything you say is being watched my thousands of people. So, long comment, but I just really appreciate your openness and I'm sure it will inspire other UA-camrs to be comfortable talking about the things that matter most to them. xo, Melissa
Something that may be very confusing for some people, is that if a group of people you know to be "Christians" are being cruel and rude, then they probably aren't real Christ followers. A lot of people think that going to church week in and week out is what makes you a Christian, but that's not true. True Christians are people who have accepted Christ into their heart and lives and typically would not be mean for no reason because according to Christianity (not forcing it upon anyone) when you accept Jesus into your heart, you are inviting the Holy Spirit to dwell with you. And yes, us Christians constantly mess up all the time, but the God prompts us to love others and be kind, so when someone says something blatantly mean without a second thought, they probably are not true Christians or have fallen away from their faith.
Not forcing it upon someone that doesn't want to hear is so important! Spot on :)
Oh sister! As a daughter of Christ... You are in difficult place in your life ... A lot of Christians go through this daily. I love that you want to love others and that's such a great thing! We aren't called to decide who is going to heaven or hell but we are called to set healthy boundaries with others who are bad influences or draining and what nots. Hold on to hope and know that God is your father and he loves you and i will be praying for your walk with Christ and that it becomes stronger and that your truth is in the bible and the work that the spirit does in you.
I'm atheist... And I love everything you said.
I love this!
Zoe Alyse Z
I don't understand atheists just walk out side look at all the trees look and the clouds look and all the creatures running around were do you think they came from ?
Dakota's Vlogs and stuff I know I don’t really get them
For the love of Beauty and life I don’t know if you know this but there was a tiny ball of energy and that exploded and created space and everything inside of it.Also clouds are water
@@yeriscarat9241 i don't get christianity either but i still respect :)
This video was uploaded a while ago, but it showed up on my recommended video list, so I thought I would check it out. I haven't watched many of your videos, but this one in particular has to be my favorite. I intend to watch lots more of you videos! Of course some things that you said I disagree on, as with every video. I never comment on controversial videos because I have no intention or drive to argue or debate my beliefs. I am a Christian and this was really inspiring and eye opening. I love how you said that you are comfortable with your relationship with God and not about fitting in with a group, or being ashamed by your belief. I feel like a lot of times I am nervous to talk about God to anyone other than my family, and close friends. I go to a Christian school, and even there I sometimes feel nervous to open up about my faith. I am really encouraged and inspired after watching this video to ask questions, and open up about my faith and my relationship with God . Thank you!
I'm not religious and I didn't come here to troll, but more observe and listen.
So many people in different (and even the same) religion seem to disagree about so much.
Nobody follows any religion 100%. I'm not here to comment or judge on how people keep their faith or what they believe.
But I definitely don't like seeing people belittle each other in the comments because they believe different things.
You have to do what is best for you and a ton of people aren't going to agree with that. Each person might interpret each 'scripture' to mean a different thing.
I am all for learning about new things from people of all walks of life. I'm never going to believe in god. But I respect everyones rights to choose for themselves.
Nikki, this was such a level headed, honest, down to earth video. Thanks for putting that all out there for us, it took guts to talk so candidly about something so personal to YOU. When you said, "that's just where I'm at, and I reserve the right to change my mind again in the future" I thought, wow, yes. Both knowledge (what we know to be true) and faith (what we believe to be true) are such fluid things, several hundred years ago for example, we "KNEW" the earth was flat!! It's good to recognize that our knowledge and our spirituality can adapt as we live our lives and see new perspectives. I'm a very spiritual person myself, in that I think there is definitely something or someone out there bigger than myself, but is it a person? A power? A force? A man on a cloud? I have no idea! I chose to believe that life has meaning, I chose to believe that kindness and love have meaning, that's all that matters to ME. Spirituality can mean different things to everyone, but if it's focused around love and being at peace with oneself, it can be so helpful to so many people. I think this video was very brave, helpful, and full of love and honesty. Thank you. xxx
You are so brave to make this video I hate that Religion is such a taboo subject on the Internet no matter what you believe in religion is such a beautiful prospect and I think it should be talked about rather than shunned great video : )
Nikki, I actually wanted to say that I love how you had the guts to say what you think about your religion. That honestly took a lot of courage from you. I grew up with my father being a Jehovah's witness and my mom is a catholic. I definitely believe in god however I still haven't decide what religion I would like to be in. I will say that I really enjoy hearing the way you grew up has influenced your point of view towards your religion. I also enjoy the way that you think, not many people think the way you do. You are very open minded and just because you think this TODAY, doesn't mean you're going to think this your entire life. I love how you keep your options open and like learning from other opposing views. You are honestly such an inspiration! Don't EVER change the type of person you are to please others! I feel society needs more amazing people like yourself!
I'm Muslim and I believe in only one God. And I believe that before our prophet Mohamed there were other messengers like Jesus and I believe in every single one of them. And I also believe that the Quran is truly the words of God and there is proof for everything and guidance in it. And there are a lot of scientific facts that were discovered just now about the earth or humans, and they were written in the Quran 14 centuries ago before being discovered by us humans. Oh and btw I love your videos Nikki!!
Nikki, thank you so much for making this video. I was raised in catholic schools all 12 years. While my parents aren't practicing Catholics, their parents were and saw the importance religion can play in an upbring. Not to mention the common misconception that catholic school can offer a better education. While I had good grades and was in advanced classes, I really struggled with the religious aspect of my school. Most of what I was being taught made sense and seemed like a positive way to live my life, but there have always been glaring issues with Christianity for me (some of which you addressed). For the longest time I shunned spirituality altogether because large portions of what I was being taught directly contracted the main points that I believe religion was all about, loving eachother, loving yourself, and making the world a more positive place. It is only recently that I have started to be okay with having questions or even disagreeing with portions of religion. There are a lot of comments saying you can't pick and choose, but for me this has actually allowed me to develop my beliefs more and become a better person because I'm more aware of my values and more focused on being loving, rather than disregarding it altogether because nothing fits me.
To those people saying you have to believe the bible 100%, I don't agree. The goal of any religion should be to love each other and make the world a better place. People get so caught up defending their faith that they forget what it actually teaches. Isn't tolerance a form of love? Isn't respect a form of love? How about you respect others opinions rather than tell them they are wrong, and tolerate those who chose to live lives different from what you believe (Ex. Gay marriage) Instead of concluding they are wrong or going to hell for not believing your religion or not believing to the extend that you do. I shouldn't have to state that you are allowed to have your opinion and share it, after all, it's called a comments section, but there is a way to defend yourself with intelligence and tact. Out of genuine curiosity is there not even one tiny piece of the bible or Christian teaching you are unsure about or don't agree with? Plenty of pastors and clergy disagree about interpretations or how teachings should be applied to our lives. We all think it's saying something different, and you expect people to 100% blindly and completely agree with the bible, to what interpretation does that refer? Yours? Are you more qualified than millions of professionals that still seem to disagree? Without interpretation and application to our lives the bible is just a book. By that logic you would agree with the interpretation, not the words because there is no way you can actually know what was meant, only infer. So if people disagree on the interpretation how can you expect them to take the bible as the whole and definite truth.
You probably don't agree with this, and that's exactly my point. We are born to question things around us to learn about life and from that we develop our beliefs. It's okay to disagree. Nobody has all the answers, it would be nice if both extremely religious and non religious side-takers would stopped pretending they did.
It scares me when people who call themselves Christians and who have influence, make videos like this or put out their personal views. Christianity has SUCH a skewed view by the public because people represent it wrongly. Im not saying she's doing that, but please don't base your view on all of Christianity by what she says she believes in this video. Thank you 😌
So I've watched this before when you posted it, and I thought it was great and decided to come back to it 2 years later. This,-- your words seriously just touched my heart and you expressed every single thought I've been having lately! Ive been struggling with that grey area that you mentioned and just everything you said in this is exactly what I've been thinking. It honestly just made me feel so good to not feel so alone about it all! I've been praying that God would take away my bitterness that I've had lately, and that I would draw closer to him, and now that I'm older and just know more about the world around me, it's been difficult at times to feel his presence in my life and to feel so.. imperfect to him. I have always strived for Jesus and have always stood firm in my faith, and never even considered other things until these past few years. And that has scarred me a bit, feeling like I am not agreeing with things, and not living to God and the Bible's 'standards'. But at the end of the day, I know that it's all in God's hands, and I love him, and he loves me. Thank you for this video then, and now, Nikki! So glad to know of someone who has a similar heart !
One thing I really appreciate about this video (let's be honest, there's a LOT of things I loved about this video, haha) is that your argument against sex before marriage wasn't purely just 'because the bible says so'. I have heard a lot of debates about the topic as a Christian myself, and I'm honestly not 100% convinced that the bible alone explicitly is against it. HOWEVER, as someone who did actually have sex before marriage with a previous partner... I totally agree with your points about it being a very serious, emotionally binding thing. It's probably not something I'd even fully realised when I had sex. And that was with a person I was engaged to... and I had to call off our wedding 3 weeks before it was meant to happen. So you're totally spot on that you can break up riiiiiight up till you walk down that aisle and I think it's a really important thing to think about because WOW that emotional stuff is not fun to deal with.
But yeah, thanks for being awesome and open about what you believe :)
she is one of the realist youtubers. creating a video about what she believes and trying to help other people. I'm pretty sure other "famous" youtubers wouldn't do this video. i am only 13 lol. but this video was honestly amazing.
Hi Nikki! The part where you mentioned about different conclusions, I just have to say that that it because of sin. what I mean is that the Bible even says in the last days, and now, people will simply choose what they want to believe and call it what they want so that they can "feel good". Jesus says His people will have life to the fullest, that means All parts of life, hard and peaceful. I just wanted to say this because the Bible is not for anyone to determine or draw conclusions about except for God. Even though I know it can be hard to do! To be sure things, make sure what you believe is Biblical, make sure you read the Scriptures in context and objectively about it. Since God is perfect and humans are flawed can you trust yourself to draw conclusions? The Bible is true because God wrote it through people who were filled with a love for him, they had Godly discernment. Don't let this make you're head spin, but all I'm saying is that a solid thing to do would be to pray, seriously pray with Jesus and ask for Him to reveal the truth, be in a church where the main concern is to ONLY glorify Jesus Christ, do some research, RC Sproul and Francis Chan clarify how in Christianity we're cannot lean on our own understanding, the Bible actually states that. I just want to make sure that you and others are following God and God only, and I know it can be hard! If you ever want to talk or anything just let me know, I love how you take stand for the faith! Stay humble and kind, God bless you :)
Nikki, I don't usually comment on UA-cam videos but this one really spoke to me. I do not consider myself a "religious" person. I was raised in a religious home but it never really resonated with me even when I was young. Throughout my life and after much research and wondering I came to a conclusion: No one really truly knows what is real and what is going to happen until death. And I truly feel that judging others only brings about hate and internal disharmony. I don't doubt that there is something out there that is greater than us yet I'm not sure what or who it is and I'm ok with that. I live my life and I try to be the best person I possibly can regardless of what is out there. I am no stranger to hateful comments (mostly from Christians which I agree is the most surprising part) about my stance on religion. But I try not to let it get to me. I'm glad that they have so much faith in something and that it makes them feel fulfilled. I just wish that everyone no matter what religion could just stop all of the judging and hate and just be perfectly imperfect people together. I have a lot of respect for you and this video and for the tolerance you have shown. I may not share the same religion but I share the same core values of just trying to love everyone and the uniqueness that this world contains. Never stray from what you truly believe in your heart and what ultimately makes you happy. You have a lot of courage for putting your beliefs out for the world to see. Happy January!
I am a christian i believe in god when i was born my family went to church when i was about 8 or 9 we stopped going because my dad wouldnt get up in the mornings but now i am 15 my family we still believe in god but my mom works on sundays so she can never take us really so being 15 im curious i really want to build a relationship with god and explore i mean explore what i think about this and that and i really want to just delve into my faith with all of me just totally immerse myself in it i feel like im at a point in my life where i am ready to just build my relationship with god devote my life to him
That is awesome at your age. Check out Joel Osteen he has podcasts. That way you can have a little church at home. Another suggestion would be to start a bible reading plan.
Definitely read your Bible and Pray! God really speaks to you through them and that shows Him that you are truly committed! It's so awesome that you a seeking a relationship with Him!!! Check out hisrock.net! God is really doing a great work through Pastor Wes there and Pastor really just preaches straight forward truth...They do podcasts and Livestreams. Highly Highly recommend!
If you have Internet access on your phone or at home go to JW.ORG, it has so many great answers to many of the questions we have today all based off of gods word the bible. I hope you get to check this website out. Also check out the section for teens and I recommend reading "young people ask" and make sure you have your bible on hand because that's where all the answers will come from :)
That's great that you want to learn more about God. I would advise you not to go to jw.org as it is a Jehovah's Witness website and they are cult-like in doctrine and behaviour. I would advise you to read your bible and pray everyday, find a church(nondenominational until you find exactly what you believe) there you can worship, fellowship and get answers to your questions :) also look up freshlife church on UA-cam. Some really good sermons on there :) God Bless xx
Ohhhww Sister! !!! Greatings from Italy♡♥♥♡♥♡
I love how open you are about your religion and how unapologetic you are for your view points. It makes me even happier that your view is pretty much every body can do their own thing.
I went to a tiny Christian high school and was pretty much told I was going to hell for not agreeing with them, so it's wonderful to find people who are strong in their Faith that are not forcing it on to others.
Loved this video.
I choose not to talk about my view points online because of the backlash, I wish people would be more chill about it.
I just want to say hi, um I do not believe in god whatsoever do not get mad. I never really have I would pray and the next day the worst would happen so I stopped believing. Life is not great for me not because I don't believe in god but because of what people have said about me. I don't believe in god because how could someone who never lived create a world and then a heaven no way can anyone do that. Wether he is up destructible or not does not matter but I also do not believe in science it really doesn't tell logic all the time. So I am sorry if this is offensive but I honestly don't get how god could be something to worship if we have no proof. I have heard all the sayings seeing is not believing believing is seeing but that doesn't make sense sorry I had to say this.
In my religion, worst things happen to good people, maybe god loves you thats why you face the worst things/people, or a test of how strong your faith is, god doesn't have to prove himself to people, follow your heart girl :) my religion is Islam
while prayer is an important aspect of it all, you first need to develop a relationship with him. confess your sins, ask for forgiveness, and let him work through your life in mysterious ways. he has three ways of answering prayer: yes, no, and not yet. the bad things that take place in life are all part of his divine plan for you. something that often turns those away from believing is that they pray once and they feel it wasn't answered. you really need to put effort into it, devote at least half of an hour to your day to speaking to him, and, i promise, you will see him begin to work in your life :)
Look I get what you are saying I am connected to the saint Santa Claus there is many connections but I do not believe the worst happens to the best that is not god that is just bad luck it has brought any good to my life and if you were in my shoes you would understand
Look I also get what you are saying but I believe that gays are ok and so many things against the bible the bible is so falsified I don't get it god doesn't work in magic for me he ruins me and that is if he is real my life doesn't need religion to depend upon but thank you for your opinion
I agree with Madison Faith prayers and asking for forgiveness is great to develop your relationship with god xx
Nikki, it's really inspiring to watch you speak so candidly and so openly about your beliefs. I'm from a very accepting Christian family, but I'm often on the fence about faith. I'm gay, so I sometimes feel ostracized by some faith communities, and it's made me a little wary of certain sects of Christianity. I don't often comment on videos, but I really wanted you to know that I'm very touched by your open-mindedness and kind heart. I had a smile on my face by the time I finished watching your video, and I wish you all the very best!
Nikki, I see a lot of criticism in the comments from Christians but I just want to tell you how much I love the way you went about this video. As a Hindu girl who loves your videos I'm so glad I didn't have to hear you saying you think I'm going to hell for not believing in Jesus! Excellent job speaking on a touchy subject without alienating viewers of other faiths :)
I am a Christian as well and It has been encouraging to see youtubers like yourself and rachel talbott not be afraid to actively share the fact that you are Christians. With that being said, I feel like you do have a lot of growing to do in your faith (as do I). I guess I was a little concerned when you said that you choose not to take a stance on heaven/hell. This is such a big part of Christianity and the whole point of us being on earth is to go forth and make disciples (Matthew 28:19). We should be sharing the love of Jesus Christ to all so that they may be saved as we have been saved. Im glad you're spreading the love of Jesus around but I urge you to take the reigns on your faith and choose to believe in heaven and hell because they are real places. Thanks for sharing your beliefs with us. I know it must have been intimidating but I appreciate your honesty and transparency.
I was raised christian but i dont know somethings dont always make sense. Like why would god kill jesus if he loved him so much? I was looking into islam and it says that god saved him and that makes more sense to me..god didnt hurt solomon, moses, or noah so why would he let jesus go through so much suffering? Thats just my opinion, still trying to figure out my thoughts
I am a Muslim and in Islam we believe that God raised Jesus into heaven he did not get crucified. We also believe that Jesus will come back with Imam Mahdi before the end of time to save us from the dajal (the one claiming to be the Messiah).
There is scientific evidence Jesus WAS killed on the cross, whether you believed he rose or not. So, that one fact contradicts your whole religion.
Hi :-) Your question is really complicated but it's also a really good question! I'm not an expert but I guess I can try to explain it to you from what I know as a Catholic. The reason God sent Jesus, His only Son, was bc He loved us so much and He wanted to save us from our sins. It's very much like a parable I read a while ago about a father who sacrificed his son, who was in danger, in order to save a train packed with people. Also much like the story of Abraham and his son, Isaac. It's all about the sacrifice. Jesus was destined for the cross. He was born for the cross in order to save the rest of the world from their sins. God had a plan for Jesus, much like He has a plan for the rest of us. It was necessary for Jesus to give His life for us (the ultimate sacrifice) so that He could be resurrected. You said that you read into Islam and it says that God saved Jesus. The Resurrection is God saving Jesus, thus saving all of us as well. As far as killing Jesus, it was not God who killed Him. It was the people at the time who rejected Him and condemned Him to death as it was foretold. You have to remember that the Resurrection is the most central part of Christianity bc it proves everything that Jesus claimed to be. If Jesus had not risen from the dead, then Christianity would have been a lie. The Crucifixion and the Resurrection go hand in hand. They are what allow us to go to Heaven to be with God for the rest of time.
I'm not 100% sure if what I said is totally right,, I was writing off the top of my head :-) I encourage you to do more research and also ask lots of questions! You can maybe try to call into a Catholic or Christian radio station where they have people who are more knowledgeable than I. Anyhow, I hope this helped you! God bless!!
In Islam you are accountable for your own deeds and cannot depend on any person to enter Heaven. Only way is to do good and ask for God's mercy, the Most Mericiful. I am Muslim btw. Also a question for Christians, which I'm curious to hear your perspective on: Why would God create you, if you are already destined for Heaven because of Jesus's sacrifice for you?
Hera A Your question is also complicated haha.. As far as I know, God created humans to be His companions but then the whole Adam and Eve situation happened, thus creating original sin. Because of that incident, we are born sinners. God gives all of us the freedom to choose to do what we want and, after we die, our souls still have free will--we can choose to do penance for our sins in Purgatory in order to go to Heaven or we can choose Hell, aka eternal separation from God. We are not 'destined' for Heaven or Hell because we have free will. What you said about how, in Islam, the only way into Heaven is to do good and ask for God's mercy is actually very similar to what Christians believe! Again, I encourage you to ask the experts (I'm just a 16 year old girl and my words are not fact lol). God bless!
I think theres a hidden reason I found you and your channel. I've struggled with my faith for a long time. Growing up in utah, a predominantly LDS state, and in the church pretty much ruined religion for me when I was around 11 because my bishop came to our girls class and told us we should always obey our husband and our bishop, that we are meant to be at home with children and doing everything her husband tells you regardless of your opinion or what you want to do. That being said i know now that i am older and married (21) and a mom, that what others may think is right may not actually be right. Im not a devout christian but our opinions and our faith are very very similar. Especially finding the church that finally felt like home, etc
I love your personality and your positive attitude. Tha k you for being so open and honest! Love you xoxo
Ugh Nikki! I CAN SO relate! Sometimes I feel that same sense of rejection and criticism from my Muslim brothers and sisters and I'm like....wait, what? It's so disheartening and I've adopted a very similar mindset in terms of my own faith. Live and let live! Believe and let others believe! Just so refreshing to see someone with the same mindset!
Salam, I believe I must send my Salam for it is my duty as a muslim to send peace to my fellow muslim family.
I agree with you and do believe that people within religions may criticize each other for maybe reasons such as not properly following the religion or disagreeing with the way you may be doing things. And for this I believe that we as muslims should give each other the benefit of the doubt. For prophet Muhamad said, "Give your brother 70 excuses." Its not a shock that this happens for it is only human nature to judge others. But I believe that if we all properly follow our religion the way our prophet taught us and the way Islam tells us then we won't need anyone judging others. May Allah Guide Us All and Help Unite Us On Islam :)
HI BENGALI UA-camR
Sajah Abdelghani Nabela Noor hi girls! i started reading 21st century english books on hadiths and islam and it got me really pumped up! I also have this saying that says "faith only goes up" I'm not being biased but i've never felt more secure or content
Nabela Noor wait, is she muslim? ❤️❤️❤️
caleb logan yes.
THANK YOU THANK YOU THANK YOU!!! I have just been struggling with the fact that I don't agree with everything that the general population of Christians seem to believe in. Especially with your point on gay marriage. I just don't see how we have a right to tell someone what they are feeling is wrong when we have no proof that it is a sin at all, and even if it is, it's still our responsibility to love others. You made a major point about choosing what to believe in and how a lot of people (mainly christians) don't agree with that, but that is exactly how I see it too. It's not like I'm choosing things that only benefit me. Like if I did something that I believed was wrong and was in the bible as so, I wouldn't just suddenly choose not to believe that part anymore just to benefit myself, because that's not at al what this is about. It's about your faith and you can't have good faith in God if there are things that just seem morally wrong to you. These things have greatly put a damper on my relationship with the church I used to attend because they just seemed to constantly bring up things that seemed wrong to me. I still would like to attend church, but the one I have access to just makes my faith falter because it is like they are telling me what I believe is wrong. So I unfortunately have had to stop attending services there, but have been able to feel better about my faith. But thank you for posting this video because it makes me feel a lot better in my faith and my approach to it. It helps to know that I am not the only one that thinks this way but can still have a good relationship with God nonetheless. Thank you.
I didn't like this
Good for you
Good. No one was forcing you to like anything lol.
This is my own opinion. I respect religious people and I don't judge them or their beliefs. Personally, I am not religious. I don't believe in any God. When people say things like "God made me this way", "God chose this path for me", "God/the Bible told me to do that", "God/the Bible says this is good/bad" etc. it just doesn't sit well with me. The way I see life is that YOU make your own decisions, your own opinions and you learn from them, YOU choose your own path. This is your life. Basically, YOU are responsible for your own life. You shouldn't base your life on something else or blame God if it isn't going well. Be your own person.
I respect your religion and every other religion
I'm a Muslim
And I just wanna say something
God doesn't have a family God is by his own no wife,son,daughter,father, or mother
And Jesus is a prophet that sent a message to the world to believe in God and the religion
There is many more prophets
Our prophet is Mohammed
And I thank god every day for everything
Please respect my opinion
Funtasti CoolGirl AGREE!!!
Agree with absolutely EVERYTHING. This also makes me feel so much better and more confident about what I believe and my faith. You made it all make so much more sense. My best friend is gay and for years I've been trying to put my thoughts into words about why I don't necessarily think being gay is a sin, and you said it perfectly.
Its not my place to tell them who they are or are not. And Jesus called us to love each other. So that is what I will do... Whether they are a "sinner" or not. That's not my decision to make. And if I am the only "Jesus" they see in their life, then I need to be that for them.
I also agreed with everything else you touched on. I've said this before, but I look up to you for so many reasons, spirituality and your faith being the biggest reason.
Thankful for people like you who are so transparent about your faith and your walk with God.
I always feel so refreshed after How To Be Happy January. Can't believe there's only a week left. ❤❤❤
I don't think she was at all saying that she doesn't believe in heaven and hell, just that she isn't going to dwell on how to get there which is exactly how it should be. No one should live their lives trying to get into heaven, they should live it for God. If they do that, they'll get there.
Hey girl! I'm a youth leader at my church and I just want to say, wow. The courage and strength it must of took to post this, not knowing what the outcome of it would be, is so inspiring & I really respect you for this. You are entitled to your opinion & so is everyone else! Keep spreading the love & God's word :) also, for the people who say "you don't believe in God cause you haven't felt Him", there are so many ways to feel God. Even long time Christians may not! But that's where faith comes in. Stay strong in your faith, nikki!
Jehovah's Witnesses are really great people, they all try their best to follow principles in the bible and try hard to make themselves better people and all their beliefs are based on what the bible says, they don't twist things and they are all unified in what they believe. I think you would really appreciate them Nikki, and I know they would really welcome you if you visited their church. i felt very welcomed and cared for when went.
As a JW im so happy To hear that :) thank You ♡
JW are NOT Christians. They deny the deity of Christ. My husband was raised JW and says it is very oppressive. It's considered a cult.
Of course we are christians ahahah
being christians means believing in Jesus as The son Of God and believing He is the only one who can save us by his sacrifice and lead us To God
Im 18 and been raised in a family of jw and i can say It is not oppressive At all
My religion brings out The Best of me gives me values and morals
so dont assume your husbands point of view as The right point of view and dont talk about things You do not know ok? ;)
bye
Sabrina C.
Being Christian involves the whole Trinity. Father, Son, Holy Spirit. Didn't the Watchtower say armageddon was going to happen in 1975? he bible clearly says only God knows the hour. And being "defellowshipped" because you did something out of line with JW teaching? that doesn't sound very Christian to me. I could go on and on.
blackandblue10 Lol XD.. its not out of line with JW teaching.. its if someone's out of line with BIBLE teaching... Obviously you dont know much about JWs... lol x)
I feel bad for Nikki. Instead of allowing her to form her own relationship with God, lots of Christians in the comments are tearing her faith down saying she 'can't pick and choose what parts of the Bible she believes.' Everyone who is religious picks and chooses. What about fabrics like polyester that you're not supposed to wear? How about shellfish? Costly garments and gold jewelry for women? Divorce? You can't deal in absolutes unless you're doing all of those things 'right.'
How can you defend what you stand for? You don't believe that the Bible is God's word. Why don't you base God's teachings on any other book? You say you have no proof that God exists. Why believe He does? When you claim to have no evidence, why are you believing what you believe? There would be no reason to.
Your account of your faith basically boils down to your emotional and somewhat spiritual feelings. And the feelings of the people around you (this is what you stated).
A problem arises when the only reason you claim to have for believing in Christ and in God is your emotional response. Faith is not simply blind belief in what makes you "feel" something. There should be reason and logic that backs up your faith and makes it evident. Or at least provides an explanation for your trust in God. Otherwise, why believe in something you can't defend or don't understand? You can't.
I'm not Christian (or any religion) but I attend a Christian university. When I saw that you were gonna make a video about this I was kind of dreading watching it. But you have such intelligent and constructive opinions on everything while putting opinions different than your own into perspective. Especially how explained that you've chosen to subscribe to your faith and nobody has the proof to tell someone that what they're doing is wrong because it goes against the word of God. I've developed a whole new level of respect for you and I'm not religious in any way! You rock
Hey Nikki! This was really brave of you to do :) I respect everything you said and please dont let those bashing your beliefs because their views are different, they just cant see outside their own opinions. God bless you and your family ♡♡♡
Nikki! I am beyond proud of your for being bold in your faith. We live in a time where being politically correct controls a lot of conversation and the hostile opinion of Christians persists. A lot of people claim to be Christians but show no evidence or touch on in in their videos or other platforms. For that I want to thank you!
I am in college for Bible right now and while too much theology leaves me confused and feeling a little heartless about things, I have learned a lot and I have gained a relationship with God on an intellectual level as well as an emotional. He is to be Father who is to be adored and feared.
Right now our culture is really really focused on the LOVE and FAITH aspect of Christianity. But one thing I have really learned in following Christ has a balance we will never perfect or even understand, but it is important. While love an faith are wonderful, beyond words important, the flip-side to them both are also very very important. JUSTNESS AND KNOWLEDGE. God calls us deeper than simply floating by on love and faith, and it can suck and be really hard. God is Holy and He will judge us and He does punish and steer those who are disobedient and we are going to have to answer for what we do or don't do. He gave us the Bible not to just reassure and encourage us, but to stab into every area of our lives directing us towards Him, and it is more concrete than you gave it credit for. We also can't be lazy or complacent in FAITH, why do you believe what you believe?-- it is important. Being a Christian has a huge cost and can really make you somber, but it it the only thing than can bring true, everlasting joy. God breathed the stars and calls us His children. We need to approach him in awe and in humility.
But I really do understand that this was a video introducing and explaining your faith and that you can't go super in depth.
A- thank you for the compliment. It is a very stressful thing just putting this type of video up! Lol B- I am aware that there is more to Christianity than just love and faith BUT because Jesus said SO clearly that love is the MOST important thing...I'm choosing to believe him. And honestly - I'm not a pastor. I'm not trying to stab at people and make them see the "error of their ways"... This was just a video on MY beliefs and how I see things and choose to live my life. I read my bible, consult with people who know and love me, attend church and seek council... So I really do try and examine my life. That being said I'm sure as you've seen in the church...& there is no way around it...people are divided. Because of that I have decided for myself to keep learning, strive to love others (which I know you said is a huge focus in our culture...but if you look around, we're not doing it that well... Hahaha) and grow in wisdom. I'm choosing to not have harsh opinions on things I don't know for sure (because everyone's outlook on certain issues are different)... So ya- that was rambley! Haha I hope that made sense:)
NikkiPhillippi Thanks for taking the time to respond to me and being a part of this conversation! Yeah I completely follow you, this is such a hard thing you are doing trying explain your faith. We are all honestly one big mess when it comes to opinions and love. I think after reading some comments I follow a little more what you are getting at. It is great how we can challenge one another. I just feel that there is a danger of being " lukewarm" (over-used word, but fits I guess) which you clearly are not in your persistence to know God, even in your routine videos. No complaints about what you are doing! It is honestly refreshing coming from all my theology and biblical classes.
We Do Have Proof.....😩Nikki please ILY but this is kinda wishy washy... We have an anchor for our soul. love you tho!! this is so courageous and lovely xxoox
All that I meant is that I don't look down on other peoples intelligence... and other intelligent individuals believe different things and that is there prerogative. I realize that we DO in fact have evidence in terms of the stories that occur in the bible... I simply meant that we as a population can not say with COMPLETE certainty that what any of us believe is true. We weren't there in the beginning...we have not met God or Jesus face to face... It's all faith. Because of that I don't want to slam my beliefs down people's throats... Besides, some Christians would argue that even if I did slam my beliefs down people's throats it wouldn't matter because God chooses us not the other way around (which is that whole theological debate I said I didn't want to participate in.) so YA! Thank you though for your compliment!:) I just wanted to address your first comment:)
Thanks so much for replying that helped a lot!! :)
Nikki this blew me away. You're probably getting all kinds of comments that are trying to change what you believe or whatever and I just felt like I should say how I feel about this video. This video was extremely respectful. You are setting a great example. I respect you the things you had to say, and your beliefs a lot. Although, I am not a christian and I don't really think that believe in that kind of a God as of right now (I have spiritual beliefs but I don't choose to identify with any specific religion because I don't want to feel pressured to fit into any kind of mold, I just have my own thoughts and that's all. I don't take it too seriously, I'm the same way and just think everyone should spread love) how you portrayed yourself was highly respectful AND I find what you believe and how you believe it to be as well! You're very open minded and that's great! I was somewhat raised by a very strict "old-school" christian family, and they are very by the book, and very close minded. I believe that the kind of Christian you are, is the kind of Christian everyone should be! Sending love to you! Keep doing what you're doing!
Tell it, girl! Everyone's allowed to believe what they wish to believe, so true, all the fighting and the war born of people's anger at others for not believing as they do is the saddest thing. As a girl from a family of scientists, I myself and agnostic atheist, however I genuinely find religion really interesting especially having covered human psychology so much in my degree...you'd be amazed at the statistics for happiness/health/longevity amongst communities who come together in whatever faith they have (including atheists who gather in a community-like way) :) I would consider myself to be spiritual in my own way, though X
Hi Niki and other viewers, I am 13 years old a d a Christian. It breaks my heart to read all these comments about atheists and non believers. I would just like to say that God has truly helped me and blessed me in my life threw the power of prayer. I was ready something and it said you win threw hard work and God is just an excuse but though hard work can contribute to your success we would be no where without God. In our lives we will have many successes but wuth God we will do in addition the successes things we thought we would never dream of. There was a point in my relantionship with God and I thought "Where are you? How do I know that you are true?" . To all non believers how do you explain people being healed on the spot a d speaking in tongues. When the holy spirit cones into you .. . It is amazing and that is when you know that this God that we talk about is real and amazing. God sent his son, Jesus to die as a living sacrifice so that we would have our relantionship with God. God has done so many personal miracles in my life that people would see as not likely. It breaks my heart to read about this non believers because I want them to feel what I feel, why God is amazing and wonderful. I don't see this as a RELIGION but as a RELANTIONSHIP. I always talk to my God about problens, ask him to help me or I even just casually talk with him. I'm sorry that those Christians talked about you Niki then again we are all not perfect. The way I see it is that Christians are people who just have a relantionship with their father and understand the history. God is love and please understand that. He is knocking on your door, all you need to do is open it.
But if you believe in God and believe that Jesus is the son of God, then you believe that the Bible is God's word and that you should learn from it and keep it close to your heart. The bible talks about heaven and hell, and if you are truly a Christian who believes in Jesus, then you should believe in heaven and hell. All you need to do is claim Jesus as your personal savior and repent and ask for forgiviness for your sins, and then you will be forgiven and go to heaven.
I'm so glad you made this video, I was raised as a Mormon, but stopped going to church when I was 15. We were a poor family in a very wealthy neighborhood and I got treated really terrible at church, there came a point where I just got fed up with the judgement and felt extremely unwelcome. My husbands in the same boat, the last time he went to church he wasn't wearing a tie and 30 people must have pointed it out until he eventually got sent home. We live in Utah where religion can get pretty extreme and we have just started trying to get pregnant. We really want to start going to church when we have a kid, but are not sure where to go where we will feel welcome. I was wondering if you could tell me what kind of church you go to? I love your views and the fact that you can go to church wearing casual clothes and would love to have the same experience! Thanks for being so awesome and sharing your beliefs without being pushy and judgemental, it's not something I see a lot of and I really appreciate it :) 💗💗💗
The evidence is the many things that have came to pass since the bible was written. You can call yourself any type of religion, but the truth is the bible. I don't understand why you say you don't have any proof in what you believe, I'm not sure how to interpret that. Im a Christian, I attend a non-denominational church, and I have proof in what I believe in. Its not just faith, because there have been many miracles, which is proof, of God in my life and in others. Also, I don;t understand how you dont take a stance on some thing sin the bible. Obviously, the old testament( in the ways they lived) is old, and that i not how the new generations live. But you can't just take bits & pieces of the bible and then call it Christianity. Whats the point of following a religion that has no eternal follow up. Heaven and hell is very talked about in the bible. Theres even stories on the news of miners that had to stop digging because they heard screams from deep in the earth, look it up! Heaven and hell is real, and its a huge topic in the bible, you can just decide to rule it out. There are many versus/stories in the bible where it talks about homosexuality, 1 Timothy 1:9-10 is one of them. I love you Nikki and I have always watched and supported you, and I always will. But I don't understand why you take something so important so lightly. Its like you're a lukewarm Christian. But thats just my opinion...
I completely agree with everything you said
If we're being honest here, I think you are really cool. You are an inspiring person. I applaud the way you have gone about holding yourself on such a public platform with your faith and your relationship with Dan. I have been a believer for as long as I remember but kind of fell out of going to church and reading the bible and being a light for him. This video really made me feel His love. Thank you Nikki. Love you girl!
have you tried to read about islam ? i respect you and your religion but i'm just saying , btw i'm a big fan
I really really really appreciate this video. My dad grew up with a lot of religion thrown at him from a very young age that he doesn't really have a particular religion he feels like he should be apart of. My mom, on the other hand, grew up in Germany and moved 20 times by the time she was 18 and her father (my grandfather) never really cared enough to take the time and be an active member of any church setting. this being said, I've grown up being atheist. It was never a problem when I was younger, nor was it relevant in any way, to anyone I knew. now that I'm older though, I've learned that people judge me on my beliefs. I am heavily invested in science and because there is no proof, my brain can't accept that it was/is real. However, I would like to learn more about Christianity without people judging me for who I am already so I can make an informed opinion on my beliefs. One thing I'd like to say is that I hate the fact that because I don't have a specified religion, I'm automatically slapped with a label (Atheism) and disregarded with thought that I'm not good.
I invite you all to read the English translation of the Quran (final unchanged words of God) to find the truth yourself.
There is NO god but Allaah, Mohamed and Jesus were the messengers of Allaah.
Peace be upon you ~
I invite you to read the bible, the only words of God
+Splouge Mcgouge These aren't the only words of God!!! The people created testaments. WooooW, so holy.. words of humans. :')
+brightside786 I invite you to read any book about science. Really, try it. It might blow you away! And not even in a violent way.
I've been rolling my eyes each time you've mentioned that God and faith are your reasons to be happy, since I'm an atheist and an overall happy person. However, I realize that my annoyance at your talk of spirituality isn't fair to you.
I like your open-minded approach to your faith. I am not the militant atheist who thinks that all religion is poison (I run into those types every day in my local atheist Facebook group), or that religious people are stupid or even misguided in their beliefs. I think that if it's what gives you joy when the world inevitably gets bleak, then it should absolutely be a part of your life. If it is your motivation to be kinder to others and to make the world a better place, then I'm all for it. My mom is very religious, and her faith has gotten her through some really dark days, so for that I am grateful.
I was a religious person for 21 years of my nearly 26. It was a comfort to me, and I liked being able to be so sure of something. However, a few cracks in my beliefs started showing up after high school (OK, so maybe a little bit of it was that I wanted to drink and have sex) until finally the evidence against it became strong enough that it just crumbled. I love science, and we keep discovering new explanations for things where we used to just say "God did it."
So yeah, I just want to say that even though I disagree with your belief I have a higher power (my higher power is math-based ;D), I respect your point of view and the extra push it gives people to live better lives.
Sorry, that was long...