Hi, it's nice to "have you onboard" the Christian journey... I know you said you wouldn't consider yourself Christian for some valid reasons, and I'm not going to be quick to call you one, but I'd say you're on the journey regardless. A few things 😅: I think Nietzsche's quote has some truth to it, but it misses a huge part of what it means to be Christian. I'll get to that in the latter part of this, because I'll like to talk about the Genesis 3 event first... On the Tree of the Knowledge of Good and Evil, I can see how it could allude to them gaining consciousness, but it's not the only [nor seemingly accurate] way to read the text. The tree seems to allude more to a form of intimacy with the nature of good and evil. Its fruit puts one in a state where they become acquainted first hand, with the consequences of choosing good or evil. So prior to its consumption, Adam and Eve were conscious, and they had a fair understanding of what good and evil "could look liƙe", but they got to a point where they wanted to take the position of God, to test and judge what's good, and what's evil, and do as they please with the knowledge thereafter. What I would say that they didn't consider was: they weren't perfect whole beings like God was. They did not have the foresight, nor wisdom, nor sheer willpower to autonomously resist sin, and make good choices without God's guidance. They (and we) also got to learn that evil/sin isn't simply a stagnant phenomenon that you get to experience once and walk out of; sin is pervasive, it keeps us hooked like a drug would to an addict; it lingers to steal, kill and destroy, and its appetite only grows stronger in the absence of God's Spirit. Unfortunately, an inescapable part of that choice they made, was our involuntary introduction into their world of an intimate experience of evil. But hey, a bunch (if not all of us) could have made the same choice if we were in their shoes, so we might as well "kill multiple birds with one stone". And in our "involuntary introduction" but voluntary participation in carrying out our own evil deeds, we've come to learn a couple of truths that we may or may not admit: 1. Something is broken in us, something that makes us desire things we clearly see as bad for us or/and others around us 2. Our personal fixes and attempts to discipline ourselves can only go so far since the core of our being/nature remains the same; wrestling with our nature/flesh for eternity would only breed a life of agony and weariness So, To be Christian is to come to terms with being imperfect, but lean on Christ and imitate Him with the strength He gives; to have our souls renewed daily, growing and maturing into His image; to become perfected when He eventually resurrects us in new bodies, free from all the baggage of learned habits and corrupt primal instincts (1 Cor. 15 gives a good exposé on this). It's fine, and essential to admit that we aren't anything like Christ, but we'd love to be, and we trust that he'll transform our lives to be like His. P.S. I think you might enjoy Paul's letters; Romans is most people's favourite, but Ephesians was the one that got me hooked. You might also enjoy Ecclesiastes and Job, they raise some interesting philosophical questions (some that could make you question the faith itself, but they prove to be crucial for the journey in the long-run)
From one person, learning to another, the main thing that I have learned/still learning and want you to keep in mind is what Jesus dying on the cross means and (to touch more on the topic of your video about “logic”) what the weight of God being real means, What the weight of Jesus being real means. See the fact that God is real means that He did, in fact, create everything, and His statements are true, and if He did, in fact, create everything and His statements are true (which they are) He would know exactly how everything works, imagine you telling Toyota about a car they made and know about like the back of their hand down to the very last detail that you feel that a car they made only to drive on the road can drive on water. My point is God created everything and the fact that we all tend to miss is that since He created everything, He has the answer for everything, even Him not telling us the specifics on certain things and how to solve them is for a reason. So anything that is not His word is false, not true, not the right way, and misconstrued . Also to keep in mind, He doesn't just bark orders at us, He gives instruction and He does all that He does because He loves us. He loves us so much that He didn’t want us to be separated from Him, because what is owed to us, for the wages of our sin is death, but instead, He loved us so much He sent His son, who lived a perfect life to die for our sins, so that we may be with Him in Heaven, Jesus loves us so much that He took our place, that's what He did on the cross for us. Nothing we do can ever get us to heaven because we all have fallen short and sinned but His word says those who choose to believe and trust In Jesus, May become a child of God, but when you say you believe, it looks a certain way it's not just a verbal acknowledgment, if I say, I love my wife, but you see that all I do is hit her every day and ignore her , you'd know that I actually don't. so if you believe in Jesus, it looks a certain way you do the things He says because you believe He is who He says He is, you believe in what He says is the truth, you believe in what He says is the way, you believe in how He says you should go about life, you believe in all His promises and statements. The Creator knows exactly how everything works down to the last, tiniest detail and He loves us. Logic is Gods Word, Truth is His word, what is in the Bible is not perspective and anything that is not in His word, especially others form of logic, and ideologies, that goes against his word are wrong. The Goal is to allow Jesus to wash you of your sin and to Remain in Him and then He will remain in you and there is nothing that is better, The Goal is to Love and trust Jesus, not just cause He’s right but because He Loved us first and more than we could ever Love Him. This is what I have been blessed to come to know, and this, I pray you keep in mind. From one person learning and Growing in Jesus to the next. Also we must be cautious about speaking on what we may think God’s word says and what is actually the truth, Jesus says don’t mislead The Children of God. ”“If anyone causes one of these little ones-those who believe in me-to stumble, it would be better for them to have a large millstone hung around their neck and to be drowned in the depths of the sea. Woe to the world because of the things that cause people to stumble! Such things must come, but woe to the person through whom they come!“ Matthew 18:6-7 NIV So please, pray for guidance and understanding when reading the word and double check when sharing what you believe to be God’s word. I pray this helps and May God be with you all and May you Keep Him Always❤️
I hope you begin to stray away from the idea of "Christianity" and gravitate towards the person of Christ. There are many "Christians" who don't know Him. Matthew 7:21-23 Not everyone who says to Me, ‘Lord, Lord,’ shall enter the kingdom of heaven, but he who does the will of My Father in heaven. Many will say to Me in that day, ‘Lord, Lord, have we not prophesied in Your name, cast out demons in Your name, and done many wonders in Your name?’ And then I will declare to them, ‘I never knew you; depart from Me, you who practice lawlessness!’
Yo wassup man, just found your video. All i can say is that we must have faith. Going down my own path, God of the bible is the god of the world. Watch inspiring philosophy and your questions will be answered, if you still have any.
Do you believe that Jesus was born of a virgin? Do you believe that he was the Son of the Father? Do you believe the miracles? Do you believe that he carried the world's sins on his shoulders? Do you believe he rose from the dead, and is now on the side of the Father? If your answers to those are a resounding yes, now all that remains for you is to follow Him. There are and will be many questions left unanswered. But even if the flock does not know the way in which the good shepherd leads them, we can always have the faith that we are headed towards green pastures I pray for us both tonight brother, may God give us the strength to carry our crosses
Hi, it's nice to "have you onboard" the Christian journey... I know you said you wouldn't consider yourself Christian for some valid reasons, and I'm not going to be quick to call you one, but I'd say you're on the journey regardless.
A few things 😅:
I think Nietzsche's quote has some truth to it, but it misses a huge part of what it means to be Christian. I'll get to that in the latter part of this, because I'll like to talk about the Genesis 3 event first...
On the Tree of the Knowledge of Good and Evil, I can see how it could allude to them gaining consciousness, but it's not the only [nor seemingly accurate] way to read the text. The tree seems to allude more to a form of intimacy with the nature of good and evil. Its fruit puts one in a state where they become acquainted first hand, with the consequences of choosing good or evil. So prior to its consumption, Adam and Eve were conscious, and they had a fair understanding of what good and evil "could look liƙe", but they got to a point where they wanted to take the position of God, to test and judge what's good, and what's evil, and do as they please with the knowledge thereafter.
What I would say that they didn't consider was: they weren't perfect whole beings like God was. They did not have the foresight, nor wisdom, nor sheer willpower to autonomously resist sin, and make good choices without God's guidance.
They (and we) also got to learn that evil/sin isn't simply a stagnant phenomenon that you get to experience once and walk out of; sin is pervasive, it keeps us hooked like a drug would to an addict; it lingers to steal, kill and destroy, and its appetite only grows stronger in the absence of God's Spirit.
Unfortunately, an inescapable part of that choice they made, was our involuntary introduction into their world of an intimate experience of evil. But hey, a bunch (if not all of us) could have made the same choice if we were in their shoes, so we might as well "kill multiple birds with one stone". And in our "involuntary introduction" but voluntary participation in carrying out our own evil deeds, we've come to learn a couple of truths that we may or may not admit:
1. Something is broken in us, something that makes us desire things we clearly see as bad for us or/and others around us
2. Our personal fixes and attempts to discipline ourselves can only go so far since the core of our being/nature remains the same; wrestling with our nature/flesh for eternity would only breed a life of agony and weariness
So,
To be Christian is to come to terms with being imperfect, but lean on Christ and imitate Him with the strength He gives; to have our souls renewed daily, growing and maturing into His image; to become perfected when He eventually resurrects us in new bodies, free from all the baggage of learned habits and corrupt primal instincts (1 Cor. 15 gives a good exposé on this).
It's fine, and essential to admit that we aren't anything like Christ, but we'd love to be, and we trust that he'll transform our lives to be like His.
P.S. I think you might enjoy Paul's letters; Romans is most people's favourite, but Ephesians was the one that got me hooked. You might also enjoy Ecclesiastes and Job, they raise some interesting philosophical questions (some that could make you question the faith itself, but they prove to be crucial for the journey in the long-run)
From one person, learning to another, the main thing that I have learned/still learning and want you to keep in mind is what Jesus dying on the cross means and (to touch more on the topic of your video about “logic”) what the weight of God being real means, What the weight of Jesus being real means. See the fact that God is real means that He did, in fact, create everything, and His statements are true, and if He did, in fact, create everything and His statements are true (which they are) He would know exactly how everything works, imagine you telling Toyota about a car they made and know about like the back of their hand down to the very last detail that you feel that a car they made only to drive on the road can drive on water. My point is God created everything and the fact that we all tend to miss is that since He created everything, He has the answer for everything, even Him not telling us the specifics on certain things and how to solve them is for a reason. So anything that is not His word is false, not true, not the right way, and misconstrued .
Also to keep in mind, He doesn't just bark orders at us, He gives instruction and He does all that He does because He loves us. He loves us so much that He didn’t want us to be separated from Him, because what is owed to us, for the wages of our sin is death, but instead, He loved us so much He sent His son, who lived a perfect life to die for our sins, so that we may be with Him in Heaven, Jesus loves us so much that He took our place, that's what He did on the cross for us. Nothing we do can ever get us to heaven because we all have fallen short and sinned but His word says those who choose to believe and trust In Jesus, May become a child of God, but when you say you believe, it looks a certain way it's not just a verbal acknowledgment, if I say, I love my wife, but you see that all I do is hit her every day and ignore her , you'd know that I actually don't. so if you believe in Jesus, it looks a certain way you do the things He says because you believe He is who He says He is, you believe in what He says is the truth, you believe in what He says is the way, you believe in how He says you should go about life, you believe in all His promises and statements. The Creator knows exactly how everything works down to the last, tiniest detail and He loves us. Logic is Gods Word, Truth is His word, what is in the Bible is not perspective and anything that is not in His word, especially others form of logic, and ideologies, that goes against his word are wrong. The Goal is to allow Jesus to wash you of your sin and to Remain in Him and then He will remain in you and there is nothing that is better, The Goal is to Love and trust Jesus, not just cause He’s right but because He Loved us first and more than we could ever Love Him. This is what I have been blessed to come to know, and this, I pray you keep in mind. From one person learning and Growing in Jesus to the next.
Also we must be cautious about speaking on what we may think God’s word says and what is actually the truth, Jesus says don’t mislead The Children of God.
”“If anyone causes one of these little ones-those who believe in me-to stumble, it would be better for them to have a large millstone hung around their neck and to be drowned in the depths of the sea. Woe to the world because of the things that cause people to stumble! Such things must come, but woe to the person through whom they come!“
Matthew 18:6-7 NIV
So please, pray for guidance and understanding when reading the word and double check when sharing what you believe to be God’s word. I pray this helps and May God be with you all and May you Keep Him Always❤️
I hope you begin to stray away from the idea of "Christianity" and gravitate towards the person of Christ. There are many "Christians" who don't know Him.
Matthew 7:21-23
Not everyone who says to Me, ‘Lord, Lord,’ shall enter the kingdom of heaven, but he who does the will of My Father in heaven. Many will say to Me in that day, ‘Lord, Lord, have we not prophesied in Your name, cast out demons in Your name, and done many wonders in Your name?’ And then I will declare to them, ‘I never knew you; depart from Me, you who practice lawlessness!’
Yo wassup man, just found your video. All i can say is that we must have faith. Going down my own path, God of the bible is the god of the world. Watch inspiring philosophy and your questions will be answered, if you still have any.
I’m glad you enjoyed and I completely understand and respect everything you’re saying about god and your belief system
Do you believe that Jesus was born of a virgin?
Do you believe that he was the Son of the Father?
Do you believe the miracles?
Do you believe that he carried the world's sins on his shoulders?
Do you believe he rose from the dead, and is now on the side of the Father?
If your answers to those are a resounding yes, now all that remains for you is to follow Him.
There are and will be many questions left unanswered. But even if the flock does not know the way in which the good shepherd leads them, we can always have the faith that we are headed towards green pastures
I pray for us both tonight brother, may God give us the strength to carry our crosses