I'm having trouble understand the christian bible. I want to be a Christian, but I disagree with some of the rules in it. And I want to better understand what it's actually saying (it isn't modernized)
Question: Is Christianity purposely difficult to apart of, because of the outcome you get? Heaven, the ability to not die when doomsday occurs, immortality perhaps. I feel that by now I'm only trying to stay Christian because I know God has a paradise called Heaven for me when I die and I feel guilty considering that it might be the truth. :( Are there people out there specifaclly there to help people choose the best religion for them?

I'm a Christian myself and there are all kinds of different people out there that want you to join their Christian organization. If you want to be a Christian, I suggest you look into all of the Christian organizations like Catholicism, Baptist, Jehovah Witness, Mormons, etc. and find out for yourself what YOU think is the right one.

As for your question:

Yes, it is difficult to follow the rules. But God will not lower his standards to meet the comforts of people who refuse to follow his standards. As a Christian, I have to live by some pretty strict rules, but I feel the reward in following them. If you want to discuss this into a bit more detail, I can talk to you in more private means like email.

A religion isn't a shoe.
Finding a religion you believe in is sort of your job if you are spiritually inclined to do so. It will depend on the local places of worship in your community for their interpretation of their faith as to how well you fit as well. Good luck! XD

God put these rules to protect us. If you think about it, rules are there to keep us from doing something harmful (like no running by the pool, or something like that). The rules in the Bible now are contradicting what the world says which is probably why you disagree with them. For an answer to your question: being a Christian will always be difficult because the devil do everything in his power to try to pull you away from God. But eternal salvation and treasure in heaven is well worth the suffering of earth because our years on earth will be short compared to ever lasting life in paradise. I agree with Silas Dane, the rules can be hard but the you will be rewarded following them. If you want to talk more, you can email me at belarathien.dollars@gmail.com I'd be happy to hear from you.

Well when it comes to all religions, and the different sects of Christianity like Catholics, Mormons, etc. they all have the same amount of evidence going for them which is roughly 0. So you would just get exhausted trying to find the 'right' one. Religion is based on faith so you should find one that just personally feels right to you, you don't need a reason or any evidence to have faith. If you believe in heaven for whatever reason you should try and find a religion that just suits your lifestyle and follow that one. Or you could just believe in god and heaven without identifying with any religion at all. It sounds to me like you have a personal belief in god and heaven but not any profound belief in any particular religion.

I agree with this. >>3

And Christianity isn't about doing what all you can in order to get to Heaven. Actually, there's a story or two that are examples of how you're NOT suppose to think that way. Following Jesus' footsteps is about being kind, loving your neighbor, learning to forgive, as well as asking God for guidance almost constantly. What I find interesting about Christianity is that it's not supposed to be easy. As a friend told me years ago, Jesus did not live an easy life; he didn't even live a full one. The world is cruel and it'll knock you down every now and then. You'll get persecuted for your faith even if you never persecute others. God said the closest ones to him were the children of the earth. An example of this is when I was a child and it was the night of 9/11, I prayed for the souls of the terrorists and for their families; that they would be forgiven and may be accepted into heaven regardless. I look back on this and I think, "no fucking way would I do that now", but that's what it means to be Christian. It ain't easy.

I think the rules for Christianity are extreme.
If you don't put a tiny amount of water on a babies head, it burns for eternity if it dies. Just wtf?

I think you'd do better with a pagan religion or non at all. I mean you have an ego right. You don't need some group of people telling you what's right or wrong.

>>7 You... You are another example of what I was saying here >>6.
Let's just spread the ignorance around, shall we?

>>7 Wow... It's only as extreme as you make it out to be. But I'm not going to argue with you since it would be a waste of time and brain cells. All you need to know about Christianity is what Magnolia said in >>6.

>>9 Thank ya, love. It's difficult to define something with so many differing branches, so I was nervous about trying to describe the core of Christianity.

>>7 for the record, that is not how it works. Plus it's not a group of people telling you what's right or wrong, it's GOD.

I agree with >>6 being a Christian will not be easy and it's not about what you do that will get you into heaven.

>>Plus it's not a group of people telling you what's right or wrong, it's GOD.

PREACH.

I cannot hear that enough. Too often people forget this.

>>Magnolia.

I just don't understand :) What do you mean?

>>14 Don't understand what?

There's a spirit trying to enter my body.

I saw it first in a dream and I can feel it now. I can hold it off but not for long. I need help. What do I do?

Do I accept it? Or kill it?

There are 41,000 different accepted and noted branches of Christianity. I'm not making this up, this is true. Not all of them are fully accepted, and some only have a few members of less than 100 (WBB). However, there are a lot of different sects in Christianity.

There are roughly 4,200 known religions in the world. Each of those religions have the possibility equal to that of Christianity.

That is a lot of information to process. I personally think they are ALL incorrect, and that they are ALL Myths based off of prior myths. Most of them say the same general things, and most of them condemn a lot of really natural things like homosexuality. Some even go so far as to say that rape is okay, and that slavery is just fine. All of these are in the Christian bible, I promise you. After six months of theological courses I found that religion wasn't just not my cup of tea, but that it was inherently bad. Religion is the only thing that can make a good man do bad things.

Furthermore, None of them have any evidence at all. None. With that being said, there is nothing that I would say to directly dissuade you from believing in anything you chose to. I only cite things I know for a fact, and if anyone wishes to check those facts there isn't an issue; I promise I can provide them. This is a personal decision you must come to. Also, keep in mind that is okay to change your perspective based on new information. For instance, I am an Atheist, and if God bust in my living room right now, I'd admit I was wrong. Until he does though, I'm good. I don't need guidance from my imagination.

God has no religion.

The bible is meant to be hard to understand; it's the word of God, and if God wasn't hard to understand, then he wouldn't be God. The trick is to not rely on your own intelligence and humbly submit yourself to God and let him speak to you as you read. He does if you want him to, though that itself can be hard, because you may not want to hear what he has to say. But it's worth it.

As for salvation, if you're worried about believing what you do for your own gain, then that's good, because it is indeed an imperfect outlook. If you know Christ the way many Christians do, you'll want to stay by his side no matter what your inheritance in heaven is. If you don't know him like that, pray to him and ask him to reveal himself to you.

And if you think what I'm saying could be wrong and a waste of time, then consider this: if he doesn't talk back to you, no matter how much you want him to, then you can consider his non-existence proven to yourself.

In short, don't rely on your own intelligence. Christianity is a faith of humility; we use whatever understanding we have to follow God and leave the rest up to his infinite wisdom.

Also, >>18 is spot on. Christ doesn't want your religion. He just wants you to know him and love him, because he knows and loves you in ways you can't comprehend. :)

>>17 Theology course Huh? Noted.

you should be able to believe what ever you think is right (with in reason, of course) but if you disagree with how the bible says you should live your life (which I do (no offense), the ten commandments are pretty well impossible) then do what you can to follow those rules, just don't claim to be somebody/something you aren't.

I don't know whether anybody would see this or even respond to this, but I have a question that's been bugging me for a long time now. I've asked it many times, but never got a satisfying answer. Either it was "that's a good question" or "hmm. I'll get back to you when I get an answer", but no answer ever came.

Anyway, if anyone can answer this: If you accept Jesus as your savior, believe that the Bible is the word of the God, believe Jesus died on the cross ... basically you become an actual Christian, but you suddenly stop and turn back to your old and corrupt ways, then die without confessing your sins, will you still go to heaven?

TL;DR: Basically: (1) You really accept Christ as savior & believe (2) But turn back to your corrupt ways (3) Die = Will you still go to Heaven or will you go to Hell even though you've accepted Jesus?

I apologize if my question was confusing .. I'm confused myself.

We believe that the first principles of the Gospel are:
1. Faith in the Lord Jesus Christ,
2. Repentance (that's when we admit that we have sinned and finally realize that we need to forsake them),
3. Baptism (which is done by a person with the right authority, which we call the 'Priesthood', that same priesthood that Jesus gave His disciples and the same one He used to heal the sick. We consider baptism without the right authority not *legit in the eyes if God)
and 4. Receiving the Gift of The Holy Ghost
(so that staying on the right track won't be that impossible. The Holy Ghost helps us feel what Heavenly Father would want us to do, comforts us when we feel bad and helps us feel God's never ending love)
and 5. Enduring to the End.

This means that being a disciple of Christ is a lifelong journey. We sin, we make mistakes, but it is by the grace of God that we are saved, after we all that we can do. By entering the covenant of baptism we vow to take upon us the name of the Lord in all the things we do, meaning we do our best to set good examples to other people even if we make mistakes and that we strive to do what is right, that we will always remember him in whatever situation we're in, and that we keep His commandments as much as we can and do our best to be the best we can be until the day we leave this world and wait for the Lord to come back in His glory.

About your question regarding who goes to Heaven and how, we believe that God didn't just divide Heaven from Hell, that it's plan black and white. As merciful as He is, we believe that Heavenly Father has created kingdoms of glory where are souls will finally go once the judgment has passed. In John 14:2, it says, "In my Father's house are many mansions: if it were not so, I would have told you. I go to prepare a place for you."
By further revelation we come to understand that there's a kingdom prepared for those who have really sinned, those who have entered into the covenant of baptism but sinned to a certain degree, and those who have kept the covenant and did their best to live according to how Heavenly Father and Jesus Christ want them to.

Furthermore, we firmly believe that we cannot be saved without being baptized by a person with authority. As it says in John 3:3, 3 Jesus answered and said unto him, Verily, verily, I say unto thee, Except a man be born again (as symbolized by baptism), he cannot see the kingdom of God.

>>21 The problem with "believing what you think is right" is that, what if it isn't right? Someone might think that one this is right and another person might think that it is wrong, so who's right? Hitler thought that he was doing good by genocide, but everyone believes that he was wrong, so are they both right? No, there's a defiantly right and wrong. Just because someone doesn't believe that water is wet, doesn't mean that it isn't for them. Water is wet no matter what. For the ten commandments, of course they're impossible to follow, God's standards and impossible for us, which is why He sent His son Jesus to die for us. We have salvation because Jesus took our sins upon Himself as a perfect sacrifice.

>>22 Yes, you will still go to heaven, however, you must genuinely believe and accept Jesus. I feel that a lot of people just blow this off and don't really understand everything and their hearts don't change, they only say that they believe. If someone truly has been born again and is filled with the Holy Spirit, they wouldn't turn completely around back to their sinful ways. You'll still sin, everyone does, but the difference is that you're saved and in a close relationship with God.

>>20 Sure thing, mate. I don't recommend it. Theology isn't a fun career choice. I would much prefer to just fake I could talk to the dead, and get paid lots of money for it.


>>22

You're ruling out the existence of Heaven & Hell a priori, and that isn't how logic works. Your question was if people meet the correct conditions do you go to Heaven? Well. Let's check this out.

Do people go to Hell?


Yes.
Those that don't go to heaven are tormented forever in hell.

Daniel 12:2
And many of them that sleep in the dust of the earth shall awake, some to everlasting life, and some to shame and everlasting contempt.

Matthew 13:41-42
The Son of man shall send forth his angels, and they shall gather out of his kingdom all things that offend, and them which do iniquity; And shall cast them into a furnace of fire: there shall be wailing and gnashing of teeth.

Matthew 18:8-9
If thy hand or thy foot offend thee, cut them off, and cast them from thee: it is better for thee to enter into life halt or maimed, rather than having two hands or two feet to be cast into everlasting fire.

Matthew 22:13
Then said the king to the servants, Bind him hand and foot, and take him away, and cast him into outer darkness, there shall be weeping and gnashing of teeth.

Matthew 25:41, 46
Then shall he say also unto them on the left hand, Depart from me, ye cursed, into everlasting fire, prepared for the devil and his angels. ... And these shall go away into everlasting punishment.

Mark 9:43-48
... into hell, into the fire that never shall be quenched Where their worm dieth not, and the fire is not quenched.

Luke 16:22-24
And it came to pass, that the beggar died, and was carried by the angels into Abraham's bosom: the rich man also died, and was buried; And in hell he lift up his eyes, being in torments, and seeth Abraham afar off, and Lazarus in his bosom. And he cried and said, Father Abraham, have mercy on me, and send Lazarus, that he may dip the tip of his finger in water, and cool my tongue; for I am tormented in this flame.

John 5:28-29
The hour is coming, in the which all that are in the graves shall hear his voice, And shall come forth; they that have done good, unto the resurrection of life; and they that have done evil, unto the resurrection of damnation.

2 Thessalonians 1:8-9
In flaming fire taking vengeance on them that know not God, and that obey not the gospel of our Lord Jesus Christ: Who shall be punished with everlasting destruction.

Revelation 14:10-11
The same shall drink of the wine of the wrath of God, which is poured out without mixture into the cup of his indignation; and he shall be tormented with fire and brimstone in the presence of the holy angels, and in the presence of the Lamb. And the smoke of their torment ascendeth up for ever and ever.

Revelation 20:10
And the devil that deceived them was cast into the lake of fire and brimstone, where the beast and the false prophet are, and shall be tormented day and night for ever and ever.

Revelation 20:14-15
And death and hell were cast into the lake of fire. This is the second death. And whosoever was not found written in the book of life was cast into the lake of fire.


No.
Those that don't go to heaven, just die.

Deuteronomy 29:20
The LORD shall blot out his name from under heaven.

Psalm 1:4-6
The ungodly ... are like the chaff which the wind driveth away. ... The ungodly shall perish.

Psalm 34:16
The face of the LORD is against them that do evil, to cut off the remembrance of them from the earth.

Psalm 37:1-2, 20
Fret not thyself because of evildoers.... For they shall soon be cut down like the grass, and wither as the green herb.
(vv.1-2)

Psalm 37:20
The wicked shall perish. (v.20)

Psalm 69:28
Let them be blotted out of the book of the living.

Proverbs 10:25
As the whirlwind passeth, so is the wicked no more.

Proverbs 24:20
The candle of the wicked shall be put out.

Obadiah 16
They shall be as though they had not been.

Romans 6:21, 23
The end of those things is death. (v.21)
For the wages of sin is death; but the gift of God is eternal life. (v.23)

1 Corinthians 3:17
If any man defile the temple of God, him shall God destroy.

2 Corinthians 2:15
In them that are saved, and in them that perish.

Galatians 6:8
For he that soweth to his flesh shall of the flesh reap corruption.

Philippians 3:18-19
The enemies of the cross of Christ: Whose end is destruction.

James 1:15
Sin, when it is finished, bringeth forth death.

James 4:12
There is one lawgiver, who is able to save and to destroy.

James 5:20
He which converteth the sinner from the error of his way shall save a soul from death.


Everyone goes to heaven after they die.

1 Corinthians 15:22
For as in Adam all die, even so in Christ shall all be made alive.

1 Timothy 4:10
We trust in the living God, who is the Saviour of all men, specially of those that believe.

1 John 2:2
He is the propitiation for our sins: and not for our's only, but also for the sins of the whole world.



TL;DR
There are 9 supporting verse you will go to Hell (NT), and 17 that you will go nowhere (OT); you will just die. There are three verses that suggest everyone goes to Heaven, also in the New Testament.

There was one example that stated you went to hell in the Old Testament. Daniel 12:2. The New Testament was created to instill a fear in the believer, and to propagate the religion. That's all. To me, it's no more, and no less important.